I've had my 798HD SI for a couple of years now and really enjoy side imaging when in less than 150' of water. Helps to see which side the bait is on and structure when moving from spot to spot. As TJones stated, the transducer has to be in the water to get good side imaging resolution. My work around was to cut the lowrance cover and lower the transducer below the cover. The Helix is still using the same XNT 9 SI 180 T tranducer, so this should work. I like the Helix, but wish it had 1 more memory slot for tracking trip data plus a navionics card. The one tradeoff with humminbird, the power pin connector is not ideal for saltwater and will require keeping the contacts clean. I use contact cleaner after every trip now to better manage the corrosion.
