
As its name suggests, the Humminbird 959ci HD XD Combo is another unit designed for deep water fishing. Along with its enhanced depth scanning capabilities, this unit also incorporates quite a palette of navigational features. So, here’s what you’ll get.
First of all, it’s equipped with a full color display, 8-inch in diagonal, with an 800H x 480V pixel resolution and backlight. It has Dual Beam Plus sonar with SwitchFire, which can be operated alternatively or simultaneously at two frequencies: 200 kHz with narrow, 20° sonar beam for focused results, or 83 kHz with a 60° beam, for a wider view. Of course, the Xtreme Depth sonar, which makes this unit capable of 3,000 ft. depths, has one frequency: 50 kHz, with a 74° view. The unit comes with a Transom XNT 9 DB 74 T standard transducer.
This unit can be upgraded with a Quadra Beam Plus sonar, for a better side to side water scan. However, it’s not Side Imaging, Down Imaging or 360 Imaging capable. It has a power output of 1000 Watts (RMS) / 8000 Watts (PTP). Sonar recording is also available with this unit.
In terms of navigational capabilities, the 959ci HD XD Combo has precision GPS, chartplotting and trackplotting, with the built-in Contour XD cartography pack. However, it’s Lakemaster and Navionics Platinum+, Gold and HotMaps capable, but it requires and additional SD card purchase. The unit’s memory can store up to 2,750 waypoints, 45 routes and 50 tracks (20,000 points each).
This unit also supports iPilotLink, Radar2 and NMEA2000, but none of these options are included. Of course, it has the basic features like most Humminbird fish finders, such as Selective FishID+ and temperature, but does not support WeatherSense, like the older models 998c SI Combo, or 1198c SI Combo.