The HELIX 5 CHIRP GPS G3 is one of the Humminbird fish finders released in 2021. It comes with quite a few improvements over the older model. First of all, it has Dual Spectrum CHIRP sonar rather than DualBeam Plus sonar. It also supports CoastMaster charts.
The unit comes with the XNT 9 HW T transducer which has a transom mount, 20 ft. (6m) of cable, and an internal temperature sensor. This is a High CHIRP transducer, though, and only supports the 200 kHz CHIRP range. The unit does support Low CHIRP (50 kHz) and Medium CHIRP (83 kHz), though.
The transducer casts conical beams with different beam angles, depending on the selected mode. For example, for the Narrow Mode, the beam has a coverage of 25°, while for the Wide Mode, the beam is 42°. The maximum depth range that can be reached with this transducer is 1,200 ft. (365 m).
The unit has a 10 Hz internal GPS. It comes pre-loaded with the Humminbird Basemap which covers more than 10,000 U.S. lakes and also offers coastal coverage. However, the unit also supports Navionics+, Navionics Platinum+, LakeMaster, LakeMaster+, CoastMaster, and SmartStrike charts.
The AutoChart Live feature is also available with this Humminbird fish finder. This feature allows you to record the depth contours of your favorite lake and create your own custom fishing charts.
The unit’s display has a 5-inch diagonal with a pixel resolution of 800H x 480V, and LED backlight. It does not have touchscreen technology. It also does not have superior networking features like NMEA 2000 or Ethernet. It only has three connectors on the back, one for the power cable, one for the transducer, and the COMs port to which you can connect an AIS unit. It also has a microSD card slot which you can load with various charts or with a Zero Lines card for AC Live.
Finally, the unit comes with the standard Gimbal mount. The in-dash mounting kit and a unit cover are not included.
