Next to the other G4N units, the HELIX 7 CHIRP MDI GPS G4 is one of the Humminbird fish finders released in 2021. As opposed to the older model, this one has a richer pixel resolution and supports the newer CoastMaster charts.
Since it’s a G4 unit (not a G4N), it does not have Ethernet or NMEA 2000 ports. It also does not have WiFi or Bluetooth. The only additional connector, apart from the one for the transducer and the one for the power cable, is the COMs port, which offers the possibility to connect an AIS unit to it. The unit does not support radar, i-Pilot Link, or MEGA Live Imaging.
The unit itself features a 7-inch display with a pixel resolution of 1024 x 600. It has LED backlight and a very easy-to-use interface. It does not have touchscreen technology, though.
The transducer included with the HELIX 7 CHIRP MEGA DI GPS G4 unit is the XNT 9 HW MDI 75 T. It features 20 ft. (6 m) of cable, a transom mount, and an internal temperature probe. It supports both sonar technologies built-in the unit – Dual Spectrum CHIRP and MEGA DI.
For the Dual Spectrum CHIRP sonar, the transducer casts conical beams. They have a coverage of 25° @ 180-240 kHz and 42° @ 140-200 kHz. The maximum depth range for the Dual Spectrum CHIRP sonar is 1,200 ft (365 m). For the Down Imaging sonar, the transducer cast thin oval beams. The regular DI beam is 75° and can reach a depth up to 350 ft. (106 m). The MEGA DI beam has a similar angle but with a maximum depth range of 125 ft. (38 m). The unit also offers a wide range of sonar features and functions including Circular Flasher, Structure ID, A-Scope, Bottom Lock, Selective Fish ID, Sonar Recording, and more.
Finally, this Humminbird unit is also a chartplotter. It comes with the Humminbird Basemap but also supports charts from Navionics and LakeMaster. It also supports the newer CoastMaster charts, and SmartStrike fishing charts. It has the AutoChart Live feature for bathymetric mapping. The built-in GPS sensor operates at 10 Hz which means that the unit provides position updates 10 times per second.
