Pretty good sale on Cabelas right now. $999. I want to upgrade/add because of vision issues. I currently have Elite Hdi 7's front and back. I have a Dr Sonar chip that maps my home lake. Since it's the only map currently available on my home lake, I generally like to have that on the screen especially when running around. Traditional sonar is faster than downscan soalso helpful as well as side scan/downscan. Problem is when I put all 3 on the screen, things get a little hard to see. It's also a pain to switch back and forth all the time. I was thinking about adding a FF at the console. It seem a lot of pros do this as well. I was planning on the HDI7  being the Dr sonar map and splitting the HDS9 between 2d sonar and downscan/sidescan. I've never installed a FF. Can this  be done?  Anyone have any experience w/ the Gen 2 HDS 9's?

I have gone from 5" to 7" and now 9" HDI touch Gen 2. can't afford 12's. so much easier on these 67 year old eyes. even without splitting the screen it's easier to see on the bigger screens, especially on the bow where there is more distance when your standing. you might be ok with 7's but if your like me you'll be wanting larger. I don't need side scan for the bow and don't really need to sync them so I have a 9" hook on the bow. you can still find good deals on Gen 2's but if you can afford it go with Gen 3's. or you can always put another 7" on the console and dedicate one to just mapping. I'm dangerous with tools and I had no trouble installing the units myself.

Gen 3's are out of my budget. The sale price on HDS 9 gen 2 is in my price range. One of the featrures I like is the Insight Genesis. Being able to build my own map would come in pretty handy since my home lake is mostly unmapped especially in the area that i fish in. Just wonder if anyone here had some actual experience with them. Or any experience hooking the 2 together.

i run have 2 hds 9 touches (gen2) on my boat. i love them. easy to use and have no problem seeing the screen. i actually bought 1 on the same sale at cabelas for 999. it doesnt come with the sidescan transucer tho. unless they changed the sale. only the downscan/sonar transducer. as far as install. its really easy. hardest part is snaking your wires/cables through. i actually put both my graphs on there own circuit. i went from the battery with 10 gauge wire direclty to an inline fuse a few inches from the battery. then to a switch at the console. then into a blue sea circuit fuse block. from there i hooked my console graph power cord directly to the fuse block. and ran 12 gauge wire to the bow graph. no voltage drops and no interference this way. and with the switch between the battery and the units i can cut all power to the graphs at any point if need be. youtube and google are your best friend with installs. you should have no problem setting them up on your own. as far as connecting the elite and the hds. i have no idea. i dont think you can share waypoints between the 2. not sure though.

 

it it was me id buy the hds 9 and then try and sell the 2 hdi7s and buy another 9. 

Thanks for the input.. I currently have 2 transducers. One for sidescan/downscan and the other is sonar. The sonar ducer went haywire on the last trip of the year in 2016. I had plans of replacing it this spring. I was hoping the ducer that comes w/ the HDS 9 would be compatable. I tried calling lowrance yesterday. It said "you the 9th caller". I was pressed for time so I hung up. I like your idea of selling the 2  HDI 7's. NJot sure if I can swing  that right now but that's an option down the road.

the transducer for the HDI 9 is the same as the HDI 7. broadband and down scan. you need the LSS 2 transducer for side scan. for the gen 2 HDI 9 you don't need the lss box.