Hummingbird Matrix 97 Any Experince With

Posting for a friend who has found one of these. Has anyone used this unit. I know it is a dependable one but what can one expect. My buddie is looking to add a inexpensive unit on the bow to spot weedlines etc. Some have named this unit a "poor man's side finder' Hopefully someone will read this that has ahd some experience with it. My buddie realizes it is old technology. Thanks and Happy New Year.

[Shellback]

Other than being B/W, I don't think it's technology is that old for a standard sonar unit. I've seen a few in action, I thought they looked pretty good. I think H/B still includes that unit with their software updates. I see I was mistaken about not being a color unit. It must have been a different # Matrix I saw.

[WALLEYE651]

i have had a matrix 97 since they first came out and i am very happy with it the screen is big enough and it is color not black and white

I have a Hummingbird Matrix 97 and I just love it. It is not black and white but full color and I think it has 5 inch screen size. At the time I bought, it it had better capibilties than any Lowrance product costing 400.00 more. I have 2 different frequency tranducers and the unit has performed excellent including the GPS capabilities and split screen dual frequency mode. We used it in Canada in 2006 and fished 6 miles away from camp while returning late at night in pitch black darkness and the GPS brought us 10 foot from the launch site. I have used it in shallow water for walleye and deep water for salmon including tracking the downrigger balls and the unit never fais l to impress me. I have ugraded the software once and it was super easy. If I remember right, I bought mine when they first came out in 2005 after I sold my Lowrance 350 on ebay for 550 and added 200 for the price of the Matrix 97 at that time. I have the map cartridge but I forget who makes it but I paid 100.00 bucks. this unit has performed flawlessly but I'm sure in 2011 there are better units for 750 dollars but this Matrix 97 is what I'm going to run until it dies.

Now that I think of it, I have never been skunked since I have been running this unit and have used it for picking up hot summer schools of suspended crappie hanging at 23 feet over 34 feet of water and then jigged live minnows to nail them.

I believe you would of gotten the Matrix 97 with the with the dual beam transducer. According to the specs on the Matrix 97 on the Hummingbird website. Did the unit show which side of the transducer the fish were on for example. Thinking my buddie is going to put the unit on the bow of his boat on the trolling motor he wants to see fish and structure side to side. He has got a 97 spotted and wants to try and get a smoking deal on it. I have encouraged him to look at the new Lowrance and Hummingbird units with down imaging too. Thanks

[WALLEYE651]

it will not tell you what side the fish is on that is much newer technoligy but if you can get a good deal on this unit and it is still working correctly i wouldn't be afraid of it , it is still a impressive sonar/gps

To do side scanning with a Matrix 97 you need to purchase a side scanning transducer and a trMatrix 97 will do side scanning with the addition of the side scanning
transducer switch of which i did, I just don't use the side scanning transducer much but it will do it perfectly.

Are you refering to the quadra beam transducer? the Hummingbird site lists that as an option.
What did the images look like?

Thank S



QUOTE=doctalk;1259177]To do side scanning with a Matrix 97 you need to purchase a side scanning transducer and a trMatrix 97 will do side scanning with the addition of the side scanning
transducer switch of which i did, I just don't use the side scanning transducer much but it will do it perfectly.[/QUOTE]

The quadra beam transducer will scan both sides of the boat no problem. With the transducer switch you can switch back to the low and high frequency standard tranducer.