Images to 320 feet with a pair of sonar frequencies in a lightweight package at a very low price in comparison with other fish finders, what more could you ask for in a fish finder?
The answer to that question depends on many factors, but if price and functionality are your two main considerations, the Humminbird Piranhamax 4 DI might fit the bill.
This Humminbird Piranhamax 4 DI review will take you through the positives and negatives of this efficient, low-cost device.
Humminbird Piranhamax 4 Features
This small footprint fish finder has all the basic functions you’ll need out on the water. The 4.3-inch diagonal screen is smaller than many competing modes but has a higher high definition image quality than competing lower price models with a 480×272 pixel display.
The down imagining sonar along with dual beams returns clear images to 320 feet (97.54 m) in freshwater.
These fish finders support two sonar frequencies at 200 and 455 kHz.
The simple four-button, keypad control that Humminbird is known for offers a simple way to scroll through and select the options you need.
A menu button brings up the options set, with up and down buttons that allow you to move through the menu options. A simple check button to the right of the up and down buttons allows you to select your options easily.
These fish finders have a small 3.91×7.34×3.62 inch footprint and are designed for the transducer to be mounted on the transom.
The drawback to this simple fish finder is that it doesn’t have any expansion capability since there is no SD card slot, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth interface.
The Humminbird Piranhamax 4 down imaging fish finders are designed to just allow viewing of underwater structures and to locate fish.
Does the Humminbird PiranhaMAX 4 DI Come With a Transducer?
Yes, this unit comes with an XNT-9-DI-T transom mount transducer.
Down imaging sonar means you get to see what is directly beneath your position on the water, whether it is from a boat, kayak, rubber raft, or even a float tube. The same is true if you’re using the Humminbird Piranhamax 4 down imaging fish finders for ice fishing.
Dual conical sonar beams angled at 28 and 16 degrees provide overlapping sonar fields with 200 and 455 kHz frequencies. With more advanced fish finders, the dual beams can be used at the same time, but that’s not possible with the Humminbird Piranhamax 4 di. You’ll have to use either the wider angled 28 degree or the narrower 16-degree features.
This unit does not have CHIRP sonar technology but has a 2.5-inch target separation feature that differentiates between fish and floating vegetation with good accuracy. The down imaging sonar provides excellent viewing of underwater structures, allowing you to determine if that’s a rock shelf or a sunken tree as you pass over. That’s an important feature since submerged trees are a favorite hangout of largemouth bass, perch, and walleye. They harbor baitfish and where the baitfish are, that’s where you’ll locate the larger predatory species that anglers seek.
The down imaging sonar has a depth capability of 320 feet (ca. 98 m).
If you want to go to the maximum range of the Humminbird Piranhamax 4 di at 600 feet (0.18 km), you’ll have to switch to the 2D sonar.
The screen, augmented by Humminbird’s proprietary Fish ID+ feature and has a bottom view and structure ID selections to choose from on the display.
Does the Humminbird PiranhaMAX 4 DI have GPS?
You can’t plot maps, there is no GPS interface, so there is no route charting or location controls. Any hot spot you find full of walleye, perch, or trout will have to be committed to memory since the Humminbird Piranhamax 4 di doesn’t allow the plotting or recording of waypoints.
Without GPS, you can’t monitor speed, but there is a temperature sensor on the XNT 9 DI transom mount transducer that allows tracking bands of similar temperature water, which can be a great way to find specific species of fish.
How Does the Humminbird PiranhaMAX 4 Work?
The screen displays good images of fish, but with the small screen size, some anglers won’t be able to see those images clearly without reading glasses. A good alternative is to set the built-in fish alarm, which sends an audible tone when a fish comes into the sonar field. A bottom sound sensor can also be set if you’re looking for a specific depth capability for bottom bouncing, jigging, or still fishing with bait off the bottom.
On the plus side, this is a very useful fish finder at a very low price. It has more features than the bargain-basement basic models, since it offers dual sonar.
The device can reach depths of 600 feet (182.88 m) in freshwater in 2D sonar mode. It has Humminbird’s time-tested, durable, efficient XNT 9 down imaging transom mount transducer and is easy to use. Just click a few buttons, and you’ll be at the setting you need.
Many anglers enjoy the touch screen technology of newer, more expensive fish finders, but you’ll never have to wash fish guts off your fingers to get the Humminbird Piranhamax 4 di to respond. The simple four push-button interfaces work even while wearing gloves in cold weather conditions.
The interface is easy to use, it doesn’t take time to learn with its basic intuitive menu and once it is set, it stays on the option you want.
Perhaps the best feature is portability, making it a favorite for anglers using small boats, float tubes, canoes, or kayaks and on the ice during the winter months.
Where the Humminbird PiranhaMAX 4 DI Falls Short
You won’t be able to upgrade these fish finders. It is a classic WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get)
There is no SD card slot, it doesn’t have Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or wireless connectivity. As a result, there is no way to upgrade the software or more importantly for many anglers, to download maps, use secondary software, or create your own maps.
Without GPS you can’t create waypoints, record locations, or interface with third-party software to download maps already created for the water you are fishing.
This is a simple, easy-to-operate fish finder that does the job the device is intended, to do, helping you identify fish.
What Can the Humminbird Piranhamax 4 DI Do?
We’ve spent a bit of time listing the things this basic fish finder can’t do, but there are many more things that it can accomplish.
The dual-beam sonar offers wide and narrow coverage. What that means is the wide coverage can follow underwater contours, locate outcroppings, sunken trees, concrete pillars, and other underwater structures.
The narrow beam finds fish. It can provide clear views of both small and large fish.
The Humminbird Piranhamax 4 di was released in 2016 as an improvement on the Humminbird Piranhamax 197 c. It kept all the features of that durable model with a wider screen, higher definition graphics, and a more durable weather-resistant screen.
The improved 4.3-inch screen offers a 256 color TFT display. It might seem strange, but the backlighting feature provides greater image readability in direct sunlight and on cloudy, moonless nights.
The backlight feature compensates for the glare of direct sunlight while providing a reduced glare image in total darkness.
If you do drop the Humminbird Piranhamax 4 di in three feet of water or less, it can stay there for up to 30 minutes without damage. This waterproof feature is handy in all seasons of the year. It can handle mist blowing off the bow when you’re moving at high speed on the water, rain, snow, and sleet don’t affect it which is a great feature since the best fishing is often during a rain or snow squall.
The weatherproof feature makes it a popular model for ice fishing as well.
Alternatives
Although we believe the Humminbird Pirahnamax 4 DI is a solid fish finder, especially considering the price, we have listed out a few other fish finders in the same category that have some more advanced features.
$329.00$201.68Shop on Amazon Shop on BluewaterThe Hook Reveal 5 is an excellent unit that lets you scan in both 3d and 2d to get down super deep. Get down to 1000 feet in 2d and 300 feet in 3d.
03/24/2024 02:40 pm GMT
Shop on Amazon Shop on BluewaterFor the price, you can’t beat the Striker 4 by Garmin. Versatility and expandability are the hallmarks of this little unit and why it is a contender for the best fish finder for bass.
Humminbird Piranhamax 4 DI Review Conclusion
You can spend a lot more money on a fish finder. This product is five years old, which is an eternity in the fast-paced world of angling technology, but the broad fan base of happy users tells you it is a device worth considering.
Basic features, with dual sonar imaging, at two different angles with depths of 320 and 600 feet (182.88 m) imaging available in freshwater takes care of just about any lake you’ll find. You might fish lakes deeper than 600 feet (182.88 m), but odds are you’re not dropping 200 yards (182.88 m) of line into the water with the hopes of pulling up some freshwater monster from that depth.
Easy to use, durable, clear display, sound alarms for fish and bottom readings, lightweight for use in ice fishing, and with a proven track record makes this one of the best fish finders for the money.
For the price, you can’t go wrong.
For more guidance on choosing your next fish finder, check out the pages below:
