LX3 Help

[AK1990]

I purchased a LX3 last month from Cabelas. I used it for the first time this past weekend. After 45 minutes the flasher went blank except for the water surface red bar. That put a real damper on my fishing. I could hear the transducer working. Cabelas will return it. Question is should I try another LX3 or go with the FL18. I love the features of the LX3. I just don't know if this was a fluke or a sign of things to come. Any one else have this problem? I am new to this forum and appreciate all the good information!

[LaqueDuBios]

Great Job everyone who contributed after my post. Sorry if I started a little up-roar. My intention was not to ruffle anyone's feathers.

I can't tell you how nice it is to get a little deeper into the heart of this subject. Hopefully that's not irritating for anyone. But for me, I have to agree with Mankato-Ice-Man. It seems like everytime we see a post about this topic we see the same features posted over and over again. Does this really help someone decide what unit to buy? I don't think so. It's nice, but we can figure out the different features by going to each companies web site or by simply reading the box. I think the value we can gain in a forum like this one is hearing about how the products perform in "real life." It's re-freshing to see honesty like that found in post from wgsma. Yes, the unit is basically superior over everything else currently out on the market. And yes, there may be random units out there that are going to have technical problems early on. (I do trust wgsma is telling the truth and the problems we are hearing about are not common or typical). I also do think that it's true people are going to be a bit more critical of a product when it is still fairly new. And, the fact that wgsma says they work their tail's off to satisfy customers that do encounter problems really impresses me. It is definately making me think again about which unit I'm gonna drop three hundo on this weekend. That being said, there is nothing that can take away the reliabilty that comes with the name Vexilar. I honestly hope Marcum can develop that same kind of reputation. That's good for everyone (especially us fisherman). But that can't happen overnight and we need to recognize that.

One more thing. I'm incrediably sorry if I offended anyone by implying that there are those who use this forum to boast about LX3's only because they are on Marcum's payroll. I had jumped to that conclusion and that was some what arrogant and perhaps misleading to some.

Thanks again to everyone for being so forth-coming and for talking about the real advantages and the real disadvantages of each unit. I don't know if there is much more we can beat out of this dead horse. I feel fully informed. Thank You.

[Paul Waldowski]

Big Sky,

The answer to that is nothing! Notta! Zilch!

We use them, because we believe in them. A good (or bad) example would be a recent aerator that we had on this site, after extensive testing the product didn't live up to its billing. It was promptly pulled from this site.

We try very hard to only bring you the best in equipment and info. That is what we have built our reputation on.

Good Fishin'

------------------
Paul
[email protected]
Marcum
Otter Outdoors

[mark n]

I'd have to stand up and clap my hands after that one,..finally someone points out what I thought was obvious

[rockhardinmn]

firist off i am not tied to marcum in any way except the lx-3 i got on sale last spring on sale . i also very interested in seeing the 560 cam when i get the chance . i also have owed and used till i bought the LX a hondex FL8.. for those of you that dont know this unit was also a microna and also 1st selling as a sitex be fore that . did i have any problems with that old FL? sure i did . did i toss it aside and run out to buy a updated one ? nope that old Fl is now my back up or for guests to use .
Now for the Marcum. as MJ said above, it will help me because of the ways i fish . the benfits of the Lx3 in the ways i fish is why i chose it over the FL 18,, i havent had any problems with the unit it self at all. Personally i love it, just as i love my wife and kids . does this mean that there are things that couldnt be improved with the LX ? you bet there is , If any of you gents that work for Marcum want to know about any of these improvements justs ask . i was lucky enough to have been able to play with both FL18 and LX3 before i made up my mind on the Lx3..

[fisherdog19]

wgmsa, don't get me wrong, I love my LX3 and when my first one failed I promply returned it for a new one. I didn't even think of switching to an FL18. I've used both units and the LX3 has much better detail and the adjustable zoom is great for suspended fish. I do how ever have a record in my sent emails folder of my email I sent to Marcum dated 1/1/04 at 9:16 pm, maybe it didn't get through or something. Either way, I got a new unit and just got back from using while chasing crappies. I didn't mean to offend you in any way, I was just disappointed that my email was not returned, and as I said earlier, it may not have gotten through. I will continue to use my LX3 and let anyone who wants to know, what a great unit it is. Thank you for your concern, I see that you take your job very seriously.

Fisherdog

[Dan Wood]

Your right, these topics always seem to go off track in a hurry. That is unfortunate. This appears to be an isolated incident from the response I got back from MarCum. They have seen very few issues on these units. I know the issue from this post wasn't one of these cases, but you have to understand what some of these units go through. These units are seriously neglected by some people - left in trucks all winter, dropped off snowmobiles, etc. You have to expect there will be issues with a product of this type on occassion. It doesn't matter the brand, you will always have some incidents. MarCum and Vex. do both make excellent products and you can be sure that they will both stand behind their product 100%.

Sorry if we go a bit over the edge at times, but it is only because we feel that strongly in the MarCum. I bought a MarCum last season after doing extensive research and could not have been happier with the unit. I joined with their ProStaff this year after using the product last season. And again, no, I'm not payed by MarCum. We choose to be with MarCum, because they have the best product, period. FishingMinnesota chooses MarCum because they have the best unit available. This site lives on giving out good, solid, reliable information to users. That is what we do. That doesn't mean the competition isn't good, but the majority feel the MarCum has a clear edge.

Don't be fooled into thinking the competition doesn't have ProStaff doing the exact same thing, as Rick noted, they do.

[Hastings gal]

I posted a while back that my LX-3 battery did not seem to be quite right. I chose to go out and buy a new (spare) battery for it. The problem I have is I have not had enough time on the ice to go thru both batteries to see if anything is wrong with the original battery or not. I do know that it did charge overnight two weeks ago. I will be using both of them on URL for the 4 day weekend I'm taking and will post when I get back. My fishing partner "The Hubby" has an older clearwater classic that will not work right unless I press the IR button 6 times so this feature is running all of the time on my unit - until I can talk him into not fishing with me or he buys himself and LX-3 also. I like mine alot. Keep Smiling.

[thirtysomething]

Hey Big Sky,

I was like you, very happy with my Fl-8. I assure you all, my payroll is totally non fishing related. I made the switch to Marcum basically for the zoom features.

Thanks to all of you who helped with my power problem a couple weeks ago.

Everyone is right in this case. Both are great products. Choose the features that apply to you.

All I can say is the zoom is awesome and when I'm boxed in with two Vex's my IR is clean as a whistle, while they have problems.

Good luck in which ever you choose. I'm sure you'll be happy.

30?

[thirtysomething]

Hey Hastings Gal,

I had an early season power problem. I got great advise from the site. In the end I let mine charge for three days straight.

I also have a spare battery. With Marcum's charging system, you can plug it and forget it. I loaded that one up as well.

Good luck this weekend. I'll be there too. I'm starting in the Walker are tomorrow (Friday), then URL all day Saturday, finally I'll be watching the playoffs on Winnie, come Sunday.

Good Fishin'

[Corey Bechtold]

No matter what you buy, Ford/Chevy, Vexilar/LX-3, in life there is always a chance for problems. All it comes down to is who is going to take care of us the comsumer, and do what it takes to keep us happy. If Marcum takes care of you then they deserve your business. Nobody is perfect. Good Fishin'

[Big Sky]

Thanks guys. I guess I didn't consider the Marcum much due to my years of happiness with the FL-8. My buddy had a Clearwater Classic and at times we chose to use his unit over mine. His died after a few years. Then the company changed and I all but forgot about that option. Now that my Vex is reaching the same fate, I have to make a decision here and like to know there are other viable options. I'm just a cautious consumer and need to feel my $ is going to the right product.

[Scott Steil]

Fisherdog, you have complained about MarCum's customer service before. The last time you complained I asked you what email address you sent your question to? I still haven't recieved and answer to my question to you.

[fisherdog19]

Scott, I sent the email directly to MarCum's customer service off of their HSOforum. I didn't complain before and am not complaining now, just stating what I have experienced. The topic I started earlier only stated that my LX3 was not working and that I hadn't heard from MarCum yet which was 1/2/04 (really wasn't expecting any reply until after the New Year's weekend), and didn't know if I should wait for a reply or just return it to Cabela's. That was my main question and I decided to return it to Cabela's because I was going fishing that weekend. I only stated a week or so later that I still hadn't heard from them.

Fisherdog

[Guest]

I'm here answering Marcum emails on Saturday morning. Fisherdog like I said a few days ago I did not get your email. For that I appologize. Is your unit working? Are you happy with the product?

[muchowja]

Big Sky. Were you satisfied with how long you had your FL-8? The FL-18 should last you just as long since it is very similar. The Marcum is still an unknown quantity as far as how long they will hold up. That is the reason I bought an 18. I don't think one will help you catch more fish than the other.

[fisherdog19]

wgmsa, my new LX3 is working fine and I'm very, very satisfied with it. I appreciate your concern and if I have a problem in the future, I will contact you immediately.

Fisherdog

[Guest]

Cool, True story, Fished near Nestor Falls Ontario in driving wind and heavy snow outside. Lost the LX3 off the back of the sled went back and found it. Next morning awake to minus 18 fish outside on the ice all day temp never gets above 10 below. Unit worked well never had a battery problem.

[Ya Hey Der]

I was in the market for a new flasher this year and after reading most of the posts about the lx3 and the vexilar, I decided to purchase the lx3. This past weekend, for the first time this since I got my lx3, I was able to really utilize the variable column lock. I fished a lake where the crappies (I think they were crappies, could have been those darn floating rocks) were suspended 10 - 15 feet off the bottom. I zoomed in and locked in. It was really cool to be able to do this even though they wouldn't bite. I've got to say that I am mostly satsified with this unit. I am happy with the crispness, and the adjustable column lock. However, if I could change one thing with this unit it would have to be the three colors. Most of the time, it looks like a two color flasher but there are times when I can faintly make out a third color. I guess this will take some getting use to. I think Marcum might be interested in looking into this and possibly find a more distinguishable way of showing the 3 colors.

I have a question regarding the battery. How many hours can I use this unit on a full charge. I really like the bottom lock, so I would have to say that I use this feature 95% of the time. The reason I am asking is that I charged this to 100% Friday night and took it out on the ice on Saturday. I fished from 8:30 am to 11 am, the charge indicator showed 70% at 11 am. I then went to a different lake and fished from 11:45 to around 1 pm. The charge indicator showed 50% at 1 pm. Then I fished from around 2:30pm to 6:45 pm and the charge indicator showed 20%. The funny thing was, when I shut the unit off each time, the charge indicator showed around 20% more than when it was being used. Why does this do that?
So all in all, I had 20% left(that's what the indicator showed when the unit was on right before I turned it off at 6:45pm) on the battery after 8 hours of use, is this average? Just wondering if I have to bring 3 batteries when I go on a 3 day fishing trip. Sorry to ramble on but just wondering how many hours I can expect to use my lx3 after a full charge.
Thanks!

[Scott Steil]

Ya Hey, your battery meter is reading draw. Similar to the way any battery indicator in a boat works. If you check your battery life while the product is running it will read falsly low, because of draw.

Shut the unit off if you want to know the real reading. Also, you will notice that it will stay at 20% charge for a long time when you have the unit on.

When guiding we run 10-12 hour days. I have never run out of battery power in a day of fishing. Granted the unit is not on all 12 hours, we run them a long time though.

------------------
Mille Lacs Guide Service
(320)293-3287
www.millelacsguideservice.com

[Ya Hey Der]

Hey Scott,
Thanks for the info! I guess I have had more battery life left than I thought. Good to know!
Thanks again!

[This message has been edited by Ya Hey Der (edited 01-19-2004).]

[Surface Tension]

This weekend I racked up 17 hours using my MarCum with one battery. Still had juice left when I turned it off and headed home. The LCD indicator displays in increments of 10. Mine read 0 so I would think it's anywhere from 9-0 percent of a charge left. Like what was mentioned earlier, turn the MarCum off for a while and the charge indicator will be fairly accurate.

[LaqueDuBios]

Sorry to keep bumping this string to the top, but I felt inclined to post 1 last time. I thought the readers of this forum might be interested in knowing the sceptic, doubting Thomas, ect has finally seen the light. I went out and bought a flasher this weekend and my $400 went towards an LX-3! I used it right away that evening and it worked great. There are really are some nice features that it has that the Vex doesn't offer and that display is sooo crisp. I couldn't be happier with my purchase!

Thanks Rick, wgmsa and everyone else who helped me make an informed and wise decision about what unit to buy. I hope everyone can forgive me if I sounded like a dink in some of my previous posts. And wgmsa hopefully you won't be getting any e-mails from me, but I know if you do you will take care of me like a champ! Thanks.

[CNY Tim]

The MarCum 7 amp. battery get's the job done. However if you run accessories 'lighting' off the same battery you will need a little more juice and having 2 extra amps in reserve is a nice back-up..
I can't say enough about the Helios 9 amp. gell cell battery. Yesterday I fished 8 hours and when I got done it was at 80% on the DCS well by the time I got home about an hour later and the battery recovered from load due to the warmth of the vehicle it was back at 100%. I bought two 9 amp. batteries for piece of mind one for my LX-3 and the other for my FL-18.

Where are you gonna go for under $20?

Copy and paste the link below for a great bargain at batteries.com
I passed this along to the ice team guys as well. I am not affiliated with batteries.com I just found a great bargain on the web and so far this season the Helios has been fantastic. Also there is a one year warranty.
http://www.batteries.com/productprofile.asp?appid=294033&prodid=14392&drilldown=294033&mfgdsc=&mfgcode=ALL&modelno=12V%2F+9Ah&groupname=Sealed+Lead+Acid&groupcode=SLA&SID=FE6764B71 C1E4BC580F3D2C41F769EDF