Lowrance LCX-27c

[badfisherman]

Do anyone of you have this unit? I just bought mine today at the bargin cave at Cabela's. I havn't even had it in the water yet. I noticed it has a radar page but I couldn't make it work. You guys know anything about it. I-[PoorWordUsage]-u-me the map page is just like my h20? and the sonar is just like my old one (it better be better though). The 220 page manual doesn't say much about radar though. So please fill me in if you have any knowledge.

Thanks again guys I'd be lost without this forum!!!!

[Jim Almquist]

That is a additional electronic to add on to the network if you would like it to work. I looked at the cost and it is pretty expensive but it sure would be nice to have. If you go to there HSOforum you can see all models that are compatible with your unit.

[Valv]

You cannot have radar reception unless you have a radar dome/antenna. The are between $ 1500 and $ 2500.

Unit works pretty good except in shallow waters.

[Jim Almquist]

Valv do these units use the water for some type of reflection of the signal or just reception of it ? The only reason I ask is because of them not working properly in shallow water.

[LMITOUT]

I have the 28cHD which is essentially the same as the 27 except it has a hard drive and it works fine in shallow water. All you should have to do is turn the sensitivity down to help with the shallow water issues some have, but I run mine in manual mode all the time so it's no big deal to me. I like to tweak and adjust the gain up and down depending on where I'm at.

Probably wouldn't hurt to check to see if it has the most recent updates from Lowrance, although I know I'm running firmware that is a few revisions behind what is currently available and it works so why change it.

Enjoy your new graph!

[vikingmeatwad]

how much did you find it for there? were there any others?

[Musky_Madness]

Nothing on-line....I just checked. Not sure about the stores though.

[Tuds75]

I'm also wondering how much you got it for? Just curious because I picked up the same unit at the same Cabelas (Rogers I'm assuming) in the bargin cave. I got mine for $450 and the unit was brand spanking new, never out the box.

Hope you got just as good a deal and you'll love the unit.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

I'm also wondering how much you got it for? Just curious because I picked up the same unit at the same Cabelas (Rogers I'm assuming) in the bargin cave. I got mine for $450 and the unit was brand spanking new, never out the box.

Hope you got just as good a deal and you'll love the unit.

Wow, that's a great deal!

[badfisherman]

what?? I paid $559 at the rogers store New in box. they had a bunch more

[Tuds75]

Let me clarify I bought my LCX-27 in February when most people were still thinking about ice fishing. I actually was looking at a 522C unit for $450 that was right next to the LCX-27 that was $470. I had to do a double take thinking I misread the price on the LCX, but it was correct. And if the $470 wasn't low enough I bargained an extra $20 off of the price.

I've never seen the LCX-27 that low since, but I guess sometimes it pays to be in the right spot at the right time. Anyways I hope you are enjoying your unit.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

what?? I paid $559 at the rogers store New in box. they had a bunch more

Still a great deal for the 7" screen unit.

[SM1]

Did that also include transducer and external GPS puck?

If so, good thing you didnt buy it last summer like I did...paid over twice as much. This was right before they came out with the HDS units.

I had to work some bugs out of my 27 but it is now working great and I like it.

[badfisherman]

yes it came with a trancducer and the gps "puck". So far I love it. It marks fish really well and the gps finds satelites almost instantly when I turn it on.

[Tuds75]

I had to work some bugs out of my 27 but it is now working great and I like it.

Just wondering some of the "bugs" you had to work out and how you went about it. The only real problem I am having with the unit is doesn't get a great bottom reading at high speeds, but that is not much a problem and most likely that is a motor/prop and transducer placement problem.

[badfisherman]

when I hooked mine up I found an empty spot on the fuse block and powered it right there. when I start the boat sometimes the unit will turn off other times it wont. any ideas what is going on?

[TR21]

Tuds75,

What is your ping speed set at. If it's not set high enough you will lose readings at high speed.

[Tuds75]

Tuds75,

What is your ping speed set at. If it's not set high enough you will lose readings at high speed.

I'm pretty sure my ping speed is set at 90-100, but I can't be sure since I am not near my boat. But I'll make sure to double check the ping when I'm on my boat next. Should it be maxed out at 100 or is there a better setting for the reading at high speeds.

Badfish, I noticed that problem with my LCX-27. Just the last few times on the water, the unit has turned off when I start up the boat. I am able to turn it back on right away, I just associated that problem with my battery running low, but since you are having a similar problem, maybe there is something to it. I am curious to see what other know about this problem.

[TR21]

Tuds75,

I checked with a friend of mine that is a marine mechanic and you are probably right. He said if you are losing bottom contact at high speeds its usually cavitation or air bubble interference with the transducer. It could also be main motor interference. I have a through the hull transducer on my Triton and I seem to lose bottom sometimes at high speed on my HDS5 as well. Could be an upgrade problem but I think I'm having the same problem with the transducer as you might be having.

[Mid-Lake Rock]

I installed my 27 this spring and had problems right off the bat that I've been able to correct.

I had issues with finding bottom at high speed. I moved the transducer a little further from the outboard and it solved the problem. I have my ping speed set at 75% most of the time.

The unit would also turn off when I turned the key for the outboard. I started simple and cleaned the terminals on my battery and applied a heavy dose of dielectric grease. This has not been an issue since I cleaned the terminals in April.

One other thing to note for 27 users is that Lowrance posted a new software update for the 27 on July 29. It is version 2.5.0.

[SM1]

Originally Posted By: SM1

I had to work some bugs out of my 27 but it is now working great and I like it.

Just wondering some of the "bugs" you had to work out and how you went about it. The only real problem I am having with the unit is doesn't get a great bottom reading at high speeds, but that is not much a problem and most likely that is a motor/prop and transducer placement problem.

Here is what I had to work through with my LCX-27c since buying it last summer.

PROBLEMS:

1. Graph shuts off when I start the main motor.

2. GPS module not responding..intermittent problem.

3. Loose bottom signal at high speed/planed out. Anything over 20+MPH.

4. Loose bottom in shallow weedy water.

5. No bottom resolution in 35'+ with soft bottom.

I think that's all the main ones..

Solutions:

1. At first I thought it was a bad starting battery, or should I say too low MCA's (marine cranking amps), CCA (Cold cranking amps)and other battery capacity (because the batt was new). The battery that was in the boat when I bought it was a 600 mca. So I spent the $$ and got a new 1000 mca-didnt fix the problem. I have a 115hp 2-stoke on a lund fisherman where I had the graph power hooked into one of the dash accessory switches. Apparently there was enough of a voltage drop to kill the graph when I would turn over the big motor. I also wanted to put some interior lights and other new stuff in the boat..and had no more acc switches to use because others were being used for radio's and such. I then got a separate 4-switch block from the big-C and installed it and hooked the graph power to that. By doing this I essentially hooked the power directly to the battery and got it on a separate power source as the ignition. Since then my graph has not shut off when I start my big motor.

2. Went to a heavier gage wire to power the graph and antenna and re-did the connection. I originally had 16 ga and bumped it up to 14 ga. I may not have had a great connection to begin with but I have had no problems since the fix.

3. First off make sure its not directly behind a row of rivets as this will cause air bubbles and a little cavitations. I think I have mine in the center between two rows and I have a good stream of water while on plane. Since I was ok there, I Lowered the transducer straight down. Start with lowering it about 1/8" and test it to see what the graph shows. Lower again if the first adjustment didnt work. I almost always run my ping speed at 100 also. Now I have a great signal at 30-40mph where before I had almost nothing.

4. Updated the software from version 1.8.0 to version 2.4.0. Lowrance added a shallow water mode that helped take care of this problem. I think there is a 2.5.0 version out here as of recently. Playing with sensitivity can help with this also.

5. After storing the boat in cold storage(head unit stayed inside and out of the cold) my unit lost overall resolution this spring. I would have the sensitivity @100 and have a hard time seeing bottom in 35'+ and would never see fish arches. At first I thought it could be a software thing with shallow water mode or another graph setting, but lowrance sent me a replacement and it ended up being a bad transducer. I now rarely have the sens over 65, and thats in 50-60'. From now on when I store my boat, I am going to take off the transducer and GPS antenna just to be safe.

Sorry for the lengthy post but hopefully some can find it helpful. Im no mechanic, and my solutions may not work for all, but now my 27 just sings! Its nice to finally have everything working on it like it should..because they can work great!

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Dang! Sort of makes a guy want to go back to marker buoys

(nice post)

[Musky_Madness]

Amazing how spending a couple hundred dollars to get a good unit requires so much more time compared to the ol fashioned flasher.

[Tuds75]

One other thing to note for 27 users is that Lowrance posted a new software update for the 27 on July 29. It is version 2.5.0.

Is the best way to get this update on my LCX-27, is the download it from Lowrance.com to my computer and then put it from my computer to a memory card and then install it from the memory card to the LCX?

Or is there another/simpler way to get the software update?

Thanks in Advance.

[LMITOUT]

That's the way I do it.

[delcecchi]

That sounds pretty simple to me. That way you don't have to hook the sonar up to the computer directly. That would be a huge pain.