Lowrance 522Cigps

[golfer]

Hi guys. I am wondering if anyone has ever used their Lowrance LMS 522 CiGPS for ice fishing. I think there is a portable power pack that can be purchased to make it usable for ice fishing. Any information would be great. I know that the vexilar is the standard but don't have the $300 - $500 to spend. The ppp-16i can be purchased for ~$170.

Thanks.

[PerchJerker]

It works okay.

Battery life is not the best especially if you have the screen on the brighter settings ----- and the interference rejection isn't on the same level as the ice fishing flashers (which is only an issue if you're fishing in close proximity to other electronics).

Regarding marking your bait and target separation I think you will be happy with the performance of the 522.

[peerchking]

I have used eagle 502c for two years ice fishing. It works realy good once you get the settings figured out. I built a little box to hold a vex size battery that lasts all day no problem. I would get the ice ducer ($100). Then you also have your favrite spots and the lake maps on your gps side of the unit.

[riverwader]

I have the lowrance 520 for the boat and last year I picked up the ice fishing kit for it. I got it for $160. That included ice ducer, battery, case, and charger. I really like some of the features. I use it on graph mostly since you have a little bit of a history on the screen. It does take some getting used to and a little setup for each lake but once you get it setup it works out well.

[golfer]

So if I'm in a fishhouse with someone with a vexilar, will the interference be bad enough that I will wish I had a vexilar too or is there a setting to help reduce the noise on the lowrance?

Thanks.

[PerchJerker]

The few times I've used a 522 we were out on the ice hole hopping, not close enough to anyone else for interference. I've never tried using a 522 in a house with a flasher so I can't say how successful you'll be in tuning out the interference.

On the 522 I think you only have 4 levels of adjustment (off, low, med, high) in the noise filter in the sonar setup menu. Hopefully someone that's used the 522 in a house with a flasher can chime in too.

[Ed Carlson]

If you develop cross talk interference on the 522 from a flasher or multiple flasher units near you, yes you will have some issues, and it may be a pain to sort out.

It will very likely take some cooperation with the flasher user next to you to help tune it out. They may need to change the IR on there unit, and/or maybe need to switch to a narrow beam angle if they have a duel beam ducer. By eliminating the beam overlap, you should eliminate the 200 khz crosstalk.

[MinnGuy]

Last winter I was in a small ice house with my brother in law who uses his 520 with the normal transducer. My Vexilar FL-12 was useless due to the interference. I don't know if you can tweak the settings to avoid the problems. I was too busy fishing to mess with it.

[Chode2235]

I use my 334 (older version of the 522) and have had great success with it. The only time I have had interference issues is sitting right next to an LX-5. And you can get it mostly worked out by tuning the noise rejection settings. Usually, as MinnGuy pointed out, other people have noise from you. But they can tweak the IR on their unit to get rid of it.

Battery works fine, granted it goes quicker than a flasher battery but I have never run out of juice over a heavy fished weekend. You can turn the GPS off too, that saves a ton of juice.

I love the graph display and find it to be superior to the flasher in many ways.

I do love having the GPS and map chip in my unit as it makes for a great package in getting out on the ice and getting to your spot.

I have been very happy with my icemachine, and would be happy to answer additional questions. I wouldnt trade it for any flasher.

[fishmaster LOW]

I agree completely with Chode - I have been using my LMS-332c for about 3-4 years now mounted on a Genz Blue Box. Works really slick and you get about 15-20 seconds of history in case you look away from the unit. Say if I am fishing a small jig with a red bead on the line directly above it... When I drop that setup down the hole the bead will sink slower than the jig and ride up the line a few feet... I can see that on the screen... I would agree that there may be some interference issues every once in a while - I have fished with buddies that have Marcum and Vex units I believe they were LX3 and FL18 units. They mostly complain about my "microwave" but I have had interfence from them too. I just try to change the intereference rejection, ping speed, and surface clarity settings. Think I spent about $125-150 to get setup as they didn't have the ice package available back then. Highly recommend over a flasher. I usually get about 10-12 hours out of my battery. PS if you like the flasher mode more than the scrolling screen you can always flip to that mode too.