lx5 question

[KC612]

This is the first flasher I've ever owned (just picked it up yesterday) and I was wondering if you disconnect the battery after charging every time or just if you won't be using it for extended amounts of time like between seasons?

[minnbowhunter]

I don't have the same unit as you but I leave it hooked up all season, charging or not. Never had a problem, I do disconnect it during the off season.

[CNY-Kyle]

I will always disconnect my battery from my cameras to my flashers if im not using it for a week or so...its easy to hook back up and always seems to be fresh when im ready to use it. I will also just give it a quick hour charge the night before i go out. The LX-5 has the trickel charge for it so you cannont over charge your battery. One more quick tip as i see its your first flasher, i change out my batteries from the 7amp to the 9amp and then have a back up 7amp, just incase. Ok one more thing i do to preserve batttery life is before chargin your unit after a day out, make sure you bring the unit and battery up to room tempature before you hook to charger...helps extend your battery life. I have had them last several years and their used frequently during the season.

Kyle

[minnbowhunter]

I will always disconnect my battery from my cameras to my flashers if im not using it for a week or so...its easy to hook back up and always seems to be fresh when im ready to use it. I will also just give it a quick hour charge the night before i go out. The LX-5 has the trickel charge for it so you cannont over charge your battery. One more quick tip as i see its your first flasher, i change out my batteries from the 7amp to the 9amp and then have a back up 7amp, just incase. Ok one more thing i do to preserve batttery life is before chargin your unit after a day out, make sure you bring the unit and battery up to room tempature before you hook to charger...helps extend your battery life. I have had them last several years and their used frequently during the season.

Kyle

Not to hijack the thread but I am considering upgrading to the 9 amp batterys, do they last that much longer? My camera battery will not last as long as the flasher without a recharge, wondering if it is worth it.

[KC612]

Thanks for the responses...

[CNY-Kyle]

Yes i think they do. I havent actually tested them side by side but i know i have i can leave my unit on all day with the 9amp and have battery left. With the 7amp i have died a few times in the last hour, nothing worse than hitting that last hour of fish catching furry and have your battery run out. I do carry back ups but when i travel light i dont and never worry about the 9amp running out on me...they are only a few bucks more as well...must be it stores more than a 7amp, or is drawn slower, technically idk why but they last longer for me.

[minnbowhunter]

Kc welcome to the forum, lots of good knowedgable folks here. Great bunch of guys.

Kyle, thanks, the cost differance is pretty small, think I pick one up.

[CNY-Kyle]

No Problem MBhunter. Yeah KC welcome, i think you will really like using that flasher...im running the 5 too. Post back if you have any questions as to using/reading it.

[KC612]

Be happy to pick your brain....what have you got? I have limited experience with flashers mainly my fishin' buddies fl8. What tips/tricks do you have for reading these high tech gizmos? Where can I pick up an extra battery 7 or 9amp? How much $$$?

[CNY-Kyle]

well you can get the batteries on line, at your local sporting goods stores (sometimes)...just google your current 7amp battery and get the 9amp in the same size should be about $20 bucks.

I have the LX-5 as well. had it for 3 years. In fact getting a new 5 this week and selling my current one to my buddy who doesnt have anything to use. Tell you what reference the instructions and play around with it a few times...to write how you read and what you will run into with a flasher would take a few pages lol...for the first outing i wouldnt worry about using zoom, sfl or nbt...just turn on the depth knob to 20 if your in less than 20 feet...you will see the solid red line at whatever the depth is...lets say is 8 feet, lower your lure down with the gain knob between 2-3. THIS will make your lure look HUGE but i dont know your skill level with these and it will give you a good visual of what your doing with the jig...now once you see your jig in reference to the bottom you will turn down the gain to prolly 2 or a hair under to get a nice fine yellow line representing your jig.

If your seeing solid red bottom with a lot of yellow and green lines over it your showing weeds...now you can lower your jig down in and get used to seeing your jig go thorugh the weeds. start there...when your comfortable with the basics you can start unleashing the lx 5's power by using the zoom and nbt and sfl...i would get comefortable reading the screen and then try the zoom see how it looks, note how it changed. The zoom does just that its zooms in on 5' or 10' feet of the water coloum. Now you get to choose what 5 or 10 feet your zooming on by using the arrow keys to move your coloum up or down if you want to see the bottom 5 feet you hit zoom once and adjust the arrow key down and you will see your two red lines showing your zoom window move towards the bottom of the water...put your jig down and you will now see it in the 7 or 8 oclock position.

Theirs so much to go over...its all easy once you see it a few times, but you need to be accustome with the gerenal screen look fisrt. Try it out. feel free to ask specific questions as you use it or cant understand what its showing you...

If you get to where you dont know what you did or changed or what you have on...just turn it off and back on it will reset every thing back to normal.

[CNY-Kyle]

I also just realized its WAY harder writting how to use it then it is using it! Feel sorry for those people who have to write instruction mannuals...

[tsande00]

I leave my Marcum plugged into the trickle charger until I'm ready to go out fishing. As mentioned earlier, I wait until the unit (battery) is back up to room temperature before charging.

[Shack]

This is the first flasher I've ever owned (just picked it up yesterday) and I was wondering if you disconnect the battery after charging every time or just if you won't be using it for extended amounts of time like between seasons?

I am going on the third year with my LX-5. During the ice season I just leave the connections hooked up. I feel the constant unplugging and plugging of the connectors can weaken them and they will break (The wires and tabs on battery). When I get home from a trip I bring the flasher in with me and place on my work bench. Charge it and when at a 100% unplug charger. During the week I check and charge if needed. Normally do not though.

For the none ice season I do unplug the connections, charge battery and put away. If I think of it I will pull out and charge up in the middle of summer.

[KC612]

From my understanding on full screen (not zoom mode) if you need to set the range to 40 you would double the depth on the outside white numerals? The yellow numerals are only used in zoom mode? What are the red numerals used for? Can the SFL be used in zoom mode or is it more for the full screen? Thanks for bearing with me...

[Bottle Fish]

Make sure you always bring your unit inside after a trip. I did not do this the other day and the next day my transducer was froze to the bottom. It took about 20 minutes over the heater and prying on it to get it loose. I think that tread I recently read about that happening jinxed me.

[Shack]

Make sure you always bring your unit inside after a trip. I did not do this the other day and the next day my transducer was froze to the bottom. It took about 20 minutes over the heater and prying on it to get it loose. I think that tread I recently read about that happening jinxed me.

That can even happen while traveling to the lake and out on the lake. I have found setting the ducer in sideways prevents this from happening. Never had an issue since.

[KC612]

Can you guys help me out with understanding which number white/yellow/red to look at to determine depth?"

[Deitz Dittrich]

If you have it in the first mode your screen is 0-20, if you click it clockwise one more your screen is now 0-40, again another click clockwise 0-80, and one last click will get you 0-160 I think.. never used that one.. LOL

[DTro]

As far as the difference between the 7 and 9 amp hour batteries, you will get approx 5 extra hours on the 9amp (20hr vs 25hr)

Another way to think about this is that the LX5 uses about 350 milliamps/hr. The batteries will give you a total of 7000/9000 milliamps of stored energy. Just divide to get the time.

Of course, that is a fully charged battery in good condition.

[KC612]

So would you double the depth on 40? Quadruple on 80?

[KC612]

When to use the yellow numbers? Red numbers?

[CNYFrank]

KC612: with respect to what color scale to use. After awhile it just becomes second nature and as Kyle wrote, sometimes it is kind of hard to write what your brain has figured out. Let me see if I can give a short cut: Note that the 20 and 40 ranges scales on the range selector are white. That corresponds to the white scale on the display. Select 20 and the display is true. For 40 double the white scale reading for depth (you can use the yellow scale for the 10 and 20 ft depth when 40 is selected to remind you). For the 80 and 160 foot range (red on the range selector), note that the red scale on the display goes to 80 feet . . this is like the white scale going to 20 . . .now if you select the 160 range, double the red scale for the depth reading just like you did for 40 feet using the 20 foot white number. The yellow numbers are for the zoom . . .you can set the bottom zoom at the zero and then the top of the 5 ft window should be at the 5. For the 10 ft zoom window, double the number, ie 5 is now 10. I hope this helps, sounds confusing to me upon first reading but keep reading, believe me it will get easier. Probably best to read and play with the unit at the same time.

[Scott827]

K6-12

I have a LX5 also. You can learn alot at Vexilars HSOforum. They have video instructions for their flashers. Most of it can be applied to the LX5. It gives yoy a good idea of what to do.

Scott

[KC612]

Thanks again everyone! I think I need to get on the ice and play with my new toy.

[timbo147]

Does anyone know where to locate the serial number on the LX-5. Just thought I would ask before I take it out it's case.