Flasher Wattage?

[hcmpls1]

So I had posted this in another thread but was hoping to get more responses in a seperate thread.

Sorry for the dumb question but what role does wattage play with flashers? A FL-20 has 400 watts max output and an ICE 55 has 2800 watts max output. 2800 is 7 times greater and I would assume its that much better but is it?

[toomanyjigs]

showdown is 1000 rms 8000 peak

[hcmpls1]

showdown is 1000 rms 8000 peak

Ok, but my questions is why are 2,800 watts or in the case of the showdown, 8,000 watts better than 400 watts? What does function does it perform?

[My_Key]

I googled "wattage in sonar" and found this on a site:

"Power- Sonar power is rated two different ways, peak-to-peak wattage and RMS wattage. The differences and methods of determining these ratings are beyond the scope of this article but be aware to compare the same rating when comparing two or more units. Sonar power determines how deep the sonar can read, how small a target can be and still register and allows the user to see their jig, thermoclines and even determine weed type! Most sonar shoppers buy too little power. If you really want to see bait fish, subtle changes in bottom composition, and fish close to the bottom, more power is necessary. As a rule the minimum power ratings are about 1500 watts peak-to-peak and about 250 watts RMS."

[Esox_Magnum]

From experience I can say a 2500 watt unit will show fish closer to your bait, tighter to the bottom and show multiple fish over a 400 watt unit, so yes it does make a difference.

[hamms-scooter]

They need all that power because the transducer on a vex is so sensitive it doesn't need more power. Every other company tries to dup.the transducer but cant and they need more power to make up for it. of course this is what I was told by top vexilar reps.There is a reason companys try to copy vex! sure a lx-5 is good ,and the new birds are good but they are built around the concept of the vexilars original flasher. Not going into the ford /chevy thing just pick one and fish!IMO

[michael morris]

hamms said it pretty well. IMO, all the extra wattage that Marcum and all those companies have simply uses more battery, and maybe blasts everyone else fishing flashers in the area away.

[hamms-scooter]

I'm not going to talk bad about the other units out there I have heard great things about the marcum lx-5 and other marcums and the humminbirds they all work other wise people wouldn't use them.

[bigbad401]

IMO, all the extra wattage that Marcum and all those companies have simply uses more battery

My Bird ICE 35 lasts longer than my Vex FL8 ever did, so that statement is not true. Maybe the Vex would last longer if it had new, up-to-date electronic components in it like the Bird and the Marcum, instead of the high current draw components of the 1980's.

[MN Greenheads]

Thinking bout it is like splitting hairs, they all work well. Put your time into finding fish.

[bigbad401]

Thinking bout it is like splitting hairs, they all work well. Put your time into finding fish.

Very true. Wattage was the last thing on my list when I decided to buy a new flasher.

[Gissert]

The whole power thing is waaayyy overblown.

What matters is receiver sensitivity, and your own "seat of the pants" experience on what unit works best for you.

[Ed Carlson]

The only certainty with generating more WATTS, is you use more power to accomplish it.

Beyond that the processor and other favors have a larger impact on performance than anything else.

For many years the predominant thinking was "more watts = more performance", but that thinking has since changed.

Lowrance for instance over time jacked up the watts used into the mid to upper 1000's, and now redesigned the whole operating system to operate on 250W Peak to Peak (31W RMS), but vastly improved the processors and memory capacity to accomplish this.

High Watt output has it's use in some specialized sonar applications, but you have to ask yourself if is it appropriate and efficient to the task, and/or truly necessary for the application in mind.

[hcmpls1]

Originally Posted By: MN Greenheads

Thinking bout it is like splitting hairs, they all work well. Put your time into finding fish.

Very true. Wattage was the last thing on my list when I decided to buy a new flasher.

I asked the question because wattage seems to be one of the key features everyone highlights, but Vexilar... I dont have a flasher and dont know a lot about them. Obviously one would assume all of the flashers work but when you've never had one and looking to spend money on one you want to make sure youre not spending too little or too much for something you may or may not need.

Thanks for the responses everyone. Your insight helps.

[Gissert]

Receiver technology has just exploded over the last 20 years, and not just in fishing electronics.

Higher transmitted power used to be necessary. Receivers had a lot of natural background noise that the returning signal needed to be strong enough to overcome the noise threshold.

Airborne weather radar transceivers in the 70's and early 80's often had transmitted powers of 15,000-20,000 watts. In the early 80's as receiver technology advanced, it dropped to 1,000 to 5,000 watts. They still used big tube magnetrons to develop this energy. Bulky, expensive, noisy and a short life.

Now, they use solid state pin diodes on the order of 25-50 watts, with long life and much reduced current needs.

Its been simply amazing to see how far the technology has advanced, especially in fishing electronics.

[cold one sd]

I have a low power flasher and when I'm fishing in 35' of water I can watch the bead for my bobber stop slide all the way down to my jig when not using a bobber. If I were fishing 120' of water I might want more power but the deepest lake that I fish is only 40'. When it comes to target separation, it might be nice if I were fishing for Guppies. I have been using this unit for a long time and it does everything that I need it to and I know what it is telling me. I'm not about to spend $400+ for more power as long as my flasher works for me. I guess it is each to his own choosing, but I sure get tired of this my dog is better than your dog stuff that goes on on some forums. If this flasher ever gives up on me, I'll see what is availaable at that time.