Lx7 What's the latest?

[aczr2k]

So when are they shipping? If not till christmas then I messed up because I already sold my Lx5!

[BartmanMN]

Ouch, sounds like you need to get a bobber. j/k

[icefitchin]

Ive been wondering the same thing since October 6th when i ordered mine. Ive been told 3 different ship dates, both by the guys over at Reeds, and from a Marcum employee via email.

Im in the same boat. I sold my VX1 right before i pre ordered an LX7.

Marcum has great products, buy is leaving a sour taste in my mouth by not communicating with everyone who has pre ordered.

[Scott K]

Marcum will be shipping them out as soon as possible. They just need to make sure there are no bugs in the system before they release them. I dont blame them, since I would rather have a unit that works flawless, rather then one with issues.

[Cecil]

I heard shipping will start this week. They had a software issue they needed to fix. But, unless you have one paid for somewhere, not likely that you will be able to get one on the first shipment as it is pretty small from what I heard.

[ameyers41]

I talked at length with the Marcum guys at the ice show. They did a heck of a job selling it to me, because I wasn't going to upgrade my LX-5, but walked out with an LX-7 on order.

As of friday, Reeds was saying end of this week they expect their first shipment. Marcum booth was saying there were 14 guys on the ice last friday doing final testing of the latest batch. They wouldn't commit to anything but "you'll have it before christmas." As a business, delays happen and you deal with your customers the best you can. You try not to overpromise and underdeliver. I would rather get a bug free unit two weeks later than one I have to send back early.

What sold me was this:

Inside the back of the unit is a USB port and SD card reader. In theory, I shouldn't have to worry about sending the unit back for firmware/software upgrades.

Now, if they can just come out with a US2 compatible jumper cable, I'm set for summer too.

[Random guy]

The units are physically built, just final software tweaking. Having it at the ice show loaded with software for everybody to mess with was great as a few thousand ice anglers where able to look at it at and see the unit in operation. Being the unit is mostly driven via software a few adjustments are going to be made to make sure the LX-7 is 100% perfect when it leaves the door offering the latest in ice sonar advancements.

[Random guy]

What sold me was this:

Inside the back of the unit is a USB port and SD card reader. In theory, I shouldn't have to worry about sending the unit back for firmware/software upgrades.

That is truly great. No sending it in, no shipping just plug it in at home and upgrade to the latest advancments.

[gonehunting]

Never understood why a company would advertise,promote, and pre-sell a product without "working all the bugs out of it" first. To me it is a red flag that they are not getting the product out to people that ordered them. Obviously something has come up that needs some fixing. Just my opinion. May be a good idea to let it ride out a year and get everyone's opinion how the initial product works.

[stretch1975]

Never understood why a company would advertise,promote, and pre-sell a product without "working all the bugs out of it" first. To me it is a red flag that they are not getting the product out to people that ordered them. Obviously something has come up that needs some fixing. Just my opinion. May be a good idea to let it ride out a year and get everyone's opinion how the initial product works.

Ever heard of Microsoft? Sorry couldn't resist.

[tweeder]

I work in IT and if anyone thinks it will be 100% perfect when they ship will likely be in for a suprise. I am not saying they won't work but its just impossible to test everything before it goes to market.

Why would they promote and sell it now? Timing. If they do sit on it and wait till March for when it is near perfect do you think it will have the buzz and sales it has now as we are all chomping at the bit.

This is done all around the world, they try to leave enough time to get as much development and testing done as possible but you have to strike when the iron is hot.

They will wait as long as they can to ship them to tryin and make sure people don't 2nd guess the quality. The warm fall sure has helped them. if all the big lakes were alredy solid, there would be a lot of people yelling to have their units!

[gonehunting]

That is my opinion though. Why wouldn't you hold off on selling the product until it passes your tests? Why sell a product just because of "timing". I know the ice electronics market is very competitive. However, if you promise a product with pre-orders and then they can't get the product until X-mas then you have already upset people(ie this post). Marcum could hurt itself more by having a number of returned products because of software problems than if they would've just held off a year. Marcum is a standup company and will stand behind their products. I would just hate to spend $700 to have to ship it back to the company "free of charge".

[icefitchin]

I completely agree with what everyone is saying. I would much rather have them take their time and work out the kinks. I'm honestly not even mad that I don't have my unit.

All I'm saying is I wish Marcum would keep those of us who already PAID for the unit posted as to why they haven't shipped out yet. All I'm asking for is an email letting us know about the units. Not that hard to send out a mass email.

[fsnrod]

It seems the lx7 is going to use a lot of power. Does anyone know the projected battery life?

[fishwater]

if they would've just held off a year.

IMO Marcum absolutely needed to release a new unit this year, tough deal for them considering the timing of the bankruptcy and the time it takes to bring a product like this together, but it's the truth considering the market. You could make the point that the LX5 is the best unit available, but folks want something new. I know I did/do.

They'll make right on it. I sold one of my Lx5's already, very glad I held off on the others. I was going to get two LX7, already have one ordered, but will likely just get the one for now and see.

[fishwater]

It seems the lx7 is going to use a lot of power. Does anyone know the projected battery life?

I was quoted 12hrs.

[Random guy]

Battery life will run about the same as the LX-5. Now if you are running the screen at full brightness, have every function going and keep it in -20 below all day it’s going burn through the battery faster. Battery life is correlated to conditions. Either way as long as you charge the unit it will not leave you dead at the end of the day.

[tweeder]

That is my opinion though. Why wouldn't you hold off on selling the product until it passes your tests? Why sell a product just because of "timing". I know the ice electronics market is very competitive. However, if you promise a product with pre-orders and then they can't get the product until X-mas then you have already upset people(ie this post). Marcum could hurt itself more by having a number of returned products because of software problems than if they would've just held off a year. Marcum is a standup company and will stand behind their products. I would just hate to spend $700 to have to ship it back to the company "free of charge".

its business man, its business. I am not saying its right, I am just saying its the reality.

And I agree, communicating should be a priority, $700 is a lot to pay and emails are cheap

[Neiko]

I was sold on the LX7 and if I can sell either my LX5 or VS625SD I will get one. I talked to the Marcum guy at the show and he was showing us the unit and when he was switching screens around I noticed the Depth number in the center of the unit had disappeared briefly. He said that is why they aren't out yet and they expect to have them ready this week. some company's would dump them out on the market and deal with it later. I think they were smart to hold them until the bugs get worked out. They have great customer service but you wouldn't want to create a lot of work for them by sending it out early. I think if they can get them shipped by Xmas they will do just fine. I can't wait until the LX9 comes out which is my prediction of a depth finder/camera combo.

[ameyers41]

One point of clarification. I don't believe the SD card slot is enabled as of now. The rep was saying that upgrades would be done via plugging the unit into your computer via USB and the SD slot wasn't being used now, but for future use. But it's nice to know it's there for future use.

Re: Battery life - I recall the rep saying the draw is between 500ma and 1.5 amps/hr (don't quote me on the high end, but I do recall 500ma on the low side), depending on backlight, heater (which is automatic and non-adjustable) and a number of other factors. So, you can do the math on a 9amp battery. By the way, FF has 9amp batteries on sale for $19...

[Twins Guy]

Re: Battery life - I recall the rep saying the draw is between 500ma and 1.5 amps/hr (don't quote me on the high end, but I do recall 500ma on the low side), depending on backlight, heater (which is automatic and non-adjustable) and a number of other factors. So, you can do the math on a 9amp battery. By the way, FF has 9amp batteries on sale for $19...

hey ameyers-i believe i was quoted 500-1000ma draw (but you are definitely close if not right on!) and this is variable. for reference the LX5 draws 850ma as i understand it-not/less variable. someone else posted 12 hours which is probably in the ballpark with a 9amp hour battery.

i was pleasantly surprised with that information. i assumed the LCD and heating element would draw more juice. i guess i shouldn't be surprised though given that the showdown troller will run 20 hours on a set of AAs and has both LCD and heating elements (albeit much smaller and less sophisticated).

looks like an amazing unit! not sure i am ready for monkeying with/navigating through all the menus though...

[JWB475]

I am pretty sure I can do a search in the archives and find a thread that sounds exactly like this one when Marcum released their panning camera a few years ago... lots of pre-sells before the ice season and nothing but delay after delay before they finally were delivered. In my opinion this is going to be a huge PR blunder by Marcum....

[Random guy]

looks like an amazing unit! not sure i am ready for monkeying with/navigating through all the menus though...

If you can turn the channels or run the guide on your TV you can run the LX-7. I got my first try at it about 1/2 before the show on Friday and by time the doors opened I was giving demonstrations on how to use it...and I drill holes in the ice and clean fishouse toilets for a living.

It is a simple deal where you can have one to three items displayed. If you want to change one display for another you simply turn one off to make room for the one you want. Then there are simple graph/ bar style adjustments such as zoom, and backlight. Some are multiple choice such as color palette and background. It is VERY user friendly.

[Twins Guy]

If you can turn the channels or run the guide on your TV you can run the LX-7. I got my first try at it about 1/2 before the show on Friday and by time the doors opened I was giving demonstrations on how to use it...and I drill holes in the ice and clean fishouse toilets for a living.

It is a simple deal where you can have one to three items displayed. If you want to change one display for another you simply turn one off to make room for the one you want. Then there are simple graph/ bar style adjustments such as zoom, and backlight. Some are multiple choice such as color palette and background. It is VERY user friendly.

right on Jonny...I know I could figure it out (although the older I get the harder time I have assimilating technology-and I'm only 32!) but I also know that many of the features/options for customizing the display would be wasted in my hands. My dream flasher is the LX5 with a flat screen like the Vex FL20. I am the kind of guy who forgets to adjust the heat in the car even when I am sweating my arse off. Also the guy who has a 10mp camera in my cell phone but still has the default background setup.

cheers

Rich

[Werewolf]

I think you guys are in for a lot of problems, if they are still working on the soft ware that means there is not going to be any field testing and you are the testers .. I like Marcums but this is not showing them in a very good light, sending a product out thats unavailable and not fully tested is a big No No...This should have been all worked out last year and ready to go by now. I will keep my old units and wait and read all the problem reviews when this things hit the water..