Lowrance M68c

[Ryan_V]

Anybody use one of these? How do you like it? I see it is discontinued by lowrance. I'm looking to replace my vex. My buddy has a marcum and my vex is all interference when we fish together. Was looking at getting a marcum, but saw one of these for sale used. I like having a gps built in. does it take a chip? how is the target separation? Any pro's/cons would be appreciated.

[PerchJerker]

The M68 does not have a card slot, so no map cards. IMO there are several better options for ice fishing ....

If you want a gps / sonar combo there are the Humminbird 385ci and the Lowrance Elite 5 Ice Machine --- both of these come with ice transducers and both take map cards.

If you don't want to spend as much money as needed to get the combo units, you could go with a Marcum ShowDown 5.6 ($295 after the rebate) or a Marcum VX-1 Pro Flasher or a Humminbird Ice 35 Flasher. Each of those units works great and will not have any interference issues with your buddy's Marcum flasher. The Marcum ShowDown 5.6 will have the best target seperation.

Hope that helps and good luck.

[PurpleFloyd]

It is the same as the x67c with the addition of GPS. The X67c is a great unit for ice fishing if you like the graph mode. It also has a color flasher mode if you like that. The great thing is you can run a split screen in graph mode and watch the whole column on one side and a narrower area on the other side that you can set to 2x or 4x zoom and move up and down in the column.

If the idea of a graph sounds like something you would use then it is a great unit.

I believe they are phasing them out to transition to the Elite4 unit.

[Ryan_V]

There were some smokin' deals on the lx3tc at the Ice show. Wish I would have grabbed one then, but I thought I would be able to get the same deal after the show too, I was WRONG

[mmeyer]

Hey Ryan, Just get the X67c and Navionics on your phone then you'll be good to go. You're always on your phone anyways so you'd always have the gps with you. lol Seriously, as you know I just got the X67c and I really like it. I know you really like your Vex and I know that the Marcums are good too but for the money ($250 new) for the X67, it's hard to beat. The target separation is about 3/4" from what I understand and especially with the zoom, it's really very good at picking out the fish on the bottom. Another benefit is that with the LCD screen, your battery lasts forever.

Good luck, next time we go out if you want to switch for a while, let me know, I'd be happy to let you try mine out.

[jdsmi]

Just an FYI on interference. I fished last week with 2 FL-8's and an HB 45 along with my X67 in the same house. None of us had interference issues. We knew the other guy had his turned on but that was about it.

[walleyehuntR1975]

I own the m68c and yeah it does kind of suck that it doesnt accept SD cards, it really doesn't matter to much to me because the main lake I fish has'nt been mapped out for depth anyway. I like it because of that fact because I use the waypoints to mark the depth for future reference. I prefer the graph mode over the flasher mode. Haven't had any interference problems at all since I learned how to set it up. I even threw the ducer down the same hole as a vex ducer once just to see how bad the interference would be it was very minimal. About the only thing I don't like about it is the fact that the screen is on the smaller side and my eyes are not that great anymore. Other than that it is a great little unit to use.

[moby1]

I have gone through 2 x67Cs and now have the M68 . I really liked them and used them on the ice and in the boat. The only downfall I have found other than not accepting the chip is when/ if they brake, it's a pain, especially if discontinued. Like I said, I really like the unit. I also still have my 15 year old fl8 for a backup. The nice thing about the vex is that when it went down I just went to fishlectronics and bought a new motor and brushes and put them in. Hard to fix a electronic unit, at least for me. As far as interference, not a problem. I also use the graph mode on the ice more than the flasher page unless I'm real shallow.

[Esox_Magnum]

Any interference should be easily cleared up between the Marcum and Vex.. We had a LX-5, LX-7 and FL-8 in the shack today and a FL-18 25' away with no issues...