Malfunctioning Hondex Flasher

[crappie55409]

Been ice fishing all my life but this year i invested about 2000 in gear. Needless to say im excited to try this stuff out. I did manage to get out today for a few hours and try my new Z71 eskimo auger which worked great and my used Hondex flasher. The flasher worked, that is turned on and displayed things, however my lure did not show up on the screen very well at all. Sometimes i would see it and sometimes i would not. I messed around with the gain as well as the different screen features (x2 and whatnot) which helped a little but i've seen my friends using brand new vexilars and you cant miss your lure going up and down on the screen. Whats wrong? I am new to using flashers so its entirely possible this is a result of user error but i was thinking it might be a bad transducer or something...? Also, if i were to need to take it in for repairs who would work on a Hondex? For those who dont know Hondex is basically the exact same thing as a vexilar. Vexilar bought out Hondex's operation in the late 80's as i understand it and didnt change much about the unit, just slapped the name vexilar on it.

Any ideas would be great!

[hamms-scooter]

How old is the battery...? Check that out. Swap it with another one and see if that helps you out. Make sure your ducer is not tipped on the side of the hole at all needs to be pointing straight down the hole. Good luck . How deep were you fishing?

[Korynta]

Were u in shallow water? sometimes its hard to pick up a jig in shallower water because your beam isnt as large as deeper water or maybe a little current pushing it a bit.

[vern]

Try calling Vexilar in Bloomington with your questions. Sorry, I don't know their phone # but I'm sure they can help you. The display on the older units is not nearly as bright as the newer Vexilars so that could be an issue, especially in daylight. Also, make sure the transducer is level as Hamms mentioned. I had a Micronar many years ago & I would have to adjust the arm a lot to get the strongest return. The newer Vexilars have the self leveling transducers with the float so it's not really an issue any more.

[crappie55409]

i was fishing in 26 ft of water and the battery is brand new. Im pretty sure the transducer was straight down.

[Jim Almquist]

Try using a different transducer before you send it away.

Another thing that would not hurt but is not the problem is to take the knobs off with a small allen wrench and the 4 screws off the back and open it up. Wash the screen side and then wipe off the rotor with a little WD40 so it runs smoother and will put out less noise.

[jerkbait]

Crappie, Do you have a floating transducer for it or the old arm with the level bubble. I have a Hondex and when I put the floating transducer on it made a world of differance. Also like said above make sure the the transducer is hanging below the bottom of the ice so it is not tipped to one side or another. Another trick that has worked for me is when I first drop the transducer in the hole and don't see my bait I pull it back up and rub the bottom of the transducer with my hand. I don't know if I am wiping something off or not, but usually makes a differance. I have had my Hondek since 1988 and it is still working. The only thing I did was put the floating Vexilar transducer on it to make my life easier and cleaned it a couple of times.

Good luck.

[Hawg]

Who's Hondex? Most flashers don't work werk well under ice if that's not their specific job-like Vex, marcum-etc.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Who's Hondex? Most flashers don't work werk well under ice if that's not their specific job-like Vex, marcum-etc.

Hondex was one of the names of the company before they became Vexilar.

[tom fellegy]

Who's Hondex? Most flashers don't work werk well under ice if that's not their specific job-like Vex, marcum-etc.

i have a sitex fl-7, it is a single color, red flasher. works as good as any fl-8. i remember sitex, hondex, and then finely vexilar

[hamms-scooter]

Single color? How old is that unit? Neat

[crappie55409]

Thanks for all of the advice fellas. I do have the transducer with the floating attachment to it. I will give some of these ideas a try and see if they help. I just pulled it out and tried it for the first time yesterday so it could be that its a user error. I'll have one of my buddies who knows more about flashers play with it this weekend. I did only pay 100 bucks for it with a custom oak box which was a steal so maybe there is a reason it was so cheap :-)

Thanks for the input! No fun when your new used toys dont work like you would expect.

crappiehunter

[Sir_Sumo]

Wow! I hope that $2k in gear includes open water gear as well. For ice fishing alone, $1200 max would have gotten you an awesome setup with flip house, power auger, and excellent new flasher. Good luck though.

[crappie55409]

what i got for 2000 grand includes:

brand new eskimo Z71 gas auger

flasher

GPS unit with lakechip

two 2-man portables

a 7x14 permanent fish house on wheels

some clothing

about 300 dollars worth of tackle i got on list o' craig for 45 bucks

plus an assortment of other [PoorWordUsage] i.e. poles, heater, rattle reels...

All in all i probably only spent around 1500 or so but who knows when every time you go to the outfitters store you spend 50 bucks on god knows what that you probably dont need

[Rube]

This may help you out. If cleaning the transducer face and checking connections don't fix your problem.

I took my Hondex (Vexilar) apart following the directions that I found on line. Just type in-Vexilar Brush Cleaning Instructions or Vexilar FL series brush replacenent kit.

The second one has a step by step process- with pictures.

I followed the directions and everything worked out fine, although I just had to clean the brushes not replace them. Blowing it out and cleaning the inside of the lens may have been enough, but as long as it was apart I cleaned the brushes per the instructions.

Colors are brighter and no squealing.

My next step would have been to take it to Bloomington. Have heard good things about the people there.

Good Luck

[crappie55409]

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to say got out today to do some trout fishing, brought along my Hondex and figured it out. I cant think of what i (or it) was doing wrong previously but it worked great all day for me today. Now if only i could get the fish to bite

Thanks for the input everyone and be safe. Lake i was on had only about 5" today