Humminbird ice 45

[MN BassFisher]

Had my 45 for two seasons now and I love it! Got a steal on it brand new. I fished it 5 ft from a FL-18 today and had no interference. I love that. My buddies all liked mine so now I have a couple with 45's and a 35. Side by side there is interference but its usually manageable.

[Eelpout08]

I contacted HB support via email cuase when I went to test the flasher out this evening, it just read 1.2ft. on the screen and the dial. I just did it quick so i'm not sure if i did something wrong or what. I'm going to try it again tomorrow to see what happens. i just asked customer support if they have run into this problem before and if they have, what I can do to fix it. i'm sure they will get back to me. hope it is an easy fix. i'll keep ya posted.

Mine does this once in a while also- the digital display will show 1.2 ft but the dial will read the correct depth, if i remember correctly. Turning it off then back on fixes it but it is kind of annoying, especially when you are trying to check depth in a bunch of holes.

I am interested to hear what they have to say about it.

I have had no other problems than that, though

[Nilsfisher]

well, humminbird support hasn't gotten back to me yet. I have emailed them twice since monday evening and nothing. I'm surprised that they haven't. I wasn't saying to them that I had a bad unit or transducer, I was just asking them if they have had other complaints about the issue I was having and if they knew how to fix it. I'll give it till saturday and then I'll email or call them again.

[irishwalleye]

I contacted HB support via email cuase when I went to test the flasher out this evening, it just read 1.2ft. on the screen and the dial. I just did it quick so i'm not sure if i did something wrong or what. I'm going to try it again tomorrow to see what happens. i just asked customer support if they have run into this problem before and if they have, what I can do to fix it. i'm sure they will get back to me. hope it is an easy fix. i'll keep ya posted.

There actually is no "fix". The unit will do this when you have the transducer out of the water, ice build-up, ducer not hanging below the hole and so on and so forth. I have found that it happens mostly when fishing shallow water and have it on the auto "A" setting. As others have said before, the unit is functioning properly when the digital shows 1.2 feet. You can tell by the dial is showing the current and correct depth. My theory is that the digital software needs a much stronger signal to read.

There are multiple ways have have found to "fix" this when it happens. Turn it off/on again. Change from the auto setting. Clean the transducer.

But the absolute easiest way it to make sure you have it on the "thin-beam" setting when you are first setting up. The wide beam seems to confuse the digital reading more often then not. Once the unit has made a strong connection with the bottom, the 1.2 reading should never show up again (in that hole).

Changing angle has always worked for me and it is not that much work to switch back and forth once you know what is going on.

The HB units are hands down the best units I have used.

*HB 45 cons

- I really don't like the zoom function, especially in shallow (under 20 feet) water

- My 45 didn't come with a case

- The knobs are prone to falling off

- The 'arm' for the Marcums is a much better tool for the ducer than the floats on the vex/HB

[crothmeier]

Ive had no issues with my ICE-45, other than my father and cousin have it. if i fish next to my cousin, we both get terrible interference. if i fish next to my father, we get no interference. if my cousin fishes next to my father there is no interference. . .

I e-mailed customer service on this 3 weeks ago, got the reply of "we have recieved your request....will reply in 3-5 business days...blah blah blah.."

3 weeks later still no reply.

[Nilsfisher]

I called humminbird customer service today for the other problem I was having (check out my video in the equipment info section under Humminbird ice 45 problem)

they said that it was the transducer and they are sending me a new one. I also asked them about the 1.2 ft. issue from before and they said it was the transducer also. I hope I receive it before this weekend so I can test it out. hope all works well after its replaced.

[Mike Walerak]

I just upgraded my ice 45 to a 55. Nothing was wrong with the 45 and I did not have any problems with it in the year I ran it. Hopefully I have just as good of luck with the 55!

mw

[Nilsfisher]

for the guys that have not had to exchange transducers, can you check to see if the serial number that is taped to the transducer cable, matches the serial number of the unit itself.

Thanks

[fishwater]

, can you check to see if the serial number that is taped to the transducer cable, matches the serial number of the unit itself.

Thanks

None of my HB ice ducers have a serial # taped to the cable? They are all stamped xi-9-19-10-09, one is new in the clamshell.

[Nilsfisher]

ok, mine has a yellow paper taped on towards the connector where it connects to the unit, it has some numbers and the 12 digit serial number. weird, makes me wonder if that transducer is the original from the factory. thanks for checking

[leech~~]

I'm sure if they sent you a replacement it came out of a parts area-bin and had a part number tag on it to identify it when pulled for shipping. That maybe what the tag is that you are seeing.

[Chris Barlage]

I have a ice 55 and love the unit. Cant say enough good things about it. I really think that the 6 colors and target line make the upgrade from the 45 worth it. It did not think that it would matter to me if I had those features but I find myself only using the 6 colors all the time just to see way more detail and the target line is great feature when i am on lacs and the current pushes my jig out of the cone, i can set that line right where my jig is and that way i know where the fish will be stopping as it comes up. It has been rock solid with 0 issues. The battery life is crazy great. I have not run it past 50% yet, that is after a full day on the ice. If it broke I would drop whatever i was doing and replace it right away.

[Scott Steil]

ok, mine has a yellow paper taped on towards the connector where it connects to the unit, it has some numbers and the 12 digit serial number. weird, makes me wonder if that transducer is the original from the factory. thanks for checking

Yes, they now come with a tag on them with a serial number so people don't mix them up on the ICE-55/385ci combo units. Those units come with two transducers and they are not interchangeable.

As for the person who was wondering about interference from two Humminbird units near each other, that is not an issue. I use them together all the time and rarely need to make any adjustments. Last weekend we fishing two 55's and two 385ci units in the same house without an issue after some simple adjustments.

[leech~~]

The battery life is crazy great. I have not run it past 50% yet, that is after a full day on the ice.

I have a ice 55 also and I am really rethinking it? As far as battery life being crazy I will have to agree with you there.

I run my FL-18 and the Ice 55 side by side in different holes up on Red Lake in a sleeper from Friday afternoon until about noon of Sunday and the Ice 55 was done in a day and half on a full charge! The FL-18 never did die the whole time! The Huum Ice 55 current draw is 380ma were the FL-18 is only 275ma. The 55 has a lot of great stuff on it that I like. On a side note the LX-5 current draw is 350-400ma and is not much better for battery life! Indeed.

[Ontherocks]

I bought an Ice 45 two years ago. The 1st season it was great. The second season I started having trouble picking up my jig in over 12 fow, I would adjust the gain so high the screen had a lot of interference. Tried new battery with same results. This year in the 3rd season it is absolutely junk. The flasher will either not light up or will be be completely red. E-mailed HB support twice and never got a reply. Finally called them and was told to try a new battery and make sure the cables were plugged in. They said I could send it in for a flat rate repair, but the rate would be determined when they evaluated it. Not sure how that is a flat rate. I won't even go into the rudeness of the support gal. Anyway sending it in for repair this week after I bought a new marcum.