Showdown vs. Flasher

[jmg]

I know this topic has been discussed before, but I am in the market for an ice fishing locator. Funds are sparse and I don't get a chance to get out that often so I don't need nor can afford the latest and greatest. I'm kind of thinking of a Vexilar FL8, a Marcum 1, Humminbird 35 or a Showdown, either the single angle one or the Troller. I know some will say to go used, but I have gotten the short end on lots of things I have bought used from people I didn't know so I am leary about handing over cash for something that might go belly up the first time it is used. So---good points, bad points about those listed above. I usually fish with my brother who has a Vexilar I think FL18 and his son-in-law who has a Humminbird 45. Do I need to worr;y about interference problems? As usual, any ideas, thoughts etc. will be greatly appreciated.

[BartmanMN]

Humminbird's and Vexilar's operate on different frequency so interference is not an issue between those two. Bringing a Marcum in the house can cause problems some times (not as bad with Vx-1 compared to LX-5). Depending on the bottom content/strength of signal return you can get all the interference cleaned up and other times it can be difficult.

Beyond the interference, you can't really go wrong with any of the options that you listed. Having an option for zoom is nice for fishing bottom huggers, so the Vx-1 and Bird 35 are good for that (not sure on showdown). Vexilar sells factory reconditioned units, which is a nice option for saving money and not dealing with something that you are not sure about.

[HandGunner]

I was going to get a showdown but decided not to ice fosh this year, its cheaper and seems more simple than others. ppl say its hard to get use to seeing a verticle graph than the original round spinning circle graph but really its the same thing when you think about it. I like the portability of the troller when I had a marcum lx3 or whatever it was it worked great sometimes not I couldnt see my lure or saw my lure as a large line and fish as a small thin line but trying to hole hop with it was cumbersome, just my $00.02

[pushbutton]

Like Bartman said, all are good units and will catch a lot of fish. Vex's have been rock solid for years and has around a 1 inch target separation, only a wide angle and no zoom feature on that model though. The Hummingbird does have a zoom as well as a duel beam, but over 2 inches for target separation, and operates on a different frequency making playing nice with others easy. The vertical display flashers you mentioned also only have a wide angle ducer, with 1/2 inch separation on the bigger one with full zoom capabilities, the smaller one has 2 inch target separation and think? they just came out with a zoom on the newest models. Overall is one better than the other? I don't know. Weigh the positives and negatives of each for what you might think works the best for you; again either way you will have a good unit no matter what you choose.

[bbfenatic]

I have chimed on this debate before but for the money you cannot beat the Troller - period. I am coming up on yr 3 with mine and love it, I am very portable and I like the fact that I can read through the ice with it and get an instant digital depth & check for fish; and then it also does a fine job marking fish down the hole; as well as see the lure with the fishing coming up to bite....plus it fits in your side coat pocket! I put a small foam float on the transducer cord so just drop it in and let it work, no problems at all....now for $50 I can send it in and they will update software to the new 2.0 version which gives automatic bottom range but I can adjust that manually myself with a couple button presses so I am still debating that. Actually I am surprised they have not come out with a color version, that is what I am waiting for and would by that version in a heart beat.

[Moose]

I have a LX3 and a Troller. I like the lx3 in the portable and the troller for roaming around. I will say that both of them in one area doesn't work very well due to interference. I would go with only the Troller if I could find a way to mount it in the portable without having to use the package system marcum offers.I personally like the verticle display better and the lack of noise is awesome. I had a vex and the buzzing would drive me crazy so I switched to marum and now the troller.

[jbird68]

I have never used a vex or a hummingbird. I did have an old lowrance LFP-150. Not much luck with that, though. Then I bought a aqua-vu VPG...which it's now a Showdown. I have the latest software update and I like it a lot. It's not color but I really like the vertical column. Others have bashed the showdown in the past. And yeah it had some issues with sensitivity and interference. But to me, most first year products have issues. And I feel the the software updates have remedied them. The only thing I would like different on it is to have the plastic transducer arm replaced with an aluminum one. I'd love to have a Marcum LX-7. But way too pricey for me.

[MN Mike]

They added zoom to the new Trollers, that should be a great deal for the price of those devices.

I have a ShowDown 5.6 single beam and I like it a lot, I use it more than my LX5, wouldn't hesitate to get a ShowDown again, they work just fine.

Mike

[amateurfishing]

+1 showdown troller...simple, easy, reads thru ice, compact, great simple easy to use unit

[Agronomist_at_IA]

I know this topic has been discussed before, but I am in the market for an ice fishing locator. Funds are sparse and I don't get a chance to get out that often so I don't need nor can afford the latest and greatest. I'm kind of thinking of a Vexilar FL8, a Marcum 1, Humminbird 35 or a Showdown, either the single angle one or the Troller. I know some will say to go used, but I have gotten the short end on lots of things I have bought used from people I didn't know so I am leary about handing over cash for something that might go belly up the first time it is used. So---good points, bad points about those listed above. I usually fish with my brother who has a Vexilar I think FL18 and his son-in-law who has a Humminbird 45. Do I need to worr;y about interference problems? As usual, any ideas, thoughts etc. will be greatly appreciated.

Speaking from experience go with a flasher showdown isn't bad, but when you start getting sub zero temps the heater can't keep up and it slows down. I've got a flasher and a showdown RELIABILITY when it comes to a flasher can't be beat. The only thing I found good about the showdown being upgradable was that they could fix the unit to actually make it work properly. Long story short I've seen flasher older then I am still working like new. Only thing a showdown has over a flasher is the battery life is about twice that of a flasher.

[jmg]

Thanks, Mike and everyone else who has put in some input so far. Boy, it sounds like the little troller is well liked by most who have them. Just wondering, can you see your lure pretty well on that one? If so, it sounds like a winner. Just found one of the older models(not the 2.0) in Bass Pro's online catalog for $139.00. Looks like a good price, but I wonder if everybody will be wholesaling that model at the St. Paul Expo in a couple of weeks? Other than the auto bottom zoom, are there many other improvements? I know last Winter there were several posts in which people were complaining that their Trollers just quit. Wonder if they figured out what as happening? I know on some of the You Tube videos, they stated that battery power was very important to monitor with them.

This is going to be quite a challenge, trying to figure out which unit to get, since they all seem to have good qualities. Will stay tuned to see if anyone else has any thoughts. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

[amateurfishing]

Very easy to see ur lure on a troller....bought mine 1 1/2 years ago and have never had the problem that others experience (or have not noticed anything). only issue i ever had was out in below zero temps once and it inexplicably went out on me. got home, read up some on this site & realized it was cause i did not have the battery heater mode on so my batteries froze up. 20 min of warming up at home and all was great again. p.s. i think it actually works better in heater mode so i just always keep it on now just so batteries never get the chance to freeze up. im sure u can read more/do more on a fancy flasher but im not that good & still learning a ton so reading bottom depth & it showing anything moving in between is good nuff for me

[bbfenatic]

The ONLY time I have encountered a problem (over 2 seasons now) was when I was hole jumping outside my porty in subzero temps one day and I left it on the ice without the performance pack, then it acted up because it got too cold. Brought it back into my portable with little buddy heater and within 5 minutes all was good again. Awesome for checking depths, I just hang mine around my neck with the strap, pour a little water on the ice and drop my ducer onto the ice and get instant digital depth. When inside the portable I set it on a folded hand towel to keep it up off the ice and it works great and takes up 1/4 the space of a flasher.

A far as I can tell the only diff with the new 2.0 is the auto bottom lock but for the extra $$$ I would go with the older version and you can manually adjust the bottom with a couple button pushes.

[PerchJerker]

I think ShowDowns and Trollers are great units .... easy to use and understand, great target seperation, small footprint on the ice, great battery life, great value for the price. The ShowDowns have great target seperation (1/2") due to the bigger screen, the Trollers have less target seperation (2") due to the smaller screen. The new Troller 2.0 has zoom (it's bottom lock zoom) .... the original Trollers did not have zoom. I think zoom is an important feature, I use it at least 50% of the time, so I would lean to one of the current models over the discontinued Troller.

Dual Beam is another important feature, one that I also use more than 1/2 the time when I'm fishing. To get a unit with dual beam your best options are the ShowDown Dual Beam or the HB Ice 35.

As many others have said, they are all good units and do a really good job, it really comes down to which combination of unit / features / price is the best for you.

If you want you can check out all the flashers, and their prices, at Flashers At Pro Fishing Supply, where shipping is Fast and Free.

[jmg]

Thanks for the additional info posts. This is getting more complicated than expected, since when I look at them, they all look good. Right now, the Humminbird with the dual beam seems to be nosing out the others. I like the features of the Showdown troller, but it looks almost like a toy. I just wonder about durability. Then, there's that old standby, the FL8 Vexilar. Still wondering how well they work at over 20 ft. or so with the 19 degree puck. Will it pick up my lures? Are Humminbirds as durable as the Vexilars? Will probably be asking these questions until-or maybe even after I buy one of them and use it. Sometimes, I think I over analyze these things too much, esp. for the few times each season I will actually get to use the thing. Happy Thanksgiving!

[Gunflint Guy]

Thanks for the additional info posts. This is getting more complicated than expected, since when I look at them, they all look good. Right now, the Humminbird with the dual beam seems to be nosing out the others. I like the features of the Showdown troller, but it looks almost like a toy. I just wonder about durability. Then, there's that old standby, the FL8 Vexilar. Still wondering how well they work at over 20 ft. or so with the 19 degree puck. Will it pick up my lures? Are Humminbirds as durable as the Vexilars? Will probably be asking these questions until-or maybe even after I buy one of them and use it. Sometimes, I think I over analyze these things too much, esp. for the few times each season I will actually get to use the thing. Happy Thanksgiving!

The FL8 will have no problem picking up your lure deeper than 20ft. I use mine in water deeper than 60 feet quite often. No problem seeing lures.

[PerchJerker]

Even though the Troller has only been around for a couple of years, the ShowDown (and it's predecessor the VPG) have been around longer than the HB ICE flashers. I'm not concerned about their durability .... actually I'm not concerned about durabiity for any of the ice sonars or flashers .... but to each their own.

Regardless of brand, the standard transducer beam is 19 or 20 degrees. It's the best "all purpose" beam and works great in a lot of situations, but there are situations where the narrow beam option is better .... deeper water, steep dropoffs, weeds, other baits and/or other electronics in your transducer cone, etc. The standard beam transducers should pick up any ice lures down to 40 fow or so ... after that, you MAY need to really crank up the sensitity, or go with a bigger or fatter lure with a better sonar profile.

[Random guy]

What I like about the Showdown Troller and the Showdown 5.6 units is:

They have no moving parts

They can write or actually display better target separation due to the digital display verses a mechanical dial

Battery life is incredible

Smaller footprint

Infinitely upgradable

Wicked interference rejection settings

Zoom capabilities

Ease of use/ easy to understand. Ice is top bottom is bottom just like the real world.

Tougher than a box of nails

Minnesota made and serviced

Dead silent operation

Now there is nothing wrong with a good old flasher with a spinning dial, they worked great for many many years. But as a guy that beats the snot out of stuff I have switched all my flashers for myself and my clients over to the digital realm, I like the durability and ease of service the digital units offer.

[quickfish6]

I run a showdown and have no problems what so ever with it! I love it! Just had the software upgraded so we will see how it works out with 5 foot zoom.. Im super excited to get on the ice.