Lowrance X67C IceMachine???

[BRULEDRIFTER]

hey, has anyone out there played with one of these units? how does it measure up to the Marcum LX3 and Vex.FL18? planning on getting one of these 3 toys soon. ive read plenty about Marcum and Vex, how 'bout the Lowrance???? Thanx, and good fishin.

[Ray Esboldt]

I like the idea of the integrated GPS on the more expensive model. But, I didn't really like the depth finder itself. It's probably a matter of what I am use to, a traditional style flasher. The screen seemed too busy and surreal. It was like playing a video game.

I like my MarCum LX-3 an awful lot. I really don't have anything negative to say about it. The stopper on transducer cable is little hard to move, but honestly I never really had a reason to move it. I used older Vexilars before that, and was pretty content. The MarCum did enhance my fishing experience with its super bright display, great target seperation, and excellent interference rejection. I really didn't know the newer lines of flashers were that much better than the stuff of 6 years ago. I guess that's how they keep selling new stuff, just make it that much better.

I'm sure the Ice Machine has it fans, and I don't mean disrespect. But, I would go with the traditional style over the LCD graph conversion unit.

[MedicineMan]

I just bought a X-67 Ice Machine last week. I It's a really sweet piece of equipment! I've seen the Fl-18, Fl-8, LX-1, LX-3, and the X-67 in action. All of these fish finders are quality machines, no doubt about it. So it really comes down to personal preference. If you aren't good with electronics and you want somthing simple to operate, the X-67 isn't the machine for you. I'm also kinda nerdy in the fact that I like my toys with LOTS of options, and the X-67 has lots of them. Here are some of the options the X-67 has.

You have 4 sonar screens to choose from

-full graph mode

-split screen mode

-depth, water temp, voltage, etc mode

- flasher mode

In Graph and Flasher mode you have these features:

-Surface Clarity: Off, Low, Medium, High

-Noise Rejection: Off, Low, Medium, High

-Sonar Chart Mode: Grayscale, Reverse Grayscale, Blue Backround, White Backround, Nightview, Iceview, Bottom Color Tracking(You can only use BCT in graph mode only)

You can also change ping speed, "Pings" are the sound waves emitted by the tranducer. If you've ever listened to a transducer on a Graph, then listened to the trasnducer on a flash. You would notice on the graph that there is a delay on the "pings". On a LCD graph the pings would sound like this (tick-tick-pause-tick-tick-pause) On a Flasher there is no pause its just (tick-tick-tick-tick-tick). The Flasher is a better option when is comes to ice fishing because you get a real time picture of whats going on below you. The X-67 has both the ping options of a Flash and a Graph. When you have "Auto Depth Range" selected. The trasducer emits pings with the delay. If you go into Sonar/Flasher options. You can select "Chart Manual" mode and the trasducer will emit pings at a "real time" rate. You can also go into "Ping Speed" and speed up or slow down the ping rate.

In Flasher mode you have a couple flasher display modes. You have the normal display, and you have Split View mode. With the Split View mode the right side of the flasher shows the entire water column and the left side zooms in on the bottom 6 feet of water. This is ok if you're fishing on the bottom. But this really doesn't help you if you're fishing for Crappies in 15-20 feet of water or so. But ah ha! You do have the option to zoom in anywhere within the water column. There is a feature called "Upper and Lower Limits" You can set the depth of the upper and lower limits on you're flasher/graph. So if you want to zoom in on Crappies in 16-23 feet, just go into that option and set those depths and the graph/flasher will zoom in on that area.

The X-67 has a lot more other options. But I can only type so much!

If you have any questions at all, feel free to ask!

[BRULEDRIFTER]

Thanks Med Man, i got lots to think about. i am a simple mind when it comes to electronics, but i think i can learn some of those features over time. i really love the dual screens option, and the graph option. im trying to concider open water fishing in my decision too. anyone else have an opinion???

[joshb]

try this: http://www.fishingminnesota.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=442430&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

[fishing 101]

My brother has the X67C and I have the LX-3. In my opinion, the X67 works just as well. The only problem with it, is it doesn't have the interference reduction (IR) capabilities when fishing in the same house as a Marcum or Vex. He couldn't read anything when we had ours on. IMO that is the only downfall of that unit. I personally, and he agrees, wish that he would have spent the extra money and bought the one with GPS in it. If you are interested, I am sure that he would sell it at a fair price, so he could upgrade to the GPS model. We used it in the boat and put it on the trolling motor, it works awesome then too. I love my LX-3 also, so don't worry, whether you buy a Lawrance, Vex, or Marcum - you are buying a top of the line unit, because I have been around all 3 and they are all great.

[MedicineMan]

I went out last weekend with a guy I know and he has a LX-3. We put our units next to eachother and I did get a lot of interference. But I was able to get rid of the interference after playing with my X-67 for a bit. I did get intereference when are depthfinders were right next to eachother. If my X-67 was more than 8" away from the LX-3 I had no interference. And even if I couldn't get rid of the interference. I fish alone 95% of the time, so interference isn't a big issue to me. But I do agree that it doesn't matter if you buy a Lowrance, Marcum, or Vex. You're going to buy a high quality product!

[fishing 101]

Hey medicine man, did they change the IR on the 67 from last year, or can you tell me what you are doing to eliminate the interference? That would be great, as it will save a lot of arguments because I just bought a fish trap and we will be in the same house together around 90% of the time.

[MedicineMan]

fishing 101, does your brother have the X-67 or the X-67 Ice Machine? The software is totally different between the two.

[fishing 101]

That is a good question, I'll have to check. I know it didn't come with any open water accessories. I guess I didn't know there was a difference.

[BRULEDRIFTER]

fishing101, how much? i may be interested. find out what he's got and if you find out soon, post me your email address.

[fishing 101]

Bruledrifter, I just talked to him, he says $350. It is an "icemachine" It has the softpack or carrying case (whatever you want to call it). I forgot, he bought it right before Christmas last year. So it is a year old.

tylerins at frontiernet.net

[BRULEDRIFTER]

fishing101, you got mail.