new flasher??

[RHW]

I see Vexilar is promoting what they are calling their new product, the FL-8 SE.
It is about $100 cheaper then the FL-18 and when you go to their web site, no mention even of the FL-18.
So does anybody know the difference between the two units and how good is the FL-8 SE?

[Chris Haley]

Power does dictate the return signal!! The quality of the receiver determines how that signal is read. It's kind of like stereos, you can get by with a cheap stereo if you have quality speakers!! The marcum takes the best of both and puts them into one.

If you have an FL-18, I wouldn't say sell it to get an LX3, I'm just saying that when it's time for a new one take a look at these units.

As far as the Clearwater Classics, aren't they owned by someone else now?? Whenever a company sells out to another it seems that quality suffers. When I first got my CC, you couldn't give me a vex. Now that Zercom is owned by a bigger corp, the attention to detail isn't as important as the bottom line.

This is a good thread due to the fact that we are comparing two very good units!! I would never say that a person would be sorry for buying a Vex over a Marcum, they both have thier good points. I need to replace my CC and am seriously looking at the LX. I also am trying to talk myself into getting rid of my Aqua-vu Z and picking up an OSV560.

[Scott Steil]

I think you will be dissapointed with the Lowrance system they are introducing this year. I my eyes it is not truely a flasher. The GPS is a nice feature but I prefer a portable handheld. Lowrance apprears to have tried to make a graph into a flasher. I am going to go out on a limb and say this is not going to be a big hit.

Back to the power discussion. There are some advantages to having more "power" especially when fishing next to other units. In this case, more power will win.

I am very happy with the MarCum units. I have a year on them now and have used them extensively on the ice and in the open water. The display remains crisp and easy to read. The carrying case is very nice and can REALLY take a beating. And, of course, the adjustable zoom is a great feature.

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Mille Lacs Guide Service
www.millelacsguideservice.com

[Surface Tension]

A built in GPS on a sounder isn't anything new but the concept of this combination on an Ice setup is. I've got this image of my truck going down the lake with a transducer in tow. I'll take a hand held GPS and flasher instead.

MORE POWER...................
Take a look at the main difference between a Lowrance and Eagle unit. You will notice it's watts.

Vex runs at constant 400 watts with a claim of a "sensitive" receiver. Theres no doubt this match works well however theres many times toward evening when the plankton come off the bottom that this low watt output/sensitive receiver combination will be rendered total useless by the clutter. Sure you can turn the sensitivity down to get rid of the clutter from plankton and thermocline but now you cant see you bait either. What good is that?
I've found that a higher watt sounder will give you the ability to reduce the gain/sensitivity to get ride of clutter but still see your jig. That is a major plus over the Vex. Remember a fix for shallow water performance or lack of was to purchase a Suppression cable for the FL8. The FL18 has addressed with built in suppression but has the FL8se? I don't know but I'm moving on to the MarCum LX3 this winter. The higher watt along with the ability to zoom the whole water column made it an easy decision over the FL18. Bring on the ice and we'll see how the MarCum performs.

[Scott Steil]

ST, you will really appreciate the LX-3 I think.

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Mille Lacs Guide Service
www.millelacsguideservice.com

[Guest]

Any unit puts out its running watts whether its 1500 watts or 400 watts regardless of where the gain/sensitivity setting is at. You can not control the power of the unit. The gain control only amplifies whats on the screen.

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Mille Lacs Guide Service
651-271-5459
www.millelacsguideservice.com

[Surface Tension]

Has nothing to do with the screen.

From Vexilar.
"The gain controls how much the reflected signal coming back from the water is amplified."

My point is plankton to sounders is what chaff is to radar. My experience with a Vex is that plankton clutters it enough to make it useless in these conditions.
The higher watts sounders seem to have less problems with plankton while still showing a jig. Hey when are we going fishing anyway.

[Guest]

I don't know for sure, but if there was more power wouldn't it be easier to see the plankton? If you can see a 1/32 oz jig down 40' w/out plankton with ease. I still cant see how you could see it down 40' with the plankton around. I guess this is one of these see it to believe it things.

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Fish ON!

[Guest]

The amplified signal is on the screen is what I was refering to.

One trick to seperate your jig from clutter is to upsize your jig if you can get away with it. Turn the gain down and tie on a jig that holds more lead. If the bite is hot, you may even be able to switch to spoons or swimming baits.

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Mille Lacs Guide Service
651-271-5459
www.millelacsguideservice.com

[This message has been edited by Derek Johnston (edited 10-30-2003).]

[Surface Tension]

Derek good point. The shape of the jig makes a difference too. Pimples are usually heavier then most of jigs I use but they have that Stealth design.

[Dan Wood]

It's all relative, plankton will give off a much weaker signal than even the smallest jig. You need to set your gain just high enough to see your jig - when you do that, you will eliminate the majority of the noise.

[Dennis Steele]

I am sure both units perform well and were designed to use the power and recievers to get the best possible signal.
I have had an 18 for two years now and love it.But...I fished next to an LX3 last year and was very impressed.
I fish a lot of crowded lakes and I was constantly trying to cut out signals from other flashers.Sometimes it was just no use.The LX3 cut out the interferance with out having to "fine tune" it constantly.I like that.I want to spend as little time monkeying with the unit and just fish.The other thing I think the Marcum had over the 18 was the target separation.It was definatley picking up fish that my Vex was not and it showed the signals cleaner and easier to read.Thats not just fish in the outer cone but directly below me.The adjustable zoom was an obvious advantage.There were too many times that fish would come in just above the 6 foot zoom.I like to see things up close and personal.I want the zoom where the fish are.No sense straining to see little blips on a big dial when you can have them big and in your face.
I think both units are great but I think Marcum has the upper hand right now.I am going to get one for this year season.

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Minnesota River Guided Fishing
"fishhead"
[email protected]
www.mnriverguidedfishing.com

[Steve Foss]

The next question is, when there are many of the newer generation Marcums out on the ice, won't the Marcums be just as prone to interfering with each other as the Vexlilars are?

In other words, if you've got two Marcum LX-3s in the same house, or a dozen yards away from each other, do they have the same IR features to prevent interference as the Vexilars do?

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"Worry less, fish more."
Steve Foss
[email protected]

[Paul Waldowski]

Steve,

The LX-3 has six levels of signal interference rejection for just that reason.

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Paul
[email protected]
www.marcum.com
www.otter.com

[IceC]

STF,

IMO,I dont think LX-3's will have a problem with each other.I know I've fished an area with 6 LX3 with no problems. We've had 3 Lx3 in the same tent without interference.

Time will tell as more Marcum's hit the ice whether or not it will be a problem.

IceC

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Have an Ice day

[G_man]

Do either of these units ever go on sale? All I ever see is $399 in almost all stores.

Can either of these units show you the depth accurately without drilling a hole? or do you need to buy a separate 'flashlight-looking' unit for that?

[Paul Waldowski]

G-man,

Can't help you with the for sale thing.

Both units can shoot thru most ice conditions and a lot of the time can also mark fish through the ice. All you need to do is get a little water on top of the ice. I usually carry a little bottle of water for just this purpose.

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Paul
[email protected]
www.marcum.com
www.otter.com

[This message has been edited by Paul Waldowski (edited 11-06-2003).]

[Guest]

Only sale I can think of is maybe the Ice Show. Sometimes the prices are reduced $20 or so. Might be worth a shot, the show is not far off. And plus, you get to see a lot of cool stuff at the show as well

Good Fishin,
Matt

[email protected]
Catch-N Tackle
MarCum

[pulsar_nx]

G-man if you sign up for a credit card at GM they will give you 10% off of your first purchace, which is good for 40 bucks on the lx3.

[Guest]

Or you can get a Vexilar from Bass Pro shops or Cabelas on the six payment plan if they still offer it. They did last year.

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Mille Lacs Guide Service
651-271-5459
www.millelacsguideservice.com

[WallEYES]

The flasher debate this year.... I think both units perform well and are comparable. No one has said this, but Vexilar has outstanding customer service. I have been treated like a king everytime. This is why I am staying using vexilar, by a thin thread.
I attend to agree with Scott on the Lowrance units in that I really don't think they are going to be that popular for this season.

[bigeyes]

I don't know guys, I have tried to run pops 18 a few times. He seems to like it, but I'm afraid your going to have to pull the old fl8-slt out of my dead cold hand before I switch to anything. I just can't imagine a more simple, reliable unit that does everything you could want. Still have not seen anything that these new units can do that mine can't. To me the few new features will deffinitely not translate into more fish just more bells.