LX-3

[Ozzy169]

I've had my Marcum LX3 for 1 1/2 yrs. The transducer is shot!! I know this for a fact because I tried another transducer and it now works fine. The problem I was having was, I had to turn the gain way up to detect my jig (#5 pimple)- water depth was 8 ft.

[brianh]

Had transducer problems also. E-mailed Marcum, they had me send the unit to them. Had it back in 3 days with a new transducer at no cost. My LX-3 is 4 years old. Works better now than it ever did.

[BDR]

Ozzy- Have you contacted Marcum? They have great customer service. I am sure they will figure out the problem and work it out with you. As with any product there is a chance of problems here and there.

[McGurk]

My car is junk! I had to replace the battery after 5 years!

My house is junk! I had to replace the furnace after 25 years!

Please look up all of the other posts about problems with Marcum not taking care of them; you'll probably be able to count them on 1 hand. Your particular problem has been discussed and resolved many times with most people beaming about the fast turnaround. Good Luck and please call Marcum support before flaming good, reliable product. I'm sure when you sold your 18 it was the best move anyone could make at the time you did it.

[Surface Tension]

Ozzy169, your problem is just and email away. MarCum customer service and they will get you up and going.

[Pete Riola]

Ozzy, That unit is under warranty and like the fellas mentioned Marcum's service will get you fixed right away. Shoot them an email [email protected]. I'll bet that LX3 outperforms the 18 on the water...you made the right choice with the LX3. My new Artic Cat blew a coil on mile 196 I still think I made a good choice going with the Pantera 550 so I can feel your pain but I'm a tad unlucky that I've been down for two weeks.

[andy j]

Ozzy, I to was a Vexilar guy for a long time, not anymore I am a Marcum believer now, I have the LX3 and like it alot, Like the others said before, Marcum stands behind their products and you shouldn't have problems getting it taken care of. Good Luck

[ChuckN]

That's nothing Pete, both my sleds have blown their motors this winter. Never had that problem ever in sledding for 23 years. No warranty either to cover almost $1,000 in parts (and counting). Luckily I can do the labor, not on an LX-3.

Marcum will take care of you. I haven't even considered looking at my FL-8 since I got the LX-3. Incredible!!

[Northlander]

I also love my Marcum LX-3! Pete are there any plans for a deep water version for next year? We could really use it Laker Fishing in Bayfield and off the North Shore when we get the ice. [email protected]

[Dave]

The transducer is the most sensitive, and vital, part of any depth finder. As far as the LX-3 transducer, I stopped in at Marcum a couple weeks ago and will pass on what I learned. If you look at the bottom of your transducer, does it appear to be very hard, when you try and push your finger nail into it? The bottom of the ducer should be somewhat plyable and you should be able to leave a slight mark with your finger nail.

In short, inside the transducer housing is a crystal that sends and receives the signals from the depth finder. If the epoxy that encapsulates the crystal (the epoxy is the bottom side of the transducer) is too hard, with temperature change, the crystal will separate from the epoxy and the gain will have to be turned up for the crystal to read the signal being bounced back from the lake bottom.

If the epoxy is the correct density, with temperature change, both the crystal and the epoxy expand and contract together, making direct contact at all times.

The company that encapsulates the LX-3 transducers did send Marcum a bad batch of transducers in 2004. The expected batch was about 200 transducers. That's not really terrible when you consider tens of thousands of LX-3's were sold within the year, but, Marcum is implementing steps to qualify this part of production coming from that manufacturer.

Ozzy, take a look at your transducer bottom and give it that quick test with your finger nail. If the bottom is hard, maybe the encapsulating company didn't detect that transducer back then. A product quality escape such as this, even over a year ago, was something the encapsulating company didn't see a concern with. Too bad the only company that people relate any failure with a product is the company who's name is on the product, in this case, Marcum. Now, the encapsulating company and Marcum are putting in preventive steps to eliminate this problem in the future. Sampling epoxy density as production flows. It's a problem even Vexilar had when they started. Also, you can't rule out a hard hit from the end user (consumer) could even cause a transducer failure. So, true, your transducer may be junk now but, the real sign of a quality company is what the company will do about making it right. As others have stated, contact Marcum and they'll take care of ya.

[McGurk]

Great post, Dave. Learned a lot from this site in general and would like to thank everyone who posts, including the people asking questions; you guys are the ones who start the ball rolling.

"'cause knowing is half the battle"

[chunkytrout]

There you have it then folks. Great post Dave! I spoke with Paul Thorne and got the same detailed answer. Good people at Marcum.

[red bricks]

OZZY, I bought my LX-3 December 04. I must have recieved one of those bad transducers. First time out I had to crank up the gain to 8 to see my jig in 18ft of water. Marcum did correct to problem quickly. I will always buy from a company that stands by their stuff.

[skunk-ape]

I too had a bad transducer. I contacted Marcum and they quickly resolved the problem by sending me a new/refurbished transducer(can't tell which). I was worried that they would need my warranty and receipt info which I didn't have(stupid me). They never requested it. I was very impressed with their customer service and I love the LX-3!!

[Dave]

skunk-ape, I really don't believe they could refurbish a transducer since it'd be tough to remove the epoxy without damaging the transducer shell and some cable length would be lost. Plus, it just doesn't sound cost effective to refurbish them. I'd bet you received a new one.

My LX-3 ducer's bottom surface is hard and you can notice a shine to it. I may have one of the suspected "bad" transducers.

It also has some scratches from normal use but, I haven't had any loss of sensitivity yet. I'll report it here and to Marcum if I do. And, if you're wondering, I did have to buy my unit just like everyone else.

Hope this helps others understand a little about the LX-3 transducers.

[knoppers]

thanks for that post dave, I thought it was how this unit just worked, my ducer is that bad one. I just shot marcum a e-mail, and hopefully they will replace this ducer. I always woundered why I had to turn up the power so high. my boat ducer works fine.

[Northlander]

I use ssome advice Ed Carlson posted. I wrap my ducer in a can cozy and then put it inside the tray. This gives it shock absorbtion and it wont move around at all. Thanks Ed! Great advice!

[zelek]

What's a can cozy?

[Dave]

It's a foam can cooler thingy you put your pop can in to stay cooler during the summer time.

[knoppers]

got a return e-mail from marcum on monday about my possible bad ducer, and they said they sent me a new one. I recieved my new ducer this week. great service from marcum, and since my warrenty was up, even better. thanks marcum. I will test this one out, and then send them the bad ducer.

[Surface Tension]

knoppers, thanks for the update on MarCum's customer service.

I save the bubble wrap the ducer is packaged in and use that to cushion my ducer.

[knoppers]

bubble wrap?

[DRH1175]

I just got a LX5 so I am quite excited. I have had Zercoms LCD40, Clearwater Classic, And color point and have used a vexilar. I am figureing though that this will blow them all away!