Marcum LX-3 – From Ice Fishing To Boat Mount – Easily

[Dave]

While preparing your ice fishing gear for summer storage, one thing you should do is fully charge your Marcum LX-1 or LX-3 Ice System. But, why would you not use your Marcum during the summer?! Go ahead, fully charge the Marcum battery as planned but, with a simple transducer conversion kit you can maximize on the investment and benefits of your Marcum while using it on your boat during the summer. I elected to mount my LX-3 on the bow of my Alumacraft Trophy 170 and chose the trolling motor conversion kit. Here’s what it takes to do the conversion.

For about $80 (check with a Marcum dealer for exact cost) this particular conversion kit included a mounting gimbal, power connector and trolling motor transducer puck. If you have no trolling motor, a high-speed transducer conversion kit is also available at Marcum dealers.

The Marcum trolling motor transducer utilizes a 20-degree cone angle and has 20-feet of cable. (Using marine grade epoxy, the trolling motor transducer could also be mounted to the inside of a fiberglass boat. Contact Marcum or a Marcum dealer for more information). The transducer cable length allows the mounting of the LX-3 to almost anywhere on the boat.

The trolling motor transducer is concaved to conform to the bottom of a trolling motor.

It’s best to mount the transducer, obviously, to the bottom side of the trolling motor , using a stainless steel hose style clamp; making sure the transducer is in the centerline of the motor and as far back from the propeller as possible.

Next, secure the transducer cable, as close as possible to the transducer, with a tie-wrap; to provide a strain relief for the transducer/cable connection. In my case, I drilled a small hole in the Minnkota trolling motor housing and used a tie-wrap (shown in white).

Now, route the transducer cable up to the top steering head of the trolling motor and secure the cable with another tie-wrap. Continue routing the transducer cable back down alongside of the trolling motor shaft and continue the routing onto the LX-3 location; in this case, the bow of the boat. Leave enough slack in the transducer cable that’s routed up and down the trolling motor shaft to allow for the up and down deployment of the trolling motor.

Mounting the LX-3 in each boat will be slightly different. It’s best to mount the LX-3 gimbal onto a rotating mount (purchased separately); so maximum adjustability for viewing of the LX-3 can be achieved from any position in the boat.

When you remove the LX-3 or LX-1 from the Ice System (two large plastic knobbed bolts) make sure you use both rubber washers (two on each side) when mounting the unit onto the boat gimbal mount; for maximum vibration-free installation. Place one rubber washer on each side of the gimbal mount.

With an abundance of unused transducer cable (in this situation) I chose to route the transducer cable down into the bow compartment, below the top deck, coil up the excess transducer cable, and then route the transducer cable and connector back up to the LX-3 mounted on top of the bow.

Connect the power cable to the 12-volt starting battery terminals; red wire to positive and black wire to negative. Powering the LX-3 from the same battery used for the trolling motor will more than likely cause electrical noise interference on the LX-3 display.

Now, simply plug in the power and transducer connectors into the back of the LX-3 and you should be in business; ready to find and catch fish from you boat with the help of your Marcum. Turn on the LX-3 power to verify correct power connections and listen for a clicking sound from the transducer.

Contact Marcum Technologies or find a Marcum dealer here

Marcum Technologies

[hanson]

Good stuff Dave!!