LX-5 trouble

[Trouthunter]

I had 2 brand new units out on the ice this weekend, and noticed problems with both of them.

1) on LX5 #1, when I switch to NBT, I cannot see my jig, however I can see the jigs in the the other holes in the house. on 20 degree mode, I can see my jig fine. I switched transducers between the units and that seems to be where the problem is.

2) On LX-5 #2, there appears to be a dead spot in the flasher unit. No LEDs light up between the 18 foot mark and the 20 foot mark. when I am on zoom, I can lift or sink the transducer to place my jig in that window, and when it hits 18 feet, the lights go out. Anyone else experience a similar problem? I noticed that my new upgraded LX3 with 3 color does the same thing! Are both units bad? I have to switch to 40 foot mode to fish in 18-20 feet of water, and it's kind of annoying! (I didnt check the other LX-5 #1 for this problem, since after I encountered problem #1 I put that one back in the cabin for the weekend.)

I will call Marcum tomorrow, but wanted to hear what other people thought about these issues.

BD

[CNY Tim]

First thing.. I am sorry to hear about the problem you are having with your LX-5... So let me try to understand what you have there. On LX-5 #1 it sounds like you figured out that it was the transducer and that unit is o.k. now as long as you have transducer #2 on #1.

The 18' to 20' black out is standard for the LX-3 and LX-5 to lose. That's what I have noticed with my 2 LX-3's and LX-5's, no biggie I just flip to the 40 deg. setting and it's fine.

My buddies Dad asked me about that the other the other day on his LX-3 and I told him it's standard. He figured it out and fished on the 40' setting and caught a nice bunch of fish too.

MarCum's customer service is very good and they should take care of you quickly. Let us know how you made out..

[Trouthunter]

Thanks for the reply

The problem with Transducer #1 moved to LX5 #2 when I moved the 'ducer, so I'll have to get the ducer fixed.

[herb]

CNY Tim,

You say the 18 to 20' black out is standard, but why?!

Also, I just ordered an LX3tc, and I'm starting to regret it already even tho I haven't recieved it yet. Why are they sending out so many units with bad ducers?

Good customer service or not, it doesn't reflect well when they know there's a problem and they still ship units with possible defects.

[ChuckN]

herb,

Last year Marcum had a batch of bad transducers. The problem was resolved and they are not sending out a batch of bad products.

I don't think that Tim meant that 18-20' mark is blacked out being "standard". There is a slight dead zone towards the 20' mark in the 20' key feature (like all flashers I've owned) on the flasher head, and when you turn the unit to the 40 depth zone everything works fine as long as you set it to the appropriate depth choice. The screen is very crisp and easy to read. If you want to see your lure even more clearly, hit the zoom option and scroll down to the area in the water column you are fishing...that's detail!!

As an FL-8 owner for 18 years, the FL-8 hasn't left the garage since I got my hands on the LX-3, and now the LX-5.

I have not regretted the Marcum choice one bit.

[herb]

ChuckN, thanks for the fast reply and detailed info.

[Trouthunter]

I am wondering if this is a broken unit or if this is normal for these machines? I'm not trying to ruffle anyone's feathers, but before I go through trying to get these units fixed or repaired, I would like an opinion on if this is normal behavior or not. I'd call missing the top 2 feet not a "slight" problem...it reduces the zoom capabilities by 20% and the normal operation by 10%...I just bought 2 LX-5's and an LX-3. I am very excited about these units but this behavior is not something I experienced with my Vexilars.

As far as Marcum is concerned they are great. A new transducer is on it's way for the LX-3 and I am going to return LX-5 #1 and get a new one.

Thanks for the help guys.

[ScottND]

What kind of flashers have you been using before the Marcums? I've got 6 different flashers collected over 25 years and have found the power of the Marcums to allow me to keep the gain way down. Normally under 2 in up to 25 ft. Are the units you are showing in 2.5 - 3 ft. of water? If so you are not supposed to have anything colored in that range and the gain should be on just enough to show the first red mark. What type of lake bottom are you shooting these pictures from? A hard bottom will need way less gain then a soft bottom. Sorry about all the questions but I troubleshoot electronics for a living.

I have an LX5 and compared to my LX3 I have to learn how to use it all over again. The seperation and clarity are so good on the 5 that I was targeting some very small perch thinking they were bigger because of how well they showed up. Wasted a lot of time on them until I learned.

[Trouthunter]

Hah! sorry about that...it was the kitchen sink! The ducer was lit all the way around, but the shutter speed only caught 1/2 the lights...

On that note...I wonder if the first 2 feet of the units are a dead spot too.

One theory I have is that the LED part of the flasher probably is programmed to stop lighting once the first part hits 0. Along those lines, it would also not start lighting until the last part passed 0, this would prevent a 1 foot "orange" reading to not light up 19 or a 19 foot "red" to not light the 1 foot, causing overlap etc. It seems this theory is supported by these photos. Although I dont remember my vexilar FL8 or 18 exhibiting this behavior...

[ScottND]

I kinda figured that's what the condition was (in the sink) but I didn't want to suggest it. The gain in that case should be under 1/2. The sonar signal sent by a transducer will bounce back up to the transducer more than once if the gain is high. (called an echo) In the pictures I'm guessing it is bouncing back probably 20 times or more to fill it up with red. In a sink you may only need to turn it just on to get your first reading. Know any one with an aquarium ? I'm sure an LX5 would show the smallest guppie in there! Hehehe...now I want to try it but don't have an aquarium.

I know I can see a small bead (one used with slip bobbers) slide down my line to my 1/32 ounce jig in 40 ft. of water with no problem regular mode and in zoom. I can easily pick up 2- 3" perch right on the bottom too. If I sound impressed with the LX5 it's because I very much am.

P.S. I don't work for any fishing company or Fishing Minnesota either!

[Trouthunter]

Dude I only had it on high gain to purposefully fill the screen with red to illustrate the "dead spots".

I'm sure that the proper gain for the kitchen sink to see leftover chinese food is probably 1/2.

I noticed the dead spot while trying to locate 20 feet of water...It seemed the lake skipped that depth...when I threw it on 40ft...I was surprised to see the bottom was indicating at 9...which on 40 would be 18 feet! that's when I first noticed this odd behavior.

BD

[Gus]

I was fishing with Trouthunter this weekend and I witnessed all said problems. When we were in 19 feet of water we noticed that we had to switch to the 40 foot range. What we did then to really illustrage this dead spot to us was to get as much of the transducer cable as possible out and drop it in the hole to lower the ducer thus taking depth away for the test. We then put it back on the 20 foot mode and lowered and raised the ducer in the water to see where the bottom dissappeared. It was right at the 18 foot mark on the scale that the dead spot started. You could raise and lower the ducer and the bottom would come into view and exit view right at the 18 foot hash on the scale. It would work fine if you switched it to 40 foot range but in doing that you lose precison. At that point (on 40 foot range) you would have to be in 36-40 feet of water to hit the dead spot. When using zoom in 10 foot mode you really lose two feet reducing that to 8 feet. In 5 foot zoom mode you lose even more. I guess that's why they have adjustable zoom but that is just a work around. This all just seems strange for such an advanced flasher.

So the main two questions that both of us have is this:

1) Is this normal with what other LX5 users are seeing or do we have a repair issue to deal with?

2) Why would Marcum have numbers on the scale run all the way around to the top (20) if you knowingly couldn't see a depth in that area of the flasher at anytime without bumping to the next scale?

Please do not take our questions and concerns as bashing. We are amazed at how this flasher performs and will NOT be switching back to FL18's but we really think we have genuine questions that could be answered.

[hovermn]

My LX-5 displays this dead zone as well. Noticed it on a trip on to Ely over Christmas, but didn't think much of it. Then, the next Tuesday, I started questioning this. Fishing in 18-19 fow, I'd much rather use the 20 ft setting. It has a faster refresh rate and I don't have to use my brain to figure out what depth it's reading

Anyway, just wanted to throw my observation into the hat.

[ChuckN]

I can't answer the technical questions you have, but I can add my observations and opinion.

I don't believe anything is wrong with your Marcum, if that is the answer you are looking for. I have noticed about a foot of dead zone around 19', and by your photos it looks like 18.5' is what your flasher indicates.

I never really thought it as an issue since I just switch to the 40' mode (and I use zoom a lot). I don't worry about the math in the head since all I want to see is my lure and fish on the screen eating my lure.

[Trouthunter]

That's kinda what I figured. Thanks for the feedback guys.

We exchanged the LX5 #1 at cabelas last night. Will have to try it out this weekend.

BD

[iffwalleyes]

I have seen that same thing with all units. Having this dead spot when you are fishing water depths that are right near the upper range of your depth capabilities. I have seen it on my Vex and Marcums both. So I really don't see any problem with your unit either. You just have to switch to a deeper setting. As mentioned this is normal no real reason to be concerned.

[Gissert]

I see the same thing on my FL8 and FL18 all the time. I just go up one range, and the dead spot is gone.

[Gus]

I agree, I have owned both the fl-8 and fl-18 but I am pretty sure the dead zone was much smaller on those. I seem to remember no more than half a foot or so. I'd try them out in a direct comparison but they are now both sold. To me 2 feet still seems excessive but since it appears to be the same on other's LX5's I'll let it rest.

ChuckN- I think that photo is deceiving for some reason. On the water it definatley cut at 18 ft.

Thanks everyone for the posts and infomation.

LX5 is the best flasher I've used and I hate to look like we are picking on the unit. We are really just trying to understand it entirely.

[Trouthunter]

I agree with Gus. The LX3 cuts out at 18.5, but the LX5 is definetly 18.

[Trouthunter]

Quote:

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There is a slight dead zone towards the 20' mark in the 20' key feature

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Chuck,

I am curious as to why you posted earlier that the black out wasnt near as bad as I said it was, and then later this year you posted a photo HERE of your LX-5 with the 18-20' blacked out!

[Cliff Wagenbach]

If you will look again at his photo and read what he wrote you will see that his jig is at 32'(not 15-1/2') and that the LX-5 has to be set on the 40' range, (not 20' range.)

I would estimate the bottom to be at around 38', thus the dead zone between 38' and 40'.

Very standard picture on all units, no matter what brand.

Cliff