Choosing a Flasher - MarCum or Vexilar

[Scupper]

Question for CNY Tim...

Upon scrolling the two yellow zoom targets to the "bottom" red target, the yellow zoom targets stop just short of bottom.

Should the yellow zoom targets go all the way into the bottom red target?

LX3 upgraded to true color last year.

Good Luck...

[CNY Tim]

Mine ran past bottom from what I recall it's been a season since I used my LX-3's. From what I can remember you could always put it down into the red...

[Scupper]

Thanks for responding Tim.

As I recall I also could run into or past the Red or bottom.

I will give a shout out to Marcum and see what there thoughts are.

Again, thanks...

Good Luck...

[trapperdirk]

Yes they go to the bottom but my Lx-5 does not either if your playing with it at home but will once your on the water . Use it where your supposed too and quit molesting the poor thing at home . Neither my lx-5 nor my LX-3 go to bottom at home .

TD

[CNY Tim]

Dirk you old scallywag Caught some dandy eyes last night. What's a guy to do until ice time, this is pathetic but the open water fishing has been fantastic, check out the NY Open Water Forum II. Real fat hogs!

I do miss running my MarCum come on old man winter!

[Pary]

let me know also when u contact marcum cause mine doesn't go all the way 2 the bottom either.

[JuJu]

I just bought my first flasher, should be here tonight! I did alot of research, read a ton of opinions, my buddy even has an fl-18 so I got to see that first hand how good it works. I would tease him all last year about how much he talked to the flasher, yell at the flasher, and even drive home to get it when he forgot it and we were already at the lake (100+ miles round trip) because he will not fish without it. Then I figured out how they work and the hook was set, I needed one. I ordered the LX-3tc because it was $300 shipping included and that is the only reason I went with Marcum, the cheapest I could get an Fl-18 for was $365 shipped which isn't much more money, but being a new dad, I felt guilty enuff buying a flasher as it was. Will field test this weekend and see if theres anything to compare with the vex's -

[Pary]

dang!!!! you got a hella of a deal. i got mine for that much n it's reconditioned lx-3 n yours is brand new.

[dick schluter]

i used my new lx5 last weekend and all i can say is WOW!did alot of research,read all the threads about it, thanks to everyone who posted.fished in 5ft to 30ft very clean,quiet,

easy to use.i was a vex owner but now marcum for me.

Dick SCHLUTER

[Deitz Dittrich]

Hey DS, Welcome to FishingMinnesota/Iceleaders glad to have you with us!.. and enjoy that new LX5, I know you will!

[JuJu]

I have a question for any Marcum users, I have an LX-3 and was wondering when it is in zoom mode, which it always is, is it normal to have to bring the window down to the bottom every time I turn it on?

Pary - Mine was reconditioned also....and I love the thing.

[Paul Waldowski]

Yes,

That is normal as it's an adjustable zoom and not a bottom lock unit

[BDR]

Just a few days ago I was fishing 36' of water. Crappie were suspended at about 16'. A bottom lock zoom would have done me no good at all. The adjustable zoom on the LX-5 was perfect, combined with the narrow beam transmission. It made it pretty easy to pick fish of the top of that school.

[trapperdirk]

Post deleted by trapperdirk

[Pary]

went out this past weekend n the marcum worked great n caught my first walleye of the season though is was bout 12 inches long it'll do. Thanks for all your help. also fished next to a fl-8 n boy let me tell you this thing rocks n picture compared to the fl-8 is very crisp. can't wait til next weekend. i'm very pleased with this unit.

[Eckie]

attaboy, Pary...we knew you'd love it once you had a chance to play with it. I continually learn more about it and what it can do..it is indeed, awesome!

[JayS]

Purchased my first flasher today. Marcum LX5, if your going to be a bear you might as well be a grizzly. I will be trying it out over the holidays. Fish beware!! How many hours does it usually take behind the wheel before you understand these units??

[trapperdirk]

About 5 minutes if you read the directions or someone shows you . Keep your gain down so you just see your jig and watch for the colours to change as fishies move in .

TD

[nitro180]

RE choosing a flasher,I use a lowrance x67c. It has a flasher with a battery indacator in screen,can also use split flasher,graph and split graph.

X67C IceMachine™ FEATURES

View Points <<

High-bright 3.5" (8.9cm) diagonal 256-color, 1/4 VGA active matrix TFT transflective LCD that optimizes cold climate performance

Impressive 320x240 (h x w) pixel resolution

White LED backlighting for the screen and keypad in night or low-light viewing

Exclusive, water-repellent, softpack nylon bag with sure-grip handle, dual zippers, and rubberized non-stick base - fits conveniently in a 5-gallon pail

Built-in, molded tray with battery tie-downs

12 volt, 7-amp rechargeable, sealed battery and battery charger both included

Swing-out, ice hole transducer bracket

Space-saving case design with adjustable tilt, quick-mount/release convenience

Performance Features <<

Depth penetration to 600 feet (183 m)

True 800 watts peak-to-peak transmit power

Exclusive new full-screen and split-zoom color LCD flasher display with COLORLINE™

Battery Status Indicator displays continuous readouts of battery life

FishReveal™ feature exposes fish targets hidden in cover

HyperScroll™ displays fish targets at higher boat speeds

Advanced Signal Processing (ASP™) for clearest pictures

Selective on/off Advanced Fish Symbol I.D.™

Selective on/off FishTrack™

shallow/deep/fish alarms

Transducer <<

Special 200 kHz bullet shaped transducer produces up to 60° of coverage area using high sensitivity

Also accepts other Lowrance transducer options for versatile, all-season portable fishfinding

Optional Skimmer transducers allow for operation up to 70 mph (61 kts)

My brother inlaw will not go fishing without his Vex, Thats cool too.

[snoozebutton]

Someone asked in a previous post what the difference was between the VX1 and the one that Cabela's has, the VXR. I was curious too so I emailed Marcum and here's there response:

"No difference on the flasher other then the branding. I believe the VXR comes with a case and the VX-1 does not. We do sell a generic case for the VX-1. They can be purchased at: www.fishingprostore.com.

Also keep in mind the rebate is only on the MarCum VX-1 and the unit must be purchased by 12/31 to qualify for the rebate."

Hope that helps!

[Diago]

Thanks for all the great information on this subject. I will be fishing next to my wife who uses a FL-8 and I don't want to interfere with her signal . Should I get a FL-12 or a Marcum LX3.

thanks for responding!

[Walleye71]

I think to really be safe, get the MarCum to avoid any issues. I've fished with my LX-5 next to my FL-18 and didn't have any issues. I always have had issues when I have fished the same brand name of depth finder next to one another.

What have others seen?

[PDOGG]

Does anyone have any idea why Marcums dont display from 18 or 18.5 to 20 on the display or if they've done anything to fix the problem ? I am on my third one now (2 LX-3's and just got an Lx-5) and they all have done it. After the second one did it the store owner called the factory and they said it was a glitch and they where trying to fix it. Now I just brought a new Lx-5 home and it does it also. Part of the reason for getting the new one was i figured they would have the problem cured by now. I know I can just switch to a deeper setting or put the transducer farther in the water but that's annoying and when you pay that much for something you would think it would work right. I am thinking about exchanging it for a FL-20 because of this problem. Does anyone know if vexilar has the same problem?

[CNY Tim]

PDOGG- I myself wonder why the sticker change wasn't accomplished because basically that's what were talking about here. It's the only issue I have had with all 3 of mine as well. But it's habit now just to flip to the deeper setting. You can always email MarCum customer service and ask them if it's something that can be accomplished and mailed to the consumer to pop on over the current one. Seem's like a simple fix...

I'll take that problem with MarCum anyday than the hole hopping in zoom mode problem with the vex not staying locked in or the crappy target seperation and the blobby target display while fishing weeds and stacked targets. It's your call on that one but until Vex upgrades the internals and gives me the detail I need in deep or in shallow weeds in no way what so ever will I switch. That would be a downgrade in my opinion to go back new models or not, it's essentially the same old song and dance.... But like I said it's your call.

[Scupper]

I have also experianced the dead zone at depths mentioned.

It was explained to me, from a "Marcum Tech" that all sonars will experiance a dead zone, ie., vexilar, and to make adjustment by switching to the next depth level.

By the way, I did not find this an annoyance.

Good Luck...