Marcum LX 5

[johnmn]

Would the Marcum LX 5 shot through the Ice better than a Vex since it has 2000 watts of power? I was also wondering about how long could I run the Marcum LX 5 on a full battery charge. I have a 8se and it seems to run forever on a full charge.

[Deitz Dittrich]

I dunno, shooting through ice is more dependant on ice conditions. There cant be too much air in the ice! I have an LX-5 and would not trade it for anything! I feel it is simply the best on ice unit on the market. I have never ran my unit non stop till it dies before, so I really cant tell you how long it will run. Temperature plays a large roll in it, it lasts less time the colder it gets, but I have fished outside in -15 for a full sun up to sun down day and stil had power left over.

[johnmn]

Thanks Deitz, That is good to know about the battery life. I was just wondering about it because of the 4 times more power they use thought it would drain the battery a lot more. I'll be getting one than. Now I just need to find a puck transducer in town so i can mount it to my trolling motor. Wish I didn't need to spend another 80 bucks on one though since I just bought one for my 8se last year, but I guess that’s the way it goes hehe.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Glad I was able to help. You can see a list of retailers on MarCums HSOforum of who carries the high speed tranceducers for the LX-5. Enjoy it... I know you will!

[Dave]

Four times the power doesn't mean it draws four times the battery power, remember. The LX-5 draws ~25% (350ma for LX-5 versus 275ma for Vex) more current than the Vex to operate. So, while run time may be a little shorter using the LX-5, it isn't something that would deter a consumer from purchasing one. As Deitz pointed out, the temperature plays a bigger part in how long a flasher will operate on a single batteyr charge.

[gman2002]

just a quick question about charging. how long do you think you can leave the charger on after it hits 100 %. will a couple of days wreck anything or would it be ok. also when i charge my lx5 and it hits 100 % i'll take off the charger and it will drop down to 70 - 80 % . then when i'm on the ice it will drop to 20 - 40 % real fast. any ideas why this is happening ?

[Kyle Sandberg]

Your battery is getting old and is having trouble holding a charge. I'd recomend getting a new one. You shouldn't have a problem then.

[Dave]

Yup, sounds like the battery is getting weak. AS faras your question about the charger, you should be able to leave the DCS connected all the time, even though it says it's 100% charged. That's the job of the charging system, to keep it charged up during the non use time. If you unplug the DCS, unplug one connection from the battery as well so, the DCS display doesn't drain the battery.

[johnmn]

Thanks for explaining the draw between the 2 units. I just want to catch more fish so I decided I needed to upgrade. Not that I wasn't catching anything with my Vex. I have read so much about the LX5 and how everyone that has one loves them I decided to make the plunge. I just hope it will help me catch Walleyes in the boat. I have really bad luck with Walleyes.