MarCum LX-3 vs Lowrance X67c

[HuskersRule]

I got my Ice Machine yesterday. I can't wait to get it out and try it.

[Chad711]

Well I fished with Vexlars, Marcoms, everything 6 feet all around me, no interferance probs....

As for the bottom settings it has upper and lower settings undeer the options.

[Corey Bechtold]

Why not do one better and get the m-68 which also has a GPS built right in it. It's only about 100.00 more.

[watersNfairways]

I bougth the x67, used it for a month and traded it in for a m68. Here is my take. I have used the LX-3 and the LF-18. If your looking for a straight ice unit, I would go with the LX-3. With leisure funds at a premium, the m68 is great. I sold my hand held GPS. Now I have three units is one. I needed a new graph for the boat. The m68 is so flexiable and functional it makes up for a few problems. Its interference is directly related to depth and bottom. I have fished in same house with no problem in shallow water soft bottom. Next to someone in deap water hard bottom you got problems. There is a noise rejection feature that will work at times. It is under that sonar menu. The other problem is if your on a soft bottom in less than 20 ft and a large fish or school comes in, the unit struggles with determining bottom. Anyone else having that problem? I am able to get by these problems because of it pluses: split screen, screen displaying any depth range, clearity, colors, the list does on.

[HuskersRule]

Stupid rookie question. I'm going out tomorrow night and will be using my x67c for the first time. How far in the water do you put the ducer? As far down as the thickness of the ice?

[Chad711]

Huskers as long as its in the water its good.......

[HuskersRule]

Chad,

I didn't think I could go the thickness of the ice because of the lenght of the rod that the ducer is attached to. Thanks for the help.

[fishing4fun]

I'm going on a short trip to Waubay this weekend and I have a 67c and the rest of my budies have FL8, FL18, and 2 LX3s, which ones should I stay away from? I'm just learning how to use it. And I don't want to put it in the truck because I can't get rid of the interference. Will that noise reduction help? What all should I know about this machine to help. I have only had it out in my house once and works great by its self I'm just scared to get it in a crowd.
Thanks

[watersNfairways]

Depth of water and bottom structure will affect performance more than other machine. They will all give interference if too close. Do try inference. Go to Full Sonar, menu, sonar features, noise interference, adjust it to high, exit out, and go back to flasher mode. It has worked in certain situations.

[watersNfairways]

The rod that comes with it, throw that away. It works better without it. It is always much better to have the transducer at the bottom of the ice. Lowrance uses that metal rod only to get around patent issues. Vex. and Marcum have everything patented.

[HuskersRule]

Waters,
What do you use to keep the ducer at the right level then? Do you just fish the cord through the holder instead of the rod?

[watersNfairways]

Here is another to try. Attach recharger clips to battery post, push unit connectors back on. This is an easy way to recharge after each use. Unzip, plug-in, and go. It still stores nicely in the top pouch. I heard some say that the case was bulky. I have found it very practical and protective. I have also rigged up a little protective sock for the puck, just to keep it from getting banged up during storage.

[watersNfairways]

Yep, that is all I do. It works just fine. It is also easier to get the transducer out of the water when fighting a fish this way.

[HuskersRule]

I would think so. It's a pain to try and store it in the case. I'll try it your way tomorrow night when I go out. Thanks for the info.

[fishing4fun]

Has anyone had any problems with the X67c in cold weather. If it's sitting on the ice all day does the screen slow down or give fits? I like the idea of the sock over the puck, I was wondering about that banging around in there. Also is it better to just go buy a float for the cable versus that plastic hanger? I'm open to all suggestions. Thanks for the help. I'm still a little worried about the interference for other locators. This will be my first time out with this one and a 4 other brand locators. I just hope it works.

[HuskersRule]

Fishing,

I'll be interested to see how it goes for you. I'm hoping to have mine out for the first time tonight. If you adjust the noice reduction you shouldn't have a problem with interference. From what I've been told anyway.

I tried to ask Lowrance the question about IR and they didn't have a clue what it was. Scary!

Good Luck.

[fishing4fun]

Ya I've been online with Lowrance also and they said the ASP and the noise reduction should take care of it. I still don't know. I just don't like spending 400.00 and having to put it away because it only works by it self. I may put some bad notes on this board come Monday.

[mrclean]

I've fished in the same house with both the marcum and fl18 and have had no problems.

[Chad711]

fishing4fun

I was at the Brainerd tourney with the 67, had in on for 4 hours in about -20 with wind, not a single prob, doesnt slow down...

[Mongro02]

I've had my X67c out last week when it was -4 outside...no problems.

Supposedly if I read it right according to the manual it's suppose to work until -40 below...but the guy Cabelas who sold it me said that the unit will work down to -10 below zero.

[dec]

tested the x67 ice fishing in 26' to 30' on a hard bottom. recieved lots of interference. unusable anywhere near (25' or less) another flasher. ir on other units fl8, lx3 made these units usable. temp was 23 deg, seems like the x67 was sluggish at best. it left a vapor trail every time the jig was moved. snap jiging really reviels this slugish performance (real time it is not) due to the sloooow screen. i dont want to sound too negative on this unit but so far this is what i've experienced. i plan on testing this unit again tonight, will report on its cold weather performance as it is 5 deg today.

[fishing4fun]

I just got back from a trip to Waubay and my report on my 67c is that it is not as accurate as the Marcoms or the Vex. We had 2 LX3's, FL8, FL18 and me 67c. Mine was by far the porest one there. There was alot of interference at times. It was very hard to determine fish. We had an underwater camara and that is how I learned what a fish was and what was my jig at times. The Marcoms worked the best by far. My report buy the Marcom.

[Dan Wood]

dec, Welcome to FM!

Thanks for sharing your observations (fishing4fun & dec)...

The 18 is a good unit and I'm sure the 67c is a fine unit as well. Keep in mind you are comparing these to the most advanced unit on the market in the LX-3. I love my LX-3, I can't imagine a better unit.

[dec]

yea, was out both sat and sun fishing in 30 to 38 ft with the x67c. same results very slow screen (vapor trails). even the interference had a vapor trail. had to quit using the unit due to tooo much interference and extremely small screen (hard to see your bait). i get the impression that the x67c tries to do everything (both graph and flasher) but doesnt suceed at doing either very well. at $400 it can't compete with any of the $400 flashers, or any of the $400 graphs. in the end you end up with a big comprimise. for some people his may be fine, but for the serious angler i dont think so. i could go on and on but i think i've said enough.

[icebum1]

Hello all, I started this topic 2 weeks ago or somthing like that. I've used my brand new LX-3 for over a week now. Istill can't believe the quality of this unit. Hand's down best decision I've made in regards to fishing. thanks to everyone who replied. If anyone is going to buy a new flasher it's a no brainer LX-3 Not to knock the X67 or the FL 18 that's just my .02