fishon68 Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 Have any of you guys used a lowrance lms-522c for ice fishing?I have a fl-18 but looking for another and have seen the kits to make this a ice fishing set-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stumper Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 Ive seen these kits on sale for 550.oo the other day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandmannd Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 For the kit or whole unit stumper? That's a lot if it's just the kit, should be under $200. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuds75 Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 I heard Cableas is selling a 522 winter kit for $550, but in that kit you get the Head unit (which has a built in GPS antenna), 2 power cords (one for boat and one for ice), 1 ice-ducer, 1 boat transducer, and of course knobs, bracket, cover, and manual. I am not sure about something to mount it on for ice.It's basically as much as you pay for a new 522c and you'd get all the things to make it ice-ready Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lotwfisher Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 I have the 332c for ice fishing in warmer weather. I really like it. I don't choose it over my VX-1 but it is still very nice. Uses more power and it also my only summer unit so I am really careful about transporting it with the snowmobile. I just put the unit on a $10 blue box(bigger than the genz box) and hooked it up to a 17amp 12volt battery. You will have to get the ice ducer which will cost $65 or more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stumper Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 Yup it was Cabelas and it included the carry case,soft cover and battery. Basically ready to fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishon68 Posted November 23, 2008 Author Share Posted November 23, 2008 I already have the head unit as i use it on the boat, i seen the kit through lowrance for 175.00, but wondered how well it works compered to a vexilar, maybe i should just buy another vex, or maybe try the humminbird? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
croixflats Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 Be carefull of extreme cold with useing these units. It is not recomended for winter use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBuck Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 How cold is too cold for units like this? I just converted mine to the blue box and got her all setup! It seems like it would be excellent with gps/flasher capability. Anyone else use one on the ice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lotwfisher Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 If you can squeeze it into the budget get a flasher but I know you can get the 522c on ice for less than $100 if you already have the head unit. I mounted my gps puck (not the igps unit) to the handle of the blue box and put an old piece of foam on the transducer to keep it float proper. Some people don't buy the ice ducer and just make a bracket for the skimmer ducer. And as croixflats say I dont recommend using it outside in cold cold weather, keep it indoors where it can be kept heated. I turn off the gps option(when I don't need it) and use it inside so I use less background light to get the most out of the battery cause the color screen draws alot of power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pznak Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 I have 2 and have used them on Rainy the past 2 seasons. Gets pretty cold up there and have never had an issue except with the gps going in and out which was an issue with earlier ones. They replaced both of mine because of that. Great customer service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishin4life... Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Jimbuck, can I ask where you got the transducer from or where you found the best price?Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishon68 Posted November 24, 2008 Author Share Posted November 24, 2008 Thanks for all the info, one more question,what exactly do i need to buy to make this work and how well does the flasher work compare to a vex etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBuck Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Just a few things.... Vexilar Battery Genz Blue Box 522 Power Harness 522 Ice Transducer It's all around 100-125 but is well worth it if you have lake chips and a wealth of gps spots marked for winter pickin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walleyewild Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Jim I did the same thing with a 337 last year, I love the unit for ice, having a little history on the display is nice too.Never had a problem with it in the cold, other then the battery dieing quicker.How does one turn off the gps? I have been looking through the manual to find that, mine will only run about 5-6 hours on a 7ah battery, then I put it back on the 1 amp vehicle charger for a while.WWPS I got my transducer from Thorne Brothers, dont forget to get the vex float for the ducer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lotwfisher Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Jimbuck, thats exactly what mine looks like, but the box I put mine in was bigger which aloud a larger battery for longer use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBuck Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Excellent. Good to hear others are using it as well. Do you guys run an aqua view or anything else? I was tinkering in the garage last night and set up the portable and realized I might be a little cramped on space. I was toying with the idea of stacking 2 milk crates upside down and cutting out one side of each crate in order to stack my 522 and my aquaview then have an additional shelf for putting things on. I'm going to pick up parts tonight and see how it goes. I will post here for an update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishon68 Posted November 24, 2008 Author Share Posted November 24, 2008 JimBuck, does the flasher work just like a vex, i was looking in my owners manual and does not show much on the flasher part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandmannd Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Just a few things.... Vexilar Battery Genz Blue Box 522 Power Harness 522 Ice Transducer It's all around 100-125 but is well worth it if you have lake chips and a wealth of gps spots marked for winter pickin'. WHere did you find all those parts at? I already have an extra vex battery, didn't know they could run off of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Rueber Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Lowrance does sell an Ice Pack for the 522C. I bought one last year and it works great.From the Lowrance Web Site:Portable Accessories PPP-16I Part #16-46 $174.95 Ice fishing portable accessory pack. Includes ice fishing transducer, custom soft-side carry case, battery and charger. fromDo a search on PPP-16I to find some better prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBuck Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 fishon, I haven't had a chance to use the flasher on the ice as I just converted my unit for ice this weekend. From what I have played around with. There is a split zoom function which is under the menu button. Besides that, you can adjust sensitivity, colorline, depth range, signal speed, signal strength etc.....basically many of the features you use during open water with the 522. It seems pretty straightforward and I can't wait to get this thing out on the ice! Sandmannd, I stopped at Thorne Bros. and they had all the supplies I needed to make this conversion happen. If I would have brought my unit in they would have put it together with me which would have been a great time to get familiar with the functions this thing has on the ice.Important Note: I noticed under my Menu that once I fired the unit up with the ice transducer and everything else, an "Ice Machine" option appeared in my list of selectable items in the Menu. I assume this allows the unit to recognize the Ice transducer and makes the appropriate changes internally? A batter life indicator also now shows up on my flasher screen which is a nice feature.Hope that helps guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Wiggum Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 JimBuck, does the flasher work just like a vex, i was looking in my owners manual and does not show much on the flasher part. Don't bother. The flasher works, but I run my X67c in graph mode almost exclusively. I like it much better than the flasher mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBuck Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Ralph. Really? Does it pick up your lure as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerchJerker Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 I agree with Ralph, run it in graph mode. It will pick up your lure, fish, etc. You'll have lines for them going across the display, so you'll get some history of your bait moving up and down, fishing coming after it, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Wiggum Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Ralph. Really? Does it pick up your lure as well? Yeah, no problem. I can pick up a tiny panfish jig in 40 FOW with no problem. I can even tell if my waxie has fallen off a lot of the time. And the 522 has a lot more power than my X67c.Play around with it, but I think you'll find that you prefer the graph mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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