Hummingbird ICE 45

[pike doctor]

I just wanted to see if anyone else has bought or used a hummingbird ice 45. I picked one up at thorne bros the other day and I have mixed feelings about it.

For those of you that have used one are you having problems picking up your jig on the screen? I am having to turn my gain to 20+ (scale of 1-25) to see my lure in 17 ft of water, and sometimes it doesnt even pick it up with the gain maxed out. I have went through the book 5 times and it is assembled correctly. Just want to see if others are having problems.

[harvey lee]

Maybe one could call Hummingbird and they could trouble shoot this for you.

[northernsportman]

yeah, i was wondering the same thing? is it worth buying.

[pike doctor]

I really like it, other than the problems with the gain.

[northernsportman]

have you had any vexilars or marcums before you got this? If so how do they compare? Hopefully it is just a minor problem with yours. I have heard nothing but good things about them, coming from the pros atleast. Just finding some person that might not be interested in selling the product.

[mozy]

I have one and was going to ask the exact same question. I have never used a flasher of any kind before, so I'm not sure if it's normal or not, but I was having to turn the gain to 25(maxed out) in order to pick up a size 12 ratso in 12 ft. of water, and at times it still wasn't picking it up. That seemed a little extreme to me as I've heard of other units picking up split shot in 40 ft. I like the unit overall, but this can't be right.

[Drewski]

Like you said mozy, something's not right. I would contact hummingbird.

[boxcar46]

NOT liking what I'm hearing here. I just bought the ice45 this weekend.

[northernsportman]

doesnt sound too good. post what they say about it. they have customer support on their sight. I would like to find out before i purchase one this weekend!

[pike doctor]

I had an FL-8 before this, and I was gonna get the marcum lx3, but i decided on this one. I never had a problem picking up small lures in deep water with the vexilar. The Ice 45 has a dual cone (19 and 9 degrees). Even on the 9 degree setting I need to turn the gain way up sometimes.

I really wish it would work just like the vexilar cause all of the other features are awesome. Hopefully more people will reply so we know if its a problem comming from hummingbird.

[NCLaker]

Bummer to hear about your problems.

I have/had both Marcums & Vex's and on those normally only have to turn up gain a couple notches at most (if at all).

As others have said, definitely call Hummingbird (asap to beat the rush . Also, hang on to those reciepts

[pike doctor]

By the way. The gain runs on a scale of 1-25. 1 being the lowest strength and 25 being the highest. The default for the unit is set at 16 when you turn the machine on.

I thought at first maybe it was the battery, but I have it charged to 100%

[mozy]

I'll try to get in contact with Humminbird, but I may just return it. It's my first flasher and it's a lot of money, so I feel like I should get something more reliable.

So it's not normal to have the gain that high to pick up the lure? Like I said, I have never used one before and it seems that on videos I've watched on Vex's that they barely turn it past 3-4?

[harvey lee]

I have used and owned both vexilar and MarCum and the most I would turn the gain up to was 1 or 2. I would call Hummingbird as they may be able to address your concerns very easly. If that doesn't help. then return it.

[NCLaker]

I would say it is definitely not normal. Most other units I have used you pick up way too much clutter in the water making it too difficult to read if you turn gain up that much.

Worth hearing what they have to say before your return it. Maybe it is a simple fix.

I know when I originally bought my Vexilar FL20 they had a problem with the glue/epoxy on some of the dual cone transducers, causing them not to hang pointing straight down. They included a simple proceedure for fixing in their instructions, after doing it problem solved. If I remember correctly, this was causing issues with picking up signals.

[snoozebutton]

I have the Marcum VX-1, the cheapest unit, and was able to pick up a ratzo and a small split shot in 20 feet of water. I think I'd take it back.

[JSK76]

the 55 i used had no problem picking up a split shot in 15' I had to turn the gain down because the mark was realy thick.

[gulllakeguy]

I want to hear how they are in 30'+. I sold my Marcum finally and bought another Vex.

[PerchJerker]

I don't know if this is your problem or not but not picking up a jig sounds like a problem with your particular unit or your particular transducer. That's just a guess on my part but it sure sounds like something is not working as it should. The advice to contact HB directly and have them help you is the way I think you should go. Good luck getting it resolved and let us know what you find out.

[gulllakeguy]

So It could be the way the transducer is hanging in the water? Probabaly worth checking.

[pike doctor]

I may have fixed the problem. I guess I will find out tonight when I go fishing. I took the advice of you guys and checked out how the transducer was hanging and I spent about an hour with a five gallon pale of water in the bath tub.

I think the transducer was hanging crooked before so it was probably reading off to the side. The unit has two different cords going down to the transducer and the give you some goofy little clamps to keep the chords together, but it all just kinda gets in the way. They pretty much say in the manual that the only reason they have two chords is so they dont get sued for patent infringement.

When the chord and stuff is out of the water the transducer will hang much differently depending on how you hold it. For anyone else that has the unit make sure that the float is on the support cable, which is the opposite of what you would think, but that is what the book shows. Then i checked for level by actually holding the float because that is whats gonna balance it in the water. If you just hold it by the chords up a couple feet it seems to bind and kink it to the side. You will also have to mess with the rubber clips to get it to sit flat.

I will post how it works tonight. If you have problems check the book once more to make sure that u have it hooked correctly .

[PerchJerker]

pike doctor - you picked up on it already, but the word I've heard from multiple industry sources is that the reason for the HB "support cable" is strictly to avoid patent infringement issues with Vex.

On a side note, someone at Vex was on the ball to get a patent for clipping a piece of pipe insulation and a stop to a transducer cable.......

But back to the HB ice flashers - the HB Product Reps I work with say that you don't need to use the support cable. Just transfer the stop and the foam to the transducer cable and don't use the separate support cable. That is how they used them in the demo I was at.

[pike doctor]

well now that makes even more sense! I am going to try them both ways and see how it works. Thanks for all of your help guys! Now I am really excited to get out this afternoon and try it again, especially since I found a nice little mess of crappies all to myself sunday evening.

I will post findings tonight

[Ed Carlson]

The support cable is not needed...at all, if it is, ya best worry about the puck falling off.

[Ralph Wiggum]

pike doctor - you picked up on it already, but the word I've heard from multiple industry sources is that the reason for the HB "support cable" is strictly to avoid patent infringement issues with Vex.

Maybe that's the same reason for the metal rod that Lowrance uses to hold the 'ducer on the X67c. I threw that thing away after my first trip