Tip-up alarms?

[MNfan]

Has anyone used the Strike Sensor tip-up alarm system? Do they work are they reliable and worth the coin?

[Bigsmitty]

They work Great. Well worth it.

[B-man715]

I have had them for 5 years. They work, but are not flawless. Whatever they advertise for range you can cut that in half. Also you should take care of the keys with some wd40 or they rust and will stick. They are very nice to have, especially if you fish in a shack. That way you are not sticking your head out the door constantly to check for flags. And ofcourse the lights on them make them usefull even if they are out of range. Another thing worth noting is when fishing in snow or freezing rain that sometimes the keys will freeze in, if this happens you will see the flag sticking half way up.

I attach mine to my tip-ups using velcro so I can take them off easily to be dried off.

[charliepete2]

I've got them and they are definitely worth the money. I had another brand previously and had nothing but issues. I've also tried the non-remote 'screamers' and feel that Walleyes tend to drop the bait when it goes off over shallow water. Another thing I like about strike sensor is that everyone within 200 yards of you doesn't know when you've got a flag.

I bought them thinking I'd use them at night while fishing Walleyes and pout, but after having them I never put a tip-up out without them. It's nice not to constantly have to look out a foggy portable window, and I feel I get to the flag quicker and lose fewer fish with the strike sensor. I've never had any problem with them freezing up (even in sub zero weather) and their range is right around 100 yards on a new set of batteries.

As far as I can tell there are only a few improvements I'd like to see. First off I wish the manufacturer made a rechargeable unit and or had a low signal light. The range definitely goes down when the battery power fades and you can't be sure it's the receiver or the transmitter that needs a new battery. I just change them all to be safe. My second complaint would be the velcro attachment they provide to connect to the tip up. It's just not beefy enough to hold the unit and always gets brittle and falls off when it's extremely cold. After trying just about every glue and epoxy I could think of to attach the velcro, I finally scrapped the velcro all together and settled on using plastic zip ties around the entire unit to attach it to my beaver dams.

I'll throw in the brand I first tried was the Nature Vision remote paging system. I found that the range was almost nothing and that the unit froze up and didn't work in the cold. I returned the first unit thinking that no company would actually sell a product for ice fishing that didn't work in the cold, but the second one didn't work either.

[harvey lee]

Agree with the others, they are nice. The spade that you slide into the box also needs to free of any moisture or it will freeze enough so it does not work.

[berke99]

If you fish with tip-ups and can afford the strike sensors, you will not be dissappointed!

[MNfan]

Thanks all I did get a set think they will be a nice tool to own.

[jigginjim]

They're great you can just stay your car or truck listen to games on the radio or wharever, staying warm.

[tunrevir]

Love'em. My set has lasted over 15 years already. The key issue harvey talked about can be solved by putting some blue lube on them. Worth every penny especially if you do alot of nighttime fishing!

Tunrevir~

[crothmeier]

My buddy and I built "remote-tipup boxes" for use in our wheelhouses. they are a box with a lid, and inside there is a single mantle lantern the is connected to a 20lb tank. the lantern keeps the hole from freezing, and also provides light at night.

We bought the red rattle wheels that have the light and buzzer and run off a 9v battery. we took out the light and buzzer, and rigged the pos & neg wires up to a extension cord end. we then made a plate inside the house that had 4 lights and a buzzer, and when connecting the extension cord to the outlet on the outside of the fishouse, to the box, we can monitor the rells inside, the lights flash and buzzer goes off, the lights are numbered so we know what one is going off, and can tell if the fish is running or not. There is 2 switches on the plate one for the buzzer, and one for the lights. you can turn the buzzer off when you get a bite (its loud and annoying) and still have the other 3 boxes still on in case you get another bite.

It does take some electrical wiring, but once done i've never had a problem with them not working, and they run off my 12v battery that powers my lights, and they take next to no energy. We got the buzzer, led lights, switches, and diodes from Radio Shack.

These work awesome when fishing the edge of structure, as you can place them at different depths (as far away as your ext will reach) and nothing beats being able to warm your fingers up after catching a fish using the heat from the lantern!

Minus the 20lb propane tanks the cost per box is about $65 for all the parts, and averaging in the cost of the plate inside.

[NCLaker]

That is just great .... here I'm suppose to be cutting down my spending on this stuff, and you guys keep coming up with more cool stuff/ideas to spend $$$ on. Tough on a guy that feels like he needs way more stuff then is reasonably possible to bring out on the ice

Seriously, I will be keeping my eye out for a deal on strike Sensors. I like the convinence of it described in this thread.

Crothmeier, sounds like you have quite the contraption there. You'll have to post some pic's of your handywork.

[crothmeier]

I'll snap some photos and post them tonight, if i can figure out how.