Vexilar FL18 or Marcum Lx5

[T Fisher]

I am gonna buy one of the above, but having trouble making the plung with both being the same price around $500. Which unit is better for the money. Any imput is appreciated.

[Beats]

LX-5 is what I have. Again, do a forum search and you will see these comparisons/debates come up fairly regularly.

Edited December 11, 2008 by Beats

[danbo]

The NEW King of Flashers.... drumroll please..

 

http://store.humminbird.com/humminbird-pro...od407040-1.html

[Grimace]

I have the fl-18. I love it. Amazing unit. But it doesn't touch the lx-5. Marcum.

[Uncle Buck]

Marcum LX5 hands down...

 

the 08's are even better, here's what the marcum tech emailed me...

 

MarCum – More Power, More Performance

 

Through years of studying, fishing, and testing by engineers rooted in the heart of the ice-belt, a new leader emerges on the forefront of the ice fishing electronics market. The result is the MarCum line of high-power sonar flashers that were designed from the ground-up, relying on modern principles of sonar and science. MarCum’s approach has always been the most performance for the money, period. It would follow then, that every single feature on any of the MarCum flashers and cameras results from years of continuous innovation and study. There's alot of terminology here, but in the end, it's all about features that translate into fishing success. Ultimately, all the features in the world mean nothing unless they allow you to accurately gather more critical information about what’s below you. Here’s a quick rundown of the many reasons that a MarCum will put more fish on the ice for you this winter.

• More Power – MarCum flashers transmit the highest power in the industry, which directly effects the unit’s ability to effectively detect its own return signal

• Most efficient - MarCum manufactures its own transducers to ensure quality, balance, and efficiency when paired with the flasher’s other components.

• Increased sensitivity – Better transducers, paired with more power and efficiency translates into the best target separation in the business. The gain sensitivity on a MarCum flasher is nearly surgical, with the lowest signal/noise ratio in the industry. This translates into finer detail with less distortion.

• Better Resolution – TrueColor razor thin display (not blended like competitors). MarCum never distorts any of its display segments by widening the signal, ultimately resulting in the best resolution, most crisp display, and finest detail in the industry.

 

“Total system performance” is what MarCum calls it. All the features in the world can’t help you if they’re independent of one another, not working in concert. A unit with more power, better efficiency, increased sensitivity, and better resolution is the complete package. The net result for the angler is a better understanding of what’s going on below them; something that can’t help but put more fish on the ice this winter.

 

In addition to those standard performance traits, below are features exclusive ONLY to MarCum, and why they’re engineered to be the best:

• Adjustable, Optical Zoom – While many folks know that MarCum has the only zoom feature that’s adjustable anywhere in the water column, few are aware that the zoom on a MarCum is a true, optical zoom. Unlike competitors, whose resolution never increases and whose display is merely “blown-up”, the MarCum optical zoom feature actually increases your ability to discern distance and size between targets. Rather than a larger display of the same data, you’re getting better information through a true optical zoom. This is the same principal that applies to digital photography.

• Patented Interference Rejection (IR) Technology – Due to the very positive signal/noise ratio put out by the MarCum units, the IR in-turn performs better allowing the receiver to better separate noise and clutter from true signal.

• Super Fine Line – This patented feature reduces the width of target display to increase the target separation and give you more information, especially in weeds/cover or amongst schooling fish.

• True-Color – Marcum makes the only flasher that utilizes 3 separate, distinct colors; Red, Green, and Yellow. True color offers the most crisp, distinct display, giving the user the best accuracy in distinguishing targets. No more fuzzy blending.

• Ice – arm – Rather than a float which moves about the hole and bobs with increased pressure on the ice or currents under it, the ice-arm allows the transducer to be placed anywhere in the hole. This includes up against the edge, hiding most of the transducer under the ice to the far edge of the hole. This results in fewer tangles, and less confusion from a changing bottom depth.

• 3 Stage Digital “Smart” Charging System – An accurate, digital battery life display, along with a single plug 3 stage charging system maintains the electrical performance of the units. The single plug prevents reversing the polarity and burning up your battery, and promotes reduced corrosion on the battery charging posts themselves. Even if you only have an hour to charge your MarCum, the initial charging stage loads heavily at first, and backs down to top the battery off. No other charging system can claim this!

• Standard Soft Pack – Rather than an add-on feature, a padded soft pack anchors and protects your investment in electronics.

 

This year is not without surprises. NEW for 2008, all MarCum flashers will get a boost in power, as described below. Furthermore, Nature Vision has announced the inception of Auto-Tune Technology for their full line of 2008 Marcum flashers. Since all transducers have a frequency tolerance of plus or minus 4% (192-208kz) there exist a small mismatch between power head and transducer. This variance, depending on how extreme it is from ‘ducer to ‘ducer, creates increased noise and essentially decreases the sensitivity and performance of the sonar unit. Marcum engineers have developed Auto-Tune Technology to automatically adjust the frequency of the transmitter/receiver to the frequency of the transducer, thus eliminating additional noise and sensitivity concerns. As if MarCum’s technological feats weren’t impressive enough, this innovation is essentially a “sonar technician in a can” and available in every new 2008 Marcum flasher.

 

Power Boosts

• LX-5 – 2000 watts peak-to-peak to 2500 watts peak-to-peak

• LX-3 – 1500 watts peak-to-peak to 2000 watts peak-to-peak

• VX-1 Pro – 600 watts peak-to-peak to 1000 watts peak-to-peak

 

That is why MarCum leads the industry in innovation and performance. It’s a fact that MarCum engineers can and are willing to test and prove. A full suite of mechanical and electrical sonar tests have been run on all flashers currently on the market, and MarCum’s technology exceeds the competition often by orders of magnitude.

[danbo]

Hey Unc..can ya get us a deal on 'em?

[Uncle Buck]

get a bunch of you guys together... then go and see Blake at Fishing World...

 

He should be able to help ya out...

 

I've got 2 s-cables for sale for the FL8 & FL18 at discount prices though...

[irishfield]

So why are these better than my Lowrance 102C Goran? It puts out 2400 W P/P and I bought an ice fishing transducer for it to narrow the cone and to get better returns than using my transom puck on a stick.

[Laker272]

I picked up my new Marcum LX5 a couple weeks ago. Hopefully I get to test her out this weekend. I did quite a bit of research and concluded that this unit is way above anything else out on the market.

[Uncle Buck]

So why are these better than my Lowrance 102C Goran? It puts out 2400 W P/P and I bought an ice fishing transducer for it to narrow the cone and to get better returns than using my transom puck on a stick.

 

Not saying it's better, if i were to do it again, i'd probably buy the cabelas lowrance 522 combo for $550

 

how much was your sonar wayne? probably $500+, now add an ice transducer(dual cone, if available) $100, and a battery $30,and a charger $15 and a case $20

so you're at $665 minmum, add tax... $750 and you have to put it together... case/battery/sonar...

 

picked up my lx5 for $480 US, came to $550 CDN on the visa... that's $200 difference and it's good to go out of the box

 

between an FL18/FL20 and an LX5, i'd still go with the LX5

[irishfield]

Oh I know I've got money into it Goran... but it was already on the boat, so only EXTRA cost to go ice fishing, a battery and a plastic case. Worked okay with the transom transducer.. just hoping it works perfect with the ice fishing transducer that I got off ebay for $80 brand new.

 

Just wanted to know if there was something about these Vex/Marcum units that makes them unique for ice fishing.

[Uncle Buck]

i took my humminbird matrix 17 sonar out on the ice my first year...

screen froze/dissappeared at -20 i believe ( no hut/no heater)

now if ice fishing in -40 outside of a hut, what happens to your screen?

not sure if a screen/lcd can crack due to cold weather or if it just goes blank...

but flashers are basically made for ice fishing...many people like graphs for ice fishing...

 

next is interference? the x67 is supposed to be terrible for interference from other sonars??

i don't need to tape a heat pack on the back of my marcum to make sure i get an image...

[irishfield]

That picture is from a -29C morning were none of our sleds, terry's 4 wheel or my truck wanted to start Goran!

[Terry]

it sure was cold

[T Fisher]

Thanks guy's