# Lets talk flashers!!



## Dutchman (Jan 17, 2000)

what is the best and worst of what is out there? Comparing price versus features, what is the best bang for your buck?


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## zx10r2004 (Sep 24, 2005)

Dutchman said:


> what is the best and worst of what is out there? Comparing price versus features, what is the best bang for your buck?


 the best is vexilar or marcum. i have 2 vexilars and a eagle flasher. i want to see what this eagle flasher is going to do. i just bought it.its whatever you want. you could spend $100 to $600.


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## GoneFishin (Jan 11, 2001)

Have a FL-8 that I bought many years ago way before the FL-18 came out, my 8 does everything I need it to, so I haven't seen any need to upgrade.


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## Ed Stringer (Jan 27, 2004)

What is there to talk about, do yourself a favor buy a Vex. and the rest will be great memorys.


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## BDR (Dec 29, 2004)

I was looking at the vexilars. I bought a camera this summer, and now I want a vexilar. I was looking at the cheapest one. The FL8 Genz pack, 289$. I have one question. When using the vexilar, do you fish down the same hole its in or do you drill a hole next to it? And how big of an area does the vexilar pick up. Ie a square area of 5 foot Etc. Thanks. Hey Ed. Hows your son doing, I remember reading a post on him. Hope all is well and see you both on the ice again this year. I am ready to test out all my new toys, I got a lot lol!!:lol:


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## MiketheElder (Jun 23, 2003)

I like my Lowrance X67c. Silent, versatile, easy to use.

I also use it on my boat. Bought a boat transducer, already had the clamp-on mount. More accurate than my Garmin GPS/Sounder combo.

Big Mike


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## RichP (Jan 13, 2003)

brianroy6 said:


> I was looking at the vexilars. I bought a camera this summer, and now I want a vexilar. I was looking at the cheapest one. The FL8 Genz pack, 289$. I have one question. When using the vexilar, do you fish down the same hole its in or do you drill a hole next to it? And how big of an area does the vexilar pick up. Ie a square area of 5 foot Etc. Thanks. Hey Ed. Hows your son doing, I remember reading a post on him. Hope all is well and see you both on the ice again this year. I am ready to test out all my new toys, I got a lot lol!!:lol:


I fish primarily for panfish. I use a 6" lazer hand auger, and I fish down the same hole that I have the vex iceducer in. If it seems like it's going to be a large fish, than I pull the iceducer out as I bring the fish up.

Regarding the amount of area it covers, it depends on the which degree iceducer you end up with. Check out this page, it has some tables and diagrams that explains it all quickly:

http://www.vexilar.com/help/tips/tip006.html


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## sfw1960 (Apr 7, 2002)

*[url=""] Marcum LX-3 w/IceTransducer*[/url]

( ^ CLICK ^ )

Cabela's ~
$239 , US made ... every bit as good as a Jap VeX...(better)
Same WTTY. ( 2 years )
3 colors (red , orange , yellow)
1500 watts , and you don't need any STUPID suppresion cable for shallow water either!









Myself - I like a linear display ... but I can speak other languages too...
LOL








256 Colors , 2400 watts .... LMS332c Flasher ....hehehe !


 R


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## BDR (Dec 29, 2004)

Alright that makes sense thanks alot. What degree do you have? I will be fishing lk st clair, and the bottom is usally relatively flat, and not more than 20 feet. I am thinking the 19 degree will best suit my need.


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## WALLEYE MIKE (Jan 7, 2001)

sfw1960 said:


> *[url=""] Marcum LX-3 w/IceTransducer*[/url]
> 
> $239 , US made ... every bit as good as a Jap VeX...(better)
> Same WTTY. ( 2 years )
> ...


Now how did I know you would post your opinion on this!!!!! :lol: :lol: 

I have a Fl-18 and love it.


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## sfw1960 (Apr 7, 2002)

:lol:
*Heya Mike!!*
How ya been??
Good I hope , I see your Tracker is holding up beside all the negative press from the guys who've had a bad experience with one...
:evil:
:lol:

P.S.
Cabela's also has the LX1 also:










* Marcum LX-1 Ice Fishing System*

Buy American WHEN you can!


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## double trouble (Nov 20, 2003)

you guys got me going. i just bought a 3 year old fl-8 slt at an auction today. it is the top line one with the charge indicator ,charger ,and carry case. seems to work fine.i just couldn't take it anymore. i have always been an l.c.d. guy but for what i paid for it i had to give it a try.the marina i fish always has murky water and it would be nice to know if the fish are in the hole. someone please explain to me how the colors work when bottom blends in and you are trying to seperate fish from bottom.


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## EXITPUPIL (Jan 22, 2004)

I have the fl 18 vex that my wife (love that woman) bought me last year! I have thanked her 100X for it! I have such a great experience when using it, it has revolutionized my fishing. I WILL not leave home without it. I wish I had more XP using the others that are listed above. I CAN give you a big two thumbs up for the vex!


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## RichP (Jan 13, 2003)

brianroy6 said:


> Alright that makes sense thanks alot. What degree do you have? I will be fishing lk st clair, and the bottom is usally relatively flat, and not more than 20 feet. I am thinking the 19 degree will best suit my need.


I bought the FL18 and it comes with the 12 degree transducer. I fish mostly 15-20 feet of water and I am satisfied with this degree cone for that depth. With the FL18 you also can purchase the dual beam transducer which allows you to switch between 9 and 19 degrees as you see fit. I've been debating about asking the Mrs. for this for Christmas.

I've noticed SFW1960 takes every possible opportunity to badmouth the Vex. :lol: I can only conclude he is either a Marcum distributor or someone from the Vexilar corporation must have peed in his cheerios a long time ago. Kidding. But he makes a good point about buying American which should always be considered.


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## BDR (Dec 29, 2004)

After reading for the last 2 hours on vexilars, I educated myself, and found this to be the cheapest and best setup for my fishing I choose the Vexilar® FL-8SE Fish Finder Genz Pack. Has everything I need. It is 269 at thorne bros with free shipping, I am ordering soon, Thanks


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## sfw1960 (Apr 7, 2002)

That's too funny Rich ,
I actually worked where we factory-serviced Vexilars in the '80's , and the guys that owned the company at the time were a great buncha guys. Besides they bought us dinner every time we visited!
LOL!
I'm USUALLY one to vote for the underdog!

"Skip" Christmas is a Sonar Genius - and much of the FAQs & tutorials online were written by the man.

I _used to _badmouth *Lowrance* when I sold Vexilar products - one time after our sonar tech flew to Tulsa for training on the original X15 paper graphs - he returned with a pile of "scrapped" units he was allowed to pull from Lowrances' boneyard and repair.... Our tech gave me a Lowrance paper graph to take home.... it replaced one of the flashers I had owned....
It was solid as a rock & reliable . From that day forward , I used Lowrance/Eagle and I've owned many , many LCDs - my first was an Eagle Z6000 , a whoppin' 82X32 pixels! But it had a numeric keypad and I knew how to run it , and when you zoomed it up - it marked arches... I work with a guy that I sold it to and IT STILL works.
:yikes:

Just because Walleye Mike is going to read this , I will go on the record here:
*Vexilar's products* , while imported Japanese products maufactured by Honda Electronics - *are indeed [email protected] good sonars* - NOT just the flashers - their LCDs as well , and when they imported the paper graphs they were highly regarded by Lk. Mi. charter captains for good reason.
Anyone that's familiar with SiteX - should know that HondeX manufactured some of their sonars too.

Over my 25+ years of Sonar usage I have come to trust the leadership , quality and outstanding customer support that Lowrance has provided me with ~ I know longer know who the head service mgr. is , Charlie Ramsey retired years ago - so it wasn't just a business aquaintance that has kept me buying Lowrance - it's how the products have worked , lasted and been supported.
I know every guy that has a Vexilar Flasher is adamant , no make that FANATICAL about how they use , like & enjoy them - I feel as if I want something more from my Sonar's display , and that's OK - just like the guys that feel the need to have the information presented in a round format - with no trailing history.
Sonar is something that can tell you quite a bit , IF you can interpret the signals showing up on your display - the Vexilar three color flasher presents that info in a relatively easy to understand format , I just know that in the hands of an experienced user _*ANY modern sonar can feed you vital information*_ IF you know how to fine-tune and manually adjust it. Basically the displays' resolutions nowadays exceed the actual capability of any single beam sonar's transmitter & receiver target separation.
:SHOCKED:
THERE!!
Not only did I talk flashers - I talked Sonar technology in general.


Enjoy!!
Robert


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## bigsid (Jan 13, 2003)

brianroy6 said:


> After reading for the last 2 hours on vexilars, I educated myself, and found this to be the cheapest and best setup for my fishing I choose the Vexilar® FL-8SE Fish Finder Genz Pack. Has everything I need. It is 269 at thorne bros with free shipping, I am ordering soon, Thanks


That's a good price for sure. I just ordered the Marcum LX-3 on the $239 plan and can't wait to use it! I have used one of these before, (thanks to Cherokee) and it's an awesome machine!

Sid


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## DetroitIron (Dec 4, 2003)

OK, now I"m confused. I am "REAL" close to buying a flasher, I've always wanted one. I was going to go with a Vex, but now I keep seeing the above "Marcum is made in America", and it has an adjustable "zoom" feature. 

So what should I go with - Marcum or Vex? The Price on the Marcum seems very reasonable. 

Can anyone give me a set of Pros/cons with the Marcum as compared to a Vex? Does one have more "power" than the other? 

I want to be able to use it ice fishing ,and put on my boat in the summer as well. Can you do this with a Marcum? I know you can do with a Vex. 

As I'd like to be able to fish deep and shallow, does the "adjustable" feature on the Marcum mean you don't need the "dual" transducer (9 and 19) that is offered on the Vexilar systems? 

Help me out quick, as my wife just gave me the "green" light to purchase. She is doing all her Xmas shopping on line now, as we speak, and I'd like to purchase the flasher online as well. 

Thanks in advance for the feedback.


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## hardwaterfan (Feb 13, 2004)

Marcum vs. Vex is a tough one to answer because to give a good answer one would have to have extensive experience with both units and i have only seen VERY few opinions where the writer claimed to have experience with both and they said they preferred the marcum.

that said, to get my vex se pro pack, youll have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

good luck, youll have to bite the bullet on one mfr. or the other and my advice is to get a vex, but ive never even seen a marcum in real life so consider that.


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## dajumboman (Feb 29, 2004)

hey bigsid where did you order from? i was looking at the lx-3 on thornebros and it was priced at $399


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