Showdown Question

[Pike Paralyzer]

I received my showdown in the mail yesterday.  The owners manual states that the unit has a good enough charge to go fishing right out of the box.  My unit was dead.  I charged it over night and she powers on, but should I be concerned about the dead battery upon arrival?  I;m trying to get the kinks worked out before the season starts.  Also does anyone have any tips to test it out to see if its working properly or do I just have to wait until I get on the ice?  Didn't want to jack the other guys thread...

[Rebelss]

Sure pike, It's got the "Demo" mode on it....I'll print it here. Just keep it on the charger (light does  go green, right?) for a bit after the green light goes on, or overnight. Also, check the "low batt" display warning. You should be OK...hopefully. 




Versa Electronics www.marcumtech.com
- 10 -
Simulator— To trigger the Showdown 5.6 Dual Beam Simulator mode, start
with unit turned OFF. Press and hold the POWER button for approximately
5-seconds. You should see the “SIMU” indicator bar appear at the top right of
the display. Simulator mode shows how bottom, a lure and fish might appear
on the unit if you were fishing in 32’ of water. It also allows you to adjust and
learn various sonar settings before you get out fishing. To turn Simulator mode
off, it is necessary to turn Showdown 5.6 Dual Beam Power OFF by holding
down the POWER button again.
Low Battery Warning— When battery power reaches very low levels,
a low battery indicator will appear and flash at the top right of the display.
An audible beep will also sound every 30 seconds. This signifies that it is
time to recharge the battery, or replace it with a fully charged spare.
WARNING: When you see and hear this warning, the Showdown 5.6 Dual
Beam may shut down within minutes.
“Last Settings” Memory— Your Showdown 5.6 Dual Beam automatically recall
last programmed settings.

[Pike Paralyzer]

Thanks a bunch for the Info.  I did read about the "low Batt" light, all mine would do is power up, then instantly power down.  I didn't see anything flashing or hear any beeps.   After charging it all night the Battery Charger light went from red to green.  I'll run that demo mode tomorrow.  Thanks Again!

[river rat78]

If you have a battery tester I would try that. If you are still concerned you might want to contact Marcum about it. I also saw a video on youtube with a vexilar repair guy saying you want to recharge your battery after every outing. If you let the charge on the battery drop too low the battery will have a hard time holding a full charge.

[Rebelss]

Any time!!! They're nice units, if ya figure them out from the start!    Let us know how it works for ya! Good luck!
Oh, mine took about 14 hours to charge up, and that was three years ago. Just plug it in every time you get back.

[Pike Paralyzer]

Thanks again for the help....I fired it up today and ran the simulator mode...Watch out Fish!!!. lol

[Rebelss]

Good deal!! 

[Chris338378]

The Showdown is a great machine in my book and simple to use.  The one thing I do with mine is when I get home I let it warm up for about a hour or two before I charge it.  I don't know that it makes any difference or not but that's what I do.  Also when you charge it plug the charger into the machine then into the wall and when it's finished charging unplug it from the outlet then from the machine.  This way you won't blow the fuse.  Good luck with it, I'm sure you'll like it a lot, I wouldn't part with mine.

[mjk67]

The Showdown is a great machine in my book and simple to use.  The one thing I do with mine is when I get home I let it warm up for about a hour or two before I charge it.  I don't know that it makes any difference or not but that's what I do.  Also when you charge it plug the charger into the machine then into the wall and when it's finished charging unplug it from the outlet then from the machine.  This way you won't blow the fuse.  Good luck with it, I'm sure you'll like it a lot, I wouldn't part with mine.

Old thread resurrected.  Just got a Showdown today.  It is plugged in now for charging.  The instruction manual stated the direct opposite.  Plug into outlet, then machine.

Which is right? I went by manual instructions, no blown fuse.... would like to take care of it!

[mjk67]

Light just went green, after about a 3 hr charge.... hmmm.

[SpitzoMT]

Old thread resurrected.  Just got a Showdown today.  It is plugged in now for charging.  The instruction manual stated the direct opposite.  Plug into outlet, then machine.

Which is right? I went by manual instructions, no blown fuse.... would like to take care of it!

Just follow the instruction manual !!

[PaddyO]

You'll love the Showdown.  Simple and easy to read and use.  I

[mjk67]

Yes, that was my draw - simplicity.  I mostly tip up fish, but would like to get back into jigging more often.  Got the last one Reeds had for $341 plus tax.

[Chris338378]

Old thread resurrected.  Just got a Showdown today.  It is plugged in now for charging.  The instruction manual stated the direct opposite.  Plug into outlet, then machine.

Which is right? I went by manual instructions, no blown fuse.... would like to take care of it!

I always plug mine in the way I said and never blew a fuse in the four years I've owned it.  I've read many times on here that guys blow fuses doing it the other way around.  Even the Battery Tender Jr that I bought to charge it with says connect to the battery first then plug the charger into the wall. 

[mjk67]

Can Showdown users share some initial settings that I should be going with?  I'm planning on reading the manual tomorrow, and hopefully using it on Monday/Tuesday.

I did quickly look at a page in the manual regarding the transducer placement in the hole.  I was under the impression it needed to be down towards the edge of the ice, but the manual says just a few inches into the hole - which is correct?  Also, does it need to be centered in the hole, or can it be at the edge of the hole?

Any input is appreciated.. thank you!

[hardwater diehard]

Can Showdown users share some initial settings that I should be going with?  I'm planning on reading the manual tomorrow, and hopefully using it on Monday/Tuesday.

I did quickly look at a page in the manual regarding the transducer placement in the hole.  I was under the impression it needed to be down towards the edge of the ice, but the manual says just a few inches into the hole - which is correct?  Also, does it need to be centered in the hole, or can it be at the edge of the hole?

Any input is appreciated.. thank you!

Marcum recommends just a few inches in the hole for most of their transducers ...  the transducer should hang lever so just off the edge of the hole should be fine ..want it pointing straight down

[Chris338378]

I keep my transducer next to the ice at the edge closest to the machine.  The reason I do this is so I keep it out of the way as much as possible when I'm pulling a fish out of the hole.  This works most of the time with pan fish but sometimes it doesn't and if you catch a bigger fish you're better off pulling the transducer out of the hole.

[mjk67]

Thanks for that info.

Any insight on different settings like sensitivity, etc?

[rlvb]

 Now that we have a showdown crowd I have a question about my 5.6 showdown. Seems as of lately when I am when I am hole hopping I'll have it zoomed on the bottom five feet, go to next hole and it's not zoomed anymore, shows the entire column and have to press zoom twice to lock on bottom five feet. Does this 9 out of ten times I move, it's never done this before. My older 5.6 doesn't do this. Any help is surely appreciated. I'm thinking the transducer. Also you can move ten feet away drop it down and shows rediculous reading like a hundred and some feet, and give it time and finally shows you accurate reading. Feeling frustrated about now.

[jbird68]

I just hang the transducer over the edge of the hole. Just enough so the top of it is just under the bottom surface of the ice. Keeps the transducer pointing straight down. Works great for me. I've done this for years.

Robb,  I've never had a problem losing the zoom when hoping holes. Never seen mine do what yours is doing.

[Chris338378]

For the initial settings I'd try it with what it was set to at the factory and go from there.  I'm not sure if you have the single or dual beam but if you have the dual beam I would start out with the wide beam.  As for the sensativity I'd start where it was set with at the factory, which if I remember right is around 9 or 10.  If you can't see your jig go up one step at a time until you see your jig.  If you see it and the mark is really big I'd back down one step at a time until it disappears then go up two or three steps higher and you should be good to go from there.  The range is simple to figure out, just see what the depth is and use that range.  For an example if you turn it on and it says the depth is 30 feet use the 40 foot setting and so on.  Another option is you could use the auto depth setting.

[sask187]

My showdown will not power up anymore this is the second one I had that did this first one was still under warranty Marcum replaced it, this one is a couple years old and is doing the same thing.  Battery is charged everything is connected properly screen will not turn on anyone else have any issues like this?

[3300]

any way you can remove the battery harness from the head unit and take a measurement for voltage where the wires are that would be going into the head unit? you may need to insert a paper clips if the probes are too big to go into the harness plug.

95% of issues are battery related. maybe a fuse tho or a wire or a charger.

[sask187]

Seems the problem is right in the head unit. Plugged it into a different head this one will power it up. Plugged the other unit into my head and it still does not power up. Tapped on the side and it powered up once can't get it to do it again seems to me a loose wire or something shorted out inside the monitor.

[3300]

if it's out of warranty you can open it and look around for a loose wire or what have you. it won't cost any more to have repaired if you do. it will be the same flat rate so why not see if it's some thing simple or not.

a buddy of mine has two and one of them the power button won't work it just stays on so he removes one of the wires from the battery to shut it down. it's an original aqua-vu built unit.

[metalbender]

If the unit won't power up it's likely the power button. Do you feel the resistance and little snap when the button is pushed? Might just need to clean the area under the switch, have done that on TV remote. Also fixed a friend's tablet with the same problem, a little bit of plastic came loose. A dab of crazy glue on a toothpick fixed it.  As posted before, nothing to lose by carefully taking it apart to inspect.

[sask187]

Took it apart couldn't find anything so I sent it off to be repaired. Power button seemed to work still clicked as it should. And head made a faint humming sound for a second but nothing would power up.

[3300]

at least you tried.
if it has old software they upgrade it while it's in, last i knew.

[sask187]

Ya 80 dollar flat rate go through it update software if it needs replace anything that's broken and get another year warranty isn't a bad deal I don't think.