Vexilar FL-22, what do you guys think?

[David Barber]

Has anyone heard anything if Vexilar plans to offer a Genz pack with the Fl-22HD or even Fl-20? As of now only Pro Pack II and Ultra Pack available. I'm a Genz Pack fan and I think it would make sense to offer a version similar to what Vexilar's top sponsored "Pro" uses. (Dave Genz)

Last winter... when I had a "preview"... I was fishing with Dave Genz and bunch of other guys.  He actually pulled my LX5 out of my hole and dropped the FL22HD down in front of me.  It was the Ultra Pack.  Not sure that it makes a difference here or there... but there was no "genz" pack then.  LOL

[craigthor]

I was going to go with a Marcum LX-5 but would the FL22 Ultra pack be a worht while competitor from those that have seen and used it? I don't plan on fishing more then 30-40' of water more then likely. I am placing an order through Thorne Bros for my gear and could probably change it before it ships.

Craig

[stumper]

Well I got to play with one today. Not for me. As far as display they are still "flickery" like the older units. My biggest disapointment is the noise. Good grief,it drove me crazy listening to it wine. After about 5 minutes I had to shut it off. My hearing aint so good and I couls still hear it from 10 ft away. I was actually excited to see it sitting there,but not so much after getting it out of the box. I will be sticking with my Marcums.

[IcemanZ]

Well I got to play with one today. Not for me. As far as display they are still "flickery" like the older units. My biggest disappointment is the noise. Good grief,it drove me crazy listening to it wine. After about 5 minutes I had to shut it off. My hearing aint so good and I couls still hear it from 10 ft away. I was actually excited to see it sitting there,but not so much after getting it out of the box. I will be sticking with my Marcums.

Amen, Marcum is where it's at!! Buddies of mine that have vex's are getting marums for their seconds!

[eyestroker]

I've been trying to stay out of this thread,  but I just checked the price on this thing.   Just shy of $600,  really?   I guess if you can getaway with it........

[IcemanZ]

I've been trying to stay out of this thread,  but I just checked the price on this thing.   Just shy of $600,  really?   I guess if you can getaway with it........

For the LX-5?  What site was that?  I paid $379 just last season....

[eyestroker]

no for the fl-22

[David Barber]

Hmmm... i seem to notice a common theme... those saying "No" to the Vex FL22 have Marcum as their avatar or Marcum in their signatures...  Makes one wonder...

[Junior58]

The poster above you Dave wasn't saying "no" directly to the FL22. He was talking about the price of of it which is a huge sticking point. It's too expensive ..... period. Easy to say no to almost $600.

[TIBS]

Hmmm... i seem to notice a common theme... those saying "No" to the Vex FL22 have Marcum as their avatar or Marcum in their signatures...  Makes one wonder...

I own a h-bird, and 2 things really bother me about this new flasher.

60' MAX depth - fine for most I guess, but worthless for those who fish deep water for trout, myself included.
$600 price tag - WAAAY to expensive for what it does.  It should have gps included for that price.

The only advantage I see with this flasher over the LX-5 is the flat dial screen.  I guess it has better sep. than the birds, but I can get 2 ICE-35's for that price.

[stumper]

I own a h-bird, and 2 things really bother me about this new flasher.

60' MAX depth - fine for most I guess, but worthless for those who fish deep water for trout, myself included.
$600 price tag - WAAAY to expensive for what it does.  It should have gps included for that price.

The only advantage I see with this flasher over the LX-5 is the flat dial screen.  I guess it has better sep. than the birds, but I can get 2 ICE-35's for that price.

Have they actually said what target seperation is on the 22?

[ice dawg]

I think we're still waiting for an answer about the separation.

[TIBS]

I think we're still waiting for an answer about the separation.

Yeah, sorry, based that last comment on an earlier post that said 1", but that's unconfirmed.

[Junior58]

All,

I got in touch with someone in the know and asked about the difference between Target ID and Separation.  As we all pretty much know what Separation is... here is the Target ID explanation.  Makes perfect sense to me.

"We use Target ID as a way to tell what the resolution is. We measure that by how many lines are around the dial of our flasher. Given that we have 525 lines of resolution, the FL-22HD has a little less than a 1/4" on the 10' foot scale. It's very simple, just take 10' or 120" and divide it by 525 and you get .228". So each line represents Target ID if you will. "


Soo... basically, on the 10' scale, 1 line on the flasher is equal to a little bit less than 1/4" of the water column.  About 4 lines is equal to 1 inch of viewing in the water column, and so on.

This is what Dave said earlier .......

[stumper]

So exactly what will this mean as far  as a jig and fish "mark" on the screen ? What size will a 1/8 inch split shot show as on the screen?(how thick will the mark be?)

[mushroom_capd_1]

I just got a vexilar product catolog in the mail the other day and compared the specs on the fl-22 and fl-20 and by the looks of things, the only differences are the new depth scale, tri beam ducer', and the target I.D. of 1/4" on the fl-22 and 1/2" on the fl-20 in which the difference is basically from the new depth scale. It also states the fl-22 has the bottem lock feature and the fl-20 does not, but this does not really apply to the Ice season as the BL is an "open water" feature. Other than that there are a few tweaks in the control knobs and thats about it with Target seperation being 1" on both models. Looks to me like its pretty much a shallow water version of the fl-20. I own a fl-20 and love it, but if the fl-22 was out when I had gotten the "20", I would have gotten the "22" instead since I rarely fish over 25' deep. I would rather look at that 25 feet in a 30' than a 40' depth scale.

[ice dawg]

Don't forget more power and adjusts the output to match the depth range that it is in.

[TIBS]

Other than that there are a few tweaks in the control knobs and thats about it with Target seperation being 1" on both models.

The vex owners manual from last year said the ALL the vex models (fl-8 thru fl-20) have target sep. of 2.65"  When did the 20 suddenly become 1"?

[Junior58]

The vex owners manual from last year said the ALL the vex models (fl-8 thru fl-20) have target sep. of 2.65"  When did the 20 suddenly become 1"?

While in zoom mode I would presume. It just blows up what is at 2.65 in normal mode. The detail doesn't change though ......

[eyestroker]

Hmmm... i seem to notice a common theme... those saying "No" to the Vex FL22 have Marcum as their avatar or Marcum in their signatures...  Makes one wonder...

Dude, facts are facts believe the hype and pay $600 if you want, it's your choice.  Like I said I was trying to stay out of this thread,  but if you want to pay $600 for something a $299.00 marcum or H-bird can do, more power to you and have fun.  As Far as I'm concerned  $300 buys a lot of beer and bait...........  You ever notice it's never somebody saying you should buy a bird because it is a better value than a marcum and nobody ever saying buy a marcum because it's a better value than a bird.   Hmm,   makes me think.....  / thread

[stumper]

Don't forget more power and adjusts the output to match the depth range that it is in.

FL-20 and 22 are both 400 watts....

[Junior58]

Don't forget more power and adjusts the output to match the depth range that it is in.

What does, the FL-22? They say the resolution adjusts based on depth, but power? If that were the case why do Vexilars still need a Low Power made in shallow water while all other mfr. units can zero out with the gain alone in shallow water while the Vexilars can not?

[fin-n-feather]

Getting pretty ugly here boys!   

[dkfry]

Its good to see the Marcum fanboys have such a concern about the Vex. Don't like it don't buy it.

[ice dawg]

What does, the FL-22? They say the resolution adjusts based on depth, but power? If that were the case why do Vexilars still need a Low Power made in shallow water while all other mfr. units can zero out with the gain alone in shallow water while the Vexilars can not?

To be truthful, I don't need to be able to turn my gain down to the point that I lose the display.--- Here is what Vex has to say about them. If you go to their home page and click on support you will see FAQ's where you can ask all the questions about it that you want. Have fun on the ice.  


 FL-22®
The ultimate in special purpose sonar fishing systems is here. What makes the FL-22HD so special is the technical breakthrough of matching the power output and pulse length to the depth you are fishing. In less technical terms, the FL-22HD is the first flasher sonar system that matches the depth range you've set to the resolution on the display so you see every possible detail in the water below. The FL-22HD delivers the best target ID and target separation of any sonar system ever made! A unique feature of the FL-22HD is the six 10 foot increment range settings, with a maximum depth of 60 feet. The idea of having the available depth range matched to the actual water depth being fished can greatly increase display resolution making it easier to work lures and see when a fish is interested. The popular night fishing mode is also featured in the FL-22HD. By cutting the brightness of the display by 50%, you are able to comfortably view the display in complete darkness without affecting your night vision. The FL-22HD offers two Auto Zoom zones, one for the bottom six feet and the other for the bottom twelve feet. For super-shallow water fishing, a low power mode is built-in. The FL-22HD even has a Bottom Lock feature for open water use. This locks the zoom on the bottom six feet no matter how much the water depth changes. All these features—still controlled with only three, easy to reach knobs—make the FL-22HD the most advanced sonar system ever offered by Vexilar.

Features:
Weatherproof, super-bright, 3-color LED (strong targets in red, medium targets in orange, weak targets in green)
Flat screen Display with super wide viewing angle
525 segments of resolution
Six depth ranges down to 60 feet
Target ID of Less than ¼ inch
Built-in low battery indicator
Special night mode setting for comfortable night viewing
6 foot and 12 foot Auto Zoom Ranges, 6 foot Bottom Lock
Two-Year warranty
Uses all Vexilar "FL" series transducers

[eyestroker]

 "3-color LED (strong targets in red, medium targets in orange, weak targets in green)"

This sounds great but it is dodgy.  Are they really using 3 distinct colore leds like the marcum TC's or are they still mixing 2.  I'd bet dollars to donuts that their mixing 2 and trying to sound like they have 3 distinct colored LEDs like the TC's.

Also still nothing in that quote about target separation.   Any ways $600 is a crazy price point.....  No matter what it does....  Just my one mans oppinion.

[FISHFORPIKE]

It's "NEW" and some people just gotta have it!  It could be 1200$ and they would want it, even more. 

[ice dawg]

I have never asked any questions on the Vex website, but could probably get some answers from them. I guess I'm just not that curious. Maybe someone will get some answers for us.

[TIBS]

While in zoom mode I would presume. It just blows up what is at 2.65 in normal mode. The detail doesn't change though ......

If the detail doesn't change, like on the 18 I know it doesn't, that wouldn't be a change in seperation accuracy, correct?

[filetandrelease]

they all work, check out the web sites I had a 17 yr old 8 that a young man bought off me and still going strong my 18 is 8 yrs old runs great ,and i bought them factory outlet store , also have a x67c lowrance which has both a flasher mode ,and graph mode ,nice year round rig ,ps if you can read something as big as your little finger what more do you need ? but zooms are nice features to, just my .02