Vexilar FL-22HD - Are you happy with yours?

[AtlBraves12]

Hopefully the transducer is what the problem is... I purchased just the 22 head and kept my fl18 in case i ever fish deeper than 60'. Then all I need to do is swap out the fl22 head with the fl18 head. I have really liked my 22 so far. Haven't had any problems. I have been fishing mostly around 25-35 ft.

[JimQ]

Hey JimQ, I've noticed that with my 22 the last two times I have been out it has been harder and harder to get the unit set right so I could see my jig.  And also the big orange blob has gotten like yours and covers the first 3 feet of the graph.  I tried everything like you did and nothing seemed to work so today after reading your post I took the 22 in the basement. Got out my FL-8, put them side by side, put the transducers the same level from the basement floor and turned them on.  The 8 worked just fine and the 22 had three feet of orange showing and I had to turn the gain all the way up to pick up the floor.  I then took the ducer off of the 8 and put it on the 22.  The 22 worked just fine then.  I got pictures of this and I'll post them later.  This tells me it has to be the tri beam ducer.  I called Vexilar and they said they have been having this problem and they would send me out a new ducer yet today.  Hopefully this remedies the problem.  I know you got a new ducer from them too.  I think it could also be a bad one.  Let you know when the new ducer comes and I can try it out and see if the problem is gone.  Fin

Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm glad you're having the same issue too!  HA!  Makes me feel better!  Keep on Vexilar.  I am.  Lets keep in touch.  I anxious to get this sorted out.

Thanks for posting!

Q

[JimQ]

Hopefully the transducer is what the problem is... I purchased just the 22 head and kept my fl18 in case i ever fish deeper than 60'. Then all I need to do is swap out the fl22 head with the fl18 head. I have really liked my 22 so far. Haven't had any problems. I have been fishing mostly around 25-35 ft.

Hang on to that 18!  I'm kicking myself right now for getting rid of mine!  I've got 2 bumb 22's now.

Better get to some shallow water and make sure it works like you think it should.  My 22's seem to do better in in the 2x or 3x scale.  10Ft is worthless.

Q

[supserdave]

I've used my FL22 4 or 5 trips now, and I've had zero issues. I have used it only in shallow water, from 3-8' of water. It sounds like you have a bad transducer, hopefully they come through for ya.

[fin-n-feather]

Here are the pics of my 8 and 22 running side by side and the big orange blob the first three feet on the 22.  Both Vex's were running the wide ducers.  You can see the 22 had the gain cranked all the way up just to be able to see the floor.  The other pic is of the 22 with the 8's 19 degree ducer and the reading was normal.  Now the wait for the new tri beam to come.  Fin

[eyestroker]

all i can say is those are some ugly machines,  My marcum is way prettier.........

[slipperybob]

The Vex are all artistically painted and have much more eye appeal as well as eye catching array of colorful placements.

The Marcums are very plain.  You wouldn't notice them from 10 feet away next to a Vex.  You'll need a very sharp eye to even notice the smaller Marcum unit.

[stumper]

Did you try the Tri beam on your FL-8? 

[stumper]

The Vex are all artistically painted and have much more eye appeal as well as eye catching array of colorful placements.
The Marcums are very plain.  You wouldn't notice them from 10 feet away next to a Vex.  You'll need a very sharp eye to even notice the smaller Marcum unit.

You know what they say about putting lip stick on a pig? Its still a pig.....LOL....Sorry, just had to...

[slipperybob]

^

That made me laugh. 

[esox_magnum]

Funny but oh so true.....

[eaglejac]

I call vex today and talked shop with their tech, I have a FL 20 and 22 and  when you do the open air test with the transducer you will see 2 to 2 1/2 foot of red on top no matter what angle you select. In the water in the 10 Foot mode you will have about half that amount , he tested a unit they have there and called me back with these results, that's how my FL22 works. If you are seeing 2 to 2 1/2 foot of red on top in the water on the 10 foot scale that's no good!!
 I like my FL 22 much better than the FL 20 , seeing it do it's magic is believing..

[JimQ]

I went out this weekend to give it another try and do some experimentation.  I believe I'm fighting transducer issues to start with.    One is definitely worse than the other.  I can swap transducers and the large zero mark follows the transducer.  Both transducers produce different results on the same settings.  At the very least, there is a consistency issue. 

One of the units will only marginally function with the transducer switch in the 12deg position.  Zero extends down 2 -3 feet in that position.  Move it to the 8 or 20 deg position and zero extends down nearly 5 feet.

I am getting soooo frustrated with this.  My season here in SE Nebraska is short and I can't get a straight answer out of these guys.  I keep getting "...we're heading for the lake tomorrow, we'll get back to you", then nothing more.  I'm sure they're working on a solution, but they need to let me know that.  I might be a little more patient.  If they don't step up and make this right, SOON, these 22's are gone.  I'm going to grab a couple ICE-55's and not look back.

Q

[jmillsp]

Now you have me concerned about my new 22! If I do the open air test, what should it show for the dead space? I used it this past Sunday for the first time and like it but was never in 10 foot or less of water so normally had it on the 2x or 3x setting.
Also, do you guys have an easy way to tell the exact depth you are at or do you just wing it? I don't like the depth scale at all!

[JimQ]

Now you have me concerned about my new 22! If I do the open air test, what should it show for the dead space? I used it this past Sunday for the first time and like it but was never in 10 foot or less of water so normally had it on the 2x or 3x setting.
Also, do you guys have an easy way to tell the exact depth you are at or do you just wing it? I don't like the depth scale at all!

If you're at all concerned about shallow water performance, better get out there and try it.  90% of the fishing I do is in less than 10 FOW.  That is why I was sooo excited about the fl22 and jumped in feet first and bought two.  The longer Vexilar strings me along with no answers, the more I regret my decision.  I loved the fl8 and fl18 that I had.  Wish I wouldn't have sold them.

The deepest I've been with my 22 has been about 12 fow.  It worked better in the 2x range than the 10FT range.

[eaglejac]

Open air with the transducer 2 foot above the  hard floor , you will see about 2 1/2 to 3   foot of red , no matter what beam angle . and you should see a bottom mark at 9 foot with no gain on..   

[jmillsp]

Open air with the transducer 2 foot above the  hard floor , you will see about 2 1/2 to 3   foot of red , no matter what beam angle . and you should see a bottom mark at 9 foot with no gain on..   

Are you saying this is how it should look if there is no problems with the transducer or other components? 

[fin-n-feather]

Open air with the transducer 2 foot above the  hard floor , you will see about 2 1/2 to 3   foot of red , no matter what beam angle . and you should see a bottom mark at 9 foot with no gain on..  

eaglejac, I don't think your right on the 2 1/2 to 3 feet of red in the air.  If you look at my previous post and pics when I had the 8 and 22 on my work bench.  The 8 did not have 3 feet of red and the 22 did and when I put the 8's ducer on the 22 it red just fine like the 8.  Also when the tri beam is in the water it still shows 2 1/2-3 feet of red.  In the air or in the water that is not normal.  Vexilar has a problem here.  Fin

[fin-n-feather]

Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm glad you're having the same issue too!  HA!  Makes me feel better!  Keep on Vexilar.  I am.  Lets keep in touch.  I anxious to get this sorted out.

Thanks for posting!

Q

Hey JimQ, went out yesterday and fished all day in 5-6 feet of water with the 22 with the FL-8's ducer.  Not a single problem.  Even worked excellent in the weeds.  The red blob issue has to be a ducer problem.  Still waiting for mine to come.  If not here by tomorrow gonna call them.  Fin

[JimQ]

Hey JimQ, went out yesterday and fished all day in 5-6 feet of water with the 22 with the FL-8's ducer.  Not a single problem.  Even worked excellent in the weeds.  The red blob issue has to be a ducer problem.  Still waiting for mine to come.  If not here by tomorrow gonna call them.  Fin

Hey, that is some good news... I think.  At least you're on the right track.  Good to know the head unit is working like it should but I wonder if it's an issue with all of the Tri-Beams.

I got an email this morning from Mr Tom Zenanko himself!  I hope we can get to the bottom of this one!

Q

[eaglejac]

Fin , I did see your post and that's what got me thinking,  But the open air specs are correct , in the water you will see up to a 1 1/2 foot of red on top.  My fl 22 and 20 are the same .    I don't know why  your other transducer works better!!!  I can live with not see the top 1 1/2 foot of water..
These spec came from vexilar , give Pat a call at vex , he was very helpful to me ..   I am sure you have a bad transducer !!  Pat will send you a transducer if you call him ... When you see this baby working right you will be very happy..

[darkwater777]

I have no problems with my unit when I run it in less then 10 feet, I can see bottom and find my jig with a very slight turn of the gain. I would return the unit and ask for a refund and get soemthing else if your not happy cause what I see ur unit isnt working right.

Cheers!!

[fin-n-feather]

I have no problems with my unit when I run it in less then 10 feet, I can see bottom and find my jig with a very slight turn of the gain. I would return the unit and ask for a refund and get soemthing else if your not happy cause what I see ur unit isnt working right.

Cheers!!

Hey Dark, I like the 22 and am going to hang onto it yet for awhile.  Still waiting for my new ducer to come from vexilar.  See if this one lasts longer than the previous one.  Vexilar has been good when I talked to them on the phone so we'll wait and see.  Keep an eye on yours cause mine worked fine for quite a while before it went bad.  Fin

[fin-n-feather]

Fin , I did see your post and that's what got me thinking,  But the open air specs are correct , in the water you will see up to a 1 1/2 foot of red on top.  My fl 22 and 20 are the same .    I don't know why  your other transducer works better!!!  I can live with not see the top 1 1/2 foot of water..
These spec came from vexilar , give Pat a call at vex , he was very helpful to me ..   I am sure you have a bad transducer !!  Pat will send you a transducer if you call him ... When you see this baby working right you will be very happy..

Eagle, mine worked good for quite a while and I loved it, then it started going bad.  I did contact Vexilar last Friday and they said they would send me a new ducer but it hasn't come yet.  Hoping this fixes the problem and the new one doesn't go bad too.  Fin

[JimQ]

Eagle, mine worked good for quite a while and I loved it, then it started going bad.

I experienced the same thing.  Took the first one out on the ice, used it for a day and loved it.  Mail ordered a second.  The performance of the first one went in the toilet while waiting on the second one to arrive.  The second one arrived and it was worse than the first right out of the box.

I could actually watch the Zero mark grow on the first unit I purchased.  I would cycle it OFF/ON and the zero would be smaller again. 

Q

[darkwater777]

Eagle, mine worked good for quite a while and I loved it, then it started going bad.  I did contact Vexilar last Friday and they said they would send me a new ducer but it hasn't come yet.  Hoping this fixes the problem and the new one doesn't go bad too.  Fin

Ive been fishing at least 3x a week with mine since late Nov. and have yet to see anything but I will keep my eyes opened. I tried the open air test like you fin and I do have the red running down the first few feet but I only need to slightly turn my gain to find bottom. If I do run into problems Im not going to keep the unit, I sell it and buy an LX-5
I find it amusing that this fellow needs some help but the Marcum fanboys come here and throw out their snide comments...go through all the Marcum problems that they have and you never see Vex or Humminbird owners pulling that crap. I liken the behavior to small man syndrome..always need to make themselves know in a crowd and its usually the same couple of guys in every post. (rant off)

Cheers!!

[stumper]

Ive been fishing at least 3x a week with mine since late Nov. and have yet to see anything but I will keep my eyes opened. I tried the open air test like you fin and I do have the red running down the first few feet but I only need to slightly turn my gain to find bottom. If I do run into problems Im not going to keep the unit, I sell it and buy an LX-5
I find it amusing that this fellow needs some help but the Marcum fanboys come here and throw out their snide comments...go through all the Marcum problems that they have and you never see Vex or Humminbird owners pulling that crap. I liken the behavior to small man syndrome..always need to make themselves know in a crowd and its usually the same couple of guys in every post. (rant off)

Cheers!!

BWahahahhhahaaaa. This whole thread discusses the Vex transducer issues. NOT ONE Marcum owner has bashed them for putting out a faulty transducer. BUT, ONE VEX owner brought it upon himself to bring up Marcum units having issues YOU!!!!  I guess if the shoe fits huh?

[darkwater777]

Hey Dark, I like the 22 and am going to hang onto it yet for awhile.  Still waiting for my new ducer to come from vexilar.  See if this one lasts longer than the previous one.  Vexilar has been good when I talked to them on the phone so we'll wait and see.  Keep an eye on yours cause mine worked fine for quite a while before it went bad.  Fin

When you mention it worked for a while, how long is that and how many trips out did you do with it?

[fin-n-feather]

Got the new ducer for the 22 from Vexilar today.  Hooked it up and took it down to the lake.  Had to see if the 3 foot orange blob was gone.  Popped a couple holes in a shallow bay.  Fired up the bad boy in 5 ft of water and the blob was gone.  YEAH!  Didn't fish today, just had to see how it worked.  Gonna be going out in the near future to run it through its paces.  Hopefully this one will be the fix.  Here is a pic from my phone.  Fin

[fin-n-feather]

When you mention it worked for a while, how long is that and how many trips out did you do with it?

I figure I took it out probably a dozen times and probably the last 3 times I had it out is when it started acting up and just got worse each time.  Fin