LX7 issues

[EricB86]

Lol. By the sounds of it, you might wanna keep it that way!!!

[Chute82]

When the latest and greatest Marum model comes out next year the complaints will surly follow. 

[Thearcher1340]

Just got to use my LX7 yesterday. It was a learning experience for the most part, trying to familiarize myself to the unit.   Me and my buddy drilled about 40 holes and we're looking for fish.  I think his unit is a Lawrance,anyway he said he was marking fish in 1-2 holes and I wasn't marking anything.  So I was changing lures and put on a heVy tungsten jig dropped down hole hit bottom, lifted about 6 inches up and it was like a line of fish show up, first bite.  The only way they were biting was if I bounced jig off bottom lift up and not move it, and the bite was really light.  Now I had a solid red line for bottom, but couldn't c any fish on bottom.  Bounce jig and the fish were coming right out of solid red line and hit the jig.  Do I need turn sensitivity down. Only had it at a 5-6.  Still trying to learn the unit?

[Adkrs]

Just got to use my LX7 yesterday. It was a learning experience for the most part, trying to familiarize myself to the unit.   Me and my buddy drilled about 40 holes and we're looking for fish.  I think his unit is a Lawrance,anyway he said he was marking fish in 1-2 holes and I wasn't marking anything.  So I was changing lures and put on a heVy tungsten jig dropped down hole hit bottom, lifted about 6 inches up and it was like a line of fish show up, first bite.  The only way they were biting was if I bounced jig off bottom lift up and not move it, and the bite was really light.  Now I had a solid red line for bottom, but couldn't c any fish on bottom.  Bounce jig and the fish were coming right out of solid red line and hit the jig.  Do I need turn sensitivity down. Only had it at a 5-6.  Still trying to learn the unit?

How deep were you? 5-6 is the highest ive had to be, but that was 60-80ft of water and a small lead head/minnow. Were you on a dropoff? Always use a skinny cone on dropoffs. That goes for any sonar. Less dead zone

[jrjach75]

Year after year i keep hearing about these marcum issues. I said i'm waiting til they get all the bugs out before i invest in one. Been at least three years and i'm still waiting. Hopefully all these complaints will stop by next seasons models and i can upgrade to digital without fear of losing my money or fishing time. They're one of the only ice units i haven't tried yet.

Same here, I've been really close to pulling the trigger this year on a LX6s, but it just seems crazy to me all the workarounds people have to use to get these things to work right. I keep hearing to not run the digital Marcums in ice mode... seriously!?

[32footsteps]

Same here, I've been really close to pulling the trigger this year on a LX6s, but it just seems crazy to me all the workarounds people have to use to get these things to work right. I keep hearing to not run the digital Marcums in ice mode... seriously!?

There really aren't that many workarounds with them but the perception exists that there are because they are discussed frequently.  I run mine in ice mode 95% of the time and it works fine.  The only time it is not in ice mode is if I'm in shallow water.  That's it.  The rest of the time it's in ice mode. 

People buy these things and don't research their minor little quirks meaning they haven't seen tons and tons of discussions all over the place.  Then when they get stumped they start the same conversation up again making it feel like it's the most complicated piece of equipment on the market.  It really isn't.  My 8yr old nephew figured out how to use mine in about 20 minutes of unsupervised use.  Put him in a shack with my LX7 and within minutes he got the hang of it and knew enough to reference the users manual that I had in the shack.  An 8yr old can figure it out quickly but grown-ups can't.  Hmmmmm.... 

[hnd]

Year after year i keep hearing about these marcum issues. I said i'm waiting til they get all the bugs out before i invest in one. Been at least three years and i'm still waiting. Hopefully all these complaints will stop by next seasons models and i can upgrade to digital without fear of losing my money or fishing time. They're one of the only ice units i haven't tried yet.

i know tons of guys who have bought the last few years with 0 issues.  so its not a"every unit will fail"

its very frustrating to see though.  Marcums technology mechanical and digital trumps everything else in the ice game.  their reliability being suspect is quite annoying.   When people using anything else look at my lx5 and go "wow, i want one of those" but you have to tell them its possible they'll get a lemon, it doesn't feel quite as good. 

[yoopermjm]

I'm not really sure there are that many "lemons" out there. Obviously I can't know anything except my own experience, which is that the lx7 felt like a lemon a couple of times to me until I learned how to adjust it. It took about three trips to work with it enough to figure out how to use it. It also took posting on this board and asking questions to those who use them. I sent several pms to lx7 users and all my questions and problems were addressed and answered until I finally understood how it works.

It can seem like there are problems, and there may be. But mine felt like a problem until I understood how the many adjustments all fit together. Once you understand how the sensitivity fits with the target size and the IR is not a "gain" issue but several different frequencies, 25 to be exact, to use when other flashers were around, and that open water mode is only for shallow water, and the cone angle adjustment and what 20 gives you vs 8 (including the knowledge of how many feet your cone is encompassing on the bottom, however deep it is, it all begins to makes sense.

Now its a pleasure to use it because there really is more information available than my other flasher and truly amazing target separation. Instead of a wide red blob, I can tell how many fish are looking. Sometimes the problems are just part of a learning curve, sometimes the problems are just because the unit is so powerful that it sees a great deal more than was ever possible before. I am not knocking vex or bird or anyone else, I'm sure they're great, and they certainly have a quicker learning curve. But I'm happy with the 7 and now that I know how it works, I would not trade it. PS I have only had it for a little over a week, so the learning curve is not that long.

[Maddog]

I'm not really sure there are that many "lemons" out there. Obviously I can't know anything except my own experience, which is that the lx7 felt like a lemon a couple of times to me until I learned how to adjust it. It took about three trips to work with it enough to figure out how to use it. It also took posting on this board and asking questions to those who use them. I sent several pms to lx7 users and all my questions and problems were addressed and answered until I finally understood how it works.

It can seem like there are problems, and there may be. But mine felt like a problem until I understood how the many adjustments all fit together. Once you understand how the sensitivity fits with the target size and the IR is not a "gain" issue but several different frequencies, 25 to be exact, to use when other flashers were around, and that open water mode is only for shallow water, and the cone angle adjustment and what 20 gives you vs 8 (including the knowledge of how many feet your cone is encompassing on the bottom, however deep it is, it all begins to makes sense.

Now its a pleasure to use it because there really is more information available than my other flasher and truly amazing target separation. Instead of a wide red blob, I can tell how many fish are looking. Sometimes the problems are just part of a learning curve, sometimes the problems are just because the unit is so powerful that it sees a great deal more than was ever possible before. I am not knocking vex or bird or anyone else, I'm sure they're great, and they certainly have a quicker learning curve. But I'm happy with the 7 and now that I know how it works, I would not trade it. PS I have only had it for a little over a week, so the learning curve is not that long.

Very well said sir

[varmonter]

well 8 year olds can show me how to upgrade my computer and use a smartphone.This stuff is ingrained in kids these days from birth...for us old farts it a bit steeper of a curve..but certainly doable  my lx7 is coming this week ..I can't wait..

[Thearcher1340]

Adkrs I was in 13 feet of water the sensitivity was 5-6 from what I remember.  I know I had a 20 degree cone though. Still tweaking my settings and on a learning curve first time had it out.  Thanks for the info really appreciate it, love the 7.  When the fish finally showed up after I bounced the jig off bottom it was crazy, you could see them come flying up after it.  The screen had so many fish you couldn't see ur jig.  Again I'm still learning with this unit, so any advice from you guys with the 7's is greatly appreciated.

[Royalwapiti]

Adkrs I was in 13 feet of water the sensitivity was 5-6 from what I remember.  I know I had a 20 degree cone though. Still tweaking my settings and on a learning curve first time had it out.  Thanks for the info really appreciate it, love the 7.  When the fish finally showed up after I bounced the jig off bottom it was crazy, you could see them come flying up after it.  The screen had so many fish you couldn't see ur jig.  Again I'm still learning with this unit, so any advice from you guys with the 7's is greatly appreciated.

I have a  completely different unit, I converted my Humminbird 688 boat ducer to a Ice Ducer.   The more I jigged the more fish would appeared on my screen.  I thought this was slick.  Took me two or three trips out on the ice to realize the more I jigged the more the Ducer was picking up my jig, they weren't fish.  Had to turn my sensitivity down.    Not saying that is what is happening to you but it was funny and a lesson in humility.  I told everyone I was marking fish all day but they wouldn't bite!

[Thearcher1340]

Lol no no I was catching fish, it was a weird bite they were tight to the bottom(red line) I would let the jig hit bottom jig off bottom 3-4 times bring jig up to ten feet and it was like a parade off bottom to the jig.

[Adkrs]

Lol no no I was catching fish, it was a weird bite they were tight to the bottom(red line) I would let the jig hit bottom jig off bottom 3-4 times bring jig up to ten feet and it was like a parade off bottom to the jig.

I would try turning it down until your jig is a constant green. Remember to try open water mode if youre fishing shallow, personally have mever used it as i dont really jig shallow. These units have a ton of power. Like i said, i havent been over sensitivity 6 and that was using flies for smelt in 60-80ft of water. The fact that it goes up to 25 sensitivity makes me want to find some really deep water just to see how it does

[3300]

Lol no no I was catching fish, it was a weird bite they were tight to the bottom(red line) I would let the jig hit bottom jig off bottom 3-4 times bring jig up to ten feet and it was like a parade off bottom to the jig.

your bringing sediment/silt/debris/mud up from the bottom is all your seeing. sounds like it's working right.
wait until you fish plankton!

the bottom is supposed to be tuned to be red in color. the jig/lure should be green. if the jig is red, you have the sens way too high.

[BlackDogAlpha]

I didnt know the color range was important, I have had yellow bottom, blue jig on a small tungsten, and on a big spoon it changes to a orange but only when I hammer it. I wonder of Marcum thought about the color choices as red and green are bad for color blind people. I had a real hard time seeing my jig last week and fiddled the sensitivity up to 12 and that was the lowest I could detect the jig, 8 degree cone in 18' of water. I will have to play with it more.

[3300]

they did and have other color palate choices for you including gray scale.

also, use ice mode to get the sens back up to full power. open water mode lowers the curve gain and will knock out the jig after about 10 fow unless you crank up the sens/gain.

[dekalbnick]

I too have an LX7 I'm having issues with.  After reading through this whole thread I hope I have better luck!  I got the unit last year late in the season.  I has worked really well until about 2 weeks ago, the screen would start flickering and blinking in and out and I would have to turn my sensitivity way up to see my jigs.  It seemed to come out of it the next time out but I was starting to get moisture behind the screen.  Well, this past Sunday it started to act up again.  I plugged and unplugged the battery and even tried a different battery and now the screen won't light up just the buttons.  I emailed Marcum about noon yesterday and got a response at about 9:00 today to send it in and warranty will fix it.  I had already taken it to the post office today.  The Post Office told me @$11 dollars and it will be there in three days, but they thought it would actually be 2 days.  I hope they are timely about getting it going and shipping it back fast.  I'm hopeful that I can have it back by next weekend (Mar 5-6).  My big question in all this is, are the new digital flashers like the LX6, 7, and 9 and vexilar FLX28 really going to be able to hold up to lots of use and a little abuse (not fall off a trailer and drag across the lake) but getting knocked around a little and being out in the elements (wind, snow, sleet, slush, extreme cold)??  Just seems that more people have trouble with the really new stuff.  I have an older FL-18 and that thing is bullet proof!  We still have my grandpa's FL-8 that has to be over 20 years old and it still works great.  Don't get me wrong I love how my LX-7 works it is an awesome machine, but for the price it has to hold up and can't fail!  Otherwise I'm truly better off owning 2-3 old flasher that work and hold up.  I'm just really glad I have a backup flasher to use or else I would really be upset!  This isn't a big complaint towards Marcum..............ye t, I will see how this issue is handled and how the unit works/holds up when I get it back.

Update:  Sent the unit off last Tuesday (2-23-16) was told in an email that I would receive an email when my unit arrived.  I saw that it arrived on Thursday morning by watching my tracking #.  Waited until Friday morning and still no email.  Sent another email and got a response Friday about 4:30 said my unit arrived on Thursday and was already fixed and apologized for not emailing like they were supposed too and said it should be shipped out Monday afternoon.  I haven't heard anymore since then and wasn't told in the last email what the problem was.  Hopefully it shows up by the end of the week and I can use it this weekend to see how it will work.  Maybe there will be a "report" of what was wrong and what needed to be fixed.  So far I'm impressed with the speed of the process but disappointed in the lack of communication.

[VTMatt]

I got no explanation as to what was wrong with mine. Just a piece of paper that someone forgot to fill out, but even that didn't have room for explanation. When I first got mine, it kept dying on me on the ice the first time out. I called and left a very detailed message and I NEVER got a call back. I found out what was wrong on my own. As of now the unit is a little better but I'm still waiting for a firmware fix for shallow water.

[buz23]

Sounds like your battery connections were a little loose.  Thing dies when you drag it from hole to hole.  Just pinch the connectors a little with pliers and you'll be good to go.

[dekalbnick]

Update:  Sent the unit off last Tuesday (2-23-16) was told in an email that I would receive an email when my unit arrived.  I saw that it arrived on Thursday morning by watching my tracking #.  Waited until Friday morning and still no email.  Sent another email and got a response Friday about 4:30 said my unit arrived on Thursday and was already fixed and apologized for not emailing like they were supposed too and said it should be shipped out Monday afternoon.  I haven't heard anymore since then and wasn't told in the last email what the problem was.  Hopefully it shows up by the end of the week and I can use it this weekend to see how it will work.  Maybe there will be a "report" of what was wrong and what needed to be fixed.  So far I'm impressed with the speed of the process but disappointed in the lack of communication.

My LX7 arrived yesterday.  8 days round trip with 2 of those days being Saturday and Sunday.  I though that was pretty good.  I cost me @$11 dollars for 2 day shipping, the only cost I  had in the whole process, Marcum took care of all repair and return 2 day priority shipping. Not much explanation of what was wrong.  It seems to be working well, will get it out on the ice this weekend and will know for sure.  They even put a new snow shield on it and a new power cord and connections.  As long as it works and doesn't have to go back every year I would say I'm very happy with how it was handled.  Also, I will add that I bought it from a local well respected and liked store and they were very helpful with the process too and even messaged me a couple of times to see what I was hearing and if there was anything else they could do to help out.