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Glad this post came up.Have a dilemma.Have a FL8 that has run awesome over the years.Wife has found out why I love ice fishing so much So, since I like to leave the shack and search for active fish.Thought I'd leave her in the shack with the FL8.Was thinking of getting a FL18 (maybe reconditioned)Everyone's thoughts?Is the FL18 the way to go?Hard to leave a Vexilar with the good luck I've had with my FL8
It has been brought to my attention that "several old timers" have cashed in their Vexilars this year because they have "crapped out" on them after 5-7 years of use/ownership. My first FL-8 was 12 years old and still going strong when I sold it. What say you fellow Vex owners...boom or bust?
How do you qualify as an old timer ?? ( just curios ) I am 71 yrs old and have been fishing straight down since I got off active duty in1971 well before electronics. I can't wait to get on the ice again this yr. with my vex. it;s my favorite time of the season and I hope to be out there as long as possible God willing.
I still have a Micronar FL-8......And a SiTex FL-8.......both prior manufacturers before Vexilar bought them out. Don’t recall which came first. Units identical45 plus years oldBoth run strong. Gotta keep the motor shaft clean and lightly lubed in very cold tempsI am able to see a tungsten dot with both units. Gets the job done
Ice Dawg, that's really grate I hope I can say the same thing some day (fishing almost 70 yrs) not many can say that. I hope you have many more to come.
I have had a hard to find FL-22 for the last several years which I purchased brand new the year that vexilar released them. It was the first HD version to be released by vexilar and unless I am mistaken it is the first vexilar model to come standard with the tri beam transducer. I believe the other two newer models being the FL-28 and brand new fl-30 come with the same transducer. Truth be known, I have not seen a fl-22 offered for resale on any internet resource. Both of those newer models have a digital screen where mine is not. I have said it before and I'll say it again. If by chance I happen to leave my house to head fishing and discover I have left without my vex, I'll return home to get it. Other then when I dropped it from about 5 feet something like 3 weeks after buying it, it has been bullet proof. I fed ex'd it to vexilar, spoke with the repair tech on the phone who could tell it had been dropped but felt sorry for me and repaired it under a warranty claim anyhow and fed ex'd it back to me. I placed a prepaid label in the box when I sent it to them. My input only, but I am skeptical that I would buy a unit that doesn't have the feature of displaying the bottom 6 feet of water. I on occasion find fish suspended, but more often then not when the bite happens, it comes straight off of the bottom of the body of water. More often than not if I get a hit that screams in from the side of the screen a few feet off of the bottom it ends up being a trout. Good luck with your decision making process. Tight lines and stay safe. GF hardwater Guy
I believe the FL22 only goes to 60' deep?
yes but its a great shallow water flasher because it can use the full screen up to 60 with the depth settings it has.i got one on a super sale a few years back.most lakes around here are 30ish ft max.i running a tri beam on it.
I have a older FL8. it is making a loud humming sound. does anyone know what that means?