Vexilar transducer Suggestions.

[iCeMaN...24/7]

I currently own a Vexilar FL8 that is now about 17 years old.  Still works great, only thing it has needed over the years is two battery replacements and brush kit refurb.

Would like to add a new unit to the collection, an FL20.  Not sure what transducer I should go with.  I see the 12 degree is kind of standard equipment with the unit.  However, you can also get the Pro-View.  Yet, with the P-V, from what I understand, the cone angle changes with your gain...?  I like the thought of the Tri-Beam but have heard there were issues with the first run of these.

My FL8 has the 19 degree ducer.  I fish a mix of shallow water, around 10 ft, to deeper water, max of 60 ft, throughout the ice season.

I have heard the 12 degree is a nice compromise between the narrow and wide cone angle transducers.  I really like the idea of having three cone angles to select from with the push of my finger on the Tri-Beam.  As I understand it now, don't like the idea of changing the cone angle via the gain as you do with the P-V.

Any thoughts to help with the selection?

[DR.SPECKLER]

I like the proview.turn the vex on and start fishing but vexilar has a new model tribeam out that doesn't have the red band that was prone to cracking.i have both but haven't had the tri beam out yet.  if you fish shallow water a lot  say under 15 ft the tribeam would be better because the proview is a pretty powerful ducer that really shines in 20 ft or deeper.

[Zugunruhe]

I've been very pleased with the 12 degree transducer on my FL-12, it seemed to be a huge improvement over the 19 degree transducer that was on the FL-8 that I had at the time.  All of my fishing is done in water 10-40' deep and the 12 degree handles that range nicely.  I have no experience with the Vexilar Tri-beam or Proview transducers but did have a Humminbird ICE-35 for a couple of years and found little use for it's dual beams.  There may be some bias there though, I never really thought that unit was very good- the display was more "blobby" than even my FL-8, you almost had to have it on the narrow cone to get much detail or separation.

I agree with the advice you've already gotten, the 12 degree is a nice compromise for fishing medium depths.

[ice dawg]

I don't know if they are still available, but my FL18 has a dual frequency transducer that works for me. It is 9°/19° and works both deep and shallow.

[hardwater diehard]

All good info from above IS members ...some visual aids

[hnd]

get the tribeam.  the proview is one of the most frustrating ducers on the market. 

[Jigginforjumbos]

I personally have the fl20(reconditioned- works just as great as new) it is my first unit owning and couldn't be happier. I own the pro view ducer. I've fished it 3 times so far this ice season. On a pond with 3 to 6 ft of water and lot of grass, pond with 10 and lake with 12 to 18 ft. The toughest was the 3 to 6 ft pond due to the cone angle being not as spread but with a little finiking with the gain I was able to see and go catch over 50 gills in a morning. Note: used low power setting below 20 and worked so much better.  The other 2 that were over 10 ft were phenomenal. Very low gain(below where it says to press for interference) and very acccurate. My favorite lake to fish is 25 to 35 ft n haven't gotten any ice there yet. But that's why I Got the pro view. It flourishes over 15 ft of water so if had it on a 60ft lake like you had. There's no way I'd want a 12.  Hope this helps out!! 

[hardwater diehard]

Only thing with the TriBeam I think its only available through Vexilar ...I haven't been able to find any other on line retailers .Maybe Email Vexilar for a list of on line retailers may save on shipping ..codes or ship to store ETC .

[DR.SPECKLER]

Only thing with the TriBeam I think its only available through Vexilar ...I haven't been able to find any other on line retailers .Maybe Email Vexilar for a list of on line retailers may save on shipping ..codes or ship to store ETC .

yeah if you don't order straight from vexilar you may end up with a old stock/model tribeam that will fail.i got mine straight from them.im still keeping my spare proview just in case I don't like the tribeam.i have noticed that with the tribeam on 20 degree cone angle I don't have to use lp mode in shallow water like I do with the proview on low gain.

[hardwater diehard]

I think most of the defective TriBeams are gone ...at least from on line retailers ...maybe some on a shelf's  in mom and pop stores, small tackle shops and off line only retailers . I think Vexilar may be keeping them for there expected return/defects ...I don't think the roll out of the Proview was a great success ..whether  its just a poor marketing or true dislike of the Proview ...but as more people use them thy are sure to catch on ...at the time I replaced mine ..I stuck with the TriBeam...as at that time I couldn't wrap my head around the Proview .

[TeamTwoSticks]

I just recently switched from the 12 degree to the tri-beam for my fl-18. I really like it so far. I bought the same setup for my dad so while walleye jigging we can sit close but switch to the narrow beam and not see both lures. The whole cone angle/gain thing is the exact reason why I did not buy the proview. Doesn't really seem like the best of options.  I do like being able to switch to the wide view and search for fish, or when in weeds use the narrow beam and then drop the gain so that my jig is a sliver of a green line.

I now have 2 fl-18's with the ultra pack dd-100 and the tri-beam transducer. And one fl-18 ultra pack dd-100 and a 12 degree transducer as a back up unit.

I bought my transducer straight from vexilar and have not had any problems with it.

[Buttonbuckslayer!]

Get the tribeam, most versatile you can get.  I couldn't stand the Proview on a flx-28.

[Johnsonarcher]

I picked up a tri-ducer used last year. The top 3-4 foot was always a mass of garbage no matter what the cone angle was. I wasn't sure if that was typical or if it was bad.

[hardwater diehard]

I picked up a tri-ducer used last year. The top 3-4 foot was always a mass of garbage no matter what the cone angle was. I wasn't sure if that was typical or if it was bad.

Contact Vexilar ...exchange should be no problem ...is the red plastic ...chipped ,cracked or fractured ? 

http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=326593.msg3453080#msg3453080

http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=297556.msg3117074#msg3117074

[TheCrittaC]

I loved my tri-beam until it developed the notorious cracking issue. I sent it back to Vexilar and they replaced it with the new style for no charge. No experience with the pro view, but I liked the versatility of the tri-beam because I might be fishing in 20 feet of water one day and 70 the next.

[iCeMaN...24/7]

Thank you to everyone for the helpful suggestions!

Looks like the answer for my situation is the Tri-Beam!

When I first started researching the difference between the two transducers I was a bit confused. So, I watched a few of the Youtube videos with Tom Zenanko from Vexilar.  They did help however, I thought the best feedback would be from the guys on Ice Shanty!

Thanks again!

[bigredonice]

I'd say you made the right choice.

Just got off the phone with vexilar, had to send my fl-18 in, after 15 years, the motor failed (fyi their customer service is top-notch).   While I was on the phone with the tech, I tried to get him to explain the difference in the pro-view and tri-beam...and he couldn't tell me any more than what is in that video.

So here's my experience

the tri-beam is the best for over-all as you can dial it in for the kinds of fishing you are doing (wide beam shallow, narrow beam deep, etc), whereas the pro-view some how becomes a 30* ducer when you turn the gain up?   

In real life, that means the pro-view is almost useless for fishing under 10 feet of water or in weeds, especially compared to the tri-beam.

The pro-view ducer is going to be what you want if you fish a lot of deep water for things like lake trout...which is what I do mostly, and its perfect for that kind of fishing.

[lowaccord66]

Lance the proview used with weedmode is AWESOME...however ask JonNY if it made a differnece on Southbay nailing crappie in 3 fow last march...lets just say I cleaned up!  You need to use LP or weedmode though otherwise I agree it can be a bit tough in shallow water...Whereas at LG it excels!

[bigredonice]

Lance the proview used with weedmode is AWESOME...however ask JonNY if it made a differnece on Southbay nailing crappie in 3 fow last march...lets just say I cleaned up!  You need to use LP or weedmode though otherwise I agree it can be a bit tough in shallow water...Whereas at LG it excels!

I only have the 18 (so unfortunately no weedmode, as awesome as that mode sounds )

can you elaborate on what it does on LP mode?

[Jigginforjumbos]

Lance the proview used with weedmode is AWESOME...however ask JonNY if it made a differnece on Southbay nailing crappie in 3 fow last march...lets just say I cleaned up!  You need to use LP or weedmode though otherwise I agree it can be a bit tough in shallow water...Whereas at LG it excels!

Will second that! I use a pro view in 4 ft of water on a blue gill pond covered with weeds on bottom. On LP mode works just as good as if it's 10# plus

[1moslab]

Tri-beam

[Jigginforjumbos]

The thing that I'm more interested in is that your Vex is a proven machine being 17 years old!! Hope mine last that long

[bigredonice]

The thing that I'm more interested in is that your Vex is a proven machine being 17 years old!! Hope mine last that long

they will, my 18 made it through 15 years of the hardest abuse one could imagine before the rotor motor finally let go.   Can't even count the number of tumbles it took off a quad rack, snomobile, off my bucket, etc.    Heck, over time, I've gone through 2 plastic cases around the thing (its on its third case)

[iCeMaN...24/7]

The thing that I'm more interested in is that your Vex is a proven machine being 17 years old!! Hope mine last that long

I do baby it a bit and it has not been used much the last 6 years or so.  Also, it did need the brush kit refurb but just ordered the parts and did it myself.  The plan is to pass it on to my son to use then upgrade to the 22HD.

The picture below is it in action last weekend.

[lowaccord66]

I only have the 18 (so unfortunately no weedmode, as awesome as that mode sounds )

can you elaborate on what it does on LP mode?

Weed Mode is great for me and for the FLX!!!  I'm scared to try to explain LP mode because I know there are guys on here much smarter than me.  I'll explain simply....using LP in shallow water does a couple of things
..apparently they claim the reduced frequency will spook less fishn but what it means for you and I us you can clesrly mark your jig in 3 fow while still having decent target seperation....if you used normal at that depth the jig mark on low gain will take most of the space on the dial...

[DR.SPECKLER]

 yep. weed mode is great in weed choked shallow water on the flx28.lp mode cuts the power of the vexilar in half making it less sensitive in shallow water which results in less clutter on the dial unless the gain is turned up to high.

[Joe in T.C.]

Check this out.

Good explanation on the Pro transducer and Tri transducer.

good luck