Ok guys one more Question on the ice ducers

[bluegill63]

I am interested in asking you all what is the difference with a 12degree to a 19degree I know you can read about them all you want.  I want real time info from the fisherman that use them? I have always use a 19. Is there that much difference I would say the deepest I fish is 15 feet all year so was wondering.

Thanks to all you ice fisherman it is awesome getting all your points of view!!!!!!!!


Gill 

[Bean]

If that's all the deeper you fish, then you have the best transducer you could have. no need to go any further.

[bluegill63]

the reason I am asking is that I might buy a fl18 and it has a 12degree transducer and I was worried I would not like it.

[Bean]

at 20 feet down you'll get about 4.3' of coverage with a 12 degree transducer and about 6.7' of coverage with a 19 degree transducer. So you'll get about 50% more coverage with a 19 than a 12. hope this helps.
 

[Hard_H2O]

Approximate diameter (Ø) coverage of different cone angles at different depths

   9° Cone
10' deep   Ø 1' 6.888"
20' deep   Ø 3' 1.77"
30' deep   Ø 4' 8.665"
40' deep   Ø 6' 3.554"
50' deep   Ø 7' 10.442"
60' deep   Ø 9' 5.330"
70' deep   Ø 11' 0.219"
80' deep   Ø 12' 7.107"
90' deep   Ø 14' 1.996"
100' deep     Ø 15' 8.884"
   12° Cone
10' deep   Ø 2' 1.225"
20' deep   Ø 4' 2.450"
30' deep   Ø 6' 3.675"
40' deep   Ø 8' 4.900"
50' deep   Ø 10' 6.125"
60' deep   Ø 12' 7.350"
70' deep   Ø 14' 8.575"
80' deep   Ø 16' 9.800"
90' deep   Ø 18' 11.025"
100' deep   Ø 21' 0.250"
   19° Cone
10' deep   Ø 3' 4.162"
20' deep   Ø 6' 8.324"
30' deep   Ø 10' 0.487"
40' deep   Ø 13' 4.649"
50' deep   Ø 16' 8.811"
60' deep   Ø 20' 0.973"
70' deep   Ø 23' 5.136"
80' deep   Ø 26' 9.298"
90' deep   Ø 30' 1.460"
100' deep   Ø 33' 5.622"
   30° Cone
10' deep   Ø 5' 4.308"
20' deep   Ø 10' 8.616"
30' deep   Ø 16' 0.923"
40' deep   Ø 21' 5.231"
50' deep   Ø 26' 9.539"
60' deep   Ø 32' 1.847"
70' deep   Ø 37' 6.155"
80' deep   Ø 42' 10.462"
90' deep   Ø 48' 2.770"
100' deep   Ø 53' 7.078"

[JigAwhopper]

at 20 feet down you'll get about 4.3' of coverage with a 12 degree transducer and about 6.7' of coverage with a 19 degree transducer. So you'll get about 50% more coverage with a 19 than a 12. hope this helps.
 

You'll get 50% coverage in deep water with 19  like Bean said,  but you'll also get a lot more dead space,  blind spots where fish can hide.   I purchased a dual ducer with my fl-18,  use wide cone angle in shallow water and the narrow angle (9 deg??) in deep water  where it's especially usefull on steep drop offs.  You can also switch to the wider angle in deep water to 'sweep' for fish to see what's out there.  I love my setup but if you only use yours in 15 fow or less,  you don't need the extra expense.                J

[iceintheveins]

I have the FL - 8 with a dual beam. I use the 9 degree most of the time since I fish water deeper than 20 feet usually. If I'm fishing for shallow trout or panfish I will use the 19. Since you have the 12 with the FL - 18 I would use the built in low power mode in the shallow water. You will do fine with the FL - 18.

Tyler

[crappie66]

What is the standard issue transducer?  I bought my Vex on ebay and I am not sure which one I have, is there any way to tell?

[Hard_H2O]

The FL-18 has a 12° transducer as standard. The FL-8 has a 19° transducer as standard.

Here is an article from Vexilar about transducers:
http://vexilar.com/help/tips/tip006.html

I snipped the folowing from:
http://vexilar.com/help/tips/tip010.html

Which Beam Is Which
The first few years things were easy. It was just the Ice-Ducer. Then came the Narrow Beam and Dual Beam Ice-Ducers, and lately the 12 degree. Now things get a bit more interesting. As far as choosing the correct beam angle, read the previous Tip. Depending on the age, there may no markings on the Ice-Ducer to indicate which degree it is, but you can tell just by looking at it's size.
 The old standard 19 degree Ice-Ducer is 1 1/2" in diameter and about 3" tall. The newer style 19 has similar dimensions, but is cone shaped at the top. The 9 degree and Dual Beam, on the other hand, are almost 2 1/2" in diameter and about 3" tall, cone shaped at the top. The Dual Beam Ice-Ducer will have switch box in the cord. The 12 degree Ice-Ducer is about 1 3/4 inches across.