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hummingbird 565 sonar unit... my father and i have been using our lcr units out of the boat instead of spending the money on a seperate system. it works exactly the same as a flasher as it is instantaneous response and it gives me a great display. plus the 565 is a dual beam so i get a nice wide view of whats goin on below me... slight upgrade from the 535 dad uses. and at $150 regular price its a nice break for the walletso if you dont want to spend the money on a seperate system look into trying your boats sonar unit... it beats spending 500 for a flasher you are generally going to use just for hardwater
Chevy= MarcumFord=VexDodge=HBYota= ummmmmmmmm [/quoteThe only differnce is that "vex" didnt take a MASSIVE government bailouts of tax payer funds and getting HUGE tax breaks on the tax payers also......
toyota= Lowrance = ol faithful
I`m a satisfied fl-18 user but I`ve never tried a marcum or ever seen one on the ice for that matter. I was wonderind about the interferance control on the marcum as the vexilar has a pattented interference control built into the gain knob. You can use several of these unit really close together. I`m always trying to keep with what what companys are doing as an upgrade is always inthe works, I strive to collect the best without going broke.
Wow, I do not know anything about this stuff but am going to talk myself into buying one. I saw this fellow on the ice the other day he had a Vex and I asked him about it, he said he would never fish without it.Now I read all the stuff that was posted on this and I am now really confused. a couple questions:I don't think I need "zoom" as i see about 200$ change in price without it. All I want is to see bottom (depth) my lure and where the fish is in the water column.Is there a basic model that can just give me that ? I saw a Vex in the 1st post that was about 289$ and I think that was what I am looking for. Any opinions on this. I would be mostly chasing Walleye with this.
If you are after Walleyes, i'd get the Auto Zoom feature. I have a Vexilar FL 18 Genz Pack. I got it for $360 on ebay this winter, free shipping as well. I can not tell you how key the zoom is when chasing 'eyes. Lots of time you may not be able to see if there is activity on the bottom in normal mode. Then flup on the zoom and you can then see in better detail if it's weeds, or fish, or just nothing. The price jump is a bit steep, but for sure worth it. It's not some gimmick feature that is useless.So what you can do is get the low end Marcum vx-1 I think it is. My friend bought that one. Virtually identical feature wise to the FL 18. His was only $280 or so. Marcums look a bit different, but you get more bang for the buck feature wise. I love my Fl 18 and he loves his marcum. I spent $80 more dollars, so you be the judge.
Humminbirds are the best value, the 35 is awesome, only problem you better not fish anywhere near another humminbird, never in the same shelter, the interference is aweful and cant be cleared by IR, they do work well with Vex's Marcums and showdowns. I would have bought a 35, as a second unit but I have a couple buddies who have them and when I saw the all the interference I bought the showdown(mistake) traded it for a LX3 which is much better.
If there are only 2 'Birds than you can cancel out the interference by being on different beams, and playing with the interference levels.
Buy the Marcum LX 5 , I have owned them all , My last buy is the Vex FL 22 . The LX 5 is a great all around unit , very brite display , the only dislike is the display is smaller than the Vex FL 20 or 22. Don't drive yourself mad thinking all about them like I do, Buy from my experience or what your pocket will allow . they all will help you catch more fish.....Buy a vex or marcum!!!!!