Brand new humminbird ICE-55 PROBLEMS!!!!

[dml78]

I took my ice 55 out for the first time yesterday and noticed that when the unit was on wide beam the screen would jump or skip. The jump was very faint but was noticeable. The strange thing was is that it didn't do it in narrow beam. I had the unit set up properly and I ditched the support cable and the transducer was level and below the hole. The unit was inside a heated shanty so the cold was not a factor. The unit worked great expect for this minor problem. Has anyone who owns the 55 noticed this or do I need to send it back? I spent  $500+ for the thing and it should work flawlessly. Maybe I should have went with the LX-5!!!!

[captain54]

Yea,my buddy got the 45 and I'm not that crazy about it,either is he

[dml78]

Has he had any problems with screen jump? My 5 year old LX-3 that has a thousand hours on it is more crisp than the ICE-55. Maybe I made a mistake with this thing.

[Knoodles]

Has he had any problems with screen jump? My 5 year old LX-3 that has a thousand hours on it is more crisp than the ICE-55. Maybe I made a mistake with this thing.

take it back man.  I have a 55 and it runs great.  I am very happy with the unit and the power.  my only complaint is how fast it sucks through battery.

Also, if you paid 500 for it, look around you can get them down around 400 now on the web.

[littlesturgeonguy]

Has he had any problems with screen jump? My 5 year old LX-3 that has a thousand hours on it is more crisp than the ICE-55. Maybe I made a mistake with this thing.

not to mention you LX3 had better target separation, and an LX5 even better yet. i was considering the hummingbird for a bit until i looked up the specs.

[TravP]

Take it back for a Vex.

[dml78]

I bought the 55 because I really liked the features. I feel that it tops the LX-5 in that regard. I would like to know if the display is that poor quality that it jumps and skips or if I have a faulty unit.

[TravP]

I have heard either people really like or have returned their hbirds this year. Like I said, buy a Vex if you want reliability.

[littlesturgeonguy]

I bought the 55 because I really liked the features. I feel that it tops the LX-5 in that regard. I would like to know if the display is that poor quality that it jumps and skips or if I have a faulty unit.

i would give there customer service a call and see what they say.

[dml78]

Not to start a war here but I feel that the vex's are lacking when it comes to features that the high end marcums and hbirds have. I will have to contact the service dept. at humminbird and see what they say. I will report back. Thanks.

[littlesturgeonguy]

Not to start a war here but I feel that the vex's are lacking when it comes to features that the high end marcums and hbirds have. I will have to contact the service dept. at humminbird and see what they say. I will report back. Thanks.

alright then i guess i will have to start the war. the only guy's that still use a vex are the guys that never tried a marcum.


they both make good products. different strokes for different folks. i like the adjustable zoom of the marcum.

[TravP]

alright then i guess i will have to start the war. the only guy's that still use a vex are the guys that never tried a marcum.


they both make good products. different strokes for different folks. i like the adjustable zoom of the marcum.

Actually, i sold my marcum for an FL20. The vex has the reliability that my marcum was lacking. also, adjustable zoom really means nothing. Its not needed when fishing suspended fish.

[littlesturgeonguy]

Actually, i sold my marcum for an FL20. The vex has the reliability that my marcum was lacking. also, adjustable zoom really means nothing. Its not needed when fishing suspended fish.

maybe not needed but it sure is nice

[esox_magnum]

I fish next to a FL-20 no way would I trade my LX-5 for one. As for the new HB units, I got to use a 35 last weekend, wasn't impressed at all. Buddy had a 55 earlier this season but after 2 days it quit working so I never got a chance to see it in action. I had a power head go out on one of my LX's a couple weeks ago. Called Marcum they sent a new one out ASAP with a prepaid shipping label to send back the broken unit. Maybe when Vex catches up with the competion I'll give them another look. I'm sure HB will adress their issues by next year and may be worth a 2nd look. Till then I'm staying with my LX-5's IMO best flasher currently on the market.

[Drifter_016]

i like the adjustable zoom of the marcum.

That's exactly the reason I would buy one over a Vex.
Trying to save the $$$$$ to replace my current flasher. 8)

[TravP]

Like I said, i owned an LX-3 and I sold it to buy an FL20. Marcums have to many problems with transducers. Also even after I bought a new battery and charger, my battery would be at 40% after about 4 hours. Adjustable zoom is really worthless. The only time its needed is when fishing suspended fish. Theres a reason that Vexilar still makes their product just like they did 20 years ago, because it works, and its reliable. yes, the crispness and seperation of a marcum is nice, but I wont sacrifice that for reliability.

[littlesturgeonguy]

Like I said, i owned an LX-3 and I sold it to buy an FL20. Marcums have to many problems with transducers. Also even after I bought a new battery and charger, my battery would be at 40% after about 4 hours. Adjustable zoom is really worthless. The only time its needed is when fishing suspended fish. Theres a reason that Vexilar still makes their product just like they did 20 years ago, because it works, and its reliable. yes, the crispness and seperation of a marcum is nice, but I wont sacrifice that for reliability.

I bought my LX-3 the second year they were out. I have never had a problem with it, the only time i sent mine in was the get the t/c upgrade when that came out. transducer trouble? I like the transducer on the marcum better than a vex for the reason that there is no float sitting in the hole. I am still on the battery that came with it and i have yet to have the battery go dead every on the ice and i put many hours in and many hours in a day. not to mention the dcs charger is nice there is no alligator clips to mess with and you can't overcharge your battery. Like i said before different strokes for different folk, we all have our own preferences.

PS:     your comment Adjustable zoom is really worthless. The only time its needed is when fishing suspended fish.
there are many fisherman that fish suspended fish, just because you don't does not mean nobody else does

[TravP]

What I meant to say about adjustable zoom is that its worthless. You can see suspended fish without zoom easily, even on an old FL8. Yes, I agree about the float, thats why I have the blue box with an eye bolt. if you do a little research, you will find out about marcums needing new transducers, its a common problem especially with the LX3's. Also, everyone talks about how great marcums customer service is....if they made such a great product their customer service shouldt have to be talked about, espesially since they have only been around for what, 8 years.

[bigredonice]

Not to start a war here but I feel that the vex's are lacking when it comes to features that the high end marcums and hbirds have.

hahahahahaH  YEAH until you want to fish deeper than 160 feet!!!!

[TravP]

hahahahahaH  YEAH until you want to fish deeper than 160 feet!!!!

I guess I forgot to add that.

[TravP]

Also, low power mode on the Fl20 is so sweet. Noe more thing, FL20's and 12 have a dimming feature which is great on the eyes for night fishing.

[eddiew_29]

not gonna argue anyones great points that all of you have said. but i must say i bought my first flasher this year and i bought the humminbird 45. ive used the fl12 and the marcum. i liked it better than the vex and the marcum. personal choice though. i like being able to zoom into the bottom, or the middle half, or the top half of the water column. i do enjoy using mine and have a couple guys with vex's who i let use it and they loved it! and as for battery drain i have no problem. i can fish 3 or 4 times and still have 30% battery life after 20+hours of fishing. just my 2cents guys

[Scott Steil]

I took my ice 55 out for the first time yesterday and noticed that when the unit was on wide beam the screen would jump or skip. The jump was very faint but was noticeable

Congrats on getting the Humminbird ICE 55.  It is a great flasher and you will like it once you get to understand all the features.  Your bottom is jumping because you are fishing in (A) or Auto Mode.  Auto Mode is designed to set your scale for you.  It is contstantly trying to located bottom.  So, the bottom is going to move.  Once you have your depth figured out, set your scale manually using the 1,2,4 etc.  That will take care of your bottom jumping issues.  The Humminbird ICE 55 is an awesome flasher but has some features that your typical flasher does not so you may want to read the manual.  I had to sit down and read it one night also.

Scott Steil

[dml78]

Thanks for the tip Scott, but unfortunately the display still jumps at all range settings. The unit is in demo mode and this is not saying that it will occur when in an actual fishing situation. I will be on the ice this weekend and I will try to use the range settings and see if the problem is solved. I will report back. Thanks

[TravP]

Why not, everyone marcum and Hbird both charge those prices. If i had a product that people wanted and were still paying for it I would raise my prices too! By the way, how does a marcum VX-1 do more then a vex? The new VX-1 pro costs the same as an FL18. Also, an LX-3 has nothing on an FL20, except a worthless(IMO) adjustable zoom. The only time zoom is needed is for bottem hugging fish.

[Scott Steil]

The unit is in demo mode and this is not saying that it will occur when in an actual fishing situation.

That is your problem.  You should be fine when you take it out on the ice.  If for some reason the bottom would jump when not in Demo or Auto mode, then you will want to call Humminbird.  My guess is your unit will work great.

Scott Steil

[ghostface]

I picked up a hummingbird this year and have had absolutely no problems with it.  I love the unit and wouldnt trade it for anything else.  You should have no problems, if you do call hummingbird and they will take care of it.  I have heard of only one other problem which was a guy whos sonar was running a little loud, he called hummingbird and had a new one in two days.

[augergas]

I had problems with my Bird. One phone call and a new one was on my porch in 4 days. No charge to me. Can't beat that. They do take some getting used to. I use mine with a FL20 and FL18. I like the 20 better than the 18 by quite a ways but the Bird is best.

[winchester 88]

take it back man.  I have a 55 and it runs great.  I am very happy with the unit and the power.  my only complaint is how fast it sucks through battery.

I have the same battery problem with my Lowrance X102 that it sucks the battery down quickly.
I think that this is something to consider when buying any fishfinder.
If you don't fish deep lakes thru the ice what do you need all of the power for?

I have now set mine up with 2 batteries in paralell to see if this helps.Fished with with it Tuesday for 6-7hrs and the batteries were 35 percent when I came home. Usually on a single battery I get about 3-1/2 to 4 hrs and have to change batteries.

Winchester 88

[CHICKENFOOT]

Thanks for the tip Scott, but unfortunately the display still jumps at all range settings. The unit is in demo mode and this is not saying that it will occur when in an actual fishing situation. I will be on the ice this weekend and I will try to use the range settings and see if the problem is solved. I will report back. Thanks

I hope you can solve that problem! I bought the 55 also had many issues first, where I bought it on the internet in Ely Minn would not refund my money after recieving a broken and used units there costomer service people even used profane language when I asked for refund!!!! Now I tryed every way to stop that jummping or line bouncing manual or auto goodluck. next was the transducer bracket.When you use the second lanyard around the float it veers to rifgt or left giving you a bottom signal that will not show your lure reason being it is always cocked.In my circle of friends all have returned there units 3 to be exact my feeling is for 500.00 it should work as good as a Vex or Marcum. return it