New LX7 owner

[VTMatt]

Not sure if this is the right place for this, but I'm hoping others who own an LX7 or even a 6 can give me a few pointers on the best way to utilize the LX7.  Also help with questions like how much battery life would I get with backlight on max?  Is the unit waterproof around the buttons, and are there any defects I should check for before I start using it?  I know I can find out most of these things on Google, but I figure some people have their own methods and way of explaining that may be easier for me to understand.  Thanks!

Matt

[buz23]

The buttons are waterproof but I wouldn't immerse it to find out.

I don't go for 12 hour expeditions - I am retired and 6-8 hours of fishing is plenty for me, plus where I fish they don't bite much after noon.  That being said, I have never had a problem with battery life and don't even pay attention to the dashboard.  I just charge it when I get home from a trip.  I suggest you just fish til it runs out - and it may not.

Make sure you try the chart function.  IMO, that's the way to use this - bottom auto zoom.  I set mine up with a bottom auto zoom on the left and a vertical display of the entire water column on the right.  Six color palette. 

You're going to have to play with the settings some to get it to work for you, but once you have it dialed in you won't find yourself playing with much besides the sensitivity.  Try open and ice modes, they give slightly different results.  And try lowering your transducer to different depths in the hole, that can make a difference too.  Keep the transducer away from the side of the hole since that can throw off the vertical "aim". 

[3300]

i'm also a lx7 newbie. i take spare 12v sla batteries tho. one stays in the vehicle and one spare goes with me.

if you want to know how long it might endure, turn it on and see what time it is when you start and if you can kill it, but thats hard on sla batteries. just see if lasts as long as you would fish if you were on ice.
i took my stock 9ah battery out and that will stay in the vehicle. i installed a 7ah because its 2 pounds lighter. i have a spare 8ah with me in an ammo box in the shanty tub in case i stay into the night for led shack lighting.
if it uses led back lighting, then it will be easier on the battery than florescent.
thinking the power gain will be hardest on the battery.

some things good to know about these is if you have a problem with it reading correctly, do a factory rest on the ice and it solves most problems and if you have a problem after updating it, update it again with same software.

i kept my birds ducer always below ice and allowed it hang on the edge of the hole w/o aim problems. if the lx7 ducer has to be above the bottom of the ice, then i will be forced to use the arm that comes with, but hoping thats not the case.

[jfusco5598]

i kept my birds ducer always below ice and allowed it hang on the edge of the hole w/o aim problems. if the lx7 ducer has to be above the bottom of the ice, then i will be forced to use the arm that comes with, but hoping thats not the case.

I always hang my LX-6 Ducer below the ice and never have a problem, I've had mine for 3 years!

[MSU AGGIE]

6 color palette shows the most detail, the unit can be erratic in  waters under 3ft,  will cause problems for other brands in close proximity. I love the chart mode paired with the vertical graph. On good battery I can get 12 hours but that's pushing it.

[Icepuppy]

I just got one too. After having the lx3 and 5 for several years each it was time to upgrade. I've never had a single issue with a Marcum product. Looking forward to using the graph, that's all new to me. You can watch the videos on youtube of the lx7, explains quite a bit. There's also the demo mode on the unit itself to see simulations of each mode in use.

[cweeks]

I am new to the LX7 also and finely was able to use it two days last weekend on Houghton fishing for Pike and Walleye as the main target. The settings that I seem to like the most is full graph on the left and vertical zoom on the right. Love the fact that you have the history of what your jigging pattern is on the graph. One of the things that I was able to do with this unit compared to my LX5 is I was in a heavy weed bed and when cone angle was at 20 bottom was very cluttered. Changed to 8 degree and was able to eliminate all the weed clutter and see my jig at bottom. New unit will have some learning curves but what I have seen so far I think I will keep it. Just play with the options to see what works best for your preferance and enjoy.

[dab65]

This is my second ice season with the LX-7. I have also found that I like using the graph, vertical, and vertical zoom as my go to settings. Also set it to manual dynamic depth because if it is in auto dynamic it sometimes will freeze up for a second when there are a lot of fish on the bottom foot or so. I also like that I can save the settings so it is ready to go if I fish the same spot the next day. There are so many different variations to the settings that everyone should be able to get set to their liking.