LX-9 issues

[ah_long]

I was pondering about getting the LX-9 after seeing it in action, however, everyone around me who got an LX-9 has issues.

friend A got an LX-9, got a defective battery, system froze a few times on the first outing, and after the first outing, the unit never came back on
friend B got an LX-9, machine freezes a few times per 6 hour outing w/o the camera attached.

both units have the latest firmware

on top of that, I've been speaking with some staff at SAIL in Ontario, apparently there's a bad batch or something like that, most of the units got returned with various issues ranging from unit not turning on, freezing, bad depth reading etc...

I'm not writing this thread to bash MarCum as I just upgraded from the LX-5 to the LX-6 (which is so far OK).

I am hoping that someone could tell me if there's an inherent design flaw with these LX-9 or will the issues be resolved via a FW update in the future.

Oh, and is there suppose to be a depth reading for the camera? it seems that the sensor is there but the unit does not show a reading.

on the side note, what's the point of having Rapala handle the distribution of MarCum units for Canada if they do not provide tech support, warranty and parts?

[Whitefish Slayer]

I just got mine a week ago. Haven't had it on the ice yet and I have a battery/charger problem..  After 24 hours I never saw a green light and only showed 11.6V.... 

I ran it dry and then tried charging it to see if it would fix the problem.. Now the charger blinks red and the unit won't turn on.  I emailed them about it and bought 2 extra batteries.  We will see if that fixes the problem...

I think it's a good unit overall and being able to upgrade it wil eventually cure the bugs

[chumster]

Thanks for the info fellas. I'm not paying all that money for a unit that has problems that they know about, yet still sell them. I'll stick with my 22HD. Very reliable unit.

[neveruminda]

I have had it since 2nd week of January and used it mult. times w/o any problems.  See below, they do need a FW fix for the placement of sonar or flasher - it's in the center of the HUD obscuring the camera.  When in simulator mode, it rests at the right side of the HUD screen.


SUMMARY:
A lot of useful features packed into a large footprint and a whopping 18 pounds

SONAR - .5" separation, easy to view colors that identify density of bottom, Chart feature is outstanding, Digital Sonar is far improved over the Showdown 5.6 Dual Beam; I've experienced the showdown go into a fitful state calling out mult. depths when the bottom gets stirred up by fish. Flasher Sonar - crisp color clarity and adjustable settings for colors - quite helpful if you're color blind (red and greens are problematic for the color blind). You can also switch between sonar view types (digital or flasher).  I don't really care for the digital zoom and sonar when adjusting range settings - it lops off the top half and then freezes for a few seconds before it resets on the screen - if your lure is in the top half of the column then good luck w/that

CAMERA - feature is there to mark depth @ bottom of camera - depending on the view option you selected - it appears on top right of Hud along column Temp @ camera location.  You have to turn on the temp feature in order for it to appear

Plastic Fin included that attaches onto back of camera and intertwines w/cable. Allows camera to view the column in vertical fashion instead of standard horizontal.

Light feature actually works very well(can save your bacon when your lantern runs out and you left the mini-flashlight @ home or in the truck -don't ask me how I know).  In the shallows and lakes that have a very light murky appearance it can be problematic when using 1/80 oz jigs that are light in color -it all blends in; at which point you turn off the light ('menu', arrow down to 'system settings', 'camera light', 'off')

DISPLAY - Despite slightly murky water - there was a very crisp image and it displayed in color (not B&W) plus having an adjustment for screen brightness makes a HUGE difference when operating outside of your tent/hut/shanty

Definitely needs a FW/firmware fix to offset the HUD info back to left of screen position, Right now - range, zoom, flasher all appear in the center of the HUD, which is where you typically have your jigs appearing.  Very frustrating to have to turn the panner in order to plainly view the jig; especially when fish are racing in.

OPTIONAL PANNER  Very helpful, but not as powerful as I'd like. It begins to lag when out in single digit temps (uses 2 C-cell batteries).  2x D-cell would be a helpful improvement.  Watch out for the screw that holds the latch, which covers the camera cable to hold it in place-Keep checking this screw-mine literally just dropped to the floor as I was lifting it out of the bucket.  I came home last night and reset it w/blue loc-tite.

FYI - Highly recommend working the unit's simulator interface BEFORE hitting the water - get really accustomed to navigating through the view options + the camera options and the calibration feature!  Mine went goofy the first week.  Also, I printed the instructions and laminated them and store them in the bucket. Helped me mult. times already!

WISH LIST - Please change the buttons to a touch display in the next iteration

Near-term simplify the interface. The Menus have many options & especially to access the common features requires that you arrow up or down across mult. categories and columns. Please simplify it for the common features

Modify the carry handle position and/or add a 2nd strap to help balance weight when carrying over the shoulder - it goes lopsided. One workaround is to flip the camera bag(attaches to back) over to the front - that way you have a flat surface up against your side/hip

Add a little more material on front flap - velcro patches barely meet each other and one must pull hard/stretch the material to get it to attach from left to right

Enlarge the detachable camera pouch to have a little more room

Work on gasket in Panner unit - when attempting to replace the cover, gasket needs a groove to rest in so sides no longer have tendency to bow inward toward batteries

[DoctorPerch]

Very nice review!  Thanks for the objective information.

[nonamer]

nice review. i ask way back and received no answere on this unit. thanks to you that responded.

[neveruminda]

glad to help / just pm me if you have any other questions or thoughts

btw, I bought mine from Cabela's due to, IMHO, their consistent over-the-top level of flexibility to do the right thing for their customers.  I had 3x showdown 5.6 dual beam units that were bouncing the depth reading.  The last unit was 1 year old and they still took it back since I was buying the LX-9.  That's nothing short of outstanding customer service...

FYI
I took the LX-9 out w/the showdown in an attempt to discern what was causing this anomaly. Turns out, when the bottom's stirred on a soft bottom it caused the showdown sonar (temporarily)to become  whacked out.  Explained to Marcum tech support and they were thankful for providing the feedback.  That said, the LX-9 digital sonar did not overreact to the condition - it remained steadily reporting actual depth

[Gonzofishes]

I got my lx9 on the first of the year got out that next weekend. First off I opened the box and there was no charger in the box. Called and they sent one out that week no biggie. But when I got it on the water the depths would change  from the depth I was fishing to zero feet every 30 seconds. And would clear the screen. So I waited till the update cuz marcum said the update was going to clear up that problem. Well the update kind of cleared up the problem but now my lx9 reads in the hundreds of feet when fishing shallow water. Marcum said to try and change my flasher to open water mode and turn down the ping speed and see what happens. Marcum told me they didn't realize how many people fished shallow water (10' or less) so they are continually trying to make it work better.....I think for $1,200 this thing should be able do anything in any water column from a foot to 300.

[esox_magnum]

My 7 works perfect in 6' and 45' but I'm also still running 2.9...

[ih772]

I just got mine a week ago. Haven't had it on the ice yet and I have a battery/charger problem..  After 24 hours I never saw a green light and only showed 11.6V.... 

I ran it dry and then tried charging it to see if it would fix the problem.. Now the charger blinks red and the unit won't turn on.  I emailed them about it and bought 2 extra batteries.  We will see if that fixes the problem...

I think it's a good unit overall and being able to upgrade it wil eventually cure the bugs

You ruined the battery by running it completely dead! The batteries that are used in portable ice fishing electronics need to be recharged when they reach roughly 10.5 Volts.

[twodogs02]

It the same thing the owners of the LX-7 went through last year (me included).  I sent my first LX-7 back as the screen had dead pixels, then there was the bottom jumping problems.  Marcum delivered v2.9 for the LX-7 pretty quick and resolved the bottom jumping issue.  They have since released two more version of software with their latest being v3.17 which I am running and will be nit picking it for 20+ hours on my home lake this weekend.

Early adopters of new technology will most often run into some problems and will have to show some restraint as the vendor works through the issues.  If you are the type that believes you paid X for brand new technology and it should do everything it says right out of the box, without any issues, then you are probably better off waiting a year for the vendor to get the bugs worked out.

[BWB]

My LX-7 jumps around "with my jig" when I have it in dynamic mode but if I set it manually everything is fine.  I am running the 3.1 software which was installed when I purchased in December.

[esox_magnum]

My LX-7 jumps around "with my jig" when I have it in dynamic mode but if I set it manually everything is fine.  I am running the 3.1 software which was installed when I purchased in December.

 Do the upgrade it will solve the jump and allows you to use the dynamic depth

[MNDan]

I dropped 4 lbs off of my LX-9 by using my li-ion motorcycle battery instead. Fits in the battery holder perfectly and has twice the power of the regular gel, while only weighing 2.3 lbs. A no-brainer if you already have a motorcycle that needs a new battery.

http://www.shoraipower.com/Products/batteries/LFX18ABS12.html

Another ultra-lightweight option would be to get a couple of the 12V 6800mAh Li-ion Super batteries off of eBay - way less expensive, and you'd just have to rig up a connector. I bet you could get 9 hours out of each one.

[BWB]

Do the upgrade it will solve the jump and allows you to use the dynamic depth

What is the version number?  I thought I was already running the highest.


NEVERMIND - I see the website has 3.17 out!

THANK YOU!

[Marble Eyes 1]

MNDan... Thanks for that battery suggestion.. Very cool.