Author Topic: hand held sonars  (Read 2766 times)

Offline smitty

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hand held sonars
« on: Nov 02, 2004, 05:54 AM »
I'am been reading some topics about people buy these Vexilar units and I was wondering how a hand held sonar would work for just finding drop offs and structures? I see them advertised on the cabela site and was thinking of buying one.Has anyone ever used one and would it be worth buying? Pro and Cons about them.

Thanks, smitty :tipup:

Offline FishDaddy09

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Re: hand held sonars
« Reply #1 on: Nov 02, 2004, 10:47 AM »
 a friend of mine has one it works quite well. You need to carry a bottle of salt water with you to wet the ice.
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Offline iceintheveins

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Re: hand held sonars
« Reply #2 on: Nov 02, 2004, 02:27 PM »
I bought the vexilar hand held sonar unit and it read depths wonderfully during open water season. I just hope it reads through the ice. I will carry a bottle of salt water with me. Most of my lakes have ice that is usually around 1 - 2 feet thick though some lakes get up to 4 feet thick. Just hope it will read through the ice. It takes a lot of work to be running around finding the right depth by drilling hole after hole. GPS will help too this year, as I saved the locations to it last year.

Tyler
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oakorchardfishking

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Re: hand held sonars
« Reply #3 on: Nov 02, 2004, 03:10 PM »
i still need clearity on how these things work! i met a guy on the ice last year that had one, he started to show me but then his partner called him for help with the shanty(it was really windy). but while he was showing us, he said and showed the depth and temp. but he also said it marks fish! if this is true, why would you need anything else? if it does mark fish, how accurate are they? depth and temp is good, structure is good, add the fact that it marks fish too and its got my money!
can someone clear this up? maybe show some pics of the LED screen... to show the different markings or something!

Offline FishDeepCreek

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Re: hand held sonars
« Reply #4 on: Nov 02, 2004, 04:45 PM »
Ive got a Polar Vision Handheld, I use it to contour a lake area before I drill. Most handhelds, just display a muber, no signals. The Polar vision will beep back a number, if fish are present, at which depth the fish are. The shoot great through ice, which is why I use it for contouring a specific area. One the holes are drilled, the Vexilar goes in. The 2 units are not even comparible for displaying fish, the handhelds units are very vague, the flasher type units are very detailed, and read super fast in real time.

Offline iceintheveins

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Re: hand held sonars
« Reply #5 on: Nov 02, 2004, 10:51 PM »
I hear they are just for reading depth. When a fish breaks the cone angle on the vexilar handheld as well, an audible alarm sounds and then the depth reading changes to show what depth the fish was at. It will be an awesome tool because I can carry it in my pocket and not have to unpack the auger and the vexilar to make sure I'm in the right depth.

Tyler
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Offline Ice Dog 67

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Re: hand held sonars
« Reply #6 on: Nov 03, 2004, 08:24 AM »
Sorry to report that over the last 2 years I had nothing but problems with the New Polar Vision (2 yrs ago), I got maybe 5 good readings from it each time out before it went haywire.  I returned the original one I bought and tried another with the same outcome.     The Marcum Lxi is not even close to being water proof.  The battery cap leaked like a sieve.  Again I tried 2 different units with the same results.  Water filled the compartment and shorted the whole works out.  This year I will be trying the Vex handheld.  I have a buddy who has had great results with him.  Just one man's opinion. :-\

Offline 2 dogs

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Re: hand held sonars
« Reply #7 on: Nov 03, 2004, 01:08 PM »
I had a Polar Vision and worked two trips on the ice and then read like 9o foot of water in a 8 foot hole. Sent it back and they sent me a new replacement and same story. I wll stick with tapping a hole and lead to get my depth as a lot less frustrating. :tipup:
Good thing about prisons- they reduce the potential number of fisherman on the ice!

Offline Ice Dog 67

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Re: hand held sonars
« Reply #8 on: Nov 03, 2004, 02:12 PM »
I realize that you don't "want" to submerse the battery cap, but when an item is advertised as waterproof, then I would like to be able to trust that claim.  These units are not only for checking depths through ice but also for holes that have already been drilled such as when the ice is too milky to get good readings through.  Also once a hole is drilled you need to submerge past any slush to get accurate readings.  All I am saying is that for a piece of equipment that will primarily be used in, on, and around water, it comes up subpar in my books.

Offline Ice Dog 67

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Re: hand held sonars
« Reply #9 on: Nov 03, 2004, 04:17 PM »
I see your point, but still feel that it's a design flaw that could be improved upon.

Offline Kodiak Commando

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Re: hand held sonars
« Reply #10 on: Nov 03, 2004, 05:19 PM »
I also have been thinking about getting one to find drop offs in some of the lakes i am unfamiliar with. Has any one tried the Norcross one. I'v been considering that one over the Marcum because it is cheaper and comes with a two year warranty.

Offline trev.357

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Re: hand held sonars
« Reply #11 on: Nov 03, 2004, 09:06 PM »
i just bought a hand held sonar with a floating transducer,I'm hoping it will just give me a little incite into whats under the ice it was relatively cheap so no big loss if it does not work as well as the big expensive ones plus i like little gizmo's.

 



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