Old Vexliar Help!

[tr7]

So here is the story. I am just getting back into ice fishing after a ten years or so off. It is no secret that gear is expensive. Especially when I need rods, reels, baits, auger, shack, electronics, etc. I have an old, I mean old, vexilar that I want to get running for the ice. I remember using this open water fishing with my dad years ago and we used it a few times on the ice. I want to get this rigged up for primarily ice and need some help. I have turned here hoping someone will have some answers for me.

The unit is a model 50 and is in a box that is about a foot long and eight inches high. The flasher face actually comes out of the box. I would like to remove this from the box and put it on a Genz box. It currently runs off of two 6 volt batteries. I think I can cut the wires at the battery plate and attached some clips for use with the new 12 volt rechargable battery. The biggest issue I have is I do not have the transducer, or at least I haven't found it yet. I know you can buy transducers right from Vexilar, but the end that plugs into the unit is much different now. The one I have needs an RCA end to plug into the back.

Does anyone have any suggestions on the transducer or any other mods you might be able to come up with. I am open to everything. Also I should say that the unit does work with the 6 volts that are in it now. Thanks in advance for any help, I am eager to hear what you have to say.

[tr7]

Anyone?

[eriksat1]

My suggestion would be find a wire with a rca connector that fits the vex then just splice it on to a newer transducer. I have spliced transducer wires before all they are is like a miniature coax wire, a center wire and outside braided wire. On the rca jack the center is the center wire, the outer is the braided wire. I would solder them. use a multi tester ohm meter to see which wire on the rca wire with the male plug is the center, then splice to the center wire of the transducer.

[eriksat1]

I would try and find a good "cheap" used transducer. If you are going to spend $100 on a new transducer you might as well put the $100 towards a new flasher.

[tr7]

Thanks for the advice. I was able to get a hold of someone at Vexilar and they basically said the same thing you did. I just need to cut the end off of a newer transducer and tap into the plug I have. I thought it was rca but it is actually a phone jack plug in. I just need to find a transducer now. I have been looking and have found them as little as $89. I asked the guy at Vexilar about the unit itself and was told it was a good unit and that I should have no problem using it. I would like to invest in a new one, but $89 is a lot more appealing than $300 right now. Thanks again for the help.

[double trouble]

 Think about it. The guys at vexilar admits that their transducers are 40 year old technology. so any old transducer that puts out a similar frequency will work just fine. Just buy any old 200khz transducer and splice a phono jack onto it.  garage sales and flea markets would be a good place to start. Probably $5 if you look a bit. Most lowrance and humminbird transducers are 200khz.

http://www.lowrance.com/Support/Tips-and-Tutorials/Transducer-Guide/

Most of the sonar units of Hummingbird fish finders operate at 192 or 200 kHz (kilohertz) with some using 50 kHz. Hummingbird fish finder models with DualBeam PLUSTM operate on both frequencies. You will have to match the humminbird wide eye fish finder frequency with that of the sonar unit, which simply means that 192 kHz frequency sonar units require a 192 kHz transducer to get the best out of your Hummingbird fish finder system. Sonar units that operate on high frequency (192 or 200 kHz) give the best resolution and capable of giving images that are easy to recognize.