old vex, lots of "noise"

[teamlund]

Hey guys, my uncle just picked up a used vex..Its old. Its the blue box and there isnt a IR button to give you an idea. Its seems to work ok but there is a TON of interfernce or noise in the top of the water column like the top 5 feet and it cannot be tuned out with less gain. there is not another unit close enough to cause this. Would cleaning the brushes help out or is that just for brightness? any other ideas or is this just how the older units perform?

[jamesboyle63]

Would a new transducer help?  Also email Vexilar with your question. I've always gotten a quick response from them. Good luck.

[dkfry]

Is the ducer below the bottom of the ice?

If its an old unit with an unknown history or had hard use changing the brushes and cleaning the dust out of the unit would not be a bad idea. You couls always shoot Vexilar an e-mail they have good CS.

[teamlund]

Is the ducer below the bottom of the ice?

If its an old unit with an unknown history or had hard use changing the brushes and cleaning the dust out of the unit would not be a bad idea. You couls always shoot Vexilar an e-mail they have good CS.

yup, ducer was where its suppose to be. I have used every brand and model of flasher imaginable and cant figure this out. I am sure a cleaning wouldnt hurt.

[cousin eddie]

I would start with the cheap/obvious fixes first since it sounds like you are properly set up on the water.  Try a different battery in there just to rule that out, crappy batteries can make your flasher do weird things.  Then I would try a different transducer.  If that doesn't fix anything, then the problem must lie in the flasher itself.  I don't know enough about the guts of flashers, so I would call CS and seeing what they think could be the problem and a possible solution.

[Rebelss]

I'd replace the brushes and clean it before anything.

[Lobes]

Also check the cable connections. could be bad connectors or even bad spots in the cables themselves can cause this noise. I also support the idea of calling folks at Vexilar. They would have some real good ideas of what will get this unit working as good as new.

                                                                                     
NBG

[gunnerdog]

I have an old vex like 20 some years old.  It almost has to run for about a half hour before it works right.  What entails into cleaning the brushes or replaceing them?  Never heard of doing this.  The color on mine is fairly dull from what it was a few years ago.

[Greg2ha]

Sounds like brushes. Don't know how long it would take them this time of year to fix. You can also order
replacement brush kit. As long as it works I would wait till off season.

[dkfry]

I have an old vex like 20 some years old.  It almost has to run for about a half hour before it works right.  What entails into cleaning the brushes or replaceing them?  Never heard of doing this.  The color on mine is fairly dull from what it was a few years ago.

You have to pull the unit apart to get to the brushes behind the board. If you don't want to mess with it Vexilar does brush replacements.

[Lobes]

Replacing brushes is a great project. I'd think that if you've never done any sort of electrical repair in your life you can have this one done in two hours (tops). It will give you a good feeling of how it's done and a little better understanding of what makes these gems tick.

                                                     
NBG

[gunnerdog]

Thanks guys.  I will wait until spring and order a brush kit from Vex.

[ice dawg]

Brush Cleaning Instructions
Remove the two screws from the back cover, unplug the power and transducer jacks from the PC board, and remove the back cover. Next, remove the control knobs from the front of the case (the allen size is 1.5mm). Remove the four screws that hold the PC board in place and remove the board.

Using compressed air, blow out all of the brush dust from in and around the wheel assembly and wash the front case, inside and out, with soap and water.

To clean the brush contacts, make a tool by stapling a small piece of fine sandpaper to the end of a popsicle stick. Connect the rear case power jack to the PC board and turn the unit on. Be careful of the spinning wheel! Insert the tool you made between the board and the spinning wheel. Clean the three brass rings until they are shinny. Clean the three brass rings until they are shinny. Run the unit for at least 30 minutes at room temperature to re-seat the brushes. This should increase your light intensity to where it was when the unit was new.

If the brush contacts are worn significantly, you should replace them. You can order a brush kit here. Be sure to read the instructions available before you order, so you are sure you can do the job.

If you want to send it in for us to do, it will cost you around $70 plus shipping and it will be here for about five days.

[gunnerdog]

Thanks Dawg. 

[Outlander_49]

I have a relatively new FL20 that had a lot of noise in the top 5 feet after 2 years of use.  I'm pretty sure there was some damage to the cable.  Found a good deal on a new transducer so I replaced it and I haven't noticed any noise since then, its been a couple years.