how many members marcum units are at the repair shop right now.

[Icepuppy]

X2. Seems to me people who buy one and are happy don't tend to post specifically about it because they are happy. They'll chime in on posts to say they're happy (what the vex crowd calls Marcum fan boys even though they're vex fanboys themselves). As opposed to those with issues who go on a rampage. At the end of the day guys this is electronics. I've had lots of electronics from lots of top name brands die on me at times. On top of this we're taking these things outside in the freezing cold, bumping them around, getting them wet etc. I'm not saying they're not designed for it but it's a little different than the stereo in your living room. Both companies have a 2 year warranty. Another way to look at it, warranty service is expensive and costs companies money. If there are repeated failures you can bet they will fix the problem instead of bleeding money on repairs.

[Oldbear]

Well if you wanted to only hear from people that agree with you maybe you should have added "for Marcum bashers only" to the title

I believe thats what the title is in a sense.  They can't fish when its in the shop making them unhappy.

[Mr.Seaguar]

The fact someone started a thread like this alone tells you all you need to know about current Marcum quality.

[RealityCheck]

I rebuilt my marcum 3 yrs ago. I have a lx 2 . It is 12 yrs old this year.

[DR.SPECKLER]

again this has nothing to due with bashing Marcum they have great customer service.i wanted to know whos marcum flasher was in the shop for repairs in the middle of ice season.but I had 2 Marcum flashers malfunction and have 2 vexilars that run flawless both units bought at the same time.now if my lx3tc has to be sent in again for repairs then ill bash Marcum.

[walkndude]

I don't see it as bashing either, just telling it like it is. No one likes to have to cross their fingers every time they turn their finder on or be left waiting for a repair multiple times. I'm happy for those Marcum owners that haven't had a problem -it's just I, as well as many others here are not in the same boat as far as that goes.

There just happen to be a very few members who get really defensive about anything negative being said about that particular company.

[vandy19]

I am not standing up for anyone, but I just bought a FLX 28 a month ago and the charger was bad. When I went to use weed mood
the unit switched to metric and I could not get it switched back until I put a different battery in it. Vexilar customer service said I had it plugged
in when I tried this, which was not the case because the charger was not even working. I can not use a lithium battery on the unit I have because
it will switch to metric.
The customer service person I spoke to at Vexilar seemed to treat me like it was the first time I had used a flasher, I had a 8 for 20 some years.
I could send it in to them but it is in the middle of ice season, and I tournament fish.
Oh did I say that I also have a LX9? Yes I have had issues with it also, so my point is both company's have issues!

[Bumski]

There just happen to be a very few members who get really defensive about anything negative being said about that particular company.

I don't get defensive about anything negative be said about the company....
What I see being put forth is the idea that the all products of a company and their CS are junk...

Buy what YOU think works best....

[TRT]

2nd time my unit is back to them for repair. I've owned less than 3 yrs 

[Barebow]

This is my 4Th season with my LX-5, not one single issue yet....Bought a new 9 ah battery last season because I was worried the original 8 ah battery would fail, and use the original still too if I am out the entire day and a night bite...Wouldn't trade my Marcum for two vex's at this point...
Barebow

[joefishmore]

I do not understand how somebody can say that Marcum has great customer service when the y will not answer their phone ?

[Barebow]

This is my 4Th season with my LX-5, not one single issue yet....Bought a new 9 ah battery last season because I was worried the original 8 ah battery would fail, and use the original still too if I am out the entire day and a night bite...Wouldn't trade my Marcum for two vex's at this point...
Barebow

[3300]

stopped in to say man down!

i have been avoiding this thread like the plague. thinking it just might jinx me.

been fishing with my brand new lx-7 until tonight. was showing a person how it works. he was using it and then the bite went bad so i went to use it again. tried changing the zoom and noticed no button function. tried other buttons and none of them functioned. thought if i unplugged the power source it might reboot. but also was thinking if the buttons don't work, it won't come on any more. took my chances because i wanted to know more. so it wouldn't come back on because the button panel must be done for.
it worked perfectly for each trip this season and that was about 10 trips now. today was the coldest day so far with line freezing and holes blowing over and freezing shut. thinking the cold may of hurt it i set up my pop up hub to turn on a heater and tried heating it up to see if it would help. no dice. what ever happened to the control panel is shot. it would make a noise is all when pushing buttons.

will have to get out the ice-55 i got screwed over by humminbird on and hope i can wiggle the power knob just right to get it to turn on.
sucks fishing blind like i used to do.

UPDATE:
just got off the phone with marcum. had to call twice to get an answer. was going to hammer the phone until i got some one. mike picked up on second call. said they are all out of replacement head units and will have to service mine. will take 3 to 4 business days to have a shipping label in my e-mail to send it back and if i want it fixed fast to pay for shipping on my own dime. wonder why they are out of replacement heads?

i mentioned this site and some issues we are having and mike said they are reading them. i asked about the missing 3 feet the lx-7 can't see and he said he was out with his and had no issues and that the missing water depth is no problem as far as they are concerned. i said it is a big issue when you fish for specks just under the ice. the open water method excuse they keep pushing helps to get only 2 feet of water out of the 5 feet if using it in ice mode. he said send the ducer in to have it checked out, but i told him it is every one having the issue no matter how you use it. if you hold the ducer so its just barely wet and open water mode, its still missing 3 fow coverage.

also, i e-mailed them with a TON of questions.will see how that goes.

[walkndude]

3300, any half way decent electronic repair shop will replace that momentary switch on the bird for about 30 bucks. Just an idea. If you have any soldering experience the fix will cost you less than 5. If the switch isn't surface mounted on the pcb you can fix it yourself even with no experience soldering.

Hope things work out with the Marcum.

[3300]

thanks walkndude

we had a thread about these switches a few years back. they are toca? switches and not available to the  public. we have tried. i just posted about part availability again this year about a person wanting one. they are a digital rotary switch. i can get the part number posted here, but the manufacture will not sell it, neither will humminbird. they were supposed to replace it when it was bad, but decided not to while under warranty.
i have been repairing and modifying electronics for years, thats not a problem, parts are. humminbird knows it too. they won't sell any parts.
i might have to modify the power/depth circuit on the bird.

[DR.SPECKLER]

I bet the repair shop floor is packed with units of every model they make right now.i haven't got my lx3tc back yet but im going to run the crap out of it to see if its truly fixed because the warranty will expire in 8 months.and I don't want to pay 90 bucks to fix it out of warranty.like I said customer service is great but id rather have a flasher that works..and that's what I payed for.

[brycro]

My vx-1 went down yesterday and have to send it in for motor repair.  All i get is a black screen and continuous tone.  Could I get this repaired locally at an electronics shop?  just curious as I know nothing about repairing something of this nature.  Any help appreciated.

[DR.SPECKLER]

My vx-1 went down yesterday and have to send it in for motor repair.  All i get is a black screen and continuous tone.  Could I get this repaired locally at an electronics shop?  just curious as I know nothing about repairing something of this nature.  Any help appreciated.

I would send it in to Marcum but make sure connections and battery are good first.if its under warranty they will fix it free but you have to pay to ship it there.go to the Marcum website and email them to get a RA number to send it in.if its not under warrant its 90 bucks plus shipping and they will go thru the unit and fix everything that went wrong.

[Old Goat]

sounds like every model has hit the return button

[walkndude]

Just a heads up, my reply about using an outside shop to look at 3300's bird was directed solely towards him because I know he doesn't ever plan on sending it back to the manufacturer. If you do something like that the original maker usually will refuse to do any work to the unit afterward. Just a heads up.

[chumster]

sounds like every model has hit the return button

And guys are still choosing to buy from this company. 

[Icepuppy]

And guys are still choosing to buy from this company. 

Google "vexilar problems" and then tell me why you would ever buy from them. As was pointed out, all manufacturers have issues. Vex is using the same simple technology that marcum and others have used for years. You don't see many problems with these units. When you change everything up and go digital, LCD etc. although it sucks it's likely there will be issues until the technology has been worked through and the common failure points are addressed. If you are a safe bet company and stay away from new technology you will probably have less problems but will never be a leader in your industry, there is an element of risk and uncertainty with new products.

[Old Goat]

Well I did Google Vexilar Problems then Marcum Problems             Marcum didn't fare to well on page 1 compared to Vexilar

[carcus1]

I've had 8 total failures, sold my lx3 the 5th time it came back while still on warranty, before that I had 3 total failures of my showdown 5.6 dual beam, my cousin has a troller that isn't working as well, marcums are the worst expensive product I've ever seen!  That said, I have a older lx3tc and its been really good, the new ones are not  the same!  Forgot to mention that a buddy and his dad had bought new lx5's both failed 2 times, they also sold them while on warranty!

[perryt]

My LX6 works awesome and I'll put my buddies LX9 up against any thing out there !!!!!

[Pike Paralyzer]

I wonder how many complaints have to do with operator error or straight lack of caring for the unit, like yanking the ducer out of the hole and throwing it on the ice, not drying the unit out after each use, making sure all screws remain snug, battery terminal clean/snug, hammering down the lake with the unit it the jetsled absorbing every bump.

It's electronics, treat it like a laptop.

[lefty2053]

I wonder how many complaints have to do with operator error or straight lack of caring for the unit, like yanking the ducer out of the hole and throwing it on the ice, not drying the unit out after each use, making sure all screws remain snug, battery terminal clean/snug, hammering down the lake with the unit it the jetsled absorbing every bump.

It's electronics, treat it like a laptop.

Very good point. I am totally amazed at all the people on the ice struggling with their augers trying to drill a hole. Pushing down hard on them and using 2 guy's pushing down to get a simple hole drilled. Almost every time I'm out I do the 1001 1002 count and find I am drilling at least 2 times if not 4 times faster then everyone out there.
Just takes a little care and a touch up of the blades once in a while.

When you get a fish on and pull the ducer out lay it down don't just throw it out of the hole because your in a hurry.

[puddy]

I have a buddy with a Showdown 5.6 and his zoom stopped working this year. He hasn't sent it back to Marcum yet he now uses it as a spare to his lawrance. When it comes to interference I use an fl-8 next to him and have no issues. I just got a 20 but haven't been out with him since getting it.

[Icepuppy]

Well I did Google Vexilar Problems then Marcum Problems             Marcum didn't fare to well on page 1 compared to Vexilar

You didn't look too well. Also like I said to be fair you could only look at lx3 and lx5 complaints since vex has no new tech at all anyway.

[Icepuppy]

Very good point. I am totally amazed at all the people on the ice struggling with their augers trying to drill a hole. Pushing down hard on them and using 2 guy's pushing down to get a simple hole drilled. Almost every time I'm out I do the 1001 1002 count and find I am drilling at least 2 times if not 4 times faster then everyone out there.
Just takes a little care and a touch up of the blades once in a while.

When you get a fish on and pull the ducer out lay it down don't just throw it out of the hole because your in a hurry.

Yes, I was getting at this when I mentioned electronics and it not being like the stereo in your living room. You'd think people would figure out that an lx5 is likely to be more robust than an Lx7, 9. If most of these guys treated their flasher like they do their cell phone they might be ok. My used LX units looked brand new when I sold them and it certainly wasn't due to lack of use.