Vexilar pro view transducer

[Bartb]

Can someone give me a quick rundown on this transducer?  I used an fl8 for years, then for the past 8 years I've been using a hummingbird ice 55 with great success.  The wife picked up a flx28 and loves it but I can't figure the damn thing out to save my life.  I think the wife is intentionally confusing me because she won't quit laughing at me when I get pissed, confused, and give up.  With that said she has great success with the flx28

Thanks ahead of time.

[MochaMay]

This might help you. I fish the FLX28 with the trip-beam and love it. I was not a big fan of the ProView.

[DTro]

Just treat it like a simple 9 degree transducer and you'll be fine.   For shallow water you will have to use the LP (low power) Mode and turn your gain up.    There is all kinds of gobbly gook out there about being able to adjust your output cone, but I don't buy it. The gain is for adjusting the return signal and has nothing to do with the shape of the cone.     Just pretend its a simple single 9 degree beam and then its much easier to understand.   

[Bartb]

Thanks!
Wow Dtro, cat fishing and hard water.  Small world.  I'm down here in kato, think I fished next to you once on the minnesota a few years back.

[MochaMay]

Heres another good video. IMHO

[hardwater diehard]

You can still get the TriBeam ...but only from Vexilar

https://shop.vexilar.com/en/accessories/flasher-transducers/tri-beam-ice-ducer-transducer-tb0033

[DTro]

Probably a good chance of that Bart, I spend a lot out time out there.       I hear the river can be good for ice fishing too but I haven't spent a lot of time doing it. Still trying to squeeze out as many days as I can on the open water yet...

[justborn]

I like the 9 degree ducer for suspended night-time crappie; it shines at reading jigs and fish near the transducer compared to the dual beams available and the tri-beam.  The narrow field of view limits plankton issues too..  The tri beam is better for typically bottom hugger fishing IMO.

[DR.SPECKLER]

sounds like you need to leave your wifes vexilar  flx28 alone..hahaha.really  nothing to it turn it on and look for fish if you want a wider view turn the gain and widen the cone angle/view.low power mode in shallow water say under 10ft.it really shines in over 20 and I never lose my jig but is a little powerful in real shallow water..

[Rags777]

sounds like you need to leave your wifes vexilar  flx28 alone..hahaha.really  nothing to it turn it on and look for fish if you want a wider view turn the gain and widen the cone angle/view.low power mode in shallow water say under 10ft.it really shines in over 20 and I never lose my jig but is a little powerful in real shallow water..

2 "s" cables fixes this issue rather well. Super thin lines

[Old Goat]

Rags PM sent

[lostbrit]

Does vexilar switch out the transducer from a pro view to a tri beam? I got a new to me flx28 with a pro view would it be worth switching it out?

[DR.SPECKLER]

Does vexilar switch out the transducer from a pro view to a tri beam? I got a new to me flx28 with a pro view would it be worth switching it out?

if you fish 20ft and deeper I would try it I have the tribeam ducer on my fl20 and haven't needed to switch it to my flx28.never have any issues  with it and the flx28 works great  with the proview.

[lostbrit]

I fish in 12' or less 90% of the time

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Does vexilar switch out the transducer from a pro view to a tri beam? I got a new to me flx28 with a pro view would it be worth switching it out?

Call them and tell them what's going on. They will have you send it in unused and they will switch it for a tribeam. I tried the Pro View and hated the thing with a passion. It's great on not having interference and in deep water. It's super sensitive and picks up the smallest jigs.

Why I hated it with a passion.

When fishing shallow and wanting to make the cone wide you had to turn the gain up. Doing so made the display blobs & it picked up a lot of clutter since it is so sensitive. Even in LP mode and gain low a tiny panfish jig looked like a huge fish mark.

Fishing next to my buddy in 30ft of water a tri beam on narrow would keep my lure off his display, I couldn't turn down the proview low enough to keep his lure off my screen. (Our holes where in the corners of the flip over.) it drives me nuts watching him jig.

Overall, If you fish a lot of different depths and areas I think the tri beam gives you a lot more flexibility to correctly adjust your cone angles and stuff to get the best maximum area display and settings for fishing. The mechanical switch just works a lot better on selecting the cone angle IMO.

I'm also not convinced about the infinite cone angle adjustability on the Pro view, because has you turn the gain up the display starts to get blobs and pick up clutter.


IMO I fish from 5ft shallows to 65-70ft depths at our local lakes. The Tribeam works much better going in those different ranges then the proview by far.

[Bartb]

Thanks for the input! If I changed her transducer on the vex I'd need to buy stock in lubriderm.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Here is some info on cone angles.

[hawg]

All Vex transducers fit all their units, completely interchangeable. I'm trying to like my 28 with the Proview but the 12 degree is what I'm used to. The guy at Vex told me the Proview is FAR superior once you get used to it. 9 degrees is tight, most times a jig gets lost outside it in shallow water.

[Buttonbuckslayer!]

I'm on team tri-beam!  My proview is wrapped in a old wool sock for storage and will only come out if I'm break my tri-beam.  I had the same experience as Agronomist.  Some people say it's a magic transducer you can control cone angle with gain.  It does work that way kind of, but so does every other transducer.  It sees a wider area, but also clutters up the screen.  I consider it a fine tuned very sensitive 9 degree transducer.  It does shine in water deeper than 30', but I rarely fish deeper than 15'.  I wanted to believe it was what they said, but after much testing I couldn't make it perform the way they say.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

I'm on team tri-beam!  My proview is wrapped in a old wool sock for storage and will only come out if I'm break my tri-beam.  I had the same experience as Agronomist.  Some people say it's a magic transducer you can control cone angle with gain.  It does work that way kind of, but so does every other transducer.  It sees a wider area, but also clutters up the screen.  I consider it a fine tuned very sensitive 9 degree transducer.  It does shine in water deeper than 30', but I rarely fish deeper than 15'.  I wanted to believe it was what they said, but after much testing I couldn't make it perform the way they say.

Exactly. They tell you the infinite cone angle by gain control............... ..well when I'm in 8ft of water and turn the gain up to get the 20* angle how great is it when the screen is full of crap? With a tribeam I can do it and have a clear readable screen.......I mean if it worked like they said, they wouldn't carry or make a tri-beam, 12*, or a 19*.

[holehopper]

Another vote for the tri-beam over the pro-view.  I fought with my pro-view for 2 seasons and said enough is enough and got a tri-beam.  I couldn't get used to seeing blobs.  Still have the pro-view.  Not sure what to do with it, but I guess it is a backup if I need one. 

[SpoonieLuv]

Glad I still have the 9/19 degree switchable transducer on my FL 20.

[Unclegillhunter]

Makes me kind of glad I decided not to up grade from my fl-18 to a 28. I fish from 5 or 6' to around 30' my unit works just fine for everything. But I also use a 9 year old flip phone.
Keep it safe! JDL

[Glowjigger]

I still haven't sprung for the 28 yet but have been doing a lot of research on the proview. The more I look into it the more this seems like a marketing scheme. It is frustrating to see from such a great company. It almost makes me want to switch back to marcum and get an lx5 but after the trouble I had with them I think I'll end up getting the 28 with the tribeam.

[Bartb]

I still haven't sprung for the 28 yet but have been doing a lot of research on the proview. The more I look into it the more this seems like a marketing scheme. It is frustrating to see from such a great company. It almost makes me want to switch back to marcum and get an lx5 but after the trouble I had with them I think I'll end up getting the 28 with the tribeam.

The more you use the proview the more you like it.

The gain in view is because the proview has very large side lobes on the cone.  As you turn up the gain, the unit begins to display the information from the side lobes.  With the gain turned down it does not show you the data from the side lobes giving you more of a true cone shaped view, as opposed to more of a bell shape with side lobes being viewed.

This comes directly from a conversation I had with a Vexilar tech.  As you use it you become more aware of the gain in view angle and are able to use it more. 

[hardwater diehard]

I have the TriBeam ..love it ...another IS member I see often has the Proview...will do a real side by side comparison ..if this season would just get some stability .Both are FL18's so wont have to switch out transducers ...the adjustable 9 deg lobe....isn't really sinking in .. Curious to see how each transducer responds to certain jigs in shallow waters 5-14 ft .

[DR.SPECKLER]

I have both transducers and I find myself switching between cone angles more with the tribeam and the proview is more powerful in under 10ft.i also spoke with a vexilar tech the proview is what it is supposed to be or vexilar would not sell it as such.no marketing scheme with vexilar.

[hawg]

I bought a 12 degree, I'll keep the 9 for deeper water but see zero reason for a 19 so I didn't go Tri Beam.

[DR.SPECKLER]

I bought a 12 degree, I'll keep the 9 for deeper water but see zero reason for a 19 so I didn't go Tri Beam.

12 is a all around good ducer for all depths really.the 9 proview shines in anything 20ft and over.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

I dont understand what advantage, if there is an advantage of a proview over a tri beam......I do understand the advantages of a tri beam over a proview. Vex trades a proview in for a tribeam when you buy new. Suprised more people dont do it.