Noticed on the show yesterday they were still using the LX series flashers, and that doesn’t show out all that great. Saw some good deals on the pricing of these new 2.0 units and was thinking of giving them a shot but with how the 1.0 went Im considering saving some coin and going with a LX6 or 7.
What are your guys’ thoughts?
I’ll give marcum a little credit for at least trying but both them and vexilar are soooo far behind in technology it’s crazy. You can buy a 5 year old lowrance or bird that does everything and more than anything from either of those companies
Garmin definitely takes the cake but also the price tag
I wouldn’t touch one with my buddies fishermans dong.
Maybe some “old timers” will remember that one…
I think you’d be throwing/gambling money away. You can get a bird or garmin for $300+ less than the RT9 and you can just throw it on your boat in the summer and still get down view, side view and auto-chart capabilities.
No brainer to me.
Not a chance. Marcum irresponsibly put a product out on the market that was garbage at a substantial price point. I am not about to give them my money on something with the same name with the 2.0 badge. Fool anglers once, shame on you. Fool them twice, shame on the anglers.
I would consider it. I just purchsed a LX6 Lithium, but thought about v2 of RT9 instead. What prices did you see them at?
My thoughts are I would probably avoid the rt for awhile and see how things work out. As far as the other units go, if it is important to you to have gps in the unit and the better option for boat use go elsewhere. But if you want an awesome ice fishing unit the lx-6 and 7 are one of the best. I’m not a marcum only guy either. I love vexilars and birds. In the end you can’t go wrong with any of them. Just choose the options that work best for your situation.
Looks like the RT-9 is on pre black Friday sale of 30 percent off at Marcum
I would consider it. I just purchsed a LX6 Lithium, but thought about v2 of RT9 instead. What prices did you see them at?
Saw em on Marcums site for 699.99, that being said I did some more looking and was able to find some good deals on used LX7s and thinking that is the route I will go.
Looks like the RT-9 is on pre black Friday sale of 30 percent off at Marcum
I saw this as well from a link from someone. Do you know if everything is 30% off or if it’s just the RT9? Unless I followed the link it still showed it as $999.99
If you click the link, it should apply the coupon code in the email for the RT-9. It only applies to the RT-9.
I might order it and see how it is. I just got a Lx6 Lithium for $411, so not sure the RT-9 is worth that much more. This would be my first ice fishing finder.
They are trying to get people to come back to the RT-9 with a big savings. I have been looking at the Helix 7-G3 GPS unit. At a price of $500 plus $100 for the ice ducer, $125 for map software then another $250 for a Marcum Shuttle. That $700 price tag caught my eye for sure! If it works it would be worth every penny at $700, if it is yet another failure it will be the end for Marcums credibility.
This would be my first ice fishing finder.
My $.02. If you’re starting out and primarily wanting 2d sonar, I would go with a simpler unit. Something proven. If you want 2d sonar AND mapping, I would get something more modern. If you need the camera, maybe roll the dice, but Merican Eagle is offering cool clear water here.
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What are some of the big complaints with the RT-9?
Aside from vaporware status the first two years, the 2.0 UPGRADES list spells out the issues; the biggest one was tablet charging and related battery issues.
Others listed are software glitches, questionable gain curves and mapping functionality. Maybe it was lacking a simulation mode as well?
Copy and paste of listed upgrades:
LONGER BATTERY LIFE
The new RT-9 2.0 comes with our new LifePO4 10aH lithium battery with a 3aH rapid charger, allowing for over 10 hours of continuous use, so you’ll be set for the entire day on the ice. The LiFePO4 is also considerably lighter than the traditional SLA batteries, making it more efficient to use on the go.
UPGRADED CIRCUITRY & SOFTWARE
The RT-9 2.0 has upgraded circuitry and software to give a much more user-friendly experience. There is no longer any low battery issues, screen glitching or software bugs. The sonar experience is better than ever. A few of the improvements include:
ABILITY TO ENTER YOUR OWN WAYPOINTS
Whether you want to enter your summer waypoints or have waypoints from a friend, you can now manually enter them into the RT-9 2.0.
IMPROVED GAIN CURVES
We have improved the gain curves, fine-tuning your ability to find and identify more fish.
IMPROVED EXTERNAL BATTERY CUT-OFF
You now get a longer run time off of the current system, complementing the new LiFePO4 battery addition, giving you the best experience possible with the RT-9 2.0.
ICE AND OPEN WATER SIMULATOR
You can now familiarize yourself with the RT-9 by using the new simulator mode, before hitting the ice or open water.
NAVIONICS + USA AND CANADA CHIP NOW INCLUDED
The MarCum RT-9 2.0 now comes standard with Navionics+ USA and Canada Chip. The mapping chip retails for $199 MSRP when purchased by itself, allows anglers to have detailed mapping of any location in the USA and Canada. The chip is now included in the RT-9 2.0
I just got a Lx6 Lithium for $411
Where did you get that deal? Nice!
I love my LX-6s with a Dakota Lithium, such a small & light footprint on the ice and protected well with the softcase…
They are trying to get people to come back to the RT-9 with a big savings. I have been looking at the Helix 7-G3 GPS unit. At a price of $500 plus $100 for the ice ducer, $125 for map software then another $250 for a Marcum Shuttle. That $700 price tag caught my eye for sure! If it works it would be worth every penny at $700, if it is yet another failure it will be the end for Marcums credibility.
Still think you’re better with the Garmin ice 73 or $550 at the ice show… or the bird 7 ice with lake master chip at the show for $650. Guess I don’t see the purpose of buying a winter only unit when you can get a year round unit for the same price or cheaper (and zero headaches). Marcum needs to stick to flashers and cameras.
I just can’t bring myself to buy a Marcum after seeing all the problems their recon units had… I would much rather save for a Panoptix than waste $600-$700 on something that is outdated and “might” keep working.
Uninc
I fish out of a kayak in the summer and haven’t used my fish finder like I thought I would (fly fishing more). So for me it a winter gadget but I really want a mapping. Nothing wrong with the Garmin at all but I like the Bird for myself. I will pick something up in the next week or two!….Just don’t know what yet.
If Marcum was smart they would have offered FREE upgrades for current RT-9 owners who were basically field testers for them who spent top dollar (at the time) on a clearly flawed product from launch day…
My guess is that it was cheaper for Marcum re-label all of their original RT-9 stock as a “new” 2.0 model by saying there is “upgraded circuitry” likely due to the unavailability of some old components used and including a 3rd party battery and a hugely marked up SD map card they got for cost vs them eating the entire loss cost of all remaining stock that they couldn’t unload the previous 2 years of markdown after markdown after markdown…
Don’t fall for it…
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>dbv2 wrote:</div>
I just got a Lx6 Lithium for $411Where did you get that deal? Nice!
I love my LX-6s with a Dakota Lithium, such a small & light footprint on the ice and protected well with the softcase…
On Amazon a couple weeks ago. Thought it was a price mistake, but it was not.
A friend of mine rolled the dice. Bought it for 700 with the lithium battery upgrade……I’m 99% sure it’s an original rt9 that they upgraded. There is a nice sticker on the box with the 2.0 on it. Will get tested out this weekend.
Times sure change. It wasn’t that many years ago Marcum was the darling of the industry.
Nope x100. In my experience the best unit Marcum makes is the LX6. For some reason the failure/issue rate was far higher on the LX7. Not sure if that carried over to the LX9 but the 6 was far more reliable, and lighter.
My Troller and Troller 2.0 all crapped out, (no weather sealing). The power destroys Marcum Transducers very quickly and its too bad to see them fall this far. That must explain the Rapala relationship ending?
I’m trying my Helix 7 G2N DI this year, and even my old FL8-SE as a secondary unit. I was happy with my Garmin 73SV on a Genz Pack. That’s also a very reliable unit.
Nope. I’m a solid believer in my Helix after I got my settings dialed in last season. It’s been the best unit I’ve ever owned since then. Also have my trusty FL18 should I ever need it.
I used to be a Marcum “fanboy” Owned LX7, LX5, Showndown DB, Showdown Troller.
Sold them all. LX7 updates were far and few inbetween fixed one problem and created another, LX5 hardlely used as I was “beta” testing the LX7.. But the lx5 went back to Marcum 3 times for the same problem. They gave me a new one and I sold it. The Showdowns were fine though.
Went to Helix G2 and absolutely LOVE it
BB
I just bought the tablet/cradle only from Amazon. I was shocked to see it under 200 bucks. I just got mine for an extra navigational device for ATV, boat, and snowmobile to run the Navionics Maps.
Question, does anyone have one of these and have any sort of offline satellite imagery? I was hoping to run my onx app so I could see land detail, but the google play store doesnt work, even with the new 2.0. Anyone use some sort of satellite imagery map from the aptiode store?
Thanks, Luke
Ah that tablet needs to have GPS chip in order for them to work. Not sure if the fire tablets have that option.
I use to use 7″ dragon tablet from ebay for my gps on my boat.
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