Marcum LX5 Observation.

I am not going to throw fuel on the fire about which brand is the better brand. This is just an observation(s) of what I have found in using the LX5 to date. I have really come to enjoy the Super Fine Line mode, and the zoom feature. When fishing in a fishouse with 4 lines down, it is relatively easy to see all 4 lures below if you are deeper than 15 feet. This can be a bummer when you add fish to the mix. It can appear as a blob of activity on the bottom. The SFL mode “Thins down” the lines, allowing the user to differentiate between the different lures and fish. I can watch my split shot go down first, and once it reached the end, I can see the minnow on a plain hook sink past it. I can tell when my minnow is active because you can see it swim! And believe me, you can tell when it is gone. When I moved out to 30 feet of water, the NBT (Narrow Beam Transducer) feature really shines. Today my buddy was using his flasher, and kept asking me to raise and lower my lure to show him which one was his. It made me fish differently! He finally gave up after a while, and turned his off. The NBT feature allowed me to see my lure only, which was HUGE in 30 FOW!
The IR (Interference Reduction) system allowed me to fish right next to his flasher (And MANY others in the area!) and it emiminated the outside interference. The lines are very crisp and clean. I have not had to go beyond 2.5 on the gain knob to see what I need to see.
Recharging is a snap! I get back in from fishing, grab the preattached recharging lead, and plug it in! No more fumbling with clips wondering if it is connected.
I will have my LX5 at the GTG at Hunter’s in 2 weeks. If anyone wants to see one in action, mine and many other staff will have some around. I strongly urge anyone looking at a flasher to look and feel all of the models out there. You will be able to find all models at the Hunter’s event. Let me know your thoughts when you try them. I would like someone who is not of Staff to have input on this model. It really has impacted the way I ice fish.
So far, I have been impressed. They have really made a great unit.

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I will have my LX5 at the GTG at Hunter’s in 2 weeks.

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Tuck, Several IDA members have asked and I have decided to bring a few LX-5s and LX-3s to the get-together. I’ll make one available for a demo as well.

Will you be able to sell them? Or are they demo only?

Last I heard Tuck, Wade would have some for sale.

He’s bringing along a H2Oc that I want to get my hands on!

PS It was about time you got a LX5! I know you weren’t too happy at last years gtg with the unit you had then.

Nice observations Tuck I was waiting to here what your thoughts on the unit were. It is nice to get comparisons from those that have run other units.

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Will you be able to sell them? Or are they demo only?

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Tuck, I’ll make sure we have some available for purchase.

Brian, I’ll bring some H2OCs with Mille Lacs maps (1-foot contours) and have them available for purchase. I’ll have an H2OC available for demos as well.

I spent a week at Mille Lacs between Xmas and New Years. I used the LX-5 from sunrise to sundown in a variety of bottoms and depths. I read all of the posts in this forum detailing the high points of this unit. But I wanted to give it a good chance to prove itself to me before I said anything Pro or Con in here. As I said, these were observations I made during that week. Observations that I am sure any new user would make. This is the first Marcum unit I have had. So I really was going into this blindly. I did however see and love Brian K’s LX-3 at last year’s IDA event at Hunter’s. So the seeds were planted at that time.
You really have to see the SFL option in action to appreciate what this unit can do.

Tuck, I had the same experience last year after I bought my LX-5. My brother, who bought an LX-3tc, and I went to Mille Lacs for a day of fishing on the flats (Dec ’05). I really enjoyed having the super fine line and narrow beam features especially when we were fishing in the portable together. He had to constantly deal with my jigging on his screen and I could eliminate his with the narrow beam feature. If both of us were pausing to trigger a bite, he had to know which mark he was so he could tell when a fish was going after his lure versus mine. Since I couldn’t see him or his fish, I could really focus on getting the fish on my screen to strike.

I’m on my second season, and after just using it again this past weekend on Mille Lacs, I am very happy I upgraded to the LX-5.

Exactly! That is what I noticed. My buddy got so bummed out, he shut his off! The only other option is putting out tip-ups which isn’t as much fun for me. But you would still see person #2’s jig. For me, that feature alone is worth the upgrade to the LX5.

Question for ya Tuck or Scott. What is the difference B/W the SFL of the LX-5, (which you both know is a dual beam transducer of 8 or 20 degrees) and just using the 8 degree cone? Or is that the SFL….the 8 degree cone?

I have not used the LX-5 before and just curious. Is it similar to the dual beam of vexilar, which has the toggle switch for the two different cone angles…or is it something different?

I would have to defer that to Scott. I am not sure. I am not an expert on how they do what they do. Like I said, these were just my observations to date. Just guessing Steve, I imagine the NBT function would be some sort of dual beam system.
Target separation is amazing.

Steve, I am not sure exactly what you are asking but I will try to answer it. SFL or Super Fine Line is a mode on the flasher that increase the targer seperation to 3/4 of an inch without having to go into Zoom. It also gives you a super crisp readout on the display. You can use the SFL display anytime, no matter what Tradsducer cone angle you select, 8 or 20. The NBT (Narrow Beam Transducer) and SFL (Super Fine Line) opperate independent of each other.

When using SFL and the NBT together you may have to turn down your gain some. There are a lot of Watts coming out of the unit when you use them together. Not sure if that answers you question or not.

Given the zoom feature on Vex FL-18’s, and the dual 9/18 degree cone, do you find the LX5 to still be significantly better for resolution?

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Given the zoom feature on Vex FL-18’s, and the dual 9/18 degree cone, do you find the LX5 to still be significantly better for resolution?

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There is no contest between my lx3 and a fl-18 the resolution on the LX3 is awesome compared to the fl-18, I know the newer lx3tc and lx5 are even better.I compared them side by side and it was one of the major reasons I sold my fl-18 and kept the lx3.