marcum vs vexilar?

i just got a marcum lx3, i was doing some studying on both units and oppted for the marcum,,,power rating was 1500 watts vs 800 on the vex fl -18 and a buddy of mine has had one for a year now and he will outfish all of us 4 to one,,so did i make the right call? thanks dafooge

dafoooge,most of us know how well the Vexiler works,other than the watts, can you tell us what makes the marcum better.

i was hoping you would voice your opinion,,,

Possibly your buddy has been using the right bait? Or maybe a better angler? This topic will open a huge can of worms and has been beaten to death over the last two years. Sonar manufactures use two methods of output signal. High power and low power. Some of the most expensive sonars on the market use extremely low power. I’m talking 15-30 watts of power. The Navy even uses less than that. The reason, sound travels 5 times faster under water, thus you do not need much power (noise) to get a return signal to locate targets. What is important is the return or (listening) effect the sonar has which is the reciever. Vexilar uses moderate 400 peak power which is actually less than 400 watts. You may see some manufactures listing a sonar to have 5,000 watts peak to peak. Sounds good doesn’t it? 5,000 watts, man that must pick up everything down there? Just like car a commercial will boast that the engine has 220HP, but they dont tell you that 220HP is a full RPMS. You would have to bury the speedo to get the full effect. We men want POWER.The point is, marketing is the key factor to power. Point is, dont buy a sonar based on power. There are some LCD units that I have seen that create so much noise on the screen from so many watts that it distortes the display. And when you descrease the amplification(gain) you tend to lose information because the unit relies so much on the sending signal for information and not on the return signal which is most important.

Both Marcum and Vexilar make a great flasher. You will catch just as many fish with either unit. They both do the job. What you need to do is compare the features to what suits you best and decide on that.

Ya know Derek…you should save that post…that’s the best one I’ve seen on the Vex/ Mar battle!

The display colors, battery charger connections are differant…am I missing any thing?

I prefer one over the other…but it has nothing to do with power (My thoughts have changed on this lately)

My opinion is that Derek is right, but there’s one thing that he didn’t mention, and that’s cost. The higher Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) of the Marcum (should?) allows them to use a lower fidelity receiver and get the same performance. The transmit circuit would be cheap, since there’s nothing to it (oscillator of some kind and a power amp). The receiver and the display are where most of the money is going, and if you can cut costs there and get the same performance that’s where the ‘bang’ is going to come from their cost reduction efforts.

Whether or not they pass that along to you is another story.

Gianni…you always amaze me!

What about the “thud” and the Phase Lock Loop?

The one thing that worried me about the MarCum was the sonar echos…or transmitted signals coming from the transducer. Because of the higher Marcum wattage, the “snaps” or signals are very loud…they all most sound like a very good jolt of static electricity.

However I’ve had a camera in the hole and watched the reaction of panfish when dropping a transducer into 13 feet of water. Nothing.
I’m not sure about eyes or any other fish.

These fish have to “feel” those impulses.

Has anyone experiance anything to the contrary?

derek,

are you saying in some way that the marcum needs all the stated power because its internals are less sensative? also i forgot to say the marcum is just designed better than the vexilar to me,i was fishing next to a guy with the vex this am and he couldnt use it, cuss my marcum was to strong and he was getting false readings, just as they say the marcum blew him out of the water and he had to move,,

Nope, didnt say or implied that at all. If your goal is to “blow” people out of the water, then you made the right choice. Although the FL-18 has ten interference rejection (IR) settings allowing it to fish side by side next to other units.

I got an LX-3 for X-mas from the walleye-brat. I love it. I have used the vexilars before but I must say the packaging on the Marcum is really nice.

As for power and blowing people out of the water….not sure what that is about….walleye-brat was using a borrowed FL-*8(NOT the 18) and we were in a small portable running both units and she had no problem marking fish….and managed the biggest on Sat on Mille lacs….a whoppin 16 inches.

If you are looking at the FL-18 vs the Marcum….same price and both units have their good points and may have a downfall or flaw…not sure what they might be.

The 18 fits nicely into a 5 gallon pail the Marcum doesn’t but the Marcum has the nice soft padded packaging.
Comparing those 2 units is like comparing a Ford truck and a Chevy truck both are great trucks…personal preference is really what it boils down to.

I thought of using a Ranger/Lund comparison…but there is no comparison there….RANGER all the way baby!!!!

I would say your buddy’s luck is not the flasher but rather his ability to catch fish. I routinely have the same luck when fishing with buddys on gills and I’m certain it’s because of presentation. They see the same thing I do on different flashers.

Either unit will work fine. The “recievers” MarCum units use are far better than required by the unit to do the job. Also, the power output of the Marcum should be enough to meet any need you will have. But, it is better to have it and not need it than to not have it at all.

Derek’s reference is to a graph similar to the Genetron, they use very low power output to recieve good results. It works a little different in a $400 flasher unit.

If you are getting outfished that bad, it is not the flasher. The LX-3 will be to your benefit if you are fishing deep water, suspended fish, in the weeds and a few other situations. Otherwise both units should do the job.

I am on MarCum’s Pro Staff because I beleive in their products and believe they are the best on the Market. Their engineers know what they are doing and you will be amazed at all the things that have coming out in the near future.

Feel confident in buying that LX-3, you did make the best choice in my opinion.

thanks scott for the breakdown on the marcum,,the friend that outfished me had the marcum and i had a lowrance x 55a set up in a gentz ice box, he outfished all of us and we were using the same baits, he could see the fish come in on him and we could not, now its a differnt story, i bought the lx3 and i am happy with it,thanks again for your input and good fishin,,,,dafooge

You never mentioned you were using a Lowrance product through the ice. Yes, then he could have easily outfished you that bad. Nothing better than instant, real time display Good choice on the MarCum also. You will be very happy with your decision.