I picked up the Garmin 73cv Ice Bundle today. Got it set up and already I like just navigating the unit. It seems relatively simple. I was a long time Lowrance user and I always felt the Hummingbirds were confusing.
Anyway, if I replace the SLA battery with a lithium, can I still use the Garmin charger that came with the unit?
I have a Marcum (quite old) and Vexilar … the Vex is all I need for most of my ice fishing. The old Marcum does not have the same detailed resolution but does what it is supposed to do. The Marcum worked extremely well on LOTW in 28-31 feet of water.
Probably need another for that third person that I sometimes bring along. How can you ice fish without a flasher ?
I run the lightest lithium battery I could find with my 73cv the Cabelas 6ah and still get about 20 hours of run time. From my understanding, you will ruin the lithium battery by using a standard SLA charger with it. Just spend the $20 and get a Lithium charger I got the Amped Outdoor one for 20 bucks at the bait shop.
I run the lightest lithium battery I could find with my 73cv the Cabelas 6ah and still get about 20 hours of run time. From my understanding, you will ruin the lithium battery by using a standard SLA charger with it. Just spend the $20 and get a Lithium charger I got the Amped Outdoor one for 20 bucks at the bait shop.
Does it still work with the charging port? (So I don’t have to disconnect the battery)
I run the lightest lithium battery I could find with my 73cv the Cabelas 6ah and still get about 20 hours of run time. From my understanding, you will ruin the lithium battery by using a standard SLA charger with it. Just spend the $20 and get a Lithium charger I got the Amped Outdoor one for 20 bucks at the bait shop.
20 hours of run time is really good from a 6Ah battery considering that Garmin lists the draw of a 73CV at .8 amps/hr.
I am sure the cold would affect the battery life a bit. I left it running in my heated garage and set a timer.
Does it still work with the charging port? (So I don’t have to disconnect the battery)
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The one I got does not connect I do not have my battery strapped in so it only takes like 5 seconds to take it out.
Hmmm. Thanks for the info. I’m surprised no one mentioned that as a downside. Needing to upgrade batteries and not being able to use the factory charger is a bit of a bummer. Really liked the idea of not having to disconnect the battery every time those terminals get weak and break.
Amped outdoors makes a Garmin barrel plug that solves this issue, you can buy the charger and barrel plug from them for $19.99
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Amped outdoors makes a Garmin barrel plug that solves this issue, you can buy the charger and barrel plug from them for $19.99
Thank you!!
Wish I knew that before I bought the charger lol do not mind taking out the battery but having to replace weak terminals is a pain.
Go with a Vexilar. Have a FL-12, which I have been using for years. Ended up buying a MarCum Lx6S Lithium as part of Ranger boat purchase. Have used it four times in the past two winters and already broke a cheap $14 plastic cover holding the USB charger on it. Contacted the Mfr and they said to buy a new one, as its past the warranty period. Cheaply made product, and poor customer service. I went to their website to buy one and they are out of stock! What a surprise. I guess that I am not the only one who purchased this defective product. Unless I get it for free again as part of a promotion, I will never again by a MarCum product!
I recently got a Hummingbird Helix 5 and have been extremely impressed with it so far! The different views are great and I got little to no interference when sitting next to my friends Vexilar. Also got a Amped Outdoors lithium battery to go with it and those are some really great battery’s.
Used a Vexilar FL-8 for many years. That was ultra-dependable. Got a wild hair and bought the Garmin Striker 4 portable. Hope it serves me as well as that Vexilar did.
lindy there really is’nt alot of weight difference in lithium batteries of that size.I would go 9AH.
KP which view do you find yourself using more,flasher or 2d?
First weekend using the Garmin 73cv and so far love it. It is so simple to use compared to Hummingbird IMO. Much easier to see size and direction of fish compared to my old flasher. Had some fun moments watching crappies show up on the graph and then calling which hole they were headed towards. Unfortunately they are very finicky. But so far loving the graph, using 2D traditional sonar mostly.
One thing I don’t like about the Humminbird is that they offer the “Full Season” or “Year Round Package” with their Helix 7’s (I have the G3 MSI) but there is only one port so you lose all your base mapping when doing the auto chart. Not sure what Garmin or Lowerance have when it comes to the AutoChart type feature but I think that is outstanding for fine tuning areas you have success in. I basically have used the boat to make a new map of my home lake and it does make a difference compared to lakemaster or navionics mapping.
I just wish the Helix 7’s came with two SD ports.
I will have to look into Garmin though as I am selling my boat this spring and will be able to go with either Garmin or Humminbird. I don’t plan on going lowerance.
I agree with you on wanting 2 ports on the 7’s. But, in my experience I typically don’t need lakemaster and the autochart maps at the same time. If I’m using autochart on a lake it’s because that particular lake is not charted very accurately. It would be nice not having to switch them out from lake to lake though and not risk damaging or losing the chip.
I’ll add, Autochart has been very helpful for me since half the lakes I fish are not mapped in HD on any of the mapping platforms. I have Navionics on the phone which helps a little where lakemaster falls short, but here are a couple photos comparing the 2 on one of my favorite lakes. This feature alone is what sets a gps unit apart from say a vexilar and navionics app combo.
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buying a flasher over a sonar unit now days is like buying a flip phone over a smartphone at nearly the same price.
Today’s sonar units offer year round use plus you get the benefits of mapping. Not sure why others experience a “lag’ when jigging, the old sonar screen units 10+ years ago had this but now technology has caught up and its not noticeable (not sure on garmin or lowarnce units).
On another note, the Autochart bottom composition feature is slick when ice fishing, you can hole hop, mark a autochart point and look for bottom transitions
Used the Garmin 73 for the first time and was easy to use. Purchased one week before Christmas and then was on sale for $140 less at Same store the next week (Glens Army Navy). Wouldn’t give me the discount only a complete refund. Ordered through Scheels and they matched price. So far really like it. Thanks for all the advice.
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