Marcum LX-9

Well I’m only about 7 years late but I picked up an LX-9 from one of my buddies who bought the livescope. I took it out on a really clear lake since I wanted to test the camera mostly. I’ll admit I didn’t mess with the settings too much when I used the flasher mode but did have a few issues picking up my spoon in pretty deep water. I went back and forth between 8 degree cone angle and 20 and messed with the gain a bit. I think I got it dialed in a bit more after messing with the settings at home the other night, but any tips just in general using the LX-9? Most of the time I’ll probably be fishing in 5-25 feet of water for panfish and walleye.

I also realized there’s a pre-record option that you can set up on a loop and if you hit the quick record button it’ll save whatever you had the loop to? I think it was the last minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc. Anyone use that? Seems like a good option instead of trying to hit record when you’ve got fish on the camera.

Here’s a little bit of footage from the camera this past weekend- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7AcqBvS17k&t=4s

LX-9 Manual (Download Only)

Utilize target adjust too.

If your unit has the latest update you will have to turn the gain up substantially to pick up your jig/spoon depending on it’s size. Marcum has a good tutorial vid on how to adjust it since the latest update. Some guys like it some don’t. I’ve done the update on my LX9 but never did it on my wife’s LX7. We have no problem with either.

I just received my new Marcum LX9 and I can’t seem to get the pre-record option to work.
Could someone please explain the exact sequence required to use this feature?
With my camera running for 30 minutes in my house, I then set the pre-record to 5 minutes and then pushed the quick key down arrow, but the record light never came on.
The only way I’ve been able to record is by going into the menu and pressing the record setting and I’m also able to stop and start recording by pressing the up and down arrows but I can’t seem to get the pre-record feature to work so I’m obviously missing a step somewhere.
Also how big a micro SD card can I put in the LX9 and how many minutes of video will the 4 gig micro SD record?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

32gb is the max sd card and you for sure want to replace that 4gb card asap. I thought you needed to hold the shortcut key down longer than normal to record???

I used to own a LX-9 but sold it because that user interface is terrible and could use alot of simple fixes to make it better, but Marcum abandoned it and the owners who purchased their top of the line unit.

I tried holding the shortcut down arrow for 30 seconds and the record light never comes on.
I’m wondering if I got a defective unit because the battery was only 1.5v when I opened up the box and it was missing the camera fin but the box was taped up and looked new.
Also the compass isn’t working properly and I’ve calibrated it a few times and I’ve reset to factory settings a few times.
The compass only goes from 3 o’clock to 9 o’clock and never goes to the upper half 9 o’clock to 3 o’clock.
I bought this new and thought the pre-record features would be great to capture, but the more features I try the more things I find aren’t working as advertised.
It still might be operator error on my part but I was so excited when I received it.
I have 30 days to return it but I ordered it on-line so it will be a hassle to return.

after selling my LX-9 I went back to a dedicated flashed & camera (LX-6s and a VS825SD) The only thing I miss is the DVR function but there are other ways to record video on the cameras. The SD slot location on the LX-9 is also just ridiculous and basically stops you from wanting to remove the card to watch footage on a big screen so you’re forced to use the clunky UI and watch the videos from the LX-9, another failure by Marcum…

In terms of recording, I would do a reset to factory settings and then make sure the record function is preset to on/off vs pre-record and test it again, I do remember the buttons were a bit touchy sometimes…

JoeMX1825 I appreciate you sharing your knowledge and experience with the LX9 but I can’t figure out this pre-record feature or get the compass working.
I went out and purchased a 32gb micro SD card today and downloaded the newest firmware thinking the card that came with my new unit might be bad, because all my issues seem to be software related but this has me stumped.
You weren’t kidding about the difficulties accessing the micro SD card on the unit.
I can start and stop recording using the hot key down arrow button, but I can’t get the pre-record feature or the compass working properly.
Neither features are critical but it would be nice if I could get them working properly.
I haven’t even tried the actual flasher, vertical and graph display on the ice yet but I’m hoping they work properly.
I started years ago with a Zercom Colorpoint, then a Marcom VS380 camera, then a Marcum LX5, then a Marcum LX6, and I’ve never had any issues, but this LX9 is testing my patience.
Luckily I’m retired and have free time to try to figure this unit out.
Thanks again JoeMX1825

just checking, but your LX-9 firmware is the latest 3.0 correct? I couldn’t tell if you were talking about the LX9 or SD card firmware update you did…

I remember re-calibrating the compass once, just be sure you have the unit on a level surface away from any type of magnetic interference (I believe I used my kitchen island) and make sure so spin the camera and unit as smoothly as possible.

Lastly in terms of the prerecord, did you double-check that your selection for it saved in the settings and that it didn’t somehow revert to a different setting or remained the same?

Lastly have you called Marcum yet? I’ve always had good interactions with them, it’s possible there’s an issue with your control board and it needs replacing? They can figure that out…

I formatted the new micro-SD card and downloaded the latest 3.0 firmware from the Marcum website.
I can get the pre-record working but I think I’m doing something wrong because if I caught a fish and wanted to capture the past video using the pre-record setting, when I hit the hotkey to record, I end up with 2 files (1 is the pre-recording of 3 minutes that I set up in the pre-record setting and 2) it starts recording a new video file which I wouldn’t need.
I thought when I push the down arrow hot key that it would only capture 1 file of the previous 3 minutes that I set in the pre-record setting.
I set the pre-record to 3 minutes and then set the playback/record to LIVE and then pushed the hot key down arrow to capture the previous video.
I can’t get the compass to work after repeated attempts, but on Monday I will try it on a lake and not in my kitchen and hope it calibrates properly and I will test out the flasher, chart and graph settings.
The compass never goes between 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock when I slowly spin it around.
Another issue I’ve had is the battery was at 1.5v when I opened the box and when I charged it the chargers red light stayed on after 2 days but when I unplug it and plug it right back in it turns green but the voltage of the battery off the charger is only 12.2v after 2 days on the charger.
I tested the charger on another 1 month old battery I have and the light remains red until I unplug it and then it also turns green when I unplug it and plug it back in, but when I take my other battery off the charger the voltage is 13.15v, so the charger is charging, but the battery in the box was in bad shape and the light doesn’t change colors to indicate when the battery is charged.
I hope at least the flasher, chart and graph work when I test it on Monday because I can buy another battery and I have another charger and I can live without the compass.
All I wanted was the convenience of a graph/chart and camera that records, all in 1 unit.
Oh and the camera down fin wasn’t in the box.
I think my LX9 is cursed.

Marcum chargers are notoriously bad, rewire the charge dongle to use a Battery Tender Jr (its reversed)

I would be happy that you got the prerecord to even work, deleting the extra file is a small price to pay.

If I were you i’d ditch the stock battery and splurge and get a lithium, will reduce the weight of that lx-9 alot

The compass is invaluable for ice fishing to quickly find your jigs and know which direction the fish are coming from. I was in the same boat of wanting everything in 1 unit, but i’d rather have everything that works as intended so I went back to separate units again…