Marcum's RT9 Ice Sonar

[LMITOUT]

All I know is that its pretty cool to see companies continue to advance and add some new things. In the end, the businesses are there to make money.

It's a lot of money but some cool feature for sure.

I wonder though if it can run 3 transducers at a time, will it be the first unit ever to interfere with itself?

From what I read searching around for these alleged WalMart-quality tablet specs, they made a point to mention "no interference" when using multiple transducers. Guess someone will find out if that is true or not but it won't be me.

I agree it has some cool features and it would be neat, however "neat" has a price limit and I think they kinda went a little overboard, IMO. I'll probably be looking to buy an LX-7 this fall instead.

[CaptainMusky]

Bottom line is you don't need any data to use this camera.

true but you know some guys will send their buddies pics and vids thinking "WiFi" is doing it. That's my point. They had it in the press release originally and removed it.

[CaptainMusky]

I agree it has some cool features and it would be neat, however "neat" has a price limit and I think they kinda went a little overboard, IMO. I'll probably be looking to buy an LX-7 this fall instead.

agreed. This unit is getting closer to what the lx7 should have been from the beginning by having GPS but the cost is way out of line IMO.

[DTro]

I'm sure there will be some sort of disclaimer on the user guide or the side of the box.

If people don't understand that data is transmitted when sharing pictures via email, text, social media etc, then they shouldn't' be using this in the first place.

Not to mention most common options won't let you share a big chunk of data over wireless that will get you in trouble anyways.

[CaptainMusky]

LMITOUT-

For $1600, it better have the latest and greatest everything... .

if you want the camera its another $500. $1600 is just sonar/GPS unit. For that money I will buy an hds 9 touch with structure scan. Can use multiple mapping chips, plug in a camera control my trolling motor in my boat and view everything I want at one time. Not either or with the GPS/sonar etc as it appears with this rt9.

I'm disappointed with Marcum on this one.

[iffwalleyes]

Well that's why everyone can make there own decisions on technology. But I think if I held onto my vexilar fl8 a couple more years I could probably resell for the cost of a fl 28. Since a vexilar has pretty much not changed since Dave Genz first introduced us to these. Sure there are a couple cool things they do. Great unit but very little different than cool cases but hey they must be getting ready to come out with something big. Well I have been waiting and have not seen it. If it comes I'll buy it love cool depth finders best part there is always someone looking to buy one.

[pushbutton]

Yes, that almost goes without saying. The people that should be most happy with Marcum and this new unit, and their previous new units, for that matter...... is the vex heads. I'm sure the new weed mode on the 28 for the tourney circuit is nice, and next time I am fishing for walleyes in January in 4 ft of water, will consider getting one

[fisherman-andy]

"The union between your smart device and the MarCum Technologies Pan Cam is made via WiFi, but If you wanted to record and share those images/video beyond device from a remote location, you could do so with your phone’s mobile data package." Right from Facebook. Its the sharing and uploading part I'm talking about.

[ClownColor]

Well that's why everyone can make there own decisions on technology. But I think if I held onto my vexilar fl8 a couple more years I could probably resell for the cost of a fl 28. Since a vexilar has pretty much not changed since Dave Genz first introduced us to these. Sure there are a couple cool things they do. Great unit but very little different than cool cases but hey they must be getting ready to come out with something big. Well I have been waiting and have not seen it. If it comes I'll buy it love cool depth finders best part there is always someone looking to buy one.

You nailed it! Why change when it works great. Most people own a Vex because they are cheap, durable, and do what everyone wants...marks fish! If I want lake maps...I use my hand held. If I want a camera...I use my aqua micro. all three of which cost under $1000 total and I can bring my hand held gps out hunting, use it in my car for driving and hunting, and easily in my boat for summer fishing. I can also use my micro camera for alot of other things without carry around my flasher.

On that note, I'm happy new technology exists. but just because someone changes the view, color schemes, adds a digital depth reading...its nothing more than wasted money...imo.

[JoeMX1825]

The markup on these units is HUGE for Marcum! They buy some cheap knockoff tablet in bulk from overseas, slap some branding on it and utilize existing camera & transducer accessory inventory for their other products to keep those prices even lower due to higher volumes...The only $$ they put into this was converting their LX9 software to run off the tablet...I'm surprised it took the ice fishing manufacturers this long to figure it out...Now Marcum will get people to pay the huge cost to be free beta users the first year....genius!

My guess is that these will be HEAVILY discounted by the spring!

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

My guess is that these will be HEAVILY discounted by the spring!

At $2100 for the entire package, they could divide it by 3 and I still would have the exact same amount of interest. Zero.

[Putn'am ondaLine]

A few things I might add.

I see a lot of huss and fuss about the tablet not being the latest and greatest... but this unit isn't being sold to replace your existing tablet; it is programmed for ice fishing sonar/camera/gps in one, a bonus of the platform is that you could use it as a tablet as well.

The Navionics side of it isn't the cheap app, it has a port for your Navionics chips, anyone with experience using chips and the app know the huge difference here. The price may be high, but let's look at all it includes and more importantly bulk reduction having them all in one unit.

1) Gps on an 8" screen, or split screen, (You can take the one off your boat and bring an extra battery for it, or use a small handheld one that doesn't provide much detail)

2) 2 Hole coverage with separate transducers and a camera all on 1 battery and weight/bulk of 1 unit. (The other options would include having either 2 flashers and a camera (so 3 total units/batteries) or an LX9 and another flasher)

3) Navionics chip, looks like we're pulling the sonar off the boat again

4) Water proof, and temperature proof; good luck getting your HDS to work in 20 below zero.

5) Ability to addon later. You can get the platform/ice ducer now and add things like the open water transducer, extra ice ducer, camera, etc later.

--All in all this unit means you don't have to lug around a bunch of other equipment when you're pulling the sled around the lake. You don't have to worry about busting your big $$ Boat electronics banging around in the cold, you don't need a separate unit if you use a camera... you basically have every bit of hard water technology available, packed into One Unit on One Battery. Marcum isn't selling a tablet, they're selling freedom.

[DTro]

Can't put a price on freedom

... or 9" crappies

[Putn'am ondaLine]

I don't think Marcum is marketing this unit at the average fisherman. This is a unit designed for those who have been begging for an all in one package. For many a serious ice fisherman that bleed for first ice and push through late ice, hardly missing any time in between; this is a dream finally coming true.

It is common practice to despise progress by a brand one is loyal against, but this is a new era in ice electronics. For those jumping on board, or those choosing to stay loyal to their brand--waiting for something actually new to show up--it is their prerogative. But simple-minded tactics saying small fish are what's in store for users of x-brand is child's play and insulting to any Fisherman's abilities. You can consistently catch big fish using Vexlars, HB's, an old eagle, boat electronics, a bobber, or plain blind jigging, if you're near big fish and present what they want to eat. Anyone with an ounce of intellect knows that. This isn't about Vex vs Marcum, this is about the serious fishermen getting what they've always wanted. It should inspire the manufacturers of the other brands to start appealing to these needs and that in turn will bring the cost down. For those who felt they waited long enough for this to come around, these units will fly off the shelves. For those who are willing to wait until competition brings the price down and adds more options, you can bet your bottom dollar that will happen. For those who simply can't afford a top of the line flasher there will always be lower cost options available. And for those who enjoy catching 9" crappies, there will always be the old "stick it out as far as you can for the picture" technique. =)

[JoeMX1825]

The outdated Tablet's are most likely leftovers from some oversea warehouse, the reliance on having users purchase GPS chips takes Marcum out of paying any licensing fees and the modular setup means additional HUGE markups on existing functionality/parts they have leftover form their existing product lines.

You think "All of these features using the same battery" is a good thing? Maybe so for the 45 mins the battery lasts trying to keep power to everything, oh wait, you can buy additional batteries too, I bet Marcum even sells them?!? They'll be special RT9 "optimized" batteries, with of course a price uplift..

Nice try Marcum! go find another sucker....

[ClownColor]

A few things I might add.

I see a lot of huss and fuss about the tablet not being the latest and greatest... but this unit isn't being sold to replace your existing tablet; it is programmed for ice fishing sonar/camera/gps in one, a bonus of the platform is that you could use it as a tablet as well.

The Navionics side of it isn't the cheap app, it has a port for your Navionics chips, anyone with experience using chips and the app know the huge difference here. The price may be high, but let's look at all it includes and more importantly bulk reduction having them all in one unit.

1) Gps on an 8" screen, or split screen, (You can take the one off your boat and bring an extra battery for it, or use a small handheld one that doesn't provide much detail)

2) 2 Hole coverage with separate transducers and a camera all on 1 battery and weight/bulk of 1 unit. (The other options would include having either 2 flashers and a camera (so 3 total units/batteries) or an LX9 and another flasher)

3) Navionics chip, looks like we're pulling the sonar off the boat again

4) Water proof, and temperature proof; good luck getting your HDS to work in 20 below zero.

5) Ability to addon later. You can get the platform/ice ducer now and add things like the open water transducer, extra ice ducer, camera, etc later.

--All in all this unit means you don't have to lug around a bunch of other equipment when you're pulling the sled around the lake. You don't have to worry about busting your big $$ Boat electronics banging around in the cold, you don't need a separate unit if you use a camera... you basically have every bit of hard water technology available, packed into One Unit on One Battery. Marcum isn't selling a tablet, they're selling freedom.

Too funny..."don't have to carry around your expensive boat electronics"...i'd rather break my expensive lowrance HDS with ss if I owned this!

[CaptainMusky]

1) Gps on an 8" screen, or split screen, (You can take the one off your boat and bring an extra battery for it, or use a small handheld one that doesn't provide much detail)

3) Navionics chip, looks like we're pulling the sonar off the boat again

4) Water proof, and temperature proof; good luck getting your HDS to work in 20 below zero.

5) Ability to addon later. You can get the platform/ice ducer now and add things like the open water transducer, extra ice ducer, camera, etc later.

All of these things are fully capable on an HDS touch. Never had issues with cold weather and YES I have used my HDS units (plural) in -20 and colder. NEVER once an issue.

You get all those things you mentioned above for a nice price of $2100. For $2100 you can buy an HDS 9 touch, plug in the camera that many already have, view multiple screens (GPS, Camera, Sonar, etc) at one time. You have Lowrance AND Navionics chip capability (choices are a must) AND dont forget about StructureScan (included at $2100), StructureMap (overlay YOUR maps on chart) and a plethora of other things not even conceivable on this unit. The one thing you couldnt do is the multiple cameras thing so I will give you that.

To do the open water thing you are going to be approaching $2500 by the time you add that module to the RT-9.

It is what it is. I am one of the biggest supporters of marcum and own their products. When they came out with the LX7 I felt they missed the mark by no GPS. Now this unit comes out and its overpriced IMO. If it was $500 cheaper I think would be about right. I do really like the idea of Wifi for camera though. Those cables tend to get in the way and you could put it outside the house so that is nice.

BTW, "you dont have to worry about busting up your big $$ boat electronics in the cold..." umm, these are just as big $$ and in some cases more. Id be more afraid of a tablet performing in the cold than my hds since that has proven to work perfect.

I really think what Marcum is trying to do here is provide ONE solution that will work anywhere, anytime. Which is super. Gone will be the days of a vexilar getting put in storage over the summer and throwing your graph in the basement when winter comes.This is what some of us have realized already since we use our open water electronics on the ice for years already.

For now I use my HDS units in the boat all summer, then convert one to ice use while the other rides on the ATV for navigation purposes. I use the LX3 primarily hole hopping, etc or if its just me fishing (no kids) over the other HDS in the house.

[DTro]

The 9” crappie reference had nothing to do with brands and everything to do with ice fishing. All the banter about this and that and the other and what you have left is propaganda about catching 8” sunnies and 10 inch crappies (since everything else is mainly caught on tipups and bobber rigs).

Oh and I don’t know what version Navionics you have on your phone, but on most lakes, mine is pretty dang detailed.

Hey, I’ve always been one of the guys pushing for an all in one device and its great they finally have done it. Kudos

Now…during the coming year, kindly link me to an Ice Force member pointing out some negatives about the unit and I’ll be impressed.

[Putn'am ondaLine]

The outdated Tablet's are most likely leftovers from some oversea warehouse, the reliance on having users purchase GPS chips takes Marcum out of paying any licensing fees and the modular setup means additional HUGE markups on existing functionality/parts they have leftover form their existing product lines.

You think "All of these features using the same battery" is a good thing? Maybe so for the 45 mins the battery lasts trying to keep power to everything, oh wait, you can buy additional batteries too, I bet Marcum even sells them?!? They'll be special RT9 "optimized" batteries, with of course a price uplift..

Nice try Marcum! go find another sucker....

It isn't a mechanical flasher, the LX9 with Camera and flasher simultaneously running will go 2 full days of use before needing to recharge and that's with the standard battery issued with the unit. The RT-9 is sending all the juice to just 1 screen still, so "running all these features" isn't going to use more LEDs than are already being used. These don't suck up a bunch of juice like the double vision or other standard mechanical flashers...

Hypothetical analysis works best when you actually know what you're talking about... If you've ever run an LX 9, you would know that battery life is not even remotely an issue, I wouldn't expect the RT9 to be either.... However again back to the double-weight-vision... you would need 3 batteries if you wanted to use the camera, flasher, and your boat's electronics for the Nav chip, and you would also need 3 screens... logic says that your sled would weigh a lot less with 1 unit that only needs 1 battery that will run for more than just all day.

[Walleyehooker]

If I thought one of these would catch me more fish than my LX5 I would probably buy one. You can get lake maps and GPS on your smart phone for almost free. And underwater cameras are cheap and don't even work well on most lakes. I don't see these units being worth much in a couple years and this stuff should be getting cheaper and not more expensive. I don't think its far off where you can just buy a tablet and connect the options you want like a transducer etc. Might even have wireless ducers etc some day. Untill then Ill stick with the proven and reliable stuff.

[Walleyehooker]

The only ones I see bragging about this stuff is their pro staff but I guess since Mille Lacs is in the toilet they have to have something to do. lol

[CaptainMusky]

the LX9 with Camera and flasher simultaneously running will go 2 full days of use before needing to recharge and that's with the standard battery issued with the unit.

I know a guy who has one. Been with him when he used it and unless your days are 4 hours long this is completely FALSE.

Are you saying his is defective? Im not saying the LX9 is junk, I think its awesome. I am in love with it everytime I watch it in use, but the statement of them last two full days is a complete exaggeration.

[Putn'am ondaLine]

The 9” crappie reference had nothing to do with brands and everything to do with ice fishing. All the banter about this and that and the other and what you have left is propaganda about catching 8” sunnies and 10 inch crappies (since everything else is mainly caught on tipups and bobber rigs).

Oh and I don’t know what version Navionics you have on your phone, but on most lakes, mine is pretty dang detailed.

Hey, I’ve always been one of the guys pushing for an all in one device and its great they finally have done it. Kudos

Now…during the coming year, kindly link me to an Ice Force member pointing out some negatives about the unit and I’ll be impressed.

Well I guess we fish in completely different waters, with astronomically different results. I use tip ups occasionally, usually in the early season. At least 98% of the fish I catch on ice are on a rod using electronics, hole hopping around to get on the fish instead of waiting for them to eventually swim by. I fish dozens upon dozens of local lakes; species include Walleye, Pike, Lake Trout, Rainbow Trout, Splake, Brook Trout, Whitefish, Tulibee, Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass, Slab Crappies, Bull Gills, and Jumbo Perch. Electronics play a crucial role in catching lots of fish and big fish and most of the people I fish with feel the same way, even though we all may use different brand electronics. If you catch all your big fish on tip ups and bobbers, you don't need any electronics, and as I mentioned before people can catch big fish consistently with those methods, but it requires a lot more time in learning a body of water or two to reach that kind of success without electronics. And you definitely won't see consistent results fishing brand new waters in that manner. Many of us fishermen like to get out of town and fish someone else's lake for a little change.

The size of fish is relative to the waters you fish, an 8" sunfish is a throwaway up here, as are 9-10" crappies.

The navionics apps are detailed, but I can't tell you how many times someone has walked up to me while looking at their nav screen on the phone and said "hey man, you're catching walleye here in 15 fow?" and I have to slowly explain that it is 23 feet deep here and that their phone is off by about 10 yards. The chips in my boat however, are almost always dead on.

When I started out with the LX6 I spent some time on different forums, reading a lot of red posts about how they were dealing with certain situations or issues before they were fixed by free patch updates. "Ice Force guys" were quite helpful in explaining how to adjust the settings to combat different issues until the issues were resolved via firmware updates. Nothing new comes out of the box perfect the first time, especially digital electronics, and they can't test for a million scenarios in a lab, so user input is highly valued for making bug fixes. However, the Marcum units are run by firmware that can run fixes to your unit by simply plugging it in and downloading the updates. I'm not saying go out and buy one, you will catch more fish... that simply isn't the case, a bobber or tip up will likely catch the same amount of fish whether you use a flasher or not... However if you want to learn more about how a fish reacts to your presentation, and find yourself reading what the fish on your screen wants you to do by its reaction alone, well you're going to want a crisp and clear tool designed for just that.

[JoeMX1825]

Hypothetical analysis works best when you actually know what you're talking about... If you've ever run an LX 9, you would know that battery life is not even remotely an issue, I wouldn't expect the RT9 to be either.... However again back to the double-weight-vision... you would need 3 batteries if you wanted to use the camera, flasher, and your boat's electronics for the Nav chip, and you would also need 3 screens... logic says that your sled would weigh a lot less with 1 unit that only needs 1 battery that will run for more than just all day.

Are you sure you know what you're talking about? You don't think a tablet that's running a camera/flasher/gps on a 9" screen isn't going to kill a battery faster than individual units? Marcum you've found your sucker....

[CaptainMusky]

The navionics apps are detailed, but I can't tell you how many times someone has walked up to me while looking at their nav screen on the phone and said "hey man, you're catching walleye here in 15 fow?" and I have to slowly explain that it is 23 feet deep here and that their phone is off by about 10 yards. The chips in my boat however, are almost always dead on.

This is a product of the accuracy of the GPS in a handheld device coupled with the screen size over the app itself. The app is capable of being more accurate. No doubt if you had a larger screen (iPad) you could get same accuracy but that is dependent upon the quality of the GPS in the device NOT the app.

On top of that, I use multiple different brands of chips rather than rely on one. I use the Navionics app on my phone. I have Navionics maps for my GPS units. They are identical for the areas I fish.

[amateurfishing]

I guess I don't see the problem with the tablet, as long as it does what it is asked what more do you need? The unit is already priced high, I can't imagine how high it would be if it was a high end tablet.

I can't imagine the logistics nightmare of letting people use their own tablets, that sounds like a customer service disaster in the making.

There isnt a tablet out there that costs $1,000 which is what they are pricing this at if you subtract the cost of the ducer module which comes with it at 1599.

They would have been a lot smarter to just configure their ducer and camera to fit current tablets with usb connectivity or wireless and apps to go along with them. $300-500 just for a module is steep also, replacable parts for other units r much cheaper, this will b a dinosaur before its barely used and will only drive down cost of other models for us

[FshBloodRiverMud]

If I add anything electronics wise to my ice fishing, it'll be the Humminbird 360.

Otherwise, I already have the best GPS. (HBird w/lakemaster)

Adequate Camera: Aqua Vu Micro 2

Marcum VX1 marks fish just like the latest and greatest units do.

I run and gun. Nothing about this latest marcum is worth more than $250 to me...But i'll gladly spend $1k on the 360

[Putn'am ondaLine]

I know a guy who has one. Been with him when he used it and unless your days are 4 hours long this is completely FALSE.

Are you saying his is defective? Im not saying the LX9 is junk, I think its awesome. I am in love with it everytime I watch it in use, but the statement of them last two full days is a complete exaggeration.

My first guess is that his battery is shot; I've never heard of an LX9 running for only 4 hours, I would be shocked if I had heard about one only running for 10. I ran my LX6 10-13 hours a day for 3 straight days without a charge last year and never went into low battery mode. The people I've fished with their LX 9's never had the voltage drop below 12 after a full day of fishing. If he was only getting 4 hours, he should send that battery back to Marcum. I've had several batteries in my day go bad after only using them for a short while or up to a year, the only one ever replaced for free was the one I got with my Lx5 before I sold it to get an LX6.

[CaptainMusky]

My first guess is that his battery is shot; I've never heard of an LX9 running for only 4 hours, I would be shocked if I had heard about one only running for 10.

Correction, you said two full days. 4 hrs per day = 8 hrs.

He ran on multiple occasions one day (8 hrs or so) and it was essentially dead at the end of the day. And this was using the camera only sparingly or even not at all on one trip (LOW). Not that I think that is bad because my little LX3 was getting down there, I am just saying your "two full days" is a complete exaggeration.

[Putn'am ondaLine]

[quote name='CaptainMuskyCorrection' date=' you said two full days. 4 hrs per day = 8 hrs.

He ran on multiple occasions one day (8 hrs or so) and it was essentially dead at the end of the day. And this was using the camera only sparingly or even not at all on one trip (LOW). Not that I think that is bad because my little LX3 was getting down there, I am just saying your "two full days" is a complete exaggeration. [/quote']

For me, 8-10 hours is a justified full day, my personal full days often run into 12+ hour days, which is why I would be shocked if someone said they got less than 10 hours on a full charge. Maybe if someone had screen resolution set to 100%, max ping, and everything turned on full blast, with the DVR running I could see a battery that isn't defective running less than 10 hours. But you should never need all the settings maxed out like that. You can easily get much longer run time out of your unit with proper settings, much longer could very well mean 2 full days.