x67,fl18, or marcum lx3

[rookie44]

how well does the x67 work?does it compare to the marcum or vexillar?

[joshb]

the lowrance has -

the best target seperation of competeing units - i'm pretty sure its 1/2 inch.

has all the options of the other units and more they don't

flasher mode, with 4 - 5 color options

full graph, so it can be used in the summer as normal finder, or some use the full graph mode in the winter as well.

IMO, it would be very much worth spending the extra cash for the m68c, which has the built in gps. where else can you buy a color gps with land/water mass maps for $100?.

i have the m68c, and so far has been a great rig. i used it all summer and fall, i am very happy with it. i can't wait to get it out on the ice, and use some more of the great options it has.

i have the new fl8 to, and they are great units, but the lowrance has alot more to offer.

[MedicineMan]

I just bought a X-67 Ice Machine last week. I It's a really sweet piece of equipment! I've seen the Fl-18, Fl-8, LX-1, LX-3, and the X-67 in action. All of these fish finders are quality machines, no doubt about it. So it really comes down to personal preference. If you aren't good with electronics and you want somthing simple to operate, the X-67 isn't the machine for you. I'm also kinda nerdy in the fact that I like my toys with LOTS of options, and the X-67 has lots of them. Here are some of the options the X-67 has.

You have 4 sonar screens to choose from

-full graph mode

-split screen mode

-depth, water temp, voltage, etc mode

- flasher mode

In Graph and Flasher mode you have these features:

-Surface Clarity: Off, Low, Medium, High

-Noise Rejection: Off, Low, Medium, High

-Sonar Chart Mode: Grayscale, Reverse Grayscale, Blue Backround, White Backround, Nightview, Iceview, Bottom Color Tracking(You can only use BCT in graph mode only)

You can also change ping speed, "Pings" are the sound waves emitted by the tranducer. If you've ever listened to a transducer on a Graph, then listened to the trasnducer on a flash. You would notice on the graph that there is a delay on the "pings". On a LCD graph the pings would sound like this (tick-tick-pause-tick-tick-pause) On a Flasher there is no pause its just (tick-tick-tick-tick-tick). The Flasher is a better option when is comes to ice fishing because you get a real time picture of whats going on below you. The X-67 has both the ping options of a Flash and a Graph. When you have "Auto Depth Range" selected. The trasducer emits pings with the delay. If you go into Sonar/Flasher options. You can select "Chart Manual" mode and the trasducer will emit pings at a "real time" rate. You can also go into "Ping Speed" and speed up or slow down the ping rate.

In Flasher mode you have a couple flasher display modes. You have the normal display, and you have Split View mode. With the Split View mode the right side of the flasher shows the entire water column and the left side zooms in on the bottom 6 feet of water. This is ok if you're fishing on the bottom. But this really doesn't help you if you're fishing for Crappies in 15-20 feet of water or so. But ah ha! You do have the option to zoom in anywhere within the water column. There is a feature called "Upper and Lower Limits" You can set the depth of the upper and lower limits on you're flasher/graph. So if you want to zoom in on Crappies in 16-23 feet, just go into that option and set those depths and the graph/flasher will zoom in on that area.

The X-67 has a lot more other options. But I can only type so much!

If you have any questions at all, feel free to ask!

[Ed Carlson]

The X-68 C is a very cool unit. I have been very tempted to try one.

I was concerned about the cold weather performance of the units. So far from the comments I get from others who tested them last season they behaved well in the cold.

A very interesting unit!

[rookie44]

thanks for the info.does it seem pretty tough?

[MedicineMan]

It seems fairly tough. I mean, I wouldn't be dropping it or be testing its toughness in anyway.

[Surface Tension]

I haven't seen the X67 in use yet. There was some concern as to how it handled interference from other sounders namely vexilars and MarCum. The X67 does have 3 levels of Noise Rejection which is just a filter, thats different then Vexilar or MarCum's IR.

Being new last year and not to many in use, we still haven't gotten any hard data other then what we can all read at Lowrance's web site. I will say we'll all benefit from an other company competing for the ice fisherman's need for a portability, performance and compatibility in a sonar.

[Dan Wood]

I've fished with all the units mentioned. I'd strongly recommend going and trying these out at the store. If you can, get on the water/ice with someone that has one and try it out firsthand. The reality is that they are all awesome units and they all have their niche in the fishing world. Most of these also have developed their loyal group of followers, making it difficult to get good information on any of them (sort of a Ford vs. Chevy thing, and now you have Dodge). The Lowrance seems to be getting a lot of attention for those that want a graph on their boat and would like to combine units with their ice fishing set-up. If I needed a small graph in my boat, I'd probably consider the Lowrance. If I was looking for an ice fishing unit only, the Lowrance would be last on my list. I do use a flasher on the bow of my boat and do find it to be a very useful tool for vertical jigging. The real-time response is something you just can't get with a graph.

In my opinion the display on the Lowrance units is more difficult to read vs. the Vex. or MarCum, but that may just be a personal preference.

I've fished with a MarCum LX-3 for the past 2 years and will be again this year. The LX-3 has a few neat features not offered on the other units that may warrant consideration, depending on your fishing style. The adjustable zoom that can be moved anywhere in the water column is very slick and is the most distinct feature that differs from the competition. Take a look at all the units and features and pick one that works for your style of fishing.

[joshb]

the lowrance has adjustable zoom anywhere in the water column as well.

it is just as much or more real time read-out as a flasher when set properly

[rod bender]

Rookie, I've fished next to all of the above. The one issue that I see the biggest difference in is the ability to reduce or rid interference from other people around you. My buddy owns a x67 and has a very difficult time reading his display next to my Marcum. Maybe he doesn't know how to run the machine, but he definetely has problems.

[Dan Wood]

Yea that didn't come across right... The lowrance is close to "real-time" when used as a flasher. I was referring to graphs on boats and the "dual" use of the Lowrance unit..

The guy that I used this with was only able to zoom on the bottom few feet. I just read the manual online and see the zoom is adjustable within the water column. That is a handy feature to have. My only concern on these units would be the ice-arm and small display on the unit and possibly interference from other units. But again, for a dual purpose unit to be used on your boat or ice, it fits the bill nicely for a lot of people.

[EBass]

Dan you're right about loyal followers. Ya'll know what I like so I won't even say it.

[Chris Haley]

The only way to be sure that inteference isn't a problem is to buy the most powerful. Marcum would be the one then. As Tim Taylor would say "MORE POWER ARGH ARGH ARGH"