Lowrance LCX Series ,Reviews !! Opinions!!

the fog ducker

Well-Known Member
Hey Boy's

Well , it's that time of year to start thinking about, what we can do to make next season come a little faster than last !!!We'll I am lucky enough to start enjoying rigging up my new float , with all my electronics , riggers etc, make this boats setup a little better and easier than the last !!
I purchased the Lowrance Lcx 27 last season , I like the unit , but , I question some things about it. I purchased the dual frequency unit , 50 khz and 200 khz ,Based on opinions and reviews, before I purchased , there were some real positive things said about the Lcx 19( Salmon University Boy's as well as others) ,Lcx 27 is the newer version of the 19
I am now farely familiar with the unit , the gps mapping is awesome , Navionics Gold , I spoke with the Lowrance Tec's about which selection transducer to use, in deeper water , for more detail below the boat ,He said I believe , the 50 khz , High power selected as well ,would be used in deeper water , I found that it would not track well , bottom was not very solid , etc... i had to do some adjusting on sensitivity and what not , but it was not tracking nearly as good as the 200 khz selection , what the hell am I doing wrong , you Pros , help a brother out man !!! , I am using it out on the banks alot , were typically in 190 - 250 of water , I can be smacking fish like crazy , but , not much showing on the screen. When I am fishing in the sound ,in shallower water, I could be trolling around ,and wham , my screen almost goes dark, were over a huge bait ball , you can see the rods bouncing through them !! So I know it works , but , what do you more experienced Lowrance users think , what could I do to help my cause , Info , advice , thanks in advance
p.s , I will be fishing bamfield one more time in a week for 4-5 days , close up our seasonal for the year , reports would be appreciated , thanks... ( should be slow I think )cheers

the Fog Ducker

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fog ducker,
I purchased the LCX-27C this summer to replace my old Eagle. Man what an improvement. Totally impressed with the detail of the sounder and the navionics gold mapping. I had no problem seeing the depth while running (28-30).Trolling speed I had to play with it a bit till I got it displaying the picture that I could understand and relate too. I was up at the nooke last week of august and was able to put the 27C through it paces, performed just like the advertising says. great unit. If your having problems, take the manual out with you, get your buddy to drive, then sit and read the book and start changing settings until you get the display that makes you happy.:D best way to learn all the features.
 
I got the 37 last year and just put radar on it. Radar works great. I also have not been able to get the 50khz to work like I want it to. I tend to only use 200 when fishing,it will keep bottom to about 500 feet most of the time. Do you drive to Banfield and if so how is the road this time of the year?
 
I have the Lowrance 38C HD as well as the Lowrance radar. The unit kept freezing up or shutting down causing me to lose my track. I sent the unit back to Lowrance under warranty a week ago. I am pretty sure that is a heat related problem....:( I also only use the 200 khz which is good to around 500 feet. When the unit works everything, the GPS, Sonar and Radar are excellent, hopefully I will get my issues resolved. SS

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Thanks guy's , I compared the 38c to my 27c Link = http://www.lowrance.com/Products/Product-Comparison?compare1=lcx38chd&parentPage=Marine&numCompare=1
, they seem almost identical , the power and transducer etc ... are the same , 38c is larger and higher resolution , but overall very similar , don't get me wrong , they are great , I keep a solid bottom at 30 - 35 mph , but again , I don't seem to show alot of fish on my screen , large bait balls , yes , I too , use the 200 khz , seems to be good to 500 feet correct , but again , Lowrance is saying that the 50khz should be used in deep water , to 3000 feet !!! I know when your in 2 - 3 hundred feet of water , the fish could appear in tiny dots maybe , I know there below the boat , again , we can be slaying them , no fish on the screen , there must be some way to correct this . Lets keep this going , someone must have an answer. *** YES my Unit is installed perfectly , as well as my transom mount Transducer !!! way down in the water , no obstructions !! Cheers FD

the Fog Ducker

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quote:Originally posted by Striper Sniper

I have the Lowrance 38C HD as well as the Lowrance radar. The unit kept freezing up or shutting down causing me to lose my track. I sent the unit back to Lowrance under warranty a week ago. I am pretty sure that is a heat related problem....:( I also only use the 200 khz which is good to around 500 feet. When the unit works everything, the GPS, Sonar and Radar are excellent, hopefully I will get my issues resolved. SS

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Nice Boat SS

the Fog Ducker

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I've got the 38CHD unit and love it. Put it in this past spring. Only issue I had was when I put the gold chip in the unit needed a software upgrade, available at Lowrance for free. Downloaded it, it self installs and whammy, I'm fishing. Works well for us, although I've only had it out to 700' of water. It does seem to lose bottom at higher speeds but I'm usually watching my chart at that point so it hasn't bothered me much. I love the big screen as well. Easy to see, fairly intuitive and easy to use as well. Next step for me is to find an autopilot unit I can integrate with it. Anyone know if the Garmin autopilot (TR?) meshes with my 38?
 
I upgraded to a 37C this season after having a 19C. I love the bigger screen. I would lose bottom at higher speeds but played with the angle of my transducer and was able to make that better. My boat sits deep in the back end and I found that the transducer was pointing too much forward when it was level to the hull after installation. I angled it back some and it's working much better at higher speed but also helps in marking deeper fish.

I decided to go one step farther and bought and installed the Lowrance Broadband Sounder to go with the my 37C. WOW!! What a difference. It pretty much eliminated all surface and screen clutter. It's given me much better separation of targets and I'm clearly marking a lot more fish, bait, etc than I ever did. It also greatly extends the depth capabilities of the unit. I'm marking fish sitting on the bottom, with separation, in 300'+ of water. Don't get me wrong, the 37C before the Broadband Sounder addition was very good but this just took it to a way different level of what displays on my screen!!

When I bought the Broadband, another member of Sport Fishing BC suggested the following settings. You may want to play with these on your units to see if it helps without adding the Broadband. I don't know if it will or not since I only used these settings after installing the Broadband Sounder.
___

"Best settings I found are to set it up as (Found in Sonar Features) the 200khz main and 50khz second. Turn of both the Surface Clarity and Noise Rejection and set the Sonar presets as Slow Trolling. I also run the ping speed at 100% and chart speed at 100%"

Good luck,
Slabby
 
I agree with what Slabby has to say. I installed a Lowrance LCX 37c with the new Broadband sounder box and a Navionics Platinum mapping card that displays the bottom in 3D (great for locating possible halibut holes). I also added the fuel flow sensor to help monitor fuel consumption. I love the 37c, works great. I got the broadband box to improve clarity, definition, sensitivity and it also helps chart the bottom at higher speeds. It was a toss up at first to go with the Broadband box, or a brass in-hull transducer (i.e. a better quality transducer which can also improve definition and sensitivity, etc.) but since I have an aluminium boat I decided to forgo the possible electrolysis problems and went with the box. I am glad I did.

I do have a question though. My LCG 3000 GPS unit will stop working at times and then comes back with no rhyme or reason. Anyone else experience this???

Also when I turn on my Furuno radar I lose my GPS signal as well and it can take a while before I get it back. Any ideas on what the problem may be???


Sharp hooks and full traps!
 
Whole,

I had your exact problem with my Lowrance GPS and my Furuno radar. The problem is that you have an unshielded GPS antenna. I talked to the guys at Lowrance back east, and they sent my a shielded one that I had to pay for, but when I sent my old one back to them, they refunded my credit card. My GPS works fine now when I have my radar on.

I had great customer service.

Hope this helps.

FishWish
 
Hey Whole in the water. I had the same problem with gps on my LCX113C HD . To the point that i fried my GPS antenna . What the problem was that my gps antenna was to close in line with the radar. Change your GPS antenna height to your radar

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I loved my Lowrance, the chart was nicely laid out and easy to read. However I hated the loss of signal when I went by a highpowered radar on a boat. The first time this happened I was out off ucuelete fishing along in the fog, when I could hear a boat approaching and saw it through the fog, it was a smallish commercial boat, who no doubt saw me on his radar, went by. Well all of a sudden as he was going by I lost the signal to my GPS antenna and could not bring it back up again!. So here I was stranded out in the open water with no navigation other than the trusty ol' compass which was more than enough due to watching where the swells where coming from ;) I ended up calling harbour chandler here in nanaimo and they had a new antenna on the next bus up there for me. Great sevice indeed!! But Eventually After I was on my third antenna from them I got rid of that unit and got a raytheon (raymarine) GPS unit. I have never been happier with a piece of electronics. I know that they make the guiding systems for military and space flights as well as missle defense and targeting. And their motto is to go above and beyond what the customer expects. As for reliability I give it 10/10. If I'm not mistaken it doesn't even tell you when you turn it on not to rely on it..lol
 
Fortunately (fingers crossed) I have never had an issue with the dreaded "GPS Module Not Responding" on either my previous LCX 19C or my LCX 37C. However, I've read lots of reports of people that have had that problem. I always have a handheld GPS on the boat as back up just in case. Hopefully I never need it.
 
You guys that are getting bottom readings at 30 mph are you using through hull transducers or transom mount. If transom mount where is it positioned? Also are you guys switching your gps antenna s separate from your display. I ask as we fried a a couple antennas this year and am wondering if that is the reason
 
HI,I just purchased the LCX 38c HD. MY question is what card to buy the gold or platinum? There is also a transparency setting that is marked 0 to 100 percent does any one out there know where this should be set at THANKS
 
First of all , Thanks to the guy's that helped me out , appreciate all the input from all. I'd like to thank the Staff at Island Outfitters for answering my questions , even though I did not purchase my Unit from them , they were nice enough to give me any info i needed , You guy's are a Class act , appreciate it . Can't wait to get out on the 30 Grady again this Spring , We had a blast last year !! I'd also like to say thanks to Slabby ( Ken ) very helpful , I am going to try tweaking per your advice . Based on talking to several people that called or emailed me , 200 khz is the choice in our waters , Sensitivity at % 92 manual mode !! NOT 50 khz , DON"T USE IT , against what Lowrance tells us !! I spoke to a few guides that back this up !! Slabby , my transducer is slightly angled back , i went and looked today , if I went one more click further it would be to much , my boat does ride a little higher in the front , not much . The Lowrance Broadband 1 , I'm Sold , $ 600 Cdn , Looks promising though , what's another 6 hun !! ( when does it stop ) Great reviews on it from a few people i spoke with , here is the links for you interested , pretty cool !!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZOn2W8LJ-Y
Hey Ken , if your serious about your leaving the boat over there , I now just updated our seasonal to a annual !! the people and staff out of Poett Nooke are great , I'm sure we could hook you up Bro !! just drop me a n email a week or so before you head over , I will be there alot more next year , meet ya for a COLD POP ;););) Slabby what is your boat name , Handle ?? Cheers ...

the Fog Ducker

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So this last weekend, I had the dreaded "GPS Module not responding". What does this mean, other than the obvious[:p]???

Is the system toast?? It is a 2007 Lowrance 337 df. Sounder still works, but the GPS will not.

Can it be fixed or do I have a POS downrigger weight???
I have not downloaded the upgrade file. Could that be the problem??

Cheers

SS

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Hey SitkaSpruce , Here are the people that helped me out
Sherwood marine , toll free - 1-877-652-6979
Lowrance LEH Tec Support , tool free - 1-800-324-1356 on prompts hit 4 then 4 again , that will take ya to a Tec , Good luck !! p.s. put it on speaker phone while you are on hold , there real busy , 10 - 15 minute wait sometimes !! cheers ....

the Fog Ducker

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Sitka ...... First-- you have to dance naked around the campfire-----------------------------WAIT.

I must have been watching too many Survivor shows-- nevermind! [:eek:)]




20ft Alumaweld Intruder
 
Great thread....has anyone run the 113HD with the lowrance radar integrated? i'm thinking of putting that on a campion 682.

In addition, when i was fishing bamfield to beale this year i had my garmin gps/fishfinder tell me i lost my gps location several times. Never had that happen to me anywhere else. I'm wondering if there is like a gps "blindspot" of some kind of interference that knocks out the gps signal up there? I do not have a radar on my boat now.
 
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