Lowrance LCX Series ,Reviews !! Opinions!!

[the fog ducker]

Hey guy's , found this , for any of you wanting to know how to update your Units , !!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz7zpFgL5tA

Cheers ,

the Fog Ducker

 

[PW_Homer]

I have the LCX 525C along with the supplied 50/200 transducer and was sorta happy with the unit. It never lost signal with the GPS but tracking bottom at any speed was not very acurate if it even read it. I did find the unit a little small especially in split screen mode.

This year I added the LCX38C along with an Airmar thru hull transducer as well the Braodband Sounder. WOW is all can say. Running From Campbell River to Chatham point now and never loose track of bottom and thats going at 30 to 40 MPH(GPS Speed) I have found the Broadband sounder works it's best at 300 feet and under which has the best resolution.

The clearitly between the 2 units the 38C wins hands down. Way more on the screen to see and when using spilt screen both screens are clearer and more detailed.

I also networked the 2 units together and not real happy with Lowrance's way. You can NOT share map data between units if you are using a chip, which meant I had to buy another Nav card. Also if you want to see Broadband data on the other unit you also have to buy the extra network box. As for gps attenna, gps speed, grd speed, water temp and way points can be shared or shown on/thru the network to both units.

I am using gold charts in both units as the Platium have less area coverage and the cards are slow or very slow unless you have an harddrive unit. I was advised ony to purchace the Platuim card if I had an HD unit.

I run the 38C at mostly 200khz simply because of the clearity when trolling and still does not loose bottom when crusing - I have been up to 900feet and still tracking bottom (Full map mode)

I do run dual mode in sonar at times, as some areas at the 200khz looses bottom and the 50 khz does not. This always happens to me in certain areas and cant explain why. 50 khz is used if you want to track your down riggers. I have not tried both transducers thru the broadband as of yet. My next plan is to add a switch so can switch between transducers and also add the fuel flow sensor.

I now use the LCX525C only for mapping and the LCX38C for sonar. When crusing I use the 525 zoomed out on the map and the 38 zoomed in.

Fog Ducker, you can record your sonar data to the extra SD card and then watch with sonar viewer on your computer from Lowrance. Ths helped me with the settings as they are adjustable in the program so you can use these settings on your unit.

Some set tips
http://www.hookedoncatfish.com/LowranceTips.html

 

[the fog ducker]

Thanks so much PWH , that is excellent information , I can't wait to get out there , and try tweaking my unit ,this is probabally going to help out alot of our readers !! really appreciate it , take care , FD

quote:Originally posted by PW_Homer

I have the LCX 525C along with the supplied 50/200 transducer and was sorta happy with the unit. It never lost signal with the GPS but tracking bottom at any speed was not very acurate if it even read it. I did find the unit a little small especially in split screen mode.

This year I added the LCX38C along with an Airmar thru hull transducer as well the Braodband Sounder. WOW is all can say. Running From Campbell River to Chatham point now and never loose track of bottom and thats going at 30 to 40 MPH(GPS Speed) I have found the Broadband sounder works it's best at 300 feet and under which has the best resolution.

The clearitly between the 2 units the 38C wins hands down. Way more on the screen to see and when using spilt screen both screens are clearer and more detailed.

I also networked the 2 units together and not real happy with Lowrance's way. You can NOT share map data between units if you are using a chip, which meant I had to buy another Nav card. Also if you want to see Broadband data on the other unit you also have to buy the extra network box. As for gps attenna, gps speed, grd speed, water temp and way points can be shared or shown on/thru the network to both units.

I am using gold charts in both units as the Platium have less area coverage and the cards are slow or very slow unless you have an harddrive unit. I was advised ony to purchace the Platuim card if I had an HD unit.

I run the 38C at mostly 200khz simply because of the clearity when trolling and still does not loose bottom when crusing - I have been up to 900feet and still tracking bottom (Full map mode)

I do run dual mode in sonar at times, as some areas at the 200khz looses bottom and the 50 khz does not. This always happens to me in certain areas and cant explain why. 50 khz is used if you want to track your down riggers. I have not tried both transducers thru the broadband as of yet. My next plan is to add a switch so can switch between transducers and also add the fuel flow sensor.

I now use the LCX525C only for mapping and the LCX38C for sonar. When crusing I use the 525 zoomed out on the map and the 38 zoomed in.

Fog Ducker, you can record your sonar data to the extra SD card and then watch with sonar viewer on your computer from Lowrance. Ths helped me with the settings as they are adjustable in the program so you can use these settings on your unit.

Some set tips
http://www.hookedoncatfish.com/LowranceTips.html

the Fog Ducker

 

[Slabby20]

FD,

Glad I could help some. If you have any questions about the Broadband after you get it drop me an email. As we get closer to next summer I'll send you an email about leaving my boat out there for a while. I really appreciate the offer to help. I'd love to meet up with you for a "cold pop" some time. My boat name and handle is Slabseeker.

Slabby

 

[the fog ducker]

quote:Originally posted by Slabby20

FD,

Glad I could help some. If you have any questions about the Broadband after you get it drop me an email. As we get closer to next summer I'll send you an email about leaving my boat out there for a while. I really appreciate the offer to help. I'd love to meet up with you for a "cold pop" some time. My boat name and handle is Slabseeker.

Slabby

Thanks , Have a great Winter , Cheers , FD

the Fog Ducker

 

[mlaag]

I have the 112c with the lowrance radar
I am in the process of installing the flux gate compass so that i can have map overlay on the radar
I am really impressed with the unit. The radar is excellent. It will still keep the bottom at 70 KPH.

 

[the fog ducker]

Hello again , So , I am now looking to get hooked up with a Decent Radar system . Coyote Spooner ( Dean ) spoke of a radar overlay , on my LCX 27 screen, I like the sound of this option ,Prefer not to add another monitor , I don't no much about radar .Maybe there are other simple installs , that are easy to read , by all my guests , some being very in experienced " EASY EASY EASY " !!! I have allway's travelled with others if fog was a little thick . Typically never a real problem when and where , I fished in the past . I don't need a Long range radar , 10 - 20 km , 24 footer need Deflectors you think ??if such an animal is available. I dont want a huge unit on my roof either , hoping for a more compact unit , again , if possible . How are Lowrance Radar Systems ?? Ideas would be greatly appreciated , Cheers , FD

 

[TenMile]

Hey FD.

My two cents:

- Go with a 2kw enclosed raydome -- with a smaller boat that doesn't sit high above the water, you are really only going to be able to see other smaller boats about 2-3kms away MAX (usually about 1-2kms). The higher powered larger dome really won't make much of a difference at all and isn't worth the cost. This is the one your unit uses: http://www.lowrance.com/en/Products/Marine/Lowrance-Radar/LRA-1800-HD-Radome-Radar/

- Get a radar reflector regardless of what you decide to do with your radar setup. The reflector increases the likelihood that you can be seen by your brothers on the water. Fiberglass fishing boats are practically invisible to radar on the water. The Tri-Lens reflectors are best (and cost the most). You can also make your own reflector. Good info here: http://theradarreflectorsite.org/. I installed a Mobri style reflector before I read about them on the site above. I will be replacing it as they are not overly effective.

- I'd recommend installing radar using a second monitor for the redundancy. I've got a Lowrance LCX104C with GPS and have installed a Raymarine C70 right behind and slightly above it on my Striper. Each unit has a GPS antenna. Nothing worse that being stuck out in the fog and having your display crap out -- second display and GPS adds that level of safety. As you know, the weather and water off Bamfield can be quite gnarly. I'd spend the extra few hundred dollars to go fully redundant as electronics always choose the most inopportune times to crap out.

I am very pleased with the Raymarine setup functionality. However, Raymarine have been slow to adopt the NEMA 2000 interfaces like Garmin and Lowrance have. The NEMA 2000 connectors are super easy to use and you aren't locked into expensive and proprietary connectors (heck I even used Garmin Tee connectors to join a Lowrance GPS to a Lowrance display as they were $15 and the Lowrance were $50). Once you have a NEMA 2000 bus installed -- adding parts such as fuel flow monitors, engine monitors etc... is a piece of cake and the info is very valuable. I ended up replacing a non-functioning speedo in my dash with a small Lowrance display that displays fuel flow, mpg, GPS, speed and can be customized to bring in engine data (hours, oil levels, temp, other fluid levels etc...). The fuel flow data ended up paying for itself immediately (at least thats what I tell my wife).

 

[Striper Sniper]

Hi FD, I have the Lowrance 1800 LRA however, I was having some problems with my LCX 38C HD so I never got to use the radar as much as I would have liked..... By the way, I sent the unit back to Lowrance and they sent me a brand new unit to replace the one I sent in which I have not tried yet as I put the boat away for the winter. I bought the Lowrance radar because it was compatible with my Sonar/Chartplotter and I really didn't have the room for another monitor. We used the radar for a trip from Port Hardy to Bella Bella and it saved our bacon on he way back when visibility was next to nothing. While I do not have a lot of experience with radars, this unit was very good when the LCX 38C was working..... Oh yeah, nice boat! SS

 

[the fog ducker]

Thanks Sniper ( dido ) ,10 Mile , Great info , some more input would be great , I Like the Idea Of sticking with Lowrance , and yes , 2 monitors might be the safer thing to do ,I just don't want a larger monitor for radar only !! , Hoping for a more compact monitor , if possible. Hope this is not a stupid question , If I was say fishing 6 mile , 10 mile etc..., would i be able to see other Sporties on my radar screen , 10 - 15 miles further out , If I did venture out on a rougher day , something went wrong ,nice knowing there could be possible help in a emergency situation , Hope i made sense with this. Again I am NOT up to date on Radar Systems . Want to do this right the first time ,If any one know's or heres of a good deal on a radar system, drop me a line . Cheers , FD

 

[Striper Sniper]

Hey FD, I really never tried for great distance. Mostly what we did was try to do a split screen where the radar matched the Chartplotter coordinates. As I mentioned in an earlier thread, I believe you can overlay but I haven't got there yet. I have a similiar boat to yours and the dome sits pretty high so while the LRA 1800 is a 24Km radar, you shouldn't have any problems with anything 10K away on flat seas and who's worried about things that far away......... We mostly ran with a 3 or 5 Km distance as that was what was immportant to us. The colour graphics are really neat and I know you can do a whole lot more than what we attempted in the short while we used it. SS

 

[TenMile]

Hey guys,

For sportboats that comparatively speaking sit low in the water, your radar really isn't going to show you much over 5kms. Laying flat on the water, due to the curvature of the earth, the horizon is about 3 miles away. Assuming you can get your raydome up as high as possible, in a sportfishing boat, at most that's usually about 7-8' high. I'm not sure of the exact distance of the horizon (the radar manual actually explains this and has the mathematical formula), but it will be somewhere around 5-8 miles. That is to say, any other sportfishing boat about the same size simply cannot be spotted that far away. That's on a flat calm day.

Take into account waves and the distance shortens considerably. Waves reflect the radar signal all over the place -- even straight back at your receiver and show up as noise all over your screen.

So, very general rule here -- you'll see other sportfishing boats up to about 3kms away on a good day -- better if they have a reflector. Maybe a little further than that, but it's not reliable. Best guide I use when calibrating the radar is to go out on a clear and calm day. If you can see other sport boats in the distance with your eyes, your radar will usually see them too. Play with the gain settings on the radar unit to dial the boats in if you don't see them without dialling in too much noise. Remember that sportfishing boats are usually fiberglass which tends to absorb radar energy rather than reflect it back (which is why radar reflectors are strongly recommended to us and to sailboats).

Big ships are another story all together. They can be 50-100'+ off the water and show up much sooner over the horizon. They are made of steel which reflects the radar signal great and tend to show up much better at long distances.

 

[searun]

I have the LCX112C - excellent unit...but, I got rid of the factory transducer and opted for the bronze thru hull version which offers much better response. For those of you who are looking for a hot tip on the lowrance radar to plug into these units....get on this fast....you can pick up the LRA 4000 from $800 - 1300 range depending on who you buy the unit through. Lowrance is blowing out these units, while quantities last.

 

[fishbite]

I have had 2 lowrance units, LCX 102 or 103 C, cant remember which and the LCX 19C. I have really liked the GPS mapping portion of them, and had similar problems with the radar interfering with normal use of the maps. that being said, I have never liked the sounder on either unit. Signals are weak, echos can be non-existant even when you are catching a lot of fish. After finally being fed up, I turned off the sonar feature and only use it as a plotter. the addition of a real good fishfinder has been great. I dont know if I would buy a multi-function unit again, and if I do, I dont think it would be a Lowrance.

 

[Gone Fishn]

Are you confused with 'radar and sounder'?? Just curious because I don't think those older units do radar? Just wondering is all.

 

[the fog ducker]

Ha !! 102-103 , Don't know , your LCX 19 was a great unit in it's day , still is !! Oh well. Anyway's , I am going with the High Def Lowrance LRA-1800 Radome , and a new 7200C Monitor , i am going Integrate it as an Overlay on my Chartplotter , but , I need to get a " Compass Heading Sensor " apparently this is needed to achieve the Radar Overlay option . Lowrance apparently does not make this sensor. Does anyone have experience with the install of this' NEMA 2000 connections etc , compatibility , price , etc.... Thanks in advance , Sounds like you are all having a great winter fishery on the South End , Cheers , FD

 

[Striper Sniper]

Hey FD, let me know when you find out more about the Compass Heading Sensor as I will be needing one as well.... PM me and I will pass on the name and phone number of my marine tech guy if you are interested. He comes to the house if needed and only charges something like $35.00 an hour. I have been very happy with his services todate. SS

 

[the fog ducker]

No Problem Sniper , Dean , Coyote Spooner , Are ya still alive , You did this install this year , If your about , or , phone me !! Fill me in , Cheers , later, FD

 

[TenMile]

quote:Originally posted by The Fog Ducker

Ha !! 102-103 , Don't know , your LCX 19 was a great unit in it's day , still is !! Oh well. Anyway's , I am going with the High Def Lowrance LRA-1800 Radome , and a new 7200C Monitor , i am going Integrate it as an Overlay on my Chartplotter , but , I need to get a " Compass Heading Sensor " apparently this is needed to achieve the Radar Overlay option . Lowrance apparently does not make this sensor. Does anyone have experience with the install of this' NEMA 2000 connections etc , compatibility , price , etc.... Thanks in advance , Sounds like you are all having a great winter fishery on the South End , Cheers , FD

I'm not sure how the Lowrance works, but with the Raymarine I can do overlay but have to set the chart in "Head UP" mode -- If I want it in "North Up" or "Course Up" mode then I need the compass sensor.

The NEMA 2000 stuff is very easy. A single cable connects all the devices together with "tee" connectors linking them. Once you add a new device, all the other devices recognize it, and share data. The hardest part is running the cables which basically comes down to pulling off the panels and compartments so you can snake the wires through. I installed my C70 and Raydome in a half day with the help of my brother and 4-5 beers. It was my first time...

Here is a very good overview on NEMA -- page 19 of the slides is a great diagram showing how all the stuff fits together.

http://www.maretron.com/company/pubs/Annapolis Sailboat Show.pdf

 

[mlaag]

yOU WILL NEED THE FOLLOWINGSimnet to NMEA 2000 Adaptation Kit
000-0127-45

FC40 Fluxgate Compass
22090187
or
RC42 Rate Compass
22090195