Vexilar's new flat screen FL-12 and FL-20 Flashers

My wife says I like buying new fishing equipment more than fishing! I'll have to disagree with that. If the fish are biting, I'd rather be fishing. But if not?

Santa was good to me this year. But, I still had to look at the new Genz Pack fish flashers made by Vexilar. I'm waiting for ice. I have to do something! These new flahers from Vexilar allow you to view signals from further away and do away with snow building up inside the view scope.

Vexilar's finders shoot sonar signals right through good ice. Why drill holes if there is nothing below? They are called flashers because they represent the sonar information in a circle of lights flashing so fast you can't enven see them blink. And I'm told that Vexilar units have no trouble separating your lure from the fish, even when they are as close as three inches apart.

I'm a fairly technical person; and I enjoy getting the facts before I make a purchase. So, when I went to the local trading post to purchase a Genz Pack, I had more questions then they could answer. Not being able to make a decision at the store, I did a little digging of my own. This is what I found out.

The Vexilar's FL-8 are will satisfy most fishermen. Its simple to use and may be better for the not so technical among us. But, flashers do take a little getting used to. Their representation of the under-water world isn't represented as straight forward as a basic fish finder. And, if you want to locate fish before drilling any holes, they can be indispensable.

Below, I have listed the specifications and features for the FL-8 and FL-18. Bold lettering marks the differences between the FL-8 and FL-18 specifications.

FL-8

High Resolution Display: 525 Bits
High-Speed Real-Time LED Readout
Backlit Depth Scale for Easy Visibility in Low Light Conditions
Three-Color Display: Red = Strong Signal / Orange = Medium / Green = Weak
Six Depth Scales: 20', 30', 40', 60', 80', and 120' or 240' (Deep Model)
Exclusive Interference Rejection: 10 Step
Power and Sensitivity: 400 Watts Peak-to-Peak
Frequency: 200 kHz
Target Separation: 2.65"
Target ID: 1"
Weatherproof High Impact Case
Dimensions: 4.4"H x 6"W x 2.5"D - Weight: 1.1 lb.
Voltage: 12 VDC - Current draw: 275 MA
Wide Variety of Transducers and Accessories Available
Transducer: 3-Pin - Transom Mount, Puck, or Ice Fishing
Cone Angle: 9°, 12°, 19° (standard), or Dual 9/19 Beam
Warranty: 2 Years

FL-18

High Resolution Display: 525 Bits
High-Speed Real-Time LED Readout
Backlit Depth Scale for Easy Visibility in Low Light Conditions
Three-Color Display: Red = Strong Signal / Orange = Medium / Green = Weak
Five Depth Scales: 20', 40', 60', 80', and 200' *
Exclusive Interference Rejection: 10 Step
Power and Sensitivity: 400 Watts Peak-to-Peak
Frequency: 200 kHz
Target Separation: 2.65"
Target ID: .5"
Weatherproof High Impact Case
Dimensions: 4.4"H x 6"W x 2.5"D - Weight: 1.1 lb.
Voltage: 12 VDC - Current draw: 275 MA
Wide Variety of Transducers and Accessories Available
Transducer: 3-Pin - Transom Mount, Puck, or Ice Fishing
Cone Angle: 12° (standard), or Dual 9/19 Beam

*Custom 300' Deep Model also Available

You'll notice that there are very few differences in the online specifications. But, upon digging into the manuals, I found that they are very different units.

FL-8se :

The FL-8se is the work horse of the two flashers and is packaged with a 9*, 19*, or 9/19* transducer. The 9/19* is a dual beam transducer, and it is provided with a toggle for each scope setting. If you want to get the most out of this unit, you should order it with the dual beam transducer. There is a very practical reason for this. When fishing in shallow water - less than twenty feet - the 19* transducer will enable you to see more of the bottom. But it does more than that!

A transducer is like a telescope. It provides your view of the under water world. The larger the degree of the transducer, the more you get to see. Right? As you'll notice in the diagram below, this is not always the case.

Electronic sonar units are designed to reject signals returned to the unit that are lower then the highest bottom reading. Sound complicated? Not really! As you'll notice in the diagram above, the fish below the highest bottom reading are ignored by the unit. They can be right under your hole but you won't see them. If you narrowed your beam, they would come into view. This is how a dual beam transducer can help. But with the FL-8, it does more.

Since the power delivered to the transducer on this Vexilar unit stays at a constant level, switching to the wider transducer affectively cuts the power in half. It does this by spreading the signal over 19* instead of 9*. This enables you to see more of the bottom while cutting down on surface clutter. Don't worry....I have plenty of surface clutter on my desk too! And, I have trouble seeing through it at times. Surface clutter is created by the amount of signal being thrown back at the transducer when it leaves the unit. The greater amount of energy in the signal the more that gets thrown back.

Conversely the opposite happens when you switch the unit to 9* operation. The signal packs more punch and can deliver a clearer picture of the bottom when fishing in deep water. This unit is designed for up to 120 feet of water. You can order the "deep" model which is design for up to 200 feet of water.

Vexilar designs its units to use the lowest possible signal strength. It amplifies the echo that's returned to the unit when the gain is set higher. This enables the unit to operate with the lowest amount of surface clutter.

Many fishermen believe that the gain on the FL-8se is like a squelch on a CB radio. Rather than cutting out unwanted information, the opposite is true of the gain knob. The gain actually magnifies the echo being displayed by the flasher. This means you really have no control over surface clutter by lowering the gain. And when you keep it on its lowest setting, you are magnifying the signal at 0%.

If you understand the previous four paragraphs, you can see how a dual transducer actually gives you some control over the amount of surface clutter (surface signal returned to the unit) in the first zero to ten feet of the water column.

The FL-18se also comes with an interference rejection button that can be turned on and off. Interference? The only interference I get is when some one is trying to steal one of my holes. I guess it is different if you are a fish finder! When several flashers are being operated in close proximity to each other, the interference button can be turned on to reject signals coming from other units. This cuts down on the units performance, but it will ensure you are getting a true look of the under water world. Turn the interference option on when other sonar units are being used within several hundred feet of yours.

FL18 :

The biggest difference between the FL-8se and the FL-18 is the mode control knob. This knob takes the place of the FL-8's interference rejection button. The FL-18's interference rejection button is incorporated into the gain control knob. By pushing down on the knob, you can adjust or turn off, the interference rejection option.

Let’s take a look at the mode control knob, it basically has two options. They are low power and normal power. When you turn the button counter-clockwise, you are telling the unit to reduce the amount of power being delivered to the transducer by 50%. Because of this option, the FL-18 is packaged with either with a 12* transducer or 9/19* dual beam transducer. Unlike the FL8, the FL18 gives you control over power.

If you turn the knob one more notch counter-clockwise, the unit is in low power with auto-zoom mode on. The auto-zoom mode splits the screen the screen into left and right. On the right 180* degrees of the flasher, you will see flashes - indicating fish or your lure - from top to bottom. On the left hand 180 degrees of the screen, you will only see the last six feet of the water column. In other words, that's from zero to six feet off the bottom. This can be handy when targeting bottom feeders like cusk.

By turning the knob another notch counter-clock wise, the unit is in low power with auto zoom & bottom lock on. Now, that's a mouth full. Let me tell you what it means to you guys that ice fish in the winter but fish out of your boat in the summer time. With bottom lock on, you see the bottom as if the boat was not bouncing up and down in the water. You might not need this option on a very calm day, but how many of those do we get? I think this is a great option for locating and targeting bottom feeding fish during the soft water summer months.

If you understand that, you’re doing well. I had to read the manual several times to get a grip on it. I still have my shovel in my hand! Let's keep digging.

By turning the mode control knob clockwise to the N position, the unit is in normal power mode. Turning the knob another notch clockwise splits the screen, as before, but now the unit is in normal power mode with auto zoom. And as before, the right hand side displays full water column information and the left had side displays the last six feet of the water column. This allows you to focus on the first six feet of bottom water. Clicking one more notch clockwise locks the left hand side of the screen on the bottom with normal power being transmitted through the transducer. If you’re fishing deep water from a boat, this is instrumental to viewing the flasher clearly.

So, how much do you want to spend and how much technology can you handle? I find that when I buy something that is too complicated for me to understand, I just stop using it.

From this standpoint, it's important for you to know what you need to make a Vexilar work for you.

Do I have you hooked? If so, move on to the extended part of this post by clicking on the following link.

Glad to see you clicked through.

I'm presenting more technical information with links that will help you sort out some of the misconceptions about transducer angles and flashers.

Let's take a closer look at the transducer. As I noted before, not all fish are seen by your flasher.

The angle of your transducer really determines what you see. The wider the angle, the more fish you see, right? This is one of the misconceptions that Vexilar provides an explanation for. If you want to learn more about this topic click here.

The Vexilar is also known for its real time display. There is virtually no delay between sonar signals returning to the unit and them being displayed on the screen. Some units have a processing delay before the information is displayed on the screen. That means if you locate a fish with a regular finder there may be a delay in seeing you r lure or fish movement. With a Vexilar, you can watch as you lower your presentation right in front of your target's nose.

As your experience with this unit expands, you will be able to know exactly when your lure is in front of the fish. Maybe that's a little bit of an exaggeration since the target separation is 2.65 inches. But you’re going to know when you’re pretty close and how the fish is responding.

If you are serious, and you are close to making a decision, make sure to check this out FAQ page from Vexilar.

I hope this has been of help to you. I know it was instrumental in my decision making process. And tell Santa you appreciate some of the presents being left for you to decide on.

Happy New Year!

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