About The Display - VEXILAR FL Series Owner's Manual

FL AS HER OPER AT I O N
Basic Use
The Vexilar FL series color flashers are great tools for open water and ice fishing. Once
you learn to understand the color display, you can apply this knowledge to greatly
increase your awareness of what's under the water.
FL S F C B U F
erieS L aSherS an e Sed or
• Determining the current depth at any boat speed.
• Locating fish-holding underwater structure.
• Determining the bottom hardness and transition lines.
• Penetrating thick vegetation to see what's below.
• Finding fish and the bait they feed on.
• Watching your bait and the fish around it.
Operation of each of the flasher models is very straight forward. You simply turn the unit
on, select an appropriate depth range setting, and then an appropriate gain level setting.
You should change the range and gain settings only when the conditions change.
RANGE
Range determines the maximum depth of water in which the flasher can see the bottom.
For example, the shallowest range available on the FL-18 is 0 to 20 feet. This means that if
the water depth is between zero and 20 feet, the bottom will be displayed on the screen.
If the water depth gets deeper than 20 feet, you'll want to select a deeper depth range
in order to see the bottom.
NOTE: It is usually best to select the shallowest depth range possible to see the bottom.
This allows the water column below to be represented by the greatest amount of display
screen area. This offers the highest resolution, makes things bigger and easier to see.
GAIN
Gain controls the amount of amplification applied to the return sonar signal. Think of gain
as your volume control. You turn up the gain to see more of what's below. You turn down
the gain to see less of what you don't want to see. The goal is to find a gain level that
shows you as much real information as possible, without displaying stray signals of clutter
and interference. Keep the gain setting as low as possible for best overall performance.
INTERFERENCE REJECTION
This feature rejects sonar interference generated by other nearby depth sounders.
Interference Rejection, or IR, comes on automatically when you turn the flasher on, but
you can adjust the setting if desired. Each unit uses a slightly different control for IR.
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About the Display

The FL & FLX series flasher displays consists of multiple colors (marks) which appear at
various positions on the screen. Understanding what the colors mean, and the position
and size of the colored marks, is the key to being able to interpret the information correctly.
RED = Strong Strength Signals. Strong signals are generally produced by
significant underwater objects, such as the bottom, heavy vegetation, and large fish.
However, smaller objects, such as bait fish, can display as red if the object is directly
under the transducer.
ORANGE = Medium Strength Signals. Medium signals are produced by
smaller objects and softer bottom types. Also, medium strength signals can be produced
by larger objects in the immediate area around, but not directly under, the transducer.
GREEN = Weak Strength Signals. Weak signals are produced by small
objects, such as light vegetation, bait fish, and even air bubbles or aquatic micro marine
life. Larger objects off to the sides of the transducer can also be displayed as green.
What is What?
Here are the basics of what you will see on
the display of an FL series flasher.
Marks beyond the bottom
mark can indicate either
hard objects within a soft
bottom or large objects well
off to the side.
Bottom is generally the
most prominent mark on
the display. Bottom usually
starts with a wide band
of red, with orange and
READ DEPTH HERE: The current depth
green trailing.
is indicated by the leading edge of the
bottom mark. The depth is 12 feet here.
NOTE: The FLX-28 has a more sophisticated color scheme. See page 25 for details.
The Zero mark always shows, even if
the transducer is unplugged. This mark
indicates the starting point.
Marks just beyond the Zero
mark can indicate algae,
floating vegetation, or even
"ice noise" caused by thick
ice conditions.
You read the display
in the clock-wise
direction. The further
around you go, the
deeper the water.
Fish, bait fish, and even
your lure, will show
anywhere between
the Zero mark and the
Bottom mark. Here,
a weak object shows
about a foot above a
much stronger object.
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