Thin Film Transistor (TFT) screens

Hey, ice anglers! There's a new kid on the block, take a look. Thin Film Transistor (TFT) screens, because of their brilliant, non-fading colors, have influenced the openwater market with sonar and GPS units. TFT technology also is available as an option for ice fishing.

Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) are sometimes called passive matrix screens. The drawback is in their performance, however, in cold weather. If LCDs start out in a warm environment, they work well down to about 15F; but when the unit is left in the cold for a time, the liquid in it reacts with the consistency of molasses. This creates slow screen responses and often makes the unit ineffective for ice fishing.

TFT screens are called active matrix screens and are not affected by the low temperatures ice anglers usually encounter. Their screens are constructed differently, with an extra layer of transistors connected to the LCD panel, one transistor for each color pixel (red, blue, and green). These transistors drive the pixels and eliminate the problems of slow response and ghosting common to traditional LCD screens. The additional transistors generate heat -- a bonus for the cold-weather angler, because it keeps the screen functioning.

Lowrance Electronics has tested their TFT screens to minus 32F with no decrease in performance. And when properly engineered, TFT screens produce wide viewing angles, vibrant color, and minimum washout in direct sunlight. The changes brought about by the TFT technology, along with faster processors, increased sounding rates, and fast scroll rates for the screens, have produced technically efficient units.

Most TFT screens should provide fine performance for ice fishing. The Ice Machine, for instance, marketed by Lowrance Electronics, is available in X-67c sonar or X-68c sonar/GPS. Each is a complete ice-fishing package, including a power supply, charger, carrying case, and a transducer designed for ice fishing.

Lowrance includes some special features when the machine is placed in Ice Machine Mode, which changes the way incoming sonar echoes are filtered, and reduces some of the surface clutter caused by ice and water. In Ice Flasher Mode, the normal 256-color display is reduced to a few high-contrast colors. Another feature called Colorline helps the angler distinguish between weak and strong signals. Weak signals appear on the screen as dark colors such as black or blue, while strong signals appear as bright colors, such as red or yellow. Display Screen choices include both full and split screens.

Anglers who already have a sonar unit with a TFT screen can create their own ice-fishing packages. You need a 12-volt power source, usually a rechargeable battery and charger, and a transducer system that allows for adjustment to ensure it's hanging vertically in the water. I've seen a variety of locator or battery boxes with a mounting bracket for the sonar head attached to the top of the box. This adaptation, with the proper bracket, allows for the use of any size sonar unit the angler may have.

Scott Glorvigen of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, a professional walleye angler and avid ice fisherman, used an LMS 330 for his ice fishing last year. He placed it in the softpack carrying bag and attached the GPS module to the top of the bag, which gave him the additional benefit of GPS. Using an accurate map cartridge such as the Lowrance LakeMaster ProMap card allowed him to accurately position on a piece of structure.

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