Bite indicators have come along way since the old days when carp anglers relied upon the ‘rustle’ of silver foil or a balanced coin dropping off the spool onto a plate or mug!
If I remember correctly, it was Dick Walker and his mates who designed the first electronic bite indicators whilst fishing the legendry Redmire Pool. (They were to become ‘The Heron’ when made commercially – Ed).
We are now very fortunate to have a wide choice of alarms, with prices ranging from as little as £ 15 and right through to £ 150 each.
Like many anglers I started off with the classic Optonic compacts before moving onto the Super XL’s which offered me tone, sensitivity and volume controls. These performed well but I would experience major problems when fishing in the rain (I can feel you nodding your heads!) so I decided to upgrade my buzzers – time to join the ‘Big Boys’ but would it be the Fox DXR’s or the Delkim Tx-i’s?
After doing my research I decided on the Delkims, mainly down to good recommendations from mates and my local tackle shop. I remember leaving the shop a little lighter after buying 4 TXi’s and a 3 way Rx2003 receiver. (the 4 way wasn’t available at that time).
The TXi gives you all the benefits of a conventional buzzer – adjustable controls – volume (to over 100 decibels!), tone (changes due to speed of run) & dual sensitivity, latching LED and betalight slot but it also has a few added extra’s.
Instead of having the jack output socket for a standard sounder box it features automatic FM radio transmission. This works by sending a code to the tiny RX Micro Transmitter which then sounds an alarm alerting you to a run. This means that the days of tripping over muddy sounder box leads in the middle of the night! You can now get a 4 way receiver which means that you can match up the LED’s and tones to each buzzer.
The range between alarm and receiver is well over 50 yards, however we all know the EA rules about being close to your rods – the last thing we want is for a fish to snag itself due to our stupidity.
I’ve used my Delk’s for some years now and have found them reliable in all conditions. They are durable and the best bit guys – they look the business!
The one criticism of the alarms is that they come in a soft, lightly padded pouch which does not give much protection whilst you are carrying your gear. However the clever lads at CARP-TECH have filled this hole by producing their hard cases to fit over the Delk’s – nice one lads!
As for the cost, well they are not cheap but quality tends to come at a price. They are a great addition to your gear and with their wide range of features I wouldn’t be without mine!
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Check out the Angling Lines website, they get lots in and are much cheaper than retail:
Angling Lines Ltd – The Largest Used Tackle Site on the Net!
