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TMC bite alarms?

George Maltby

George Maltby

Senior Member
Any thoughts or experiences? They are all over the internet at the moment and i am after a cheap set as i rarely ever use them. Also looking at the wychwood signatures. If anyone can put in their 2 pence it would be most appreciated.
 
Hi George

My friend gave me a set of TMC bite alarms a couple of years ago - a set of 3 with the receiver after he upgraded.

I was sceptical at first but after having used them a few times I was pleasantly surprised.

They haven't let me down yet even in the pouring rain and sub zero temperatures.

My only gripe is the receiver - The blue led blinks constantly - about twice a second and it is bright which can be annoying. Also when you get a single bleep on the alarm the receiver will bleep about 4 or 5 times regardless of the amount of bleeps on the alarms if you get what I mean. And when the battery gets low on the receiver it bleeps every few minutes which is very annoying and has your heart jumping out of your mouth every time it happens as you think "you're in".

But if you just want them for the alarms themselves then they are ideal.

I also have just got a couple of the Wychwood signatures through this deal -
CARPology Special December Deal - Shop - CARPology Magazine

I have only used them twice but so far so good. They are small, come with covers and have adjustable volume, tone and sensitivity - the latter being ideal when the river is pushing through avoiding false indications.

The best alarms I have owned were the Fox microns with the red led's. Absolutely bulletproof and the batteries would last a couple of seasons with regular use.
 
Thanks for that Luke,

I will actually be using them for still water fishing in the close season (Perch, Roach, and Tench) so I don't think the receiver or sensitivity settings will be overly important for me.
That's a hell of a deal on the signatures but considering how seldom I will use the alarms I think the TMCs are the better bet as they're even cheaper...I am also not sure I could deal with that much Carp literature, it might re-ignite my carp fire and I don't have enough time for barbel fishing as it is!

Thanks for the heads up and the info.
 
I must admit the TMC alarms do look like incredible value for money - drop back differentiation is a really useful imo, especially for stillwater bolt rig tactics. I don't know why more top end alarms don't feature it.

The Wychwoods also look good value, but I'd be wary of the fact that the top end Wychwood Epics (which I think they've now dropped) seem to have had more than their fair share of reliability issues, which is unusual for Wychwood products.
 
Luke Agacy said:
Hi George

My friend gave me a set of TMC bite alarms a couple of years ago - a set of 3 with the receiver after he upgraded.

I was sceptical at first but after having used them a few times I was pleasantly surprised.

They haven't let me down yet even in the pouring rain and sub zero temperatures.

My only gripe is the receiver - The blue led blinks constantly - about twice a second and it is bright which can be annoying. Also when you get a single bleep on the alarm the receiver will bleep about 4 or 5 times regardless of the amount of bleeps on the alarms if you get what I mean. And when the battery gets low on the receiver it bleeps every few minutes which is very annoying and has your heart jumping out of your mouth every time it happens as you think "you're in".

But if you just want them for the alarms themselves then they are ideal.

I also have just got a couple of the Wychwood signatures through this deal -
CARPology Special December Deal - Shop - CARPology Magazine

I have only used them twice but so far so good. They are small, come with covers and have adjustable volume, tone and sensitivity - the latter being ideal when the river is pushing through avoiding false indications.

The best alarms I have owned were the Fox microns with the red led's. Absolutely bulletproof and the batteries would last a couple of seasons with regular use.
Click to expand...

They were the very first set of alarms I ever owned, as you say bulletproof. I'd probably still be using them now were it not for lack of volume control, I used to get round that by taping over the speaker.
I can still remember the very first time one screamed into life as a very scrappy wildie nearly pulled my rod in (I not left the bail-arm open) and an epic battle ensued. I remember like it was yesterday as it was my very first carp and at that the time the biggest fish I had ever caught..I was almost delirious on the way home.
 
Joe Winstanley said:
..I was almost delirious on the way home.
Click to expand...

That feeling when you arrive home and you haven't thought about anything but that fish all the way back...and you have no memory of the drive, and suddenly start stressing out about how many red lights you jumped, speed guns you whipped past, and possibly even people you ran over! Then when you pack your kit away the next morning you realise you've left half of it behind!
Reminds me of bass fishing in Cornwall.
 
I've a set of Fox MMX's which do have a different tone for drop-backs. If I was you, I'd be looking for a second hand set of these or Delkims. I now use the latter most of the time (Standard Plus). Yes cheaper alarms are available, but such a set once cost me a bite on a water where the smallest carp was 19lbs! A false economy in my view.
 
I'm not that good in looking after tackle so when I broke all the expensive stuff I had to start looking at more cost effective alarms.

I went for ......

https://www.tackleuk.co.uk/Shop/Car...Receiver.htm?gclid=CPqt1f7h7coCFVQ_GwoddnsMRw

Have to say they are spot on for my needs, small, reliable and so far bullet proof
They tick all the boxes for a non tackle tart.

Would you take delkims on a mud slide of a bank on the lower Severn....

Mr lush I await your quip .........:D
 
George Maltby said:
That feeling when you arrive home and you haven't thought about anything but that fish all the way back...and you have no memory of the drive, and suddenly start stressing out about how many red lights you jumped, speed guns you whipped past, and possibly even people you ran over! Then when you pack your kit away the next morning you realise you've left half of it behind!
Reminds me of bass fishing in Cornwall.
Click to expand...

Glad it's not just me then, I've left far too much stuff behind over the years. Once pulled up home one evening after a tench session that had saw me getting up at 3.30am and realised I'd left my rucksack behind - it was a 3 hour round trip to retrieve it! Thankfully it was still there.
 
Anthony Pearson said:
I've a set of Fox MMX's which do have a different tone for drop-backs. If I was you, I'd be looking for a second hand set of these or Delkims. I now use the latter most of the time (Standard Plus). Yes cheaper alarms are available, but such a set once cost me a bite on a water where the smallest carp was 19lbs! A false economy in my view.
Click to expand...

My MMX's (all six of them) have been going strong for well over 10 years. Brilliant value and very reliable alarms. The flashing latching led to indicate drop backs is really useful. For the odd occasion I need a remote I use a second hand attx remote system - they can be picked up quite cheaply on Ebay.
 
Thanks guys, thats all good info. I pushed the boat out in the end and spent the small fortune of £12.99 delivered on two TMCs. If their rubbish i can ware the expense of a few pints and go for some of the more reputable alarms. I will only be using them for a few sessions a year.
 
Jason Bean said:
I'm not that good in looking after tackle so when I broke all the expensive stuff I had to start looking at more cost effective alarms.

I went for ......

https://www.tackleuk.co.uk/Shop/Car...Receiver.htm?gclid=CPqt1f7h7coCFVQ_GwoddnsMRw

Have to say they are spot on for my needs, small, reliable and so far bullet proof
They tick all the boxes for a non tackle tart.

Would you take delkims on a mud slide of a bank on the lower Severn....

Mr lush I await your quip .........:D
Click to expand...

My informant on the bank at the time of said 'slide' assures me that you were incapable of noticing a buzzer of any type/price at the time ! i'm sure he was a big help :D. Some very decent inexpensive buzzers out there, also some awful ones. The old gardner ones, i forget what they were called were brilliant and not silly expensive.
 
Gents, please forgive my ignorance, but why do you need bite alarms when barbel fishing ? I daren't take my hand away from the rod. If i do, its usually for a call of nature :D And then, the baitrunner facility goes on. :) Are alarms really necessary ? Am i missing something ???
 
Derek Funcks said:
Gents, please forgive my ignorance, but why do you need bite alarms when barbel fishing ? I daren't take my hand away from the rod. If i do, its usually for a call of nature :D And then, the baitrunner facility goes on. :) Are alarms really necessary ? Am i missing something ???
Click to expand...

The original question was with some tench, perch, and roach fishing in mind. I personally don't use alarms barbeling but can imagine they would be useful if staking out 1 swim for a very long time or if fishing at night. Neither of which i do a great deal of, well not in my barbel fishing anyway.
 
Derek Funcks said:
Gents, please forgive my ignorance, but why do you need bite alarms when barbel fishing ? I daren't take my hand away from the rod. If i do, its usually for a call of nature :D And then, the baitrunner facility goes on. :) Are alarms really necessary ? Am i missing something ???
Click to expand...

I've never used buzzers for barbel fishing as I don't see the need, but plenty do, including some very good anglers, Phil Smith being one. Each to their own, quite useful if your likely to be nodding off I suppose.
 
Neil Smart said:
Tench Roach and Perch...then what better than a float?
Click to expand...

Fair point well made.
However there are times when ledgering at a bit of a distance or in deeper water is the ticket. Like I say, a few sessions a year max.

Beep beep beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep! I can hear Chris Yates sobbing from here.
Me and my 12.99 alarms...coming to a water near all of you soon!
 
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