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Sonar and sounders: 4 new models that are good for more than just fishing

Yachting World

  • April 22, 2020

Developments in technology are now allowing us to see the shape and structure of the seabed, including vegetation, in increasingly clear detail. Rupert Holmes reports

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Sonar has potential to help offshore racers like IMOCA 60s avoid submerged obstructions. Photo: Vincent Curutchet

Sonar and forward-looking depth sounders are often seen as the preserve of those whose primary interest is fishing. However, a huge amount of effort has been invested in these products over the past few years and the latest models can be powerful tools for both cruising and racing yachts . They offer sufficient clarity, for instance, to be able to pick out areas of seagrass and patches of sand in an anchorage.

Much of this improvement is thanks to the availability of CHIRP transducers that, unlike a traditional sonar, can distinguish between multiple targets through scanning using a signal of varying frequency. This enables them to show individual fish, rather than just indicate a shoal, to resolve vegetation growing on the seabed, and distinguish between a sandy/muddy shoreline and a rocky one.

For those of us who spend large periods of time in the Mediterranean during autumn months , when overcast skies or dark evenings can mean anchoring when it’s not possible to see the seabed, this could be a significant boon. As well as the obvious safety advantage, and convenience of being able to find sand at the first attempt, there’s also a benefit in avoiding damage to environmentally important seagrass beds.

Article continues below…

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On yachts, we’re most interested in what lies roughly ahead of the boat, unlike fishing where a good picture of what’s directly underneath or to the side is often more important. This means not all transducers developed for the fishing market will work well for our purposes, but we’ve listed a selection here that could be useful.

Even so it’s important to recognise that forward-looking sonar doesn’t replace existing data sources such as depth sounder, charts and visual references. Instead it provides additional data to help make more informed decisions. However, short ranges of typically 30m-90m mean this is a tool for use in confined waters in which the navigator is focussed on the task and not distracted at a critical moment.

As with radar, a degree of skill and knowledge is also required to set the system up and to correctly interpret the picture.

On the racecourse

Short tacking along a shoreline to gain relief from a foul tide is a key element of racing in many tidal areas. However, there’s an ever-present risk of grounding , which has been implicated in the subsequent loss of keels of several yachts, sometimes with devastating consequences. Anything that can help reduce that risk is therefore clearly advantageous.

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A B&G ForwardScan image from Newtown Creek on the Isle of Wight

B&G ForwardScan

Professional navigator Mike Broughton specified B&G’s ForwardScan sonar for a new race-spec Swan 78 he sails as navigator. The system, which has a 180kHz transducer, scans the seabed over a 15° arc up to 90m ahead of the vessel, though gently shelving mud may bring the viable range in shallow water down to as little as 25m.

As well as showing a graph of the depth ahead of the boat, the ForwardScan data can also be superimposed on a chart, with shading to indicate safe, warning and critical depths. ForwardScan uses a removable slimline transducer that extends 31mm below the hull.

Writing in Yachting World , Broughton said: “I have used ForwardScan to great effect short tacking against a strong tidal stream in the Solent, gaining the confidence to tack back to the shore before our competitors helped make significant gains. Confidence that you are clear for just another boat length as you approach the shore can be gold dust information and allow your boat to achieve a clear lane of clean wind.”

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The company therefore also offers a wider range of products, including a StructureScan transducer, which are geared towards fishing markets and show more detail of the seabed.

Price guide

ForwardScan transducer: £731 ForwardScan fairing block: £41 B&G Sonar Hub or StructureScan 3D Module: £628 StructureScan through-hull transducer: £649

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EchoPilot’s long range FLS 3D system updates the seabed image every second

Long-established British brand Echopilot was one of the forerunners in this market and has been owned by the Danish Daniamant group since 2017. Echopilot’s range is optimised to show as much seabed detail as possible, rather than focussing primarily on displaying fish. It updates with very low latency and can be used at speeds of up to 20 knots.

The FLS 2D system has 30° beam width and maximum forward range of 200m, or ten times the depth in shallower water. The 7in screen uses different colours to represent different types of seabed structure, with hard materials such as rock showing as red and softer echoes from sand and mud showing as blue.

A more powerful FLS 3D model has twin retractable 200kHz transducers that give a 60° beam width. The range extends to 20 times the water depth, so around 200m in a 10m depth. Echopilot claims it can detect rocks at up to a distance of 500m.

Both models are also available in a black box format that will connect to any display with HDMI or VGA video input. In this case settings are controlled by a separate keypad that can be positioned next to the display.

FLS 2D with standard transducer and 7in display: £1,000 Echopilot FLS 3D with Dual Pro Transducers: £9,000

sonar-echo-sounders-Garmin-Panoptix-LiveScope

Garmin’s Panoptix LiveScope can differentiate between fish, seagrass and patches of sand

Garmin Panoptix

Many fishfinders show only the area below the boat or at the sides, but Garmin’s Panoptix products offer features that can be of use on cruising yachts. This range is available with through-hull transducers intended for fitting to yachts and has forward-looking functionality.

The FrontVü mode displays the seabed ahead of the boat at a range of up to 90m although, in common with other models, this reduces to eight to ten times the depth of water in very shallow water. The scanner has a 20° beam width and provides a clear picture at boat speeds of up to 8 knots.

The LiveVü Forward function allows you to see fish and the structure of the seabed at a reduced range of up to 30m. Both options are offered with the PS51-TH transducer at a cost of £1,360. This unit is a similar size to that of the B&G ForwardScan transducer.

Garmin’s top of the line Panoptix model, which has received rave reviews in the fishing community, is the LiveScope. This gives real-time scanning both forward and around the boat, with enough detail to see the difference between seagrass and patches of sand at a maximum range of 60m from the boat. On the downside, the LVS32 transducer is much larger and heavier.

PS51-TH transducer £1,360 Panoptix LiveScope with through-hull mounted transducer £1,870

While the ranges of recreational sonar units are clearly limited, they are a whole lot better than conventional depth sounders that have no ability to look ahead. Larger and more powerful transducers can provide more range at a frequency that allows a great deal of detail to be shown, but these may not be convenient to mount on a yacht and costs are significantly higher.

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Race teams are interested in Far Sounder Argos 350 development

Far Sounder

Rhode Island-based Far Sounder produces a range of forward-looking sonar for large vessels with ranges of up to 1,000m at operational speeds of up to 25 knots. The company’s latest model has a smaller transducer with a 350m detection range that’s suitable for craft of 18-40m length.

The sonar map can be overlaid on CMAP professional S56/63 series charts in a similar fashion to the way we’re accustomed to overlaying radar on a chart. The downside, however, is that the transducer is still large for a sailing yacht – it measures 160mm x 200mm (6.4in x 8in) and needs to be at least 1m below the surface.

Could this system be used by racing yachts such as IMOCA 60s to give advanced warning of a potential collision with whales or shipping containers ? CEO Cheryl Zimmerman says the standard product could certainly do this for targets that are a couple of metres below the water.

She told me Far Sounder has been approached by race teams to “discuss some of the issues they are experiencing” and is “very excited” about the prospect of developing custom products with alarms to alert solo sailors.

Argos 350: US$55,000

Sonar performance

With sonar there’s always a conflict between range and detail. A low-frequency sonar of around 80kHz will be able to reach greater depths, but without a great deal of detail. Conversely, a higher frequency unit, operating at around 200kHz, will reveal more detail, but at the expense of range. Larger and more powerful transducers can provide more range at a higher frequency, but these may not be easy to mount on a yacht and become expensive.

Accuracy can be affected by factors including location of the transducer and water conditions. The strongest echoes are from hard seabeds such as rock and coral, whereas gently shelving sand or mud will only be seen at closer ranges and even then may not be as distinct.

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Black box hubs can generate data for use on compatible chartplotter screens

Compatibility

We’ve come to expect much of the basic functionality of instrument systems and sensors to be compatible across displays offered by different manufacturers. However, this is by no means automatically the case for sonar, where there can even be gaps in compatibility even within a single manufacturer’s product range. In addition, many MFDs lack the software needed to process sonar data, so an intermediate sonar hub may be needed.

Before buying sonar equipment it’s important to understand exactly what the chosen technology will do and the equipment it will interface with. The technology is certainly not for everyone and, with a few notable exceptions such as short tacking along a shoreline, units for the recreational market are next to useless at typical passagemaking speeds due to the short range.

However, there are plenty of use cases in close-quarters slow-speed scenarios, including exploring poorly charted anchorages. This is just as relevant for cruising Greenland or Patagonia as for finding the deepest water over the bars of rivers such as the Rio Dulce in Guatemala or Senegal’s Sine Saloum. In these situations sonar could prove a powerful additional tool, particularly if time is spent on learning how to get the best from the system.

First published in the March 2020 edition of Yachting World.

Practical Boat Owner

  • Digital edition

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Best forward-looking sonar: 5 units tested

  • Ben Meakins
  • May 10, 2016

How effective is forward-looking sonar at flagging up shoals and obstacles on the seabed? David Pugh compares the findings from five devices

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Would you like to be able to spot an obstacle before your boat hits it? Of course you would, and so would every other sailor in the world. Looking ahead is the Achilles’ heel of the conventional echo sounder , which can only tell you the depth of the water in which you are already floating. If you wait until the sounder reads zero, it’s too late. That’s where forward-looking sonar comes in.

Admittedly, the conventional sounder can tell you a lot, and in recent years plotters have started to display not only current depth, but also history via their fishfinder screens. It’s a fair bet that if the depth is steadily decreasing, the time will soon come to change course. But this approach only works in gently shoaling water: abrupt changes in depth could spell disaster.

Looking ahead

The traditional approach to looking ahead has always been to do so before you take your boat anywhere near a potential hazard. We do it all the time, using the chart and calling it passage planning. A good survey and a precise position has been the key to keeping boats off the rocks for years, but there are times when this isn’t an option. Some places are still poorly charted, and even in our well-surveyed UK waters there are moving shoals which defy the efforts of hydrographers and harbour buoyage.

One option is to jump in the dinghy with a leadline or sounding pole and carry our your own mini-survey beforehand. But if you’re nosing up a river and simply want an early warning of a shoal, or are nervous of finding the right spot to anchor in a rocky loch, wouldn’t it be nice if your echo sounder gave the depth ahead of the boat?

Best forward-looking sonar: What’s available ?

For years, the undisputed king of the niche market of forward-looking sonar has been Ringwood-based Echopilot. Various iterations of their forward-looking technology have sold all over the world, and their only historical competitor disappeared some time ago.

Now, however, things have changed. Navico, the parent company to Simrad, B&G and Lowrance, recently announced a forward sonar transducer and updated software for their SonarHub module and plotters, while Garmin have developed a version of their high-definition Panoptix fishfinder designed to look ahead. While Echopilot and Navico are in direct competition, the Garmin product is a little different, aiming to find fish at a limited range ahead of the transducer – they provide a version of the transducer designed to fit a trolling motor shaft to facilitate scanning around the boat. However, it does provide imagery of topographical features too, and hence could be of use in spotting hazards.

We gathered together five contenders: three from Echopilot and one each from Garmin and B&G, fitted them to an old 3.6m (12ft) dinghy and put them through their paces in Poole Harbour. We tried looking at a range of features, including solid piling, bridge piers, gently shelving beaches and mooring chains, as well as using the units to find our way down a narrow channel of soft mud.

Echopilot FLS 2D

A channel buoy’s chain, picked up at around 12m

A channel buoy’s chain, picked up at around 12m

The only unit tested with a dedicated display, the FLS 2D comes with a choice of transducers. The standard transducer is sold as suitable for smaller boats, has plastic encapsulation and uses a 45mm through-hull fitting. The ‘Professional’ transducer is a much heavier unit of bronze, costing an extra £170 and using a 60mm through-hull. Installation is simple – fit the transducer, plug it and the power cable into the back of the display and you’re done.

To display the information, Echopilot uses a screen showing a cross-section of the water ahead of the boat. On this are plotted the echoes received by the transducer, using colours graded from blue to red to show the strength of the echo (red being the stronger). By default, the unit is set to choose a range automatically, but the user can override this.

The user interface is not immediately intuitive, but once the unit is set up the most you are likely to need is to change the range, achieved simply enough using the ‘Up’ and ‘Down’ softkeys. There is an auto setting, which changes the range based on the depth, but in difficult conditions the manual setting is helpful.

On the water, we initially struggled to make sense of the display, but with practice the manner in which the data is shown and colour-coded to indicate the strength of the echo allows a significant level of interpretation from the user. For example, a mooring chain or stake will give a vertical line of strong, red returns with some weaker echoes either side. The red shows that you should pay attention despite there being relatively few data points. Soft mud, on the other hand, gives a scattering of weaker echoes as the sounder struggles to find the bottom, so the truth is likely to be a middle value.

We tested the range of the sounder by looking at a solid concrete wall. The wall was clearly visible at ranges just over 100m, which was the width of the channel in which we were working. Smaller targets such as mooring chains were harder to acquire, with the range typically less than 10m before we could say with confidence that the object was there. At this kind of range the narrow width of the transducer beam becomes obvious, so the bow needs to be held steadily on the target.

The seabed slopes down to the right, ending at a solid wall at 75m

The seabed slopes down to the right, ending at a solid wall at 75m

In soft, shallow mud, the FLS 2D would become confused when in auto mode owing to some echoes being apparently very deep, requiring the range setting manually. This removed most of the spurious results and made the display useful once more, although the depths it recorded were clearly far too high.

Switching to the professional transducer resulted in a cleaner signal, but surprisingly a shorter range at just over 80m. The beam also appeared narrower, so on a small boat where the heading is not necessarily constant, the standard transducer is perhaps a better choice.

RRP: £1,179 / $1,569 (inc. standard transducer)

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Echopilot fls platinum engine.

Solid piling, visible at 90m on our range test

Solid piling, visible at 90m on our range test

The FLS Platinum Engine comprises three components: the transducer, a sturdy bronze unit with a 60mm through-hull fitting, a transducer interface box and a video interface box. The video interface can output composite or S-video, suitable for viewing on a third-party plotter or external screen. Control is via an external keypad plugged into the video interface.

In operation, the Platinum engine is similar to the FLS 2D, with the data displayed in the same way. We used the composite video output, but it would pay to use S-video if possible to take advantage of its improved resolution.

Rocks at 32m. The scattering from the irregular shapes makes the return weaker, but there is clearly an obstacle

Rocks at 32m. The scattering from the irregular shapes makes the return weaker, but there is clearly an obstacle

The transducer is identical in appearance to the Professional transducer for the FLS 2D so, perhaps unsurprisingly, our results were similar. Our range test picked up the wall at about 90m and, like the FLS 2D, it tended to show spurious depths in soft, shallow channels. It was, however, quicker to get back to normal once the boat moved out of the difficult area. We found it harder to pick up mooring chains and narrow objects with the Platinum engine, perhaps due to a narrower beamwidth from the transducer and the tendency of a small boat to yaw. It detected the multi-faceted rocks of some sea defences, albeit with a fairly scattered plot.

RRP: £1,000 (inc. transducer)

Buy it now on echopilot.com

Echopilot FLS 3D

A channel mark’s chain, appearing 30m away as a peak in the midst of deeper water

A channel mark’s chain, appearing 30m away as a peak in the midst of deeper water

Echopilot’s flagship model, the FLS 3D, takes a different approach to the 2D products. By using two hefty 75mm through-hull units, each of which contains two angled transducers, the sounder can combine the data to display a 60° sector ahead of the boat.

The amount of data from four transducers would produce a confusing mess if displayed with no further processing, so Echopilot have included a computer in the system to render a surface which best fits the data, and output the video. As a result the system comprises three stages: the transducers, the transducer interface and the computer. From the computer, you can output VGA or DVI to a screen, or go through a converter for composite or S-video.

Like the 2D models, the picture is colour-coded to aid spotting the difference between shallow and deep water. This makes for a very intuitive picture, but a user needs to bear in mind that the surface displayed is similar to that which would be made if you were to drop a blanket over the seabed –spikes are smoothed into curved peaks and vertical walls become steep slopes.

On the water, the display is very easy to read, and we found it good for seeing continuous features such as channel edges. Our range test yielded a shorter range than the 2D sounders, with the wall ahead convincingly visible from about 35m. I suspect this may be due to there being insufficient data points for rendering until you are closer to the obstacle, while the 2D products show the data for the user to interpret.

Approaching a steep wall at about 15m. Water appears to exist beyond the wall

Approaching a steep wall at about 15m. Water appears to exist beyond the wall

Another oddity when approaching the wall was that the sounder showed a depth of water continuing beyond it – not a problem, but something that takes getting used to.

The FLS 3D is primarily sold to larger boats, so our test in a narrow, shallow channel was perhaps unfair. Nevertheless, variations in depth consistent with the channel edge were visible, and had a shorter range than 40m been available would have been clearer. Heading down the edge of a deepwater channel, the edge was clearly defined and navigation mark chains appeared as steep peaks, suggesting that this would be a valuable tool for nosing up a river.

RRP: £9,550 / $13,000 (inc. 2 transducers)

B&G ForwardScan sonar

 With simple structures like the wall, the danger is immediately obvious

With simple structures like the wall, the danger is immediately obvious

As might be expected from a plotter manufacturer, this unit is designed to work with B&G’s own displays, removing the video interface element common to the Echopilot black box products. However, you will still need an interface box (SonarHub) to connect the transducer to the plotter. Once done, and with your software updated to suit, a new option will appear on the menu: ForwardScan. By default, this shows a shaded area designed to represent the seabed ahead of the boat – brown in our pictures, but you can change the colour pallette. Essentially, this is a line of best fit – the data points can be overlaid if you wish, either both above and below the line, or just above. These points are colour-coded in a similar fashion to the Echopilot plots.

ForwardScan in use

In its default state, just showing the line of best fit, the screen is easy and intuitive to read. On our range test, the sounder showed the steep wall at a maximum range of 65m. This is significantly shorter than the Echopilot, but turning on the data points showed evidence of the wall at around 80m – the software clearly needs more data points than the human eye to confidently predict the seabed.

Mooring chains are shown by the data, but ignored by the line

Mooring chains are shown by the data, but ignored by the line

In shallow, muddy water the best-fit line lost its lock on the bottom, but turning on the data points again made the display useful, with the distribution giving an indication of whether the water was getting deeper or shallower ahead of the boat.

Because ForwardScan is integrated into an existing navigation package, it already has reliable depth information from a separate transducer, so is more resilient to scaling problems based on false readings than the Echopilot units. It also proved useful to be able to display the data alongside the chart, especially when moving along a channel edge.

In soft mud, the line of best fit fails, but data points still show trends

In soft mud, the line of best fit fails, but data points still show trends

RRP: Transducer £540, SonarHub £470 / $1,079

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Garmin Panoptix Forward

RealVü scans from left to right to build a realistic image of the seabed. Here’s a wall at 14m

RealVü scans from left to right to build a realistic image of the seabed. Here’s a wall at 14m

A single transducer, which plugs directly into the back of a compatible Garmin plotter using Ethernet, Garmin’s Panoptix Forward sonar product is more intended as a fishfinder for looking around your boat than as a device for spotting obstacles while under way.

The transducer comes with two mounts – one for the transom, the other to fit it to the shaft of a trolling motor, allowing it to rotate. The transducer itself is large (approx 170mm x 90mm) and dips below the transom at an angle of around 45°, so it is unsuitable for sailing craft in its current incarnation owing to drag. It also loses picture at speed, presumably owing to disturbed water around the transducer, while the Echopilot and B&G products can be successfully used on the move.

The plotter offers two forward views: LiveVü and RealVü 3D. LiveVü will look familiar to fishfinder users, with the classic blue screen and smeared lines, coloured to show the strength of the echo. RealVü scans a 60° arc ahead of the boat to build a picture of the seabed ahead, similar to the Echopilot 3D. However, unlike the Echopilot, which shows a picture all the time, RealVü scans, building the image from left to right.

A piece of rail marking a channel edge, viewed at 8m

A piece of rail marking a channel edge, viewed at 8m

The Vü ahead

Using LiveVü, the range is limited compared with the other products, the best we achieved on the solid wall being just under 40m. At close range, however, the system offers significantly more detail than any of the other products, suggesting that it operates at a higher frequency, trading range for detail.

This conclusion was borne out by a test we tried in the shallow waters of Poole’s Holes Bay, looking at a channel mark made from a piece of old railway rail. Both the Echopilot and Navico products showed this as a collection of a few echoes, while the Garmin showed a clear vertical obstacle at about 8m.

Shoaling depths are clearly shown

Shoaling depths are clearly shown

In RealVü mode, the range is reduced compared with LiveVü by the rendering facility – as you move away from a feature, the image begins to fragment as the quality of the data reduces. It’s also a bit slow, taking several seconds to build each picture before starting again. However, the image produced is realistic and detailed. Data points not used in the rendering are overlaid to give an indication whether any features have been ignored.

If RealVü could work faster and under way, it would make a great tool for exploring narrow channels.

RRP: £1,299 / $1,499 (transducer only)

PBO Verdict

If you’re looking to avoid collision, rather than carry out a close-range survey of the seabed, we have to discount the Garmin from the running. Its limited range and intolerance to turbulence make it unsuitable for use at anything more than trolling speeds, but if Garmin can produce a through-hull transducer that deals with these problems, its impressive level of detail makes it a product to keep an eye on in the future.

The Echopilot FLS 3D is best suited to larger boats, not least because of its size and cost. We also found it worked best in deeper water, where the ability to see for a significant angle either side of the bow proved extremely beneficial, picking up the edge of the shipping channel in Poole with a high level of detail.

For smaller boats, however, any of the 2D products would prove a useful addition to your instrumentation. ForwardScan is the most intuitive thanks to its line of best fit and is the obvious choice if you already have B&G, Simrad or Lowrance gear on board, but with practice I found that I preferred to see the raw data and draw my own conclusions – the approach used by Echopilot. In this mode, the Echopilot pictures were cleaner, with fewer spurious echoes either side of the true data. As the long-standing market leader in forward sonar, it’s perhaps to be expected that their filtering of the data might be better, and this seems to be the case.

Which of the Echopilot products you choose depends on personal considerations. The FLS 2D offers best value for money, and we found the standard, cheaper transducer to be perfectly adequate. The Professional transducer adds detail but is bulkier and heavier, with a greater protrusion below the hull. For a little extra cost, if you already have a plotter the Platinum Engine offered best performance across a range of conditions.

Whatever you choose, it’s important to remember that they aren’t infallible, and are affected strongly by the surface at which they are looking. All of them worked well in shoaling water, the plots clearly indicating reducing depth from a shelving beach. Soft mud and shallow water confused them all to a greater or lesser extent, as is only to be expected when you fire a sonar beam obliquely into a soft medium. Broken rock (used as sea defences for a marina) scattered the beams, confusing attempts at 3D rendering by the Garmin RealVü or Echopilot 3D, but visible as scattered dots on the other products. Plane surfaces or protrusions from the seabed worked better.

When I set up the test, Mike Phillips of Echopilot warned ‘it’s a bit like using radar. You have to get used to it’. He’s right, and like radar, forward sonar needs interpretation. Software can help, but a practised operator will get more from it than a novice. It doesn’t replace a chart or a good position, but teamed up with other information might just keep you off the rocks or putty, or help avoid that uncharted underwater obstruction.

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Best depth sounder models from handheld to top of the range

Depth sounders are pretty crucial bits of kit for all of us. If you want to have an idea of how much water is beneath your keel then you will need a depth sounder of some sort - unless you want to go old school and send someone to the bow with a longline and weight...

The trend in recent years is towards boats running the vast majority of boat data through a chartplotter or Multi Function Display (MFD) but most of the best depth sounder models still come with a separate specific LCD display screen. The display itself is reasonably simple and the key concern is ease of use as well as brightness of the display and backlight functions. However, to get a depth reading you will need to fit a transducer into your boat.

When fitting a stand-alone depth sounder it sometimes comes with an in-hull transducer. These are mounted in a plastic tube and is fitted vertically to the inside of the hull. The tube contains some oil beneath the transducer itself which allows good sound transmission through the hull. If you fit a dual speed/depth transducer, or another type of through hull transducer, it will need to be mounted through a 50mm diameter hole in the hull.

Depth transducers transmit sound pulses or ‘pings’ that bounce back on hitting the seabed. The time the ping takes to travel down and return is a measure of the distance to the seabed. The only difference between so-called ‘analogue’ and ‘digital’ transducers is that, in the latter, the signal is sent out as data over a NMEA interface.

Best depth sounders available right now

Raymarine i50 depth sounder.

Best depth sounder for usability

The Raymarine i50 instruments are designed to complement Raymarine’s latest generation multifunction displays. The i50 comes in a number of different options. The i50 depth offers only a depth readout, while the i50 Tridata display offers speed and depth, while a measure log tracks distance sailed.

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The screen features excellent viewing angles for both day and night conditions and simple, push-button controls make i50 instruments easy to see and use. This display offers low power consumption, has a good red lighting for visibility in the dark and is easy to install. This has fast become one of the most popular depth sounder display units on the market.

In terms of the transducers on offer from Raymarine there are several to choose from. Raymarine does offer an in hull transducer (the P79) and a range of options for through hull depth alone the best of the bunch if you are looking for standalone depth would be the P19. These would be the transducers most likely to go with the i50 depth display as a standalone depth sounder.

To fully take advantage of the display, you would want to consider a depth and speed transducer sold alongside the display as a kit. The D800 is a Smart multisensor by Airmar – supplier of the majority of depth transducers on the market – that offers depth, speed, and temperature functions in one thru-hull fitting. Digital signal processing inside the housing provides depth, speed, and temperature data to a chartplotter, radar screen, or digital display such as the i50.

Reasons to buy: Excellent viewing angles, simple controls, easy to install

Reasons to avoid: Requires depth and speed transducers (sold separately) to fully take advantage

Buy Raymarine i50 Depth kit on Amazon

Buy Raymarine i50 depth kit on eBay

Buy Raymarine i50 Tridata kit on Amazon

Buy Raymarine i50 Tridata kit on eBay

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Nasa marine clipper.

Best low cost depth sounder

Nasa has built a solid reputation for building marine electronics that work well, are affordable and simple to use. As such, NASA’s Clipper range is well known by now and trusted and is a particular favourite of small-to-medium-size boat owners. Whilst they might not be the flashiest instruments, they do a pretty good job and are available as stand-alone analogue devices for a very reasonable price.

The Clipper Depth looks somewhat dated, but the digits are very large and easy to read from a distance, which is more important than having a fancy trim. The supplied in hull depth transducer wires directly into the display head, offering a no-nonsense, easy to fit depth option without many bells and whistles.

Nasa Marine also provide a Clipper Duet option which comes with a through-hull transducer, enabling speed and depth measurements. Installation is slightly more complicated due to the through-hull transducer, but this is a very cheap way to get speed and depth onboard.

Reasons to buy: Great price, great reputation, simple to use

Reasons to avoid: Dated design

Buy Nasa Marine Clipper Depth from eBay

Buy Nasa Marine Clipper Duet from eBay

B&G Triton 2

Best top-end depth sounder

B&Gs Triton² provides sailors with a clear view of key instrument data such as speed, depth, wind and heading along with a dedicated SailSteer technology page. For the majority of these functions you will require further B&G kit, but given their position in the market as the go-to instrument supplier for serious racers it is hardly supposing they would expect users to be considering more than simply depth alone.

Combined with a Triton² Pilot Keypad, the display can also serve as a complete autopilot control system. The display is a low profile design, and offers an efficient LCD screen and easy installation makes it the perfect choice on cruising sailboats, or integrated within a full navigation system on cruising and racing boats.

You can buy Triton² display units with either a depth/speed though hull transducer or to take full advantage of the unit’s abilities with a depth/speed through-hull transducer and a wired wind pack all of which will allow the use of B&Gs SailSteer technology. The whole lot can also be purchased as a wireless package.

Reasons to buy: Clearly displays key instrument data, easy installation

Reasons to avoid: Relies a lot on further B&G kit at further expense

Buy B&G Triton² display from B&G

Buy B&G Triton² display from West Marine

Garmin GNX 20

Best depth sounder for customisation

The easy-to-read GNX 20 marine instrument display from Garmin displays black digits on a white background, or background in a variety of colours. It is able to display depth, speed, wind and 50-plus marine and boat parameters. Its glass-bonded display with anti-glare lens coating provides good daytime and nighttime readability with high-contrast digits scalable up to 36 mm.

Fully customisable user profiles allow you to choose from five available display configurations for sailboat or powerboat user-profiles: single, dual and triple function, plus gauge and graph mode to display wind, depth and speed data, or customise the pages to display the marine and boat data that is most important to you.

It’s NMEA2000 compatible and, as with many of the depth sounders in this list, is designed to work alongside a main MFD unit. To make the most of the functionality of the GNX 20 you will want a full functioning through-hull transducer, such as the DST 800 by Airmar.

Reasons to buy: Fully customisable profiles, easy-to-read

Reasons to avoid: To get full functionality you’ll require a through-hull transducer

Buy Garmin GNX 20 unit on Amazon

Buy Garmin GNX 20 unit on eBay

Plastimo Echotest depth sounder

Best for depth measurement without installing electronics

This handheld device requires no installation at all to your boat and is very simple to operate. It is totally waterproof and gives readings to a maximum depth of 80 metres. The Echotest has a Large LCD Display with LED back light, making it useable at night.

To use you need to dip the head into the water to see how much water is beneath you. It runs off a 9V drycell battery. This is certainly not the most accurate or best option if you have a larger boat but for those planning on a bit of dinghy cruising, or without power onboard it could offer a decent option.

Reasons to buy: Handheld so requires no operation

Reasons to avoid: Operation not the most accurate, not great for larger boats and requires a battery

Buy Plastimo Echotest depth sounder from Tradeinn.com

Best sonar systems on the market

If you want to go one step further in your understanding of what lies beneath, you may want to consider a forward-looking sonar unit . The latest models of marine sonars can be powerful tools for both cruising and racing yachts. Such has been the improvement that you can now get sufficient clarity to pick out areas of seagrass and patches of sand in an anchorage.

Broadly speaking, the improvement is thanks to the availability of CHIRP transducers that, unlike a traditional sonar, can distinguish between multiple targets through scanning using a signal of varying frequency. This enables them to show individual fish, rather than just indicate a shoal, to resolve vegetation growing on the seabed, and distinguish between a sandy/muddy shoreline and a rocky one.

B&G ForwardScan

B&G’s ForwardScan sonar has a 180kHz transducer, and can scan the seabed over a 15° arc up to 90m forward, but this can, and will, reduce depending on bottom conditions and water depth.

As well as showing a graph of the depth ahead of the boat, the ForwardScan data can also be superimposed on a chart, with shading to indicate safe, warning and critical depths, which makes it much more intuitive to use. ForwardScan uses a removable slimline transducer that extends 31mm below the hull.

The company offers a selection of models in the range, suitable for different purposes including a StructureScan transducer, which is geared towards fishing markets and to show more detail of the seabed.

Reasons to buy: Shows a full graph and can be superimposed on a char with shading

Reasons to avoid: Premium pricing, aimed at fishing markets

Buy B&G ForwardScan transducer from eBay

Echopilot FLS 3D

Echopilot’s range is optimised to show as much detail of the seabed as possible, rather than focussing primarily on displaying fish. It updates quickly and so, the manufacturer claims, can be used at speeds of up to 20 knots. This represents a significant boosts to old systems, which were only really usable at very low speeds or sub-5 knots.

A more powerful FLS 3D model has twin retractable 200kHz transducers that give a 60° beam width. The range extends to 20 times depth, so around 200m in 10m of water. Echopilot claims it can detect rocks at up to a distance of 500m. This more powerful offering does offer much more in terms of data readability. It does offer a three-dimensional picture of the ground ahead, and better accuracy from distance, but the price is greatly increased.

Reasons to buy: Can be used at speeds of 20 knots, the powerful 3D model gives around 200m coverage in 10m depths

Reasons to avoid: Very premium price

Buy Echopilot FLS 3D from MarineComponents

Garmin Panoptix

Many fishfinders, including many of Garmin’s own, show only the area below the boat or at the sides, but Garmin’s Panoptix products offers through-hull transducers intended for fitting to yachts and has forward-looking functionality.

The FrontVü mode displays the seabed ahead of the boat in impressive detail but as with the similarly detailed B&G offering, only at a range of up to 90m, reducing to eight to ten times the depth of water in very shallow water. The scanner has a 20° beam width and provides a clear picture at boat speeds of up to 8 knots.

The LiveVü Forward function allows you to see fish and the structure of the seabed at a reduced range of up to 30m. Both options are offered with the PS51-TH transducer at a cost of £1,360. This unit is a similar size to that of the B&G ForwardScan transducer.

Reasons to buy: Through-hull transducers with forward-looking functionality, LiveVii allows you to see fish and seabed structure at range of up to 30m

Reasons to avoid: Premium price

Buy Garmin Pantopix Livescope system from eBay

Didn’t find what you’re looking for? Head to Amazon’s dedicated boating page for more marine products.

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Maritime Page

What Is An Echo Sounder And How Does It Work?

Grounding is one of many possible accidents that a vessel encounters. This happens when the bottom of the ship touches the seabed. The damage can be minor or it can lead to a severe oil spill.

To avoid this, bridge officers can check the paper charts or ECDIS (for paperless vessels) for the depth and sounding of water. While the vessel is in port, the ship’s crew may use a sounding lead to measure the depth of water.

Echo Sounder and paper records

What Is Echo Sounder?

To get accurate information, an echo sounder is used by officers on watch. It measures the depth of water and more importantly, the under-keel clearance.

The echo sounder transmits sounds from the bottom of the ship to the sea bed . The main components are the transmitter, transducer, receiver, and display unit. Transducers can either be electrostrictive or magnetostrictive.

How Does Echo Sounder Work?

Magnetostrictive transducers use iron, cobalt, and nickel. Nickel is widely used in the industry as it has the greatest change when placed in a magnetic field. Nickel contraction happens when an alternating current is applied. It uses a permanent magnet to compensate for the process. Magnetostriction is effective up to a few hundred kilohertz frequencies.

For electrostriction, the echo sounder uses different types of lead materials and works on compressive or tensional forces. These forces create a change of length or dimension in the material. It is effective up to 1 megahertz frequency.

The display unit can either be a paper recorder, video type, or digital info display.

The echo sounder uses the formula distance=speed x time / 2.

The transmitter creates an electrical pulse which then passes thru the transducer. The transducer which is located at the bottom of the ship converts it to sound waves. The sound waves may either hit the sea bed or anything in between.

For fishing vessels, it is used to find schools of fish underwater. These pulses hit the scales of the fish and reflect it back to the transducer which allows trawlers to find fishing grounds.

Once the transducer receives the back sound waves, it is converted back to current which is then reflected on a digital or video display and in some cases, burned in a paper recorder-type echo sounder.

Echo Sounder Types?

Echo sounders are classified into two types. These are the single-beam echo sounders(SBES) and the multi-beam echo sounder(MBES)

Single-beam echo sounders were initially developed around 80 years ago and were used instrumentally for primary oceanic discoveries and standardization. It is also known as a fathometer or depth sounder. It works on a single sound pulse in a single narrow beam and can only measure one point per echo.

Nowadays, SBES is used for depth measurements, sub-bottom observations, and seabed imaging.

Other SBES are defined by their beam angle and frequency of transmitted sound waves. Water depth capabilities of single-beam echo sounder range from less than one meter to full ocean depth.

The second type of echo sounder is the MBES or the multi-beam echo sounder. It emits a multidirectional beam to obtain information in the affected area. The sound waves received back by the transducers provide detailed information on the depth of water, the shape of the river, lake, and other underwater features.

This information is used by Geological survey companies to accurately generate high-resolution maps of harbors, berthing terminals, lake bottoms, and channels used for navigation.

What Is The Difference Between Echo Sounder And Sonar?

Though both the echo sounder and Sonar are quite both similar, they have some differences.

The echo sounder allows a ship to measure the depth of water and under keel clearance from only under the ship. The echo sounder uses a transducer that is mounted on a fixed position at the keel of the vessel.

The direction principle of an echo sounder is mainly vertical which uses single beams or multiple beams. It is mainly used by merchant ships , trawlers, tug boats, yachts, and similar vessels.

The sonar on the other hand gives a wider picture underwater since it utilizes an adjustable transducer which enables it to scan 360 degrees. It also works on a much stronger frequency and uses a transmitter and receiver which are capable of transmitting and detecting ultrasonic waves.

The sonar is mainly used by military vessels such as warships, submarines , and aircraft carriers.

How To Use Echo Sounder?

Before using the echo sounder, the officer of the watch checks that the equipment is working properly and has been set up. First, be familiar with the mode options of the echo sounder to avoid confusion and possible grounding is prevented.

The normal mode will be the navigation mode. In navigation mode, the echo sounder measures the depth of water from the transducer position to the seabed. At times, it is referred to as the under-keel clearance.

The DBS (draft below the surface) mode is the next available mode. This is the depth of water including the draft of the vessel. Simply add the known draft of the ship and the reading below the surface in navigation mode. There is a draft button to enter the ship’s draft as well.

The history and log data mode allow the officers to see previous readings of the ship as well as recorded data in the echo sounder.

How To Check Accuracy Of Echo Sounder?

Before an accurate reading of the echo sounder can be achieved, it must be set up properly. The initial setting can be done in two stages.

The moment of transmission must be set to the depth of transducers below the waterline.

Next, the speed of the echo sounder stylus is aligned with the sound velocity in seawater.

The most widely used method by industry experts to check echo sounders is the bar check. This is recommended for shallow waters up to depths of about 300 meters, at which a good clear echo can be obtained from the bar.

Though in shallow waters, it is quite difficult to check the accuracy of echo sounders. The weather must be fairly good, with good wind, smooth and calm sea, and tidal streams that are slack.

Since the transducer is very close to the seabed, it is difficult to know when the echo is actually received. The contour of the seabed, strong current, and drift can greatly affect the sound waves wherein readings can be doubtful.

Take note that errors in deep waters are much more compared to depths of 30 meters or less. The speed of sound in shallow water may be greater compared to the sound velocity in deep waters, hence the error will produce depths greater than the actual readings. This must be checked and confirmed to avoid miscalculations during berthing maneuvers or shifting of the vessel.

About the author

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I worked as an officer in the deck department on various types of vessels, including oil and chemical tankers, LPG carriers, and even reefer and TSHD in the early years. Currently employed as Marine Surveyor carrying cargo, draft, bunker, and warranty survey.

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Exploring the Depths: How Echo Sounders Work in Marine Environments

Echosounder in UAE

Imagine sailing through the vast expanse of the ocean, your vessel gracefully gliding atop the shimmering waves. But beneath the surface lies a hidden world of submerged challenges – rocky formations, uncharted reefs, and varying seabed depths. Navigating through these demands sophisticated technology, and that’s where echo sounders come into play. These ingenious devices serve as the eyes of the deep, allowing sailors, researchers, and marine enthusiasts to unveil the mysteries that lie beneath. Join us as we delve into the mechanics and significance of echo sounders in marine environments, unraveling the unseen of ocean floor.

What is an Echo sounder?

An echo sounder is a fundamental tool employed for measuring water depth and ensuring safe navigation in marine environments. It is particularly effective in preventing collisions with submerged obstacles such as rocks, reefs, and other underwater formations. Operating on the principles of sonar technology, echo sounders utilize a transducer that is typically mounted on the underside of a ship.

How does the Echosounder function? 

An echo sounder operates based on the principle of sonar technology, utilizing sound waves to measure water depth and map the underwater topography. Here’s how the Echosounder in UAE or elsewhere functions:

  • Transducer Emission: The echo sounder system consists of a transducer, which is typically mounted on the bottom of a vessel. The transducer emits a brief burst of sound waves, often referred to as a “ping.”
  • Sound Propagation: These sound waves travel through the water column, penetrating deeper until they reach the seafloor. As they encounter various layers of water, their speed changes, which is influenced by factors like water temperature, salinity, and pressure.
  • Reflection: Upon reaching the seafloor, the sound waves encounter a boundary between water and solid material. This causes the sound waves to bounce back towards the surface, creating an echo.
  • Return Detection: The transducer is equipped to detect the echoes produced by the reflected sound waves. It records the time it takes for the sound waves to travel to the seafloor and back to the transducer.
  • Depth Calculation: Using the recorded time and the known speed of sound through water (approximately 1,500 meters per second), the system calculates the distance between the transducer and the seafloor. The calculation is often simplified as follows:

Distance = Speed x Time / 2

Dividing by two accounts for the round-trip travel time of the sound waves.

  • Display and Mapping: The calculated distance, which corresponds to the water depth, is then displayed on the echo sounder’s screen. This information is often presented as a continuous line chart, showing the depth profile as the vessel moves forward. When a ship travels along a route, this data is used to create a bathymetric map, providing a visual representation of the underwater landscape.

In essence, echo sounders enable maritime professionals to gather precise information about water depth and underwater topography, aiding navigation, exploration, and scientific research in marine environments. Get Echo sounders in Dubai, to find your way out of unwanted risks.

How Echo Sounders are useful in ships?

Echo sounders are invaluable tools on ships, serving multiple critical purposes to enhance navigation safety, underwater mapping, and scientific research. Here’s how echo sounders are highly useful in ships:

  • Depth Measurement and Navigation: Echo sounders provide real-time and accurate measurements of water depth beneath the ship. This information is essential for safe navigation, especially in shallow or unfamiliar waters. By continuously updating the depth profile, ship captains and navigators can make informed decisions to avoid underwater hazards such as reefs, rocks, and sandbanks.
  • Collision Avoidance: One of the primary functions of echo sounders on ships is to prevent collisions with submerged obstacles. By promptly detecting changes in water depth, the crew can take evasive actions to steer the ship away from potentially dangerous areas. This helps safeguard the vessel, its crew, and the marine environment.
  • Hydrographic Surveys: Many ships are employed in hydrographic surveying to map the seabed and gather information about underwater features. Echo sounders help collect depth data with precision, allowing surveyors to create high-resolution charts used for navigation, coastal planning, and chart updates.
  • Seabed Exploration: Ships involved in subsea exploration, such as oil and gas exploration, use echo sounders to identify potential drilling locations and assess the seabed’s geological characteristics. This information aids in determining the feasibility and safety of exploration activities.
  • Environmental Monitoring: Echo sounders help monitor changes in water depth, which can be indicative of environmental factors such as tides, currents, and sediment deposition. This information contributes to the understanding of coastal dynamics and can support coastal management efforts.
  • Underwater Construction: Ships engaged in underwater construction projects, such as installing underwater cables, pipelines, or offshore platforms, rely on echo sounders to ensure precise positioning and alignment of structures with the seabed.

Incorporating echo sounders on ships significantly enhances their ability to navigate safely, conduct scientific research, and contribute to various maritime activities. 

Types of echosounder

Mastersystem, a reputable provider of marine technology solutions, offers diverse types of echo sounder products designed to meet the specific needs of maritime professionals, researchers, and explorers. Let’s explore the four distinctive echo sounder products from Mastersystem: Hondex, JMC, SIMRAD, and NSR.

Hondex HE-881:

The compact yet versatile Hondex HE-881 is a professional dual-frequency echo sounder. Its 8.4″ color LCD display ensures visibility in all conditions, while the dual-frequency capability (50/200 KHz) provides accurate and easy water depth measurements and underwater profiling. Ideal for both leisure and professional use, it’s a reliable companion for safe navigation.

JMC Echo Sounder Series:

From the JMC series, the 9F 3000 offers an economical option compliant with IMO standards. On the high end, the F-3000w holds EU-type approval and provides dual-frequency split-frequency displays. The series caters to varied navigational needs.

SIMRAD S3009 Navigational Echosounder :

SIMRAD’s S3009 meets IMO compliance standards, excelling in reliable bottom tracking and depth recording. Its modern controls ensure ease of operation, and the single-transducer design makes it suitable for compact spaces on commercial vessels.

NSR SDR Echo Sounder:

NSR’s SDR Echo Sounder employs Software Defined Radio technology for accuracy and stability. The unit features a large color LCD, touchscreen operation, auto depth detection, etc. Its compliance with IMO and ISO standards ensures reliability.

In conclusion, echo sounders play a pivotal role in marine environments, enabling precise depth measurements, navigation safety, and underwater mapping. With a range of innovative products like Hondex, JMC, SIMRAD, and NSR from Mastersystem, echo sounders in UAE offer advanced solutions for maritime professionals, researchers, and explorers alike. Make sure to grab your Echo sounder in Dubai or elsewhere to ensure safety on your maritime journey.

Cult of Sea

Maritime Knowledge base

Echo Sounder

Echo Sounder – Principle, Working & Errors

One of the dangers faced by a ship is that of run­ning aground. Usually, a vessel determines its position by means of GPS, Radar, Decca, Loran or visual bearings. The depth of water is checked from the echo sounder just as a matter of routine to see that the depth obtained matches with that show on the chart. However when the position is not accurately known while approaching the port, or crossing over a bar, or near the mouth of a river, or in a poorly surveyed area, the under-keel clearance and depth of water needs to be known. The echo sounder comes in handy in such situation.

An Echo Sounder is a type of SONAR (Sound Navigation And Ranging) device used to determine the depth of water by transmitting sound pulses into water

It works on the principle of transmitting sound waves from ship’s bottom and then measuring the time taken for the echo to be returned from sea. If the velocity of sound in water is known the time will be proportional to the distance travelled.

The time taken by the waves to travel to and from the seabed is measured and depth can be determined, by the formula Distance=Velocity x Time/2

Echosounder (1)

Reason for using sound waves

For using the principle of ranging it is necessary to send some for energy signal and measure the time duration for its reflection to arrive. In case of echo sounder, the signal cannot be electromagnetic, as there is heavy attenuation in water. It cannot be light because water is not transparent and there is no mirror-like reflecting surface at the seabed. Sound propagation is by setting up vibrations in the medium. Water is virtually incompressible so if vibrations of very small magnitude are set up they can travel great distances.

Creation of sound waves

This can be done by two methods viz. magnetostriction and electrostriction.

Ferromagnetic materials strength

Magnetostriction

Ferromagnetic material such as iron, cobalt, nickel experience change in length when placed in a magnetic field. This occurs due to the rearranging of the domains or molecules within the material.

Nickel laminae

In case of iron and cobalt the change in length is expansion and then contraction but in case of nickel, it is the only contraction. Nickel is more commonly used, as its change per unit length is highest of all. The process is also reversible; meaning that if the length of such materials is changed it will create a magnetic field around itself. The change in length will take place even if the direction of the field is reversed. Therefore, if an alternating current is used to create the field then the frequency of nickel contraction will be double of that of the current. This handicap is overcome by using a permanent magnet to create a magnetic bias. The field created by the alternating current will either increase or decrease but it never changes direction. If bias field says 5 units and the current creates a field of 4 units then the results will vary between 1 and 9 units. Frequencies up to a few hundred kHz are therefore possible with magnetostriction.

Electrostriction

Crystals of certain materials like lead zirconate, lead titanate and barium titanate and quartz etc. experience potential between two faces when the crystal is stressed.

Electrostiction

If a face gets a positive charge on compression, then it will get a nega­tive charge if tensional force is applied. This property is also reversible i.e. if the potential is applied to two faces the crystal will experience tensional or compressive forces leading to change in dimension. For a given crystal the change in dimension is maximum along a particular axis. So while cutting a crystal care is to taken see that the faces selected will provide a maximum amplitude of vibration. The natural frequency of vibration will depend upon physical dimensions of the slice. For creating very high frequency a very thin slice is used. Frequencies up to 1 MHz are possible.

The acoustic pulses of very short duration are transmitted vertically at the rate of 5 to 600 pulses per minute having a beam width of 12 to 25°. These pulses strike the seabed and get reflected back towards the receiving transducer as echoes. These received echoes are converted into electrical signals by the receiving transducer and after passing through the different stages of the receiver, the current is supplied to the stylus which bums out the coating of the thin layer of aluminium powder and produces a black mark on the paper indicating the depth of the seabed.

Errors of the Echo Sounder

  • The velocity of propagation in water The velocity of acoustic wave changes if temperature, salinity or pressure changes and since velocity is not correct, the depth recorded will be inaccurate.
  • Stylus speed error: The stylus is rotating with a certain constant speed and the speed of the stylus that the time is taken for the stylus to travel from top to bottom is exactly equal to that for an acoustic pulse to travel twice the distance of the range selected. Due to the fluctuation in the voltage, the speed of the stylus motor changes hence the depth recorded Will be inaccurate. It should be checked periodically and adjusted as per the instruction is given in the manual.
  • Multipath Echoes: The echo may be reflected a number of times between the keel and the seabed, thereby giving multiple depth marks on the record, in such case the first echo is the correct depth.
  • Pythagoras error: This error is found when two transducers are used one for transmission and other for reception.
  • Thermal and Density layer. The density of the water varies with temperature and salinity, which will tend to form different layers. It is possible for echoes to return from the surface of these layers and a faint line appears between zero and actual depth.
  • Zero line adjustment error If the zero adjustment is not correct, the depth recorded will not be correct.

What are an Echo Graph and Echometer?

Echo Graph

When the actuator magnet passes over the sensor, the sensor sends a signal to trigger unit. This activates transmitter after a time delay, which feeds high voltage signal to transducer for onward transmission of sound waves. The transmitter also sends a weak electrical impulse to stylus via the conducting rail. The stylus moves over a paper which is coated with electrically conductive material and which moves over a metal plate. The electrical impulse carried by stylus causes a layer of paper to be burned off making a mark on the paper. This mark coincides with the zero of graduation. The time delay is such that the mark on the paper is made to coincide with departure of sound wave from the transducer. When the echo returns the mechanical vibrations set up electrical signal, which is fed to the stylus. The stylus makes a second mark on the paper. The depth can be read from the graduation s on the paper or by help of a scale, which is next to the stylus. If echo were received after the stylus has gone past the paper area there would be no visible indication. In other words the movement of the stylus outside paper area will be unutilised. In order to put this to use more than one sensor is fitted. In the figure three sensors are shown. By selecting sensor No.2 the actuator will activate the transmitter before the stylus has reached the zero mark. The echo will be received while the stylus is on the paper. If at sensor No.1 the range is say 0-50 m. at sensor 2 it 50-100 and sensor 3 it is 100-150 m. Thus if the seabed is 75 m. from the keel the stylus will make a mark at halfway on the paper provided sensor 2 is in use. While using sensor s 2 or 3 there is no zero mark indication.

This method of increasing the range is called ‘phasing’ because the start of the pulse is not synchronised (not in phase) with the position of the stylus on zero line on the paper. Another way of increasing the range is by changing the speed of stylus. Suppose the speed of stylus is reduced to 1/4th then it will take four times the time to travel the length of the paper. With speed of sound remaining unchanged the paper will then represent a range of 0-200 (four times of 0-50), while on sensor 1, 200-400 on sensor 2 and 400-600 meters. on sensor 3.

The control switch, which changes the stylus speed, also changes the duration of pulse, pulse repetition rate (PRR) and the time delay for making the zero mark. Pulse will be longer, PRR will be smaller and time delay will be increased, as the stylus will take a longer time to reach the zero line. Echo meters usually use a combination of phasing as well as the change of stylus speed, to achieve a wide detection range and retain good resolution at short and medium ranges.

This gives an analogue or digital readout of the sound­ings.

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yacht echo sounder

November 21, 2021 at 4:11 am

hi dear i want to know about testing of transducer in ducking

yacht echo sounder

February 2, 2023 at 8:24 pm

I have a Ferrograph inshore echo sounder but without the 143kHz transducer. it is a valve/tube device working from the boats 24VDC supply. The display is the spinning type. i am going to need a transducer or make some kind of dummy load to test it but I have no details of impedance, power etc. would you have a schematic by any chance or a service manual. it seems to be 1964 to 1969 vintage Cheers Martin

yacht echo sounder

September 23, 2023 at 7:33 pm

An echo sounder, also known as a sonar or depth sounder, uses sound wave reflection to determine the depth of water. This is how it works:

1. **Pulse Generation:** The echo sounder produces a brief burst of high-frequency sound waves, often in the ultrasonic range (above the human hearing range).

2. **Sound Wave Propagation:** These sound waves flow downward via the water.

3. **Reflection from the Seabed:** When sound waves collide with the seafloor or any underwater object, they are reflected back to the surface.

4. **Receiving the Echo:** The transducer (a specialized underwater microphone) on the echo sounder detects the returning sound waves.

5. **Time Interval Measurement:** The echo sounder measures the time it takes for the sound wave to travel.

4. Receiving the Echo: The transducer (a specialized underwater microphone) on the echo sounder detects the returning sound waves. 5. Time Interval Measurement:The echo sounder measures the time it takes for the sound wave to travel.

September 23, 2023 at 7:39 pm

Echo-sounder is primary acoustic equipment used for navigation and for fish finding purposes. ➢It works on the principle of sound wave propagation in water. amplifier of transmitter before it reach to transducer. concentrate the sound energy which is emitted as a beam.

Errors of the Echo Sounder The velocity of propagation in water The velocity of acoustic wave changes if temperature, salinity or pressure changes and since velocity is not correct, the depth recorded will be inaccurate.

September 23, 2023 at 7:44 pm

September 23, 2023 at 7:50 pm

The principal acoustic instrument used for navigation and fish discovery is the echo-sounder. It operates on the basis of sound wave propagation in water. The transmitter’s amplifier is used before it reaches the transducer. The sound energy that is emitted as a beam is concentrated.

Echo Sounder Mistakes The velocity of propagation in water The velocity of an acoustic wave changes as temperature, salinity, or pressure change, and because velocity is incorrect, the depth recorded is incorrect.

September 23, 2023 at 7:54 pm

[…] Pemanfaatan Echo Sounder untuk Survei Perairan di Bandung – Bandung, kota yang terkenal dengan pesona alamnya, tidak hanya menawarkan keindahan daratannya, tetapi juga menyimpan kekayaan bawah permukaan. Dalam upaya untuk memahami dan memelihara ekosistem perairan di sekitar Bandung, pemanfaatan teknologi mutakhir menjadi krusial. Salah satu teknologi canggih yang memiliki kegunaan untuk tujuan ini adalah Echo Sounder. […]

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Installing the echo sounder sensor on the yacht

Installing the echo sounder sensor on the yacht

Echo sounder is an indispensable technical assistant for yachtsmen and fishermen, allowing you to accurately analyze the situation under the vessel . One of the most demanded questions among water motors, especially when choosing yachts for rent , is the fixing of the device sensor. Any echo sounder contains at least 2 components: a transducer and the device itself with a screen. Sensors come in different types depending on the installation. Correct (or incorrect) installation of the sensor will determine many points in the operation of the device.

Transom transducers are mounted near the outboard motor propeller and will severely distort the data when the boat enters planing mode. Among the disadvantages of this kind of sensors is a high probability of damaging the device while driving (debris, drifts, etc. can interfere)

Another type of sensors are those mounted on the bottom and located inside the hull (the mounting method is only suitable for ships with a plastic hull). The disadvantage of such sensors is that the signal loss due to the operation of the device through the body is significant, the sensitivity is reduced, and the scanning depth is small. Often, 1-4 kW sensors are mounted on the bottom, with an effective echo sounding depth of 250-3000 m.

yacht echo sounder

Plunge-in inclined sensors, the emitter of which has a free stroke in the middle of the body at a given angle, are designed for mounting on keel bodies and have approximately the same power as the in-hole ones. For installation, a place is selected with the formation of turbulence in water flows - in front of the rudder, keel or propeller.

Most common sensors

Based on the experience of our specialists in yacht rental , transom sensors are most widely used, but, as already mentioned, This mounting method has many disadvantages. A sensor that receives data through the yacht's hull material does not work on ship hulls made of wood, aluminum or steel. And for installation, they select places where there are no air bubbles in fiberglass - they contribute to a delay in the conduction of sound. The good thing about in-hole sensors is that they are suitable for yachts of any size, and the propellers do not generate any significant interference for them. Tilt sensors compensate for bottom deadliness at the point of installation and ensure maximum efficiency of the device, but their cost often reaches 50% of the price of the echo sounder.

The most commonly used type of echo sounder is the cheap 1- and 2-beam instruments used by fishermen, travelers and even ice fishing aficionados.

yacht echo sounder

Travelers buy fancy chartplotters , combining several devices at once: a navigator, an echo sounder and a remote control for tracking engine parameters. And fishermen and divers use expensive structured scanners capable of producing incredibly accurate color images of the bottom.

Interestingly, even the simplest echo sounder allows to record the temperature of the water overboard, notify of a sharp decrease in depth and inform about a decrease in voltage in the on-board network.

Installing the echo sounder

The echo sounder, if necessary, can be installed independently, while it must be remembered that the quality of the resulting image will directly depend on the correct installation of the emitter. When placing the remote sensor, it will be necessary to ensure reliable contact of the device with water. The perpendicularity of the sensor to the water surface must also be ensured. When installing a built-in sensor, it is better to entrust this work to experienced specialists with professional tools.

The method of gluing the sensor into the body is very convenient, but it cannot be used in some cases:

  • When the yacht has a hull made of wood, there will be no signal due to the porosity of the wood structure;
  • When the body contains transverse steps - due to air bubbles in the boundary medium, the aerated bottom is not suitable for mounting the meter;
  • In the case of a whaleboat stern of a displacement hull, hovering on waves in the air and at this time the sensor's connection with the bottom is lost, etc.

yacht echo sounder

After the cable is laid in accordance with the rules, and the monitor is fixed, the task is to find an acceptable place for the sensor to be located so that the quality of its readings does not suffer from air bubbles falling under the bottom on the move. It is possible to screw the transom to the transom from the inside , then it will be necessary to maintain a certain constant level of sub-bed water to prevent the formation of an air wedge between the bottom and the transducer.

As an option - glue the sensor on a straight section of the bottom between the redans, - it is fixed with construction sealant or auto-plasticine. You can also use the method when the gap between the bottom and the sensor is filled with a conductive liquid.

A correctly mounted sensor will delight the shipowner with stable readings throughout the season. By using an echo sounder, you significantly reduce the likelihood of running the boat aground or damaging the propeller . Enjoy sailing on your dream yacht!

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FAR3000 Chart Radar

The new FAR3000 Series Chart Radar is a breakthrough in marine navigation, combining Furuno’s enhanced target detection with a refined user interface and new, aerodynamic antennas , as well as a host of new and improved features.

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FE800 IMO Navigation Echo Sounder

The FE800 is a result of Furuno's many decades of experience developing echo sounders, sonars, and underwater application equipment and systems. The purpose of the echo sounder is to provide safe navigation by detecting the clearance below the ship (particularly in shallow waters) as required on the SOLAS Convention ships by the new IMO standards.

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Furuno’s GP170D is a highly stable and reliable GPS/Differential position fixing system for ocean going ships, large yachts, ferries and commercial vessels. It is an ideal position sensor for Radar, AIS, ECDIS, Autopilot, Echo Sounder and other navigation and communications equipment.

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X-Band Radars are used in both recreational and commercial applications. They have a great ability to resolve objects close together at both short and medium ranges . However, X-Band Radars tend to be more sensitive to interference from rain and snow. They have a shorter wavelength for better directivity.

S-Band Radar

S-Band Radars are generally used for larger commercial applications . They have a greater ability to detect small objects at longer ranges . S-Band Radars have an excellent ability to penetrate through precipitation, for excellent performance in inclement weather. They have a longer wavelength for long range detection

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Designed to operate over a wide range of frequencies utilizing a broadband transducer, the DFF1-UHD TruEcho CHIRP network sounder delivers significant advancements in signal clarity and target definition. The clear presentation marks individual game fish and bait fish , even when tightly schooled together or very near the sea floor.

NavNet TZtouch

Today's NavNet has come a long way from the first multi-function display. Take one look and you will see just how far. A generous 9" or 14.1" display with edge-to-edge glass makes for a clean and stylish installation (also available in Black Box). Configure the displays with a wide variety of sensors to build a navigation suite that meets your individual requirements.

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NavNet TZtouchXL delivers all the size and power you need and includes exclusive new features like TZ MAPS with BathyVision, the most capable electronic charts on the world! 

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Seiwa Black Box CHIRP Echo Sounder and Transducer Options

The Black Box CHIRP Echosounder module is compatible with the Seiwa 23 Controller range

The Transducers listed here are compatible with the Seiwa Black Box Echo Sounder module or the Seiwa SWx 900CW and SWx 1200CW MFD's

Seiwa EchoNautic Bronze Through Hull 300 Watt Low Frequency CHIRP Transducers

Seiwa EchoNautic  Bronze Through Hull 300 Watt Low Frequency CHIRP TransducersThe Echonauti..

RRP Inc VAT: £721.37 Our Price: £714.00 Ex VAT: £595.00

Seiwa SW BBFF Chirp Echosounder Module - UX0BBF20SE

Seiwa SW BBFF Chirp Echosounder Module - UX0BBF20SEThe SW BBFF Chirp, is a plug&play module ..

RRP Inc VAT: £522.00 Our Price: £487.50 Ex VAT: £406.25

Equipment test : Echo sounders with advance scan

Michael Rinck

 ·  11.11.2018

Equipment test: Echo sounders with advance scan

The promise is big and sounds good: the devices in the test are supposed to show how deep the water is in front of your boat. Some conventional echo sounders try to do this from time to time, but only determine a tendency from the bottom they have already travelled over - they don't know what is really ahead. Here, on the other hand, it is a question of really measuring the depth far in front of the bow, long before you are actually standing over the possible shallows.

Three manufacturers currently offer advance measurement. Although the technology for this is not new, it has not exactly enjoyed the best reputation when used in typical German waters. Nevertheless, Garmin and Navico have recently added forward-looking echo sounders to their range of plotter accessories. We have investigated where the boundary between reality and advertising promises lies with this technology.

We tested three systems. Read the report in YACHT 22/2018 - available in the DK shop, or download the test directly via the link below.

Electronics: Advance echo sounders, 3 models (pdf)

Most read in category Equipment

yacht echo sounder

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  • Yachting Monthly's Scuttlebutt

How deep can a yacht echo sounder sound.

  • Thread starter Mandarin331
  • Start date 21 Jun 2017
  • 21 Jun 2017

Mandarin331

Just an idle discussion which we couldn't answer, maybe some of the transatlantic voyagers can answer this? The question is what is the maximum depth which a standard yacht (say raytheon) echo sounder can record and what is the reason for the limitation?  

Poignard

Well-known member

My NASA Clipper has a maximum of 99 metres.  

capnsensible

capnsensible

Rarely more than 100 or 120 metres. Mostly lack the power for any deeper and will depend on nature of sea bed, sea state and how fast you are going. In my experience.  

LittleSister

  • LittleSister
LittleSister said: Deep enough for most practical purposes except finding the Mariana Trench! What were you hoping to use it for? Click to expand...
Mandarin331 said: We were idling discussing venturing far far away from the Thames Estuary, where depths over 20m give us vertigo, Click to expand...

Quiddle

First sounding approaching Cape Verdes (hard basalt) with a Raymarine ST60+ was 186m.  

RupertW

Quiddle said: First sounding approaching Cape Verdes (hard basalt) with a Raymarine ST60+ was 186m. Click to expand...

JumbleDuck

My ancient (1980s) but lovely B&G Hecta loses contact with the bottom at around 180m. In anything shallower than that it is, judging by the charts, quite accurate.  

All depth sounders will have different maximum depths at which they still work, depending on salinity of the water, thermal layers in the water, angle of heel of the boat and so on. My Raymarine sounder sometimes gives up at 110m and sometimes any figure up to 155m.  

Porthandbuoy

  • Porthandbuoy

I'd be interested to know how many of the previous posters' transducers are mounted in an oil filled tube shooting through an inch of solid grp. Mine is, and bottoms out at around 40m.  

  • 22 Jun 2017

Simondjuk

Active member

183m is the maximum I've ever spotted, which I remember because it surprised me that I had a reading at that depth.  

parsifal said: My NASA Clipper has a maximum of 99 metres. Click to expand...

Iliade

My Garmin 4nnS GPSMAP allegedly does 200m, but I don't recall ever having seen anything like that anywhere that I have sailed.  

AndrewB

My old ST60 was normally reliable to 100 metres, and the most I ever saw it read was 144 metres. On my present yacht I installed a 'cheap' NASA Clipper depth sounder, which has proved only reliable up to 35 metres, though it will occasionally manage more. This is adequate for most purposes, but for blue-water cruising, specially around atolls, being able to get reliable readings up to 50 metres proved a must. (Though maybe these days with charts accurately aligned to WGS84, it might not be quite so essential as formerly). Incidentally, both these I tested accurate up to 20 metres.  

michael_w

My Garmin fishfinder reads to 300m.  

Sandy

Mine reads down to about 100m. As long as I have more than 2m I am happy.  

I remember sailing with an ancient sounder which went 'around the clock' at some modest depth and started reading 0.1 fathom. It was fine on the east coast, apparently, but invented several new shallows in the Channel. As well as displays losing the leading digit, sometimes the sounder itself receives the previous pulse instead of the current one. modern units should be cleverer that that...  

AntarcticPilot

AntarcticPilot

In the Clyde, my through hull mounted Raymarine ST60 depth sounder regularly lost the bottom between Ardlamont Point and Tarbert. The depth at which it stopped varied a bit, but around 120m. No yacht depth sounder will reach the bottom in even the outer part of the continental shelf, far less the deep oceans. The power requirement would be too high, as it goes up as the square of the depth. Assuming all else was unchanged, the ST60 would need 4 times the power to reach 240m, and 16 times the power to reach 500m, which would cover most of the continental shelves. 1000m would require 64 times the power, 2000m 256 times and so on. You could improve on those figures by having a transmitting array that gave a narrower beam, but it would be prohibitively big for most of our boats.  

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Moscow missile plant ablaze in apparent drone attack

Tomilinsky Electronic Plant research and production enterprise in Lyubertsy, Moscow Oblast, is reportedly ablaze after a drone attack on Sep. 1, according to our sister publication, Ukrainska Pravda .

The Tomilinsky plant is under sanctions by the Ukrainian government as it manufactures electronics for Russian missile systems.

The plant was attacked in an operation directed by Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), who believe they have achieved their aim, a well-informed source told Ukrainska Pravda.

The HUR has thus far refused to publicly confirm or deny its involvement. The agency’s spokesman, Andriy Yusov, commented that Russian state media had issued "a mountain" of lies about the attack and said that "cotton has really blossomed" at the plant in Lyubertsy on Friday.

Explosions in Russia or Russian-held territory far behind the frontlines are popularly referred to in Ukraine as “bavovna”, or “cotton” in English.

Drones tried to attack the Russian capital on Sept. 1 , said Moscow mayor Serhiy Sobyanin, adding that one drone was allegedly shot down near Lyubertsy.

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  5. Echo Sounder

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  6. Echo Sounder In Ship

    yacht echo sounder

VIDEO

  1. Echo Yacht's 46m support vessel Charley

  2. The Reinmarine echo sounder gives a very nice image

  3. BENETEAU OCEANIS 36CC

  4. single beam echo sounder bythemetry survey hydrographic survey

  5. Echo Sounder Replacement: Sensor Replacement

  6. LAMDO YACHTS model LY30+

COMMENTS

  1. Forward-facing sonar: Everything you need to know

    But one area of technology that has been slow to permeate is forward-facing echo sounders, or sonars. Many commercial fishing vessels do now use it, in particular to help locate and drive towards ...

  2. Sonar and sounders: 4 new models that are good for more than just fishing

    Far Sounder. Rhode Island-based Far Sounder produces a range of forward-looking sonar for large vessels with ranges of up to 1,000m at operational speeds of up to 25 knots. The company's latest ...

  3. Best forward-looking sonar: 5 units tested

    The plotter offers two forward views: LiveVü and RealVü 3D. LiveVü will look familiar to fishfinder users, with the classic blue screen and smeared lines, coloured to show the strength of the echo. RealVü scans a 60° arc ahead of the boat to build a picture of the seabed ahead, similar to the Echopilot 3D.

  4. Best depth sounder models from handheld to top of the range

    Garmin GNX 20. Best depth sounder for customisation. The easy-to-read GNX 20 marine instrument display from Garmin displays black digits on a white background, or background in a variety of colours. It is able to display depth, speed, wind and 50-plus marine and boat parameters.

  5. What Is An Echo Sounder And How Does It Work?

    The echo sounder allows a ship to measure the depth of water and under keel clearance from only under the ship. The echo sounder uses a transducer that is mounted on a fixed position at the keel of the vessel. ... It is mainly used by merchant ships, trawlers, tug boats, yachts, and similar vessels. The sonar on the other hand gives a wider ...

  6. Exploring the Depths: How Echo Sounders Work in Marine Environments

    Echo sounders help collect depth data with precision, allowing surveyors to create high-resolution charts used for navigation, coastal planning, and chart updates. Seabed Exploration: Ships involved in subsea exploration, such as oil and gas exploration, use echo sounders to identify potential drilling locations and assess the seabed's ...

  7. Echo Sounder

    An echo sounder, also known as a sonar or depth sounder, uses sound wave reflection to determine the depth of water. This is how it works: 1. **Pulse Generation:** The echo sounder produces a brief burst of high-frequency sound waves, often in the ultrasonic range (above the human hearing range). 2.

  8. Marine Echo Sounder

    Describes principles of echo sounder, operation and its errors.www.glasgowmaritimeacademy.com

  9. EchoPilot

    The annual Blueprint is selected for only the best technologies for the SuperYacht Market and is featured worldwide. READ MORE. Prev Next. EchoPilot has specialized in Forward Looking Sonar since the 1940's and offers a variety of Forward Looking Sonar systems.

  10. Understanding Echo Sounders

    A modern echo sounder showing both a graphic and digital display. The depth measured by the sounder can be displayed in a number of ways. The simplest is a digital display that shows the current depth measured in either meters or feet, or perhaps on some older displays, even in fathoms. This can be valuable if you are making a landfall in ...

  11. An Introduction To Echosounders

    An Introduction To Echosounders. Nautica SIA. • 8 minutes. Avg. rating 4.4. Get premium. Overview Lessons. Echosounders are widely used around the world on any kind of vessel. Discover the models out in the market, their main features and how they work. Students will be able to gain the basic knowledge in order to properly use an echosounder ...

  12. Raymarine Fishfinder Echo Sounder Transducers

    Raymarine B117 Bronze Low Profile Dual Freq Transducer - E66014. he transducer is the heart of a sonar / fishfinder system. The device converts electrical pulses into acoustic energy or sound waves and transmits these waves into the water. When the transducer receives the reflections (echoes), the sonar / fishfinder mo.

  13. Navigation: Echo sounder that looks into the future

    B&G calls its new echo sounder system Forward Scan. It is designed to look ahead up to eight times the water depth and is easy to interpret. Webreader. Abo-Shop. Yachts. Alle Themen. Yachts. Superyachts. Small cruiser. Cruising yachts. Dinghies. Catamarans | Trimarans. Regatta yachts. Classics. Shipyards. Equipment.

  14. Installing the echo sounder sensor on the yacht

    Echo sounder is an indispensable technical assistant for yachtsmen and fishermen, allowing you to accurately analyze the situation under the vessel.One of the most demanded questions among water motors, especially when choosing yachts for rent, is the fixing of the device sensor.Any echo sounder contains at least 2 components: a transducer and the device itself with a screen.

  15. Home [www.furunousa.com]

    Furuno's GP170D is a highly stable and reliable GPS/Differential position fixing system for ocean going ships, large yachts, ferries and commercial vessels. It is an ideal position sensor for Radar, AIS, ECDIS, Autopilot, Echo Sounder and other navigation and communications equipment. Discover GPS Receivers

  16. Seiwa Echosounder modules and transducers

    Seiwa Black Box CHIRP Echo Sounder and Transducer Options. The Black Box CHIRP Echosounder module is compatible with the Seiwa 23 Controller range. The Transducers listed here are compatible with the Seiwa Black Box Echo Sounder module or the Seiwa SWx 900CW and SWx 1200CW MFD's

  17. Equipment test: Echo sounders with advance scan

    More and more echo sounders are displaying the water depth in front of the boat. We have tested how well this technology works. The results are now available as a PDF download ... Read the report in YACHT 22/2018 - available in the DK shop, or download the test directly via the link below. Downloads: Electronics: Advance echo sounders, 3 models ...

  18. How deep can a yacht echo sounder sound.

    The question is what is the maximum depth which a standard yacht (say raytheon) echo sounder can record and what is the reason for the limitation? 21 Jun 2017 #2 Poignard Well-known member. Joined 23 Jul 2005 Messages 51,242 ... No yacht depth sounder will reach the bottom in even the outer part of the continental shelf, far less the deep ...

  19. echo sounder

    echo sounder elektor june 1984 F. Kuhnke and P.W. Flutters echo sounder sonar for yachts sonar is an acronym of sound navigation ranging MMV - rnonostable multivibrator FF flip-flop (bistable multivibrator) Figure 2. The block schematic is self-evident: the neon lamp has been replaced by a digital display. Underwater sound projector and hydrophone are housed in a common case, while the ...

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