TURNBULL
New member
Can i use a fish finder instead of a forward looking sonar for looking ahead ?
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Forward sonar
- Thread starter TURNBULL
- Start date
Talbot
Active member
depends what you are looking for! If you are trying to check whether it is shelving ahead then better go to B&Q. (sorry could not resist that) IIRC there was a echo sounder on the market that purported to be able to do that. A system that would be able to do it accurately would need to send out several different beams at different angles (a bit like looking for a submarine). The underwater equipment would be very complex, expensive, and large. The power consumption would also be nasty. Cheaper solution is to have a normal echo sounder and a GPS chart plotter. The plotter will show you where you are going, and the echo sounder will provide a good check on actual depth versus charted depth. Some of the expensive Cmap systems actually have a depth alarm for future position, so they are predicting when you will cross a specific depth.
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echopilot
New member
First I must declare my interest as a manufacturer of forward sonar for the last 12 years. Please look at www.echopilot.com - click on FLS and look for the real screens that we show. Prices start at about £400. Please let me know if I can help further.
Susan Phillips
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Susan Phillips
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TURNBULL
New member
Thanks Susan for the info but i still would like to know if a fish finder can be used instead of a F.l.s. Iwill also contact navestar in south africa i have bought from them before. regards mike
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BrianJ
New member
Friend of mine sails the mostly uncharted ( close inshore ) N/W part of OZ.. he has a forward sonar and swears by it.. says it has saved him several times.. he doesn't need a fish finder.. they just jump out on deck when its lunch/ dinner time.
BrianJ
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BrianJ
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echopilot
New member
Navstar are our SA agents - but i believe they have changed hands recently and do not seem as active.
A fish finder, digital sounder and flasher sounder all work on the same principle - a pulse of sound going directly down and reflecting off the seabed. Fish finders draw a graph with the historical information to display the seabed that you have passed over. Forward sonar are completely different and send a pulse of sound ahead - covering over 90 degrees in the vertical plane and about 15 degrees in the horizontal plane. They can see up to 200 metres ahead and draw a profile of the seabed and any obstructions (up to the sea surface) in front of the boat.
I hope this helps.
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A fish finder, digital sounder and flasher sounder all work on the same principle - a pulse of sound going directly down and reflecting off the seabed. Fish finders draw a graph with the historical information to display the seabed that you have passed over. Forward sonar are completely different and send a pulse of sound ahead - covering over 90 degrees in the vertical plane and about 15 degrees in the horizontal plane. They can see up to 200 metres ahead and draw a profile of the seabed and any obstructions (up to the sea surface) in front of the boat.
I hope this helps.
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