forward looking sonar - anyone added this?

[jff]

Has anyone added Forward-looking Sonar, either standalone or to a Raymarine unit (I have a C-120). I'm thinking this would be useful for keeping me from hitting things (eg: land) in the very low Lake Lanier. My questions are:

- would it really work to help prevent striking objects?

- anyone know of a solution that integrates into the C-120?

- any specific brands/vendors/solutions I should consider?

Regards,
Jason

 

[fc3]

No, do the vectors and calculate distance-time-speed. In deep water, they can see far ahead. In shallow waters, they can't look far enough ahead to do much except let you know that it's time to call the tow boat.

Best regards,
Frank

 

[jff]

The other thing I've learned from investigating today is that they draw fairly slowly - so they may work well at idle speed or very slow - but at 25mph ... basically worthless.

Regards,
Jason

 

[tobnpr]

Raymarine does not manufature a scanning sonar.
Typically they are used on high end sportfishes, require professional installation of the transducers, and are quite expensive:
http://www.furunousa.com/Furuno/Roo...Entity[OID[726C8229C1B5994F8416CB33CC79926F]]

The only "low-end" scanning sonar I'm aware of is made by Interphase, but don't have any personal knowledge of the unit...

http://www.davesmarineelectronics.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=5524