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  #11  
Old 11-11-2015, 07:38 AM
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I tried to search what the cone angles are on the Lowrance transducers. This is what I found on the Lowrance site: http://support.lowrance.com/system/s...RTICLE_ID=2969

Quote:
We offer a variety of 200 kHz transducers with either a wide (20°) or narrow (12°) cone angle. The 50 kHz transducers come with a 35° cone angle. The dual-frequency transducers come with both a narrow (12°) 200 kHz and a wide (35°) 50 kHz cone angles. And the dual-search transducers come with both a narrow (12°) 200 kHz and a wide (35°) 83 kHz cone angles.
I also found this: http://www.chsmith.com.au/Products/L...ansducers.html
Quote:
'Shallow' water HST-WSBL 106-72 transducer will operate on 2 frequencies on the HDS models: 200 (20°) & 83KHz (60°).

'Deep' water HST-DFSBL 106-77 transducer will operate on 2 frequencies on the HDS models: 200KHz (12°) & 50KHz (35°). This compares to the Airmar P66 (ESA931) 200 (11°) & 50KHz (45°).
Looks like the shallow water 200/83 has a wide cone at both frequencies (probably not the best for bottom fishing since the cone is so wide at 200kHz) and the deep water 200/50 is closer to the p66 but only has a 35 degree cone at 50kHz.

Here is a discussion between the p66 and Lowrance transducers:http://www.thehulltruth.com/marine-e...hds-5-a.html#b

Note that the p66 is a cheap Airmar transducer at less than $100. I think it is better for fishing the bay than the more expensive high power 1kw transducers because you get a very wide cone at 50kHz. My fish finder is a full 1kw capable unit and I would stick with the p66/b60 even if I was given a higher power 1kw transducer.

Here is a chart that shows how much area a given cone angle covers at a particular depth
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  #12  
Old 11-11-2015, 07:48 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mark1234 View Post
Greg- do you have to change the gain between the two? While using the 200, I only had the gain around 55%. When I switched to 83, I didn't mark anything. When I turned the gain up to around 70% I began to get clutter and bait.
Furuno is really good in auto mode with their "advanced DSP (digital signal processing)" . My unit has two functions, fishing and cruising. I use mine in fishing and usually don't have to touch the gain on the 50kHz side. I turn the gain to +2 (from auto) on the 200kHz side sometimes to pick up the thermoclines. This gives me a little less target discrimination in a bait ball but it shows me where to run my umbrellas for big fish in the spring. If I get too much noise on the 50kHz side, I may turn down the gain to -2 to clear the screen from unwanted returns some. I rarely turn up the low frequency side.

This is the unit I have: http://www.furuno.com/en/products/chartplotter/GP-1870F
It uses the same technology as the Furuno FCV587 and DDF1 which have won many awards for fishfinders. I went with this unit because it was about the same price as the FCV587 at the time I bought it and because it gave me a back-up GPS. They are dirt cheap right now since Furuno dropped the prices and is now offering a $200 rebate on the units. I think with a p66 they come in at $650 after the rebate right now. (if you want to use as a GPS too, charts cost another $195). Furuno is likely to release a newer version of their fishfinders this winter that includes their newer feature called "rezboost" on their non CHIRP fishfinders. It is already found in their Time Zero Touch 2 units. New stand alone fishfinder will be called the FCV588.

Even if you are an offshore person the unit I have is a great unit since it is a full 1kw capable with the right transducer. It also offers a couple of technology features that are pretty cool. First is bottom discrimination. This gives you probability of what the bottom is made of (sand, rock, gravel, mud) and a great tool for bottom fisherman. The other is Accufish. It is a technology that supposedly tells you the size of the fish by measuring the air bladders between the two frequencies. I dont use it because I rather see the arches myself.

Downside to my unit is that its a widescreen format and not that tall. Some dont like it for deeper water and seeing the water column. However I find that the widescreen splits nicely and I use the splits to my advantage with zooms if necessary..

All other brands are touting single channel CHIRP units right now. CHIRP is when a fishfinder sends out a range of frequencies at once instead of a fixed frequency like we have been discussing. IMHO the single channel CHIRP units havent overly impressed me compared to the Furuno units. I think it is more marketing hype than anything. Furuno does offer CHIRP but it is a true CHIRP unit that is very expensive and requires very expensive transducers. From talking to a Furuno rep, it would be completely over kill for the shallower waters of the bay.
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  #13  
Old 11-11-2015, 04:03 PM
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Here are some other fishfinder shots I have:




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  #14  
Old 11-11-2015, 04:57 PM
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Thanks for the excellent pics of the sounder, Greg. Can you post some detailed pics of the GPS, so I can see where you are finding these fish?

Saturday, while using 200, I was finding good marks of fish and bait, but when I switched to 83, everything disappeared. I tried turning up the gain, but only got a lot of clutter. It might have been bait fish, but no solid fish arches. What is shown in the first pic on the right, is what I interpret as fish. I am anxious to get back out and mess around with the settings again. Thanks for the detailed info.

Tell your son, Good Luck this weekend. I'm sure he'll do well. I guess I won't be seeing you guys on Saturday as usual.
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  #15  
Old 11-11-2015, 05:15 PM
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Mark, my plan is to fish Sunday afternoon with a trolling spread and big baits. With tournaments coming up I need to do some scouting. I doubt you are fishing Saturday too unless you want to get beat up. (NW winds 15 to 20 kt with gusts to 25 kt. Waves 3 ft.)

With the 83/200 transducer I would be more apt to use the 200kHz since the cone is so wide on both the 200 and 83 side. The cone maybe too wide to be sensitive enough to pick up baitfish, especially silversides at 83kHz (60 degree cone). Fiddling with it to know what you are dealing with is probably the best solution.

The boy is just a sophomore but he made varsity (5th man) so he gets to go to states because the team made it. This year a fire has been lit under his butt a little so look out next year and his senior year.

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  #16  
Old 11-12-2015, 05:57 PM
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Furuno just put out a page on using fishfinders

http://furunostyle.jp/en/

http://www.furuno.com/special/en/fishfinder/

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Last edited by B-Faithful; 11-12-2015 at 06:10 PM.
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