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From: (no name) (no email)
Date: Thu Nov 04 2004 - 15:37:18 EST
Quoting Richard Goodwin <>:
>
> What we need is a nice forward/downward looking sonar
> display of the bottom, to go along with the gps
> display, for those tight shallow places.
>
> Dick
REPLY
Sorry Dick; its been done and it don't work.
I first started installing sonar back in the early 1970's and I can tel you it
doesn't work like you see on TV.
Remember the sequence from Hunt for Red October where the sub is running down
the submerged canyon. Great for TV but in real life you only get a coupleof
seconds warning before actually striking the rocks.
I installed forward scanning sonar on one boat. Ten days later he was back with
about $15,000 worth of damage to his prop and rudder.
Why? Well he trusted the electronics too much. He saw the rocks okay but only
in time to pull back the throttle not enough to avoid them.
Regrettably people see some gee wiz technology on TV which is fitted to
military vessels. The hype surrounding the much cheaper and much less complex
consumer electronics convinces peopel the two are the same or at least
similar. NOT!!!
Over the past ten years I have seen and sometimees played with some of the most
sophisticated equipment you could imagine. And yes it does sometimes produce
the kind of images you refer to. BUT!!!
Most of this stuff cost $$$$$ sometime a million bucks or more.
The cheapest system I played with was stil $100,000.
You could buy a real nice boat for that amount of change.
Arild
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