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Have previously used older Interphase
units when they were mechanically scanned…had difficulties with the
transducers developing leaks in their oil filled housings. Other then
that, the units were phenomenal for finding wrecks and getting a great picture
of how they were spread out on the bottom. Understand that Interphase is
using a different transducer now that is much more dependable. I am going
to investigate the PC/180 unit further. Another member of the list has designed a rudimentary
side-scan sonar unit that uses 4 puck transducers on each side connected in a
serial-parallel array and two display units on the surface turned on their
sides for displays. Relatively inexpensive to build and works pretty
well. Do a search on the web for homebuilt side-scan sonar and you should
find it. The Imagenex side-scan unit that uses a PC
for a monitor is a pretty sweet unit and does a pretty good job for it’s
price. As to the Farsounder and Imagenex units,
you should note that these depend on altitude above the bottom for range.
Working close to the bottom their capabilities will be greatly reduced.
The Farsounder unit looks intriguing but appears to be a near surface unit that
is intended for large surface units such as cruise liners but they do note that
it has been employed on an AUV. I would check if there are any depth
limitations on the transducer. Respectfully, Jay K. Jeffries Andros Is., From: owner- Now I remember seeing
that Gary Boucher gave an award winning talk on homemade sonars at a PSUBs
convention. Sorry I'm just running out the door, but all I'd ever
found on it was a mention on the PSUBs site, but no design docs or
drawings. |