I am looking for transducers to suit my fcv295. There seems to be little specs listed other than beam angles & frequencies on the rubber coated furuno 2kw transducer. Fishing for bottom dwelling demersal species between 40m to 400m will the furuno transducer give me a noticable advantage over the airmar low/high chirp ducer? What is the sensitivity ,crystal lay out, etc on the furuno transducers? I have read of good results with the chirp transducer on the 295 ,which also allows for the slewing of output frequencies.
FCV 295 Airmar 265LH vs Furuno 2kw CA200, CA88,CA50
- Thread starter 19mal71
- Start date
19mal71,
When it comes to Furuno Transducers, there is a lot of transducer production information that is simply not made public. However, a fixed frequency will typically pound the bottom much better than that of CHIRP transducer. So if you are wanting do better "bottom truthing", then you should select a fixed frequency transducer.
Most of the US West Coast Fishing utilizes these following 2kW transducers, CA28BL-6HR, CA38BL-9HR, or the CA50BL-12HR for use in their demersal fishing fleets.
- Deep Blue
When it comes to Furuno Transducers, there is a lot of transducer production information that is simply not made public. However, a fixed frequency will typically pound the bottom much better than that of CHIRP transducer. So if you are wanting do better "bottom truthing", then you should select a fixed frequency transducer.
Most of the US West Coast Fishing utilizes these following 2kW transducers, CA28BL-6HR, CA38BL-9HR, or the CA50BL-12HR for use in their demersal fishing fleets.
- Deep Blue
Thanks Deep Blue for the prompt reply, obviously the chirp transducer would be run on fixed frequencies through the 295. So a non di-plexed 50/200 such as CA 50/200 would be superior to the LH chirp? There are no Q values for the furuno offerings and you mention the lower frequency furuno offerings, what about the CA 200B? A CA200b(2kw) with a CA88b(2kw) would be superior, or is the 88 too high and the 1kw 50khz would be better, although the 88 has a narrower cone angle? Really appreciate your insight.
19mal71,
Furuno doesn't offer the "Q-ratings" for our transducers, it one of the "trade secrets" guidelines that tell me. I'm told that they do exist, and I've even tried to get that information to no avail.
However, I can tell you that Furuno "CA" Transducers are built to a very high quality, built to take punishment for use within world wide commercial fishing fleets.
Picking the right transducer for use with your fishery is the heart and soul of any fish finder system, including selecting the good location where to install it on the vessel. So it all comes to down to picking the right transducer based on the following criteria: Frequency, Power, Beam Width, and Construction.
Also, keep in mind that the FCV295/FCV1150 have the following frequencies "locked-out" 53-65kHz, 111-139kHz, 171-183kHz. So this can restrict use with certain CHIRP transducers, even if you plan on using them for single frequency use with the FCV295. So are you wanting to see fish just off the bottom, I'd select a single frequency transducer that is higher frequency and with a narrower beam angle...
- Deep Blue
Furuno doesn't offer the "Q-ratings" for our transducers, it one of the "trade secrets" guidelines that tell me. I'm told that they do exist, and I've even tried to get that information to no avail.
However, I can tell you that Furuno "CA" Transducers are built to a very high quality, built to take punishment for use within world wide commercial fishing fleets.
Picking the right transducer for use with your fishery is the heart and soul of any fish finder system, including selecting the good location where to install it on the vessel. So it all comes to down to picking the right transducer based on the following criteria: Frequency, Power, Beam Width, and Construction.
Also, keep in mind that the FCV295/FCV1150 have the following frequencies "locked-out" 53-65kHz, 111-139kHz, 171-183kHz. So this can restrict use with certain CHIRP transducers, even if you plan on using them for single frequency use with the FCV295. So are you wanting to see fish just off the bottom, I'd select a single frequency transducer that is higher frequency and with a narrower beam angle...
- Deep Blue
Thanks deep blue, yes fish that live close to bottom structure typically but at times may feed up from the bottom. So the bottom and up to around 50-60 feet from the bottom. Will i gain much in the 2kw over the 1kw furuno offerings at depths to 1200ft ? Am i still best to run a lower frequency with a wider beam for searching then the narrower beam for pin pointing? If the combo 50/200 will do a good job in one transducer it simplifies the installation. Yes i have read a fair bit of material on setting up the airmar chirp transducers for the fcv295 including setting the appropriate frequency ranges. I thought maybe being newer technology the new chirp transducers may have superseded the older furuno offerings? Or perhaps the furuno transducers are better suited to furuno units?
19mal71,
When is comes to 1kW verses 2kW of power, you typically only get about 30% increase in acoustic output by using a higher power rated transducer (if both the transducers are rated with the same frequencies).
A typical 1kW 50/200kHz transducer should provide you around 2500 ft depth on low frequency, and about 1200 ft on high frequency. A 2kW 50/200kHz transducer will provide about 5000 ft on low frequency, and about 1800 ft for the high frequency. So if your main fishery is within that 1200 ft depth, then I would select a good 1kW transducer. If you plan on going deeper, than select the 2kW transducer.
In selecting the right transducer for use with your FCV295 and the fishery, I'd consider using the 1kW CA50/200-1T or the CA50/200-12M. These are both excellent transducers. If you want to select a 2kW transducer, then I'd consider using the R109LH (38-75kHz) - (130-210kHz), and find that fixed frequency that will work well for your fishery.
- Deep Blue.
When is comes to 1kW verses 2kW of power, you typically only get about 30% increase in acoustic output by using a higher power rated transducer (if both the transducers are rated with the same frequencies).
A typical 1kW 50/200kHz transducer should provide you around 2500 ft depth on low frequency, and about 1200 ft on high frequency. A 2kW 50/200kHz transducer will provide about 5000 ft on low frequency, and about 1800 ft for the high frequency. So if your main fishery is within that 1200 ft depth, then I would select a good 1kW transducer. If you plan on going deeper, than select the 2kW transducer.
In selecting the right transducer for use with your FCV295 and the fishery, I'd consider using the 1kW CA50/200-1T or the CA50/200-12M. These are both excellent transducers. If you want to select a 2kW transducer, then I'd consider using the R109LH (38-75kHz) - (130-210kHz), and find that fixed frequency that will work well for your fishery.
- Deep Blue.
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