FCV 295 transducer help.

[Anonymous]

Just bought a 33' commercial deep deop fishing boat. Im looking at my options for the best set up for this task. I am leaning towards the fcv 295 but if furuno makes something better than this i would consider. Also i would like to pair it with the BEST transducer for the job.
Will be fishing in depts of 700ft all th way up to about 1800 ft for snowy grouper, wreck fish, barrell fish, queen snapper and anything at those depths. I would prefer it be a 3kw transducer and looking for clear images of the bottom, bait species, squid and fish near the bottom.

Thanks you,

Tyler

 

[Snips]

DeepDropHND,
The 295 or its bigger brother the 1150 would work. The bigger question is what are you actually looking for i.e Fish detection or Bottom hardness? Lower "Q" transducers (R-509LH) will work better for fish detection. But if you are more after bottom hardness a higher "Q" will provide a better bottom tail (CA28BL-12HR or CA38BL-15HR).

Snips

 

[Anonymous]

Snips,

Will the R-509LH do a descent job showing bottom hardness? What i would like is something to save me some time, something that if I passed over some descent bottom about 1500ft it would show me if there are fish on it or not but also be able to show me hardness and type of bottom. My primary thing would be to see fish, squid, any kind of bait fish, and sonic scattered layer.

 

[Anonymous]

Also this Airmar R-509LH is a chirp transducer. Do fcv 295 have the chirp setting?

 

[Snips]

DeepDropHND,
The FCV-295 doesn't have any "Chirp" settings. So what makes a Chirp transducer different from a Broadband one? Basically it has the same internal make up with an added heat sink to help dissipate the heat that the longer TX pulse that a Chirp sounder produces.

So will the R-509LH be OK for bottom truthing? Probably not at the depths you are working. The reason is that the bottom hardness doesn't show up well in the primary echo using low "Q" transducer, but better in the second and third returns. Below is a comparison.

Snips

 

[Anonymous]

Snip,

Thanks for the prompt replies appreciate the help.
So help me out here if you can. If you just recently bought a boat for commercial deep dropping and needed to out perform the competition what set up would you use?
What would be the best set up for the above stated job?
Is there some other company that would better fit my needs?

 

[Snips]

DeepDropHND,
The FCV-295 has all the functionality in a sounder that you are looking for.

However I don't think any transducer available today will give you 100% of what you are asking for. That being said, I feel the R-509LH comes the closest to your requirements. 3kw/2kw, variable dual frequency, temperature and comes with a nice fairing block.

Snips

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your help Snips much appreciated.

 

[Anonymous]

Snips,

How about the fcv1900? Would this be a better option or would it be the same?

 

[Snips]

DeepDropHND,
The FCV-1900B would give you the added option of having a CHIRP machine. You can toggle the transmission mode between CHIRP and standard TX. Below are a couple of 1900 screen shots, one is feet and the other is fathoms.

Snips

 

[Anonymous]

Hi snips,

Would the fcv1900 paired with the Airmar CM599 LM transducer be the best option for me being it has the CHIRP function? Or would you suggest to stay with the 295 and R509 ducer?

 

[Snips]

DeepDropHND,
The FCV-1900 will be available in three models. The FCV-1900 is basically a black box version of the FCV-295/1150. The FCV-1900B is CHIRP and the FCV-1900G is CHIRP with fish sizing (with the correct transducer). The LM series is worth considering and will work with either the 295 or 1900B. I tend to favor the R-509LM over the CM-599LM just because of the fairing block. I prefer to get the face of the transducer as far away from the hull as possible i.e. cleaner water.

Snips