FCV295 Transducer selection

[kuzi]

Hi All. I’ve recently taken delivery of my new Australian built Sailfish catamaran. Unfortunately one of the transducers I ordered have been incorrectly supplied and installed. I generally do bottom fishing at varying depths but the majority of my fishing is between 100-300 feet and have recently started to explore deep drop fishing also. On the advice of my local dealer it was recommended to install a 200-8B and a 38BL-9HR paired with my FCV295. Also as standard the boat came installed with a TZT2 and a SS164 installation. Upon taking delivery of the boat I’ve noticed that it has a 50B-9B installed instead of the 200B-8B. They have confirmed that it was a supply error but unfortunately it’s not as simple as just replacing it with the correct transducer as it’s installed in a custom fit fairing block which needs to be replaced and the manufacturer of the boat is on the other side of the country. They are suggesting that I try and run the 50B-9B at the 75khz frequency and see how it performs as they seem to think that it may be a better option over the 200B-8B.

I am after some advice or opinions on my setup and choices. I have a basic knowledge of transducer beam angles and setup but I’m finding it hard to understand or comprehend why the current install may be a better option over my initial order/recommendation. There’s also the concern with running 200khz(SS164) on the TZT2 and 200khz(200B-8B) on the FCV295. I’m also not overly impressed with the sounder on the TZT2 at this stage although I haven’t had a chance to refine the settings yet.

1. Can someone confirm that running it at a 75khz frequency is possible on the FCV295 as all the information I have seen suggests otherwise and that it’s only possible on the FCV1150?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages between the 200B-8B and 50B-9B so I can make an education decision around what I would prefer to have installed?
3. Will I see a very noticeable difference between the 2 transducers if one is a 1kw and the other is 2kw?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Snips]

Kuzi,
Sorry to hear about the transducer mix up.
The FCV-295 is blocked out of three difference frequency ranges; 53-65, 111-139 and 171-183Khz so 75Khz is possible. In this respect, it has the same TX/RX characteristics as the FCV-1150.

It is true that a few of Furuno's transducers have a secondary resonate frequency i.e. 50/75 and 28/88. While I have done a lot of testing I have never recorded the performance difference between the primary (50) and secondary (75Khz) frequencies. At the dock I have slewed the frequency to see if there was life around 75Khz but never have tried it during actually fishing. In my humble opinion, nothing is going to replace not having the CA200B-8B onboard.

To your question about power, 1kw vs 2kw. There is really more to this than just the power rating. The general rule is that the higher power the more elements a transducer has. The more elements a transducer has the narrower (in general) it beam width becomes. So if you had two 50Khz transducers, 1kw and the other 2kw. Your returns would harder but shorter using the 2kw transducer.

Unfortunately you can't compare the 50B-9B against the 200B-8B,

Snips

 

[kuzi]

Thanks Snips. I appreciate your feedback. You have pretty much confirmed my thoughts and I will request for them to replace it. At the end of the day there’s a reason why the 200B-8B was recommended to me in the first place so I will stick with what I ordered and make them replace it.

 

[Snips]

Kuzi,
The CA200B-8B is used here in the US. It's narrow beam angle is good for detecting layers in the water column such as Thermoclines.

Snips

 

[kuzi]

Snips,

I guess my main question is which transducer will perform better for finding bottom fish/structure at depths from 100-300ft?

Kuzi.

 

[Snips]

Kuzi,
In the grand scheme of things 100-300ft in pretty shallow. The 200B-8B has a 5.5 degrees beam where the 50B-9B has a 12 (for/aft) x 28 (port/stbd). Both transducers will detect structures. If you were diving and needed to stay over a wreck the narrower beam would be better.

Snips

 

[kuzi]

Snips, if there wasn’t any structure though and a small group of fish where holding onto the bottom at around 200 feet then I’m assuming that it would be easier to find them with the 200khz? Apologies for the questions but I’m trying to gain some knowledge around this all.

 

[Snips]

Kuzi,
It really depends on how reflective fish targets are. In the screen shot below the school of bait (whatever it was) and the Black Sea Bass are displayed equally well on 200Khz. But on the LF side (42Khz) you would hardly see the bait and the Sea Bass appear weaker than the 200Khz side. Now would you be able to see both the bait and Sea Bass by turning up the gain, probably. But the point is that the fish in the bait school are physically smaller than the Sea Bass. Higher frequencies have a tendency to display smaller targets better than lower. It is nice to have both frequencies so you can compare the two.

Snips

 

[kuzi]

Thanks snips. It’s good to see a comparison. Once again I appreciate your response and time.

Cheers, Kuzi.