Sonar. What Would You Like To See As The Next 'Big Thing'?

[Mark Perry]

Most of the above suggestions like wireless transducers and smaller transducers would require a rewrite to the laws of physics to maintain things like SS and 360, so I wouldn't expect to see them. Power is always going to need wires, and smaller transducers have wide beams.

What I'd like to see is a separation of the displays from the signal processing and other hardware. Sonars would be black boxes mounted under the deck someplace with small cables running to monitors mounted on the consoles and ethernet connecting them.

This would make the displays themselves cheaper, lighter and upgradable.

If you want to go to an ideal world, you have an industry standard for displays and sonars so you could have multiple manufacturer's sonars integrated to a single display and companies competing to sell monitors etc. to drive the price down.

Think of all the stuff a cell phone does via wireless and in a very small package with a tiny battery. The cell phone makes a depthfinder pale in technology.

[grout-scout]

I didn’t read any of the responses, so this might have been posted. I’d like an easier under water camera option, see what kind of fish I was really looking at on the sonar. Yes, most of the lakes I fish are clear water; but not 15’ clear.

[CatFan]

Think of all the stuff a cell phone does via wireless and in a very small package with a tiny battery. The cell phone makes a depthfinder pale in technology.

A cellphone isn't a good comparison. It doesn't send data constantly so it can get by with a much smaller battery, it is packet based and not real time, and if you screwed a cellphone to the back of your boat it would have pretty serious problems.

In order to make a transducer wireless, you'd have to build the whole sonar into the transducer assembly because sonar accuracy depends on timing, and networks are almost random in timing. You'd end up with $500 transducers. If it was at all feasible, manufacturers would be all over it because a wireless link would be cheaper than a transducer cable.

My idea of a black box for the sonar with a display cable is 1000 times more practical and would probably reduce cost.

[Mark Perry]

A cellphone isn't a good comparison. It doesn't send data constantly so it can get by with a much smaller battery, it is packet based and not real time, and if you screwed a cellphone to the back of your boat it would have pretty serious problems.

In order to make a transducer wireless, you'd have to build the whole sonar into the transducer assembly because sonar accuracy depends on timing, and networks are almost random in timing. You'd end up with $500 transducers. If it was at all feasible, manufacturers would be all over it because a wireless link would be cheaper than a transducer cable.

My idea of a black box for the sonar with a display cable is 1000 times more practical and would probably reduce cost.

GPS, apps, location, roaming, cell site/network connection etc....a cell phone most definitely sends and receives info 24/7.

[ezfishn]

Standardize the mapping so regardless of what brand FF you can use any available map card. Why do you have to buy brand X FF just to have decent map coverage.

[catch5]

LIke a cable box or satellite tv box..... you buy the "receiver" and then whatever size "monitor" you want.

Yes!!!! Fantastic idea!!!

[Axkiker]

LIke a cable box or satellite tv box..... you buy the "receiver" and then whatever size "monitor" you want.

I also like this idea as hopefully a majority of the guts / weight could be under the dash. Would make mounting the hopefully much lighter 12" monitor much easier.

[greenheadz]

Its been said before...but wireless communication between transducer and display would be amazing.

agree...

[CatFan]

GPS, apps, location, roaming, cell site/network connection etc....a cell phone most definitely sends and receives info 24/7.

No, it most definitely doesn't. It sends small packets of data when needed. Even speech is sent in tiny compressed packets so the phone is not transferring data around 90% of the time even during a call. It can do this because the data is all processed on board the phone before it is transmitted and what is received is processed before being displayed or acted on. If you tried to do the same thing with sonar, you'd end up with unacceptable delay before data could be displayed because you couldn't buffer ahead like you do watching video on a phone.

I'm an engineer and work with this kind of stuff daily. It wouldn't be practical.

[docwbc]

No, it most definitely doesn't. It sends small packets of data when needed. Even speech is sent in tiny compressed packets so the phone is not transferring data around 90% of the time even during a call. It can do this because the data is all processed on board the phone before it is transmitted and what is received is processed before being displayed or acted on. If you tried to do the same thing with sonar, you'd end up with unacceptable delay before data could be displayed because you couldn't buffer ahead like you do watching video on a phone.

I'm an engineer and work with this kind of stuff daily. It wouldn't be practical.

It Administrator here, not an engineer, but I can guarantee you your smart phone is sending data more than 10% of the time. Your phone is sending more data than that when you have it turned off :O

[Bob G.]

I'm ok with transducers and GPS pucks to the graphs, not ok with dropped signals while trying to fish or navigate. It would suck to cruise the lake and trying to avoid an obstacle and the map kept freezing up and then updating a bit later.

There is a rock island that is just barely submerged in the Spring on Champlain when the water level is high. A local angler hit it a few years ago, not sure if he has his map page on while cruising. I avoid cruising through that area on plane and several more without knowing where they are.

Wish for wireless electronics all you want, I'll stick with everything wired. I do my own installs.

[spinningreel]

I'd like to see 1 tournament per year (elite or flw) with No electronics, only paper maps allowed. Just for kicks.

[LTZ25]

Live porn ?

[alpine4x4]

No, it most definitely doesn't. It sends small packets of data when needed. Even speech is sent in tiny compressed packets so the phone is not transferring data around 90% of the time even during a call. It can do this because the data is all processed on board the phone before it is transmitted and what is received is processed before being displayed or acted on. If you tried to do the same thing with sonar, you'd end up with unacceptable delay before data could be displayed because you couldn't buffer ahead like you do watching video on a phone.

I'm an engineer and work with this kind of stuff daily. It wouldn't be practical.

It would be no different than a mini router. Definitely doable.

I'd much rather see the box unit with modular displays though.

[Axkiker]

Live porn ?

but would you run a graph sponsored by PornHub.com ??? LOL

[LTZ25]

but would you run a graph sponsored by PornHub.com ??? LOL

You got me !!!!

[Idaho Sandman]

A cellphone isn't a good comparison. It doesn't send data constantly so it can get by with a much smaller battery, it is packet based and not real time, and if you screwed a cellphone to the back of your boat it would have pretty serious problems.

In order to make a transducer wireless, you'd have to build the whole sonar into the transducer assembly because sonar accuracy depends on timing, and networks are almost random in timing. You'd end up with $500 transducers. If it was at all feasible, manufacturers would be all over it because a wireless link would be cheaper than a transducer cable.

My idea of a black box for the sonar with a display cable is 1000 times more practical and would probably reduce cost.

Agreed 100%. Transducers run to it then out to monitors via individual outputs. Built in network as well as wifi. That way you can link your phone to it and be able to mimic your phone screen as well as choose which transducer you want on the screen/screens or look at both transducers in a split screen. Basically eliminating the ridiculous priced hummingbird router and crazy cost of Ethernet cables.

[CatFan]

It would be no different than a mini router. Definitely doable.

I'd much rather see the box unit with modular displays though.

No, it wouldn't be anything at all like a router. A router just forwards data created elsewhere, and only does so when it has time to do it. There is no time coherence of the data flow, and time coherence is the one thing absolutely critical to sonar. It could be done, but would require moving so much of the processing into the transducer that you'd have $500 transducers. It would be more like taking your entire sonar except for the display and mounting it in the bilge or in the water on the transom.

[FishFish]

Thermal imaging panoptix. To find them fish in the weeds.

[Tenn.todd]

Lower prices, make a product that lasts more than a year