side scan

[csa28]

i was wandering if the wesmar side scan sonar Model SHD700SS was any good. ill only be using it in about 30 ft of water at the most. the model is from around 93 im thinkin about geting thanks

Daniel

 

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[ScubaDude]

Just make sure its not the scam one on Ebay where the guy wants you to contact him through his private email instead of ebay.

 

[pcolaboy]

Just make sure its not the scam one on Ebay where the guy wants you to contact him through his private email instead of ebay.

Brad...don't tell me you almost got snagged by that guy as well!

Before I bought this Humminbird unit I have now, I nearly got into a transaction with this guy until the private email issue came up.

Pcolaboy

 

[ScubaDude]

No but that general type of scam is precent on a lot of unique high end things - I also saw it on kirby morgan diving helmets.

 

[macblastr]

scams aside, anyone answer the question? is the westmar side scan a good unit? anyone have any experiance using it?

 

[Voldbjerg]

Is there a reason nobody have mentioned the Sportsscan lately? Is it a dog? On paper it does look good..

V

 

[Craigpate]

I have a 700SS in 310 KHz. It is a very good unit, and the resolution is much more useful than any of those low budget models I see mentioned. I use a flat screen monitor and a DAT recorder for playback. For the money, it is outstanding. I have considered selling it, simply because I don't use it often. Seems to me if I decide to get rid of it, I would need $4500.00 or so.

I have also used the more common 107 KHz model, and although the range is much farther, the resolution is just fair, especially on small targets. If you are seeking a large target, the 107 will do what you want it to do once you get good at using it. It takes practice. It will work great in 30 feet of water. But again, it will take some practice to get the pulse length and TVG set to your conditions.

By the way, the e-bay scams also included a stolen set for a bargain price of around $2000.00. I was told the guy was caught, and the sonar was returned to its owner.

If you are looking for a scanning sonar, I have an older Wesmar 150, which uses an 8 inch sound dome I have rigged to hang off the back of the boat. This thing works perfectly, but this is an older set, but it is well built and may last forever. It has never been in salt water. I would take $750.00 for it. This has a round screen and gives a visual like a radar in addition to actual echo sounds (through a speaker). It has very long range potential (1600 feet in any direction), but this is only under really good conditions. I actually detected a large steel wreck in Lake Huron from nearly 2000 feet once. The image showed up as a secondary return. It has range settings from 100-1600 feet. The transducer has tilt and trim, and can be made to rotate 360, in sections or in a straight line. For a big target, this thing will do it's job.
Good luck

Craig

 

[macblastr]

i just bought one, how can u tell the 107 from the 310? is it all in the fish?

thanks for the useful info!

 

[starsplitter]

Burton has inexpensive side scan and manetometer units. I am NOT an authority on such things, I just followed up on a referral from another posting. From what he said, Burton is cheaper, but still a quality unit. Burton equipment seems to make some compromises (single side scanning for example). But, the pics look good (to a newbie anyways).

 

[Aburgskipper]

Craig,

I am responding to an old posting but I am interested in how to set up a Wesmar SHD700SS side scan sonar unit. I have all the hardware, two tow fish, 2 100m cables, console and manual. I want to run the unit to a laptop computer and use the monitor output. I want to find out the most efficient way to store and use the data from the signal from the console signal outputs. What is the best software to use with this set up that will work on a laptop?

Regards, Scott

 

[old man]

Craig,

I am responding to an old posting but I am interested in how to set up a Wesmar SHD700SS side scan sonar unit. I have all the hardware, two tow fish, 2 100m cables, console and manual. I want to run the unit to a laptop computer and use the monitor output. I want to find out the most efficient way to store and use the data from the signal from the console signal outputs. What is the best software to use with this set up that will work on a laptop?

Regards, Scott

Scott, send a PM to Fisheye, he's an expert with that unit.

 

[FISHEYE]

The only software that will work with the Wesmar SHD700SS is called seasone hunter and mapper.The software is capable of 3d imaging.and has a chart plotter built into it.It will work on a pc or laptop.The software is free and the dongle is $2500.I have the dongle for mine.For the PC you will need a national instruments pc card PCI-MIO-16E4.For the laptop there is a PCM cia card that is made by national instruments.I dont know the model number but it is the same as the PCI-MIO-16E4.I bought my PCI-MIO-16E4 off ebay for $100.The PCM cia card is about the same.The only other way to get the video off the screen and save it is to use a PC vga to composite signal converter.I have one that i bought off ebay for $16.It works really well.And you can save the video to a portable DVR which you can also buy on ebay.I have one made by sandisk and another thats a no name.I bought both on ebay for $10.Look at the links and you can see the photo of the PC vga to composite signal converter and a video i made using it out of the fish out of water.If you want the software you will have to mail Mark Monro at [FONT=&quot][email protected][/FONT] he will mail you back a link to download it.The files are 2.5 gig so you will need a fast connection to get it without errors.There are PDF files in there that show how to hook up the SS to the computer.WESMAR SHD700SS video output to vga converter box and Wesmar SHD700SS Photos by StillWaves | Photobucket

 

[rbrayfield82]

This is a dumb crazy question to some of you guys, so here we go. I saw above about hummingbird and was wondering if the hummingbird fish finders are sonar units as well and if they would locate any large items in rivers. I am interested in any used side scans for beginners to use in the ocean as well as a river that once had German subs and confederate ships. Any help with this?

 

[ropesfish]

Fishfinders are sonar units. My advice would be to spend some time on the RGecy's site that Fisheye linked to @Humminbird Side Imaging Forums - Index . You can spend days there learning about how sideimaging works. RGecy does a great job with that site.
There may be sites with more information about sidescan sonar...but I've never seen it.
Humminbird and Lowrance both make some impressive equipment but the good stuff ain't cheap.

 

[rbrayfield82]

Thanks for the info. I will read up on it now.