The problem with depth finders

[BobG]

I have a depth finder on my boat. It's part of the GPS/FishFinder. It works well, but it may be giving me a false sense of security.

The transducer is mounted on the aft end of the starboard pontoon.

So that tells me the depth of the water I have just FINISHED going over.

I think what I really need is one or more transducers on the bow, angled forward 45 degrees, and then showing the depth as .707 * the measured depth (because if it's at a 45 degree angle, the actual depth is equal to the sine of 45 degrees times the measured distance, blah, blah, blah - don't worry folks, it's just trigonometry).

What's more, it should have a smart gauge, that measures the rate of change to be interpreted as a smart collision alarm. If I'm in questionable and unknown water, I'm going to be moving at idle speed, so it should work out.

So I have all the abilities to build the microprocessor to make this work, I just need to find a good source for underwater transducers and transmit/receive electronics to drive the ultrasonics.

[cwag911]

WOW BOB! You're gettin way too technical there. The weird thing is, I understand what you're talking about.

[PlaynDoc]

I read until and , and maybe a

[gramps]

Just drive slower.

[Ron Burgundy]

They already have side scanning sonar. It shouldn't be too hard to do, but it's gonna be expensive. I bet there is already one on the market.

[WILD MAN]

If I had the money I'd get one of these, but till I hit the lottery I'll just have to make my wife sit up front and watch for stumps.
http://store.technilabco.com/echopilot-22.html

[GregF]

The open question is where/how you mount this forward facing transducer.

[lakerunner]

Um yea, I see, ok, whatever