Principle Of Operation - Interphase Advantage User Manual

Principle of Operation

The Advantage Dual Frequency Sonar uses a proprietary
acoustic technology to develop short high energy underwater
acoustic signals that can detect submerged objects and
changing bottom conditions far below your boat. Because of
it's extremely high pulse power and outstanding receiver
sensitivity, the Advantage can probe the water beneath your
boat to depths of 2,000 feet.
The Advantage Sonar system consists of an LCD display
module and a multi-featured dual frequency transducer. The
transducer contains a single specially designed piezoelectric
ceramic element that can operate at both 200 and 50 kilohertz.
When operating, the Advantage Display module converts a
small amount of electrical current from your battery into short
bursts of high energy electrical pulses. These high energy
pulses are fed to the transducer where they excite the dual
frequency ceramic element. When excited by these electrical
bursts, the ceramic element converts them into a strong
underwater acoustic signal. These acoustic signals travel out
from the transducer in a cone shaped pattern, called the cone
angle.
When the ceramic element in the transducer is excited with a
200 kHz electrical signal, the resulting acoustic cone angle is
approximately 15 degrees and increases to about 45 degrees
with a 50 kHz signal. When the acoustic pulse strikes an
underwater object, it is reflected back (echo return), received
by the same ceramic element in the transducer, and converted
back into small electrical impulses. These impulses are
amplified, then displayed as an image on the LCD screen after
processing by the display module's microprocessor.
The strength of the echo, the depth of the object, and the angle
of the transducer's beam all affect how the image appears on
the display. Other factors which affect the image include boat
speed relative to the movement and position of the underwater
target and the number of objects reflecting pulses back to the
Advantage.
The Advantage's transducer also includes a sensor for
measuring the boat's speed through the water and the water's
temperature at the transducer.
Because the Advantage can operate at either 200 or 50 kHz, it
offers several advantages over single frequency depth
sounders. This is because acoustic signals at different
frequencies behave quite differently and each has it's own
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