The digital transducer, new sonar technology

The new digital architecture in sonar/echosounders designed and produced by BioSonics, Inc. is very different compared to traditional analog architecture. The acoustic signal received by the transducer is digitized inside the transducer unit just on the face of the transducer´s ceramic element or elements, then the digitized echo signal is sent further to other units of the instrument, which removes problems associated with sending an analog echo signal through long cable lines. Traditional analog sonar/echo sounder systems suffer from high noise, excessive signal loss and signal distortion. Besides that, the wide dynamic range of the digital transducer allows simultaneous recording without saturation of very low echo signals from plankton particles and large bottom returns. The digital echo samples can be recorded on a PC computer hard drive. Digital design allows simplicity of operation (no controls such as gain knobs and switches) and a direct link between the echosounder and data processing and analysis software making the process of data acquisition simple and versatile. New digital technology allows new applications such as: (a) simple turnkey echosounder for mobile or fixed location surveying of aquatic resources, bottom typing and bathymetry, (b) deployment of unmanned platforms such as buoys, remote sensing stations on the surface or underwater for data storage and telemetering, (c) single or multiplexed transducers (single beam, dual beam, split beam), (d) wide range of frequencies (from 38 kHz to 1 MHz)