Page 10: of Marine Technology Magazine (September 2021)

MTTTTTTTTTTTTTRM M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M MTRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMTTTTTTTTTTTTTRMTR 100000000000000001111111111111111111111111111100000000000000000000000000000010000000000000000100 www.farsounder.com

FarSounder

FarSounder celebrated its 20th anni- the sonar system. Inside our transducer versary in 2021, two decades under its modules we have a separate receiver ar- belt for this innovator of 3D Forward ray with up to 200 channels, depending

Looking Sonar. on the model type. With all of those re- “Farsounder is a company that de- ceivers, we’re able to listen to thousands velops and manufactures 3D forward of different directions, both in the hori- looking sonars for ship navigation,” zontal and the vertical simultaneously. said Matthew Zimmerman, Executive So with one ping, we’re able to image

Vice President of Engineering and Co- in true 3D what is in front of the ship

Founder, in an interview earlier this year The Argos 350 underwater out to navigationally signi? - with MTR TV. “Our products basically cant ranges.” provide the most useful information for The market for Farsounder is as diverse vessel operators, which is what is un- delivered to open up new ‘smaller big as the types of ships in the world. “It der the water in front of me before I get boat’ markets for the company. “Also, turns out that almost every type of ship there.” the Argos 350 is a great match for a lot and boat wants to know what’s underwa-

The Argo series has three models that of the unmanned surface vessels that are ter so they can avoid hitting things,” said are designed for vessels from about 17 being developed,” said Zimmerman. Zimmerman, noting that the company meters in length to about 200 meters “Our sonars have a portion that’s in has customers in the yachting, expedi- in length. The Argos 350, is the newest the water, the sensor, which we call the tion cruise ship, coast guards, navies model, and goes out 350 meters maxi- transducer module,” said Zimmerman. and other government vessel markets. mum range. The Argos 500 goes about “The transducer module, transmits a “Over the past few years we’ve been 500 meters maximum range. And the ping, that signal goes out, bounces off installing more of our systems on well-

Argos 1000 goes 1000 meters maximum the obstacles and targets underwater. known research vessels, such as the Sir range. The Argos 350 was developed and And then those echoes come back to David Attenborough.”

AIRMAR Technology Corporation www.airmar.com

In addition to continuing to develop and improve ultrason- ic transducers and sensor products within its core competen- cies, AIRMAR entered the sensor management market this year with our new SmartBoat system, a vessel-management solution for all marine sensor protocols and network types.

SmartBoat Modules offer a con? gurable sensor interface, support a wide range of sensors and protocols, and provide remote discovery, management, programming, and wireless

Led by Stephen Boucher, AIRMAR Technology is a com- features. These capabilities signi? cantly reduce the equip- pany 350 employees strong that is dedicated to the develop- ment, gateways, cabling, complexity, and labor associated ment and manufacture of marine electronics for nearly 40 with the installation of conventional networking products.

years. AIRMAR’s technological partnerships with subsid- The modules connect to sensors such as current-loop, iaries have enabled the evolution of its ultrasonic transduc- thermistors, thermocouples, resistive, voltage and fuel-? ow, ers and WeatherStation Multisensors. Working with Marport and convert their protocols to NMEA 2000. Once connect- has provided AIRMAR with access to technologies origi- ed, the status and control of the sensors are managed via nally developed for the commercial ? shing industry, while AIRMAR’s SmartFlex View, a browser-based tool embed- working with MSI Transducers has provided AIRMAR with ded in each module. Designed to meet electronics install- material initially created by MSI for defense contract proj- ers’ and boatbuilders’ requirements, SmartBoat Modules ects, which we are now using to develop the industry’s next- also include features like pluggable connectors, full electri- level of transducers. AIRMAR’s wholly owned distributors, cal isolation of each bus, remote access through connected

Gemeco and AIRMAR EMEA, allow its product lines to be networks, built-in diagnostic tools, and the ability to easily sold and supported worldwide. back up and clone modules for the next install. 10 September/October 2021

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