The FE-700 is a result of over 50 years of Furuno’s vast range of experience and advanced microelectronics technology fields in developing echo sounders, sonars, and underwater application equipment and systems. This echo sounder is a breakthrough over the conventional paper eating sounders; there are no consumable items. The purpose of the echo sounder is to provide safe navigation by detecting the clearance below the ship (particularly in shallow waters) as required on the SOLAS Convention ships by the new IMO standards.
The basic system consists of a display unit, a distribution box, a matching box, and a transducer.
The 6.5″ high-brightness TFT color LCD display offers an easy-to-read depth sounding in various modes, permitting optimum representation with respect to the environment.
Detection range is automatically varied but there is manual override to select the required scale. The displayed record is visible for 15 min on any range and an instantaneous sounding is directly shown in large numerals in addition to the graphical display. Depths, associated time, and position are stored for 24 h in memory. The data can be played back at any time.
Visual and audible alarms are generated when the water depth below transducer is shallower than a user-preset depth. When the seabed is lost because of the lowered detection or out of range setting, the alarm comes on. The receiver sensitivity is automatically controlled with the tracking depth; manual override is possible to improve the detection and to reduce the surface clutter.
The transducer is available in 200 kHz or 50 kHz. The 200 kHz system is advantageous in rough weather or congested waterways in shallow waters whereas the 50 kHz system is recommended for deeper range operation. Depth data can be output in IEC 61162 format to radar, ECDIS, VDR (Voyage Data Recorder), and other radio communication and navigation equipment. Optional software is available to transfer the sounding data to a personal computer.
