The two-channel transceiver features what Furuno calls main bank pulse suppression, meaning the main sonar pulse is filtered out from the target return. This, combined with a pulse rate that has doubled to 3,000 per second, dramatically improves shallow-water operation, according to Eric Kunz, senior product development manager for Furuno. "With this new sounder, we get readings a foot and a half under the transducer, without losing the bottom," he says. This makes the FCV-1150 a good tool for navigation, since it can accurately monitor depths when running tracts of shallow water (think the Gulf of Mexico).
The two-channel configuration provides multi-frequency selection, but instead of fixed frequencies, the transceivers can be "slewed," which means they are infinitely adjustable, on the fly, with a slider control on the monitor. "You can set the frequency anywhere," says Kunz. "Sometimes things happen that are not tangible ? you may have weird noise at one frequency. Say you are at 50 kHz. You can look at 40 for a minute, then bring it back again. You can actually tune the transducer and the transceiver together for the best resolution."
