Echo sounder "Piranha": characteristics, instructions and references

As is known, with the help of the echo sounder, the fisherman actually, and not intuitively, determines which part of the reservoir to fish is promising. Thus, this useful device allows you to productively use time to your user, indicating the places of 100% biting.

Therefore, a reasonable step for a lover of fishing is its acquisition. However, the decision to make a purchase inevitably follows a choice question from the rulers offered by the manufacturers.

Select a company

Of course, there are many experimenters among fishermen. However, the question of expensive purchase, like spending money in general, requires a share of reasonable conservatism. So we begin our reasoning about choosing a manufacturer of echo sounders. Many-sided advertising here is a bad assistant.

If you rely on logic, then one of the true ways to make a successful purchase, this definition of the most respected manufacturer, whose experts not only produce a household echo sounder, but also become the first designers of all of its impressive functionality.

Modern fishermen, who catch in the summer from a boat or in winter from an ice-hole, successfully use fish finder "Piranha" developed by American company Humminbird. Humminbird is one of the most authoritative design bureaus in the world of such precision instruments. In its assets - the creation of the first waterproof echo sounder, the development of wireless technology SmartCast, 3D technology to study the relief of the bottom of the reservoir.

Industrially, the echo sounder "Piranha" is produced in all its modifications by another American company Johnson Outdoors, it manufactures these devices in 16 countries of the world. The range of products includes a wide range of devices: from budget to high-precision.

Models of Piranha Max

The line of echosounders "Piranha Max" is in demand by fishermen. Devices included in it, are able to determine the type of the bottom of the reservoir (function of the Structure ID), find the fish and explore its dimensions (Fish ID function). They are comfortable and reliable.

Color displays have a high resolution and contrast, allowing you to monitor the indications, even under direct sunlight.

In the line are two-beam: echo sounders "Hamminberd Piranha Max" with a TFT-screen with a resolution of 320 × 240 pc, and having emission angles of 28 ° / 200 kHz and 16 ° / 455 kHz

• 196cxi at the price of 20.5 thousand rubles;
• 197cx at the price of 9.4 thousand rubles;
• 197cx Portable price of 10.2 thousand rubles;
• 197cx DI at the price of 12.0 thousand rubles;
• 4x at the price of 11.9 thousand rubles;
• 4x DI price of 18.1 thousand rubles.

What "Piranha" do you need?

If we persuaded you, let's go further in our reasoning. Gathered to buy the "Piranha", the fisherman has not yet secured himself from error number 2. Do not rush to make a purchase, you need to understand the range of these echo sounders.

Before buying this useful fisherman things, the buyer is bound to decide on its kind. After being attracted to bright advertising, you can miss the very essence of the purchase. The fact is that functionally the echo sounders are intended for:

• Fishing from the boat ;
• Winter fishing;
• Fishing from the shore.

We will talk at once: the most demanded echo sounders, designed for reconnaissance of the reservoir from the boat. Therefore, we will devote the most time to the questions of their installation in this article.

But we will start with the choice of a sounder for catching from the shore. After all, the greatest percentage of fishermen are "proletarians" who do not have their own boat.

In this case, the fisherman should choose the Piranha echo sounder for fishing. The characteristics of its functioning, however, are also taken into account when purchasing:

• Productivity of the converter.
• Susceptibility of the receiver.
• Transmitter power.
• Resolution and color of the screen.

Depth sounder for catching from the shore

Fishermen-on-shore echo sounder is necessary in order to equalize the chances of catching fishermen-boatmen. After all, those using their own water transport can manipulate the fishing area in a larger range. But this is not the main thing! The main thing is to catch where there is fish.

That is why a wise fisherman from the shore will acquire the Piranha-6 echo sounder. His screen and sensor are spatially separated and connected not by wire, but by radio. The catcher throws the sensor so that its working surface is submerged in water parallel to the bottom. This will give an opportunity to personally observe the relief of the bottom, the presence of fish, the position of the bait, and approaching it. In addition, experimenting with bait, using the echo sounder, you can determine how much the fish is interested in one or the other of them.

Is not it true that the echo sounder is a convenient device?

Depth sounder for winter fishing

Experienced fishermen will confidently say that the echo sounder under ice fishing is a necessity. After all, if in spring and summer, even by splashes, you can determine where the fish is walking, then in winter we get a completely different picture. Going out on the ice, you can go anywhere: on most of the water area there is simply no fish. Finding places where the fish hibernates is an important matter.

The device for winter fishing has a special design. Its sensor is carried on the wire relative to the main part of the device. On the same wire, a float is equipped, which is necessary for lowering the sensor into the well. Obviously, to lower the measuring part in the hole follows the level below the lower edge of the ice.

When purchasing a winter version of the Piranha echo sounder, you should pay attention to the operating temperature of the echo sounder declared by the manufacturer. For winter models, the manufacturer uses the phrase "Ice Machine" or "Ice Edition".

Briefly about the functions of the echo sounder "Piranha"

However, as we mentioned, the largest share in the sales of echosounders is occupied by their models for catching boats. Why is the development of Humminbird suitable for these purposes? The sounder of its design is currently in demand because of the maximum ease of use and high reliability. The fisherman simply turns it on by pressing the POWER-MENU button, while automatically starting to measure the Piranha echo sounder. Fishermen's comments about him can be expressed in two words "simply" and "reliably".

The sonar sensor operates as a transmit-receive antenna. It emits a signal and, in reflected form, receives it, determining the relief and underwater objects from the change in characteristics.

For the accurate operation of the device located on the boat, its correct installation is critical. However, the manufacturer intelligently explains the methodology of this action in the operating instructions included with the purchase. The Piranha echo sounder is technologically and routinely placed on the boat. The installation instruction of the echo sounder on the boat assumes:

• Sensor placement;
• Location of the echosounder.

Sensor Installation

When installing the sensitive element "Piranha" - sensor - you need to perform five manipulations:

1. Determine the position of the sensor without being in the turbulence zone.
2. Drill the mounting holes on the transom using a special cardboard template.
3. Assemble and secure the sensor by insulating the holes with silicone.
4. Carry out its adjustment according to the printed circuit from the user's manual.
5. Route the cable by moving it over the transom or drilling over the waterline in the transom of the hole.

Sounder installation

Mount the echo sounder "Piranha", consistently producing six actions:

1. Assemble the base, consisting of fastening panels, fixed with four screws.
2. Connect it to the echosounder with a rotary screw and nut.
3. Determine the position of the echosounder in the boat. The cable must be reached before it. It requires convenient access. The mounting plate must protect against vibrations.
4. Connect power. Attention! "Piranha" is included in the network of 12 V.
5. Install the base.
6. Connect the sensor to the echo sounder by matching the appropriate configuration of the cable connectors to the echo sockets.

Checking the installation

In normal mode, when the boat is on the water, the included "Piranha" begins to display information.

A clear image on the screen of the bottom and digits means the operation of the device in normal mode. If there is no bottom on the TFT display and the digits appear chaotically, the sensor is not submerged. Sonar signals do not pass through the air.

Having achieved the normal operation of the device, make it a test, gradually increasing the speed. If the image of the display starts to "crumble", the sensor needs to be moved.

How to move the sensor

For the effective use of the device, the optimum location of the sensor is of fundamental importance. It is achieved by the following actions:

• It is checked whether the sensor is in the turbulence zone.
• Gradually, literally in millimeters, reducing the position of the sensor, to improve its functioning at speed.
• When using the entire length of the sensor mounting bracket, the angle of rotation should be reduced by 3 mm.

What do we see on the screen?

The screen of the device visualizes the information simply and visually. The top of the screen corresponds to the surface of the reservoir. The lower limit shows the maximum depth determined by the instrument. Between the minimum and maximum, the bottom relief, which changes when the boat moves, is visualized. Figures in the upper left corner of the screen show the current depth under the boat and the water temperature.

The stony bottom is represented on the screen by a thin line, or thick - thick, toned. Malek in the review sector will be shown by a horizontal interrupted strip. From the point of view of physics, their cluster contrasts with water by temperature (thermocline effect).

A larger fish is determined by the unit and displayed on the display with a standard fish icon, indicating the depth of each.

Instrument settings

The user adjusts the characteristics of the device that are convenient for him. The Piranha echo sounder setup includes:

• Backlight (three modes: turn off, weakly, strongly).
• Sensitivity (weak, medium, high).
• Depth level (automatic detection, manual maximum setting).
• Units of measure (meters, feet).
• Increase (review of the reservoir or bottom).
• Designation with a signal of the set depth (turn on, off).
• The designation of a fish signal.
• Image of the bottom (choose a convenient option).

Top models 196CXI

A full line of echo sounders assumes the availability of both budget and expensive models. Not an exception, there are products developed by Humminbird.

The "Hamminberd Piranha Max 196CXI" is currently the top model in the "piranhas" line. It is equipped with the newest two-beam emitter with scanning angles of 28 ° / 200 kHz and 16 ° / 455 kHz. With its help, additional navigation functions are also performed: the recording of the ship's route, the recording of the points of disposition, the chronology of the speeds of movement. TFT screen with a high resolution of 320x240 pixels allows the user to comfortably track the current information.

A budget option

However, the fisherman should not despair, if he can allocate a minimum of funds for the purchase of the echosounder. After all, budget models from the company Humminbird are distinguished by the quality of production and guaranteed functionality.

The Piranha 197CX, in contrast to the more expensive models, is devoid of navigation functions. However, it retains the basic functions: measuring the depth, determining the topography of the bottom, determining the location of the fish. Its two-beam radiator scans with the characteristics of 28 ° / 200 kHz and 16 ° / 455 kHz. The TFT screen shows a color clear image.

Instead of confinement. The sounder is cool

Why, when catching, it is better not to rely on blind luck, but is it worth buying this device? The fish finder "Piranha" opens up a number of new possibilities for the user.

• Measurement of the bottom relief helps to identify pits, where usually there is a large predatory fish. This is important when spinning spinning.
• The definition of the relief allows you to see the underwater burrows of the buckwheat, which adores perch, pike perch, pike, catfish.
• The sounder shows where the fish is. The fisherman still has to offer her a "menu" of baits.
• Modern echosounders determine the temperature of the water, which is important for the fisherman to take into account the activity of the fish.
• GPS navigation on expensive models of echo sounders is especially valuable for fishing in reservoirs and in sea waters.