portable fish finders

[Socksy Squirrel]

They sound like just the thing for spotting the mullet when the water is murky or the fish are deep. I am quite tempted to get one to try out in the local harbour; deep, calm water.

[newkidontheblock]

The following email which I sent off today, but as of yet have not received a reply to may be of interest to those of you wishing to purchase a Humminbird Smartcast Wireless Fishfinder from other than UK shores...

 

Furthermore, from what I can ascertain from the 'Web, UK Emergency Services operate between 30-50 MHz which is nowhere near 115kHz!

 

I daresay it is just another ploy to rip-off the UK public once again!

 

__________________________________________________________________________

 

Sir,

 

I write with reference to the rhetoric used in relation to the Humminbird Smartcast Fishfinder Range as outlined below.

 

I find it most alarming that these products are being marketed both on your website and on eBay by the user "kstand89" (who incidentally uses exactly the same wording as yourselves) as being ILLEGAL for use in the UK when they operate on EXACTLY the same frequency as the USA versions, namely 115kHz!

 

I would be very interested to ascertain what documentary evidence you have from 'Ofcom' or the 'Radio Services Agency' in order to support your claims that they interfere with UK Emergency Services.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Carl

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(Below extract was copied and pasted from the page 'Smartcast Wireless Fishfinders' at www.gps-store.co.uk 7/5/04)

 

Important Notice

 

All Smartcast products sold by Angling Electronics are OFFICIAL EUROPEAN-SPECIFIED Smartcasts. It is easy to distinguish European-specified Smartcast products as they have Orange Floating Sonars.

 

 

Other Smartcast products which you may see for sale, which have Green Floating Sonars, are for use in the USA, Canada and Australia only, and are ILLEGAL IN THE UK. These units operate on a frequency that interferes with those used by the UK Emergency Services, and the use of any such Smartcast is a serious offence, punishable with a fine of up to £5,000.

 

More importantly from the buyer's persective, imported Smartcast units with green sensors DO NOT COME WITH A UK WARRANTY, so if there are any problems with your unit you will have no protection and your money will be lost. Similarly, if you lose or damage your floating Remote Sonar Sensor, because spare Green sensors are not available in the UK and Europe, you will need to import one from abroad, which will inevitably be a slow, costly and time-consuming process.

 

 

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[Newt]

Socksy Squirrel - I like them for quite a few uses. My boat has two standard sonar units - one at the driving console for when I'm running and another at the bow where I can see it while using the trolling motor.

 

Both are great when moving for showing bottom detail and at times, dense schools of baitfish (since in winter the preds will usually be found under these clouds of little fish).

 

But when I'm at anchor, the wireless gets used. Good for bottom detail and while the 'fish finder' feature can be fooled by false returns, when it shows nothing, there is nothing down there.

 

And I've noticed that all the units will work much deeper in salt water than fresh. Not sure why but something about the salt water seems to suit them better.

 

[ 07. May 2004, 09:17 PM: Message edited by: Newt ]

[Eddie]

quote:

---

ILLEGAL for use in the UK when they operate on EXACTLY the same frequency as the USA versions, namely 115kHz!

---

That isn't the frequency that counts, its the ones in the region of around 450 megs and I think 910 megs that the two different transmitters use! 115kHz is the sounders frequency.

[Steve Burke]

Eddie beat me to this. To clarify, the echo-sounder itself uses the same frequency of 115kHz in both countries. This purely picks up the signal from below the water.

 

However, unlike a normal fishfinder, this data is then radioed back to the angler. This uses another frequency altogether and is different in the US compared to the UK.

[Socksy Squirrel]

They probably work better in salt water because it is more dense than fresh so the 'pings' carry further.