8
Understanding the Sonar Display
It is important to understand the significance of
the display. The display does not show a literal
3-dimensional representation of what is under
the water. Each vertical band of data received by
the control head and plotted on the display
represents something that was detected by a
sonar return at a particular time. As both the boat
and the targets (fish) may be moving, the returns
are only showing a particular segment of time
when objects were detected, not exactly where
those objects are in relation to other objects
shown on the display.
The returned sonar echoes are displayed on the screen. As a new echo is
received, the historical data scrolls left across the view.
What’s On the Sonar Display
