© 2013 Oceanic Imaging Consultants, Inc.
Service + Software for Seafloor Mapping
Digital Sidescan Sonars / C-MAX CM2
The CM2 digital sidescan is made by C-MAX Ltd., of Dorset, UK. It is a recent upgrade to their previous CM800 series. It offers a digital interface for control, with the option of either analog or digital data output. The CM2 is a true digital system; images are digitized in the towfish. Unlike sonars that rely on analog towfish and analog telemetry, there is no loss of image quality in the tow cable. The top end Data Acquisition Unit was redesigned in stainless steel with an optional integrated display, but still retains its PC basis. An analog output allows for interfacing to other sonar processors. Data records can also be exported in digital form.
The CM2 family of towfish includes two dual frequency models, types DF and EDF. These cover a total of three acoustic frequencies, namely 100kHz (LF), 325kHz (HF) and 780kHz (EF). All of the towfish models feature a digitally controlled dynamically-optimized gain profile, automatic towfish altitude measurement and a seabed proximity alarm. All CM2 towfish are powered from the surface via the tow cable.
The rugged CM2 Sonar Transceiver (STR) provides a simple USB interface between the CM2 towfish and our GeoDAS software, running on your laptop or PC workstation.