What is the difference between Searchlight Sonar &

Omni Sonar?
Omni Sonar is the preferred sonar system by professional commercial fishermen. It is
easy to understand the difference between an Omni and a Search Light (spotlight) or
sector sonar through a quick example.

Search Light sonar:

A good way to understand search light sonar is to picture yourself holding a flashlight in
a dark room. As you turn your body with the flashlight you can see only the area lit by
the flashlight. As you continue to turn around 360 degrees each image would be lost and
replaced by the next item shown by the flashlight. If I was in the room and did not want
to be seen by you, I would just stay out of the beam of light from the flashlight.

Search Light sonar works in the same way. To find fish, a set of elements move around
a center core and show the fisherman the sea around him one slice at a time.

At 14kts, it is possible for a fisherman to sail by a school of fish without ever seeing it.
This is because the fish are out of sonar range by the time the “search light” moves to
that side of the Vessel.

Omni vs Searchlight Sonar

Fish Found

Omni Sonar
All directions
at once

Fish Lost
Searchlight
Sonar
Turning
around and
around

Sector sonar:
A sector sonar is similar to like the searchlight sonar. It uses a bigger “light” that can see
90 degrees at one time. It is made up of a line of elements that spin around a central
core but it needs 4 positions to cover 360 degrees. Like its cousin, the search light
sonar is limited and can not provide you a full all around view in real time.

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What is the difference between Searchlight Sonar & Omni Sonar?
The MAQ Omni Sonar:
A Omni sonar sees 360 degrees at one time. Instead of having one row of sonar
elements facing in one direction and moving around 360 degrees over a period of time,
an Omni sonar has 256 sonar elements on a cylindrical core sending out a continual
signal 360 degrees all at one time.

To use a dark room example, it is the difference between having a flashlight and turning
on a light in the center of the room. If I was hiding in the room and you turned on the
light, you would find me quickly.

The cost difference between a Omni, a sector, and search light sonar is due to the
number of elements and the complexity of the electronics and software.

A real life example:

The most popular search light sonar is one that operates at about 150 KHz. It can see
fish at a maximum of 200M away in the best conditions.
At 90 KHz, our Omni sonar can see fish in the shallow waters off the coast of Portugal at
between 400M and 700M depending on the sea conditions, depth of the water and size
of the fish school. It is currently used by more the 150 pelagic fishing vessels in North
Spain, France, and Portugal to catch Benito, Sardine, Sea Bass, Red Tuna, Anchovy,
and Mackerel.

Benefits of the MAQ 90 KHz OMNI Sonar Over the Rest of Small Fishing Vessels!

The benefits to the fisherman in using the MAQ 90 KHz Omni Sonar over their current
spotlight and sector sonar are:

1. Time and Fuel savings. The

Omni can find schools of fish and
approximate size/weight so that
smaller schools can be passed
over for larger ones. It also
allows a fisherman to select a
school of fish and track them so
that multiple small schools can
be combined in one drop of the
net. This maximizes the catch
size without traveling out further
to find one or two very large
schools. This means that quotas
can be caught in less time, which
reduces fuel costs and running
time.

2. Fish stock conservation through less destructive fishing practices. With

the Omni sonar, it is possible to see the front, back, sides, and height of the
school of fish to be caught. If the school is too large for a single net, the omni
sonar allows the fisherman to first see that it is too large, and then allows him to
fish only the back of the school reducing the chances of killing the balance of the
school.

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What is the difference between Searchlight Sonar & Omni Sonar?
3. Reduction in by-catch. Based on signal strength and relative positioning of fish
school, it is possible for a fisherman to find only the species he is fishing. This
means less by-catch and more productive fishery.

4. Minimize equipment loss and failure. The Omni sonar can monitor the net as it
is being deployed. It can help the captain avoid the cost of catching or ripping the
net by clearly seeing all potential obstruction 360 degrees in the area the net will
be deployed.

5. Longevity and reliability.

Outside of the hoist used to lower
the sonar (for both the spotlight
and omni sonar), the omni sonar
has no other moving parts. The
Search Light sonar has a motor
that moves the element around a
core. This is a source of failure for
a Search Light and sector sonar
and often results in yearly repairs
and a life of 2 to 4 years
maximum. The omni sonar has no
internal moving parts and many of
our vessels have had the same
sonar for up to 20 years.

6. Versatility. The omni sonar is

built to find many species in
shallow waters. The spotlight
sonar currently being used has
issues finding some species of
fish. For example, small
schools of low lying fish
(Pilchard or African Sardine),
and, single Tuna are hard for a
searchlight to find due to
reflective angles and lack of
Doppler compensation and
control.

Whether it is the MAQ90,

MAQ60, MAQ45, or the
MAQ22, a MAQ Sonar can be
used to find more than 140
pelagic and low water species
found in the waters of the world.

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What is the difference between Searchlight Sonar & Omni Sonar?