System description

The Simrad MF90 is an omnidirectional high-frequency fish-finding sonar.

The MF90 system is designed for fishing vessels of all sizes, both purse seiners and trawlers. The centre operational frequency is 80 kHz. You can select any operational frequency from 75 to 85 kHz. The cylindrical multi-element transducer allows the omnidirectional sonar beams to be tilted electronically. This allows you to automatically track schools of fish, and to observe the whole water volume around the vessel. A stabilizing system is included for electronic pitch and roll compensation.

The MF90 system offers a number of standard interface lines for communication with peripheral devices and sensors. Typical inputs are geographical information from a positioning system, vessel speed and current heading. By default, the MF90 system uses a built-in motion sensor. For improved operational accuracy, an external motion reference unit (MRU) can be connected.

The MF90 system offers the same user interface and operating software as our other sonars, echo sounders and catch monitoring systems. This enables easier and faster training of new users.

  • The echo presentations are optimised for multiple displays. Provided that you have connected additional displays to your Processor Unit, you can use the Docking Views function to take any sonar view and place it on a separate display. When you move a view to another display, it will automatically be scaled for the best possible result.
  • It is common for sonars to require many pings to build the various views in the echo presentation. On the MF90, all the sonar views in the presentation are built using the echoes from one single ping. This dramatically improves the update rate and provides better real-time information.
  • The MF90 system permits you to record real-time sonar situations. This allows you to replay complete sequences. The playback contains the exact same echo information, and can be used for mission history, training or troubleshooting purposes.

Great emphasis has been placed on an intuitive user interface and the best possible sonar presentations on a high resolution colour display.

The MF90 system is equipped with the celebrated signal processing software developed by Kongsberg Discovery. This includes Hyperbolic FM (HFM) transmissions. This pulse type is also known as "chirp". It ensures a clutter free picture with very high resolution in range. Signal processing and beamforming are performed in a fast digital signal processing system, using the full dynamic range of the signals.

The MF90 system software operates using the Microsoft® Windows® operating system.