The term ‘sidescan’ refers to the simple fact that this type of sonar looks to both sides rather than looking forward, and forms the image by physically moving the sonar head – the towfish – over the seabed. No other type of sonar can give such an easily interpreted picture of the seabed and objects on it.
Starting with the CM800 in 1994, and continuing with the CM2 in 2002, there are now over 300 systems deployed worldwide.
All C-MAX systems and equipment are designed by C-MAX staff. As well as the hardware, the display, recording and towfish software is also all designed by C-MAX
The CM2 product family comprises the CM2 digital towfish, STR topside transceiver unit, MaxView acquisition software and a choice of kevlar or stainless steel armoured tow cables.
MaxView, the acquisition package for the CM2 system that runs under Windows on any PC-compatible platform provides all acquisition, track plotting, display, editing and conversion functions from a familiar Windows interface.
Features and benefits:
- Flexible navigation interface accepts Lat/Long and UTM data
- Comprehensive plotter shows vessel position, targets and swept coverage
- Chart imagery can be user-created from paper or electronic sources. Perfect for inland work where no commercial chart is available
- MaxView can be installed license free on multiple PCs. Only data acquisition is Dongle protected
- Display and recording of optional towfish heading and depth sensors
- Multiple replay windows allow easy record comparison
- Geo-referenced targets can be marked during acquisition or post processing
- Easy export of imagery, target and navigation data into other software packages
A detailed list of features can be downloaded from the below here
MaxView is now available to download for free. This version requires a dongle to save data onto the survey computer. Without a dongle present, all other MaxView functions are available.
C-MAX staff have also been working closely with the industry’s leading acquisition software providers to enable the CM2 Sonar Transceiver to work with software from the following manufacturers:
- Chesapeake Technologies
- Hypack
- Info Express
- IXSEA
- Oceanic Imaging Consultants (OIC)
- QPS
- Triton Imaging