Garmin GPSMAP 3206 Owner's Manual

Also see for GPSMAP 3206 - Marine GPS Receiver: Installation instructions Install guide Installation instructions Important safety information Quick reference guide

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Garmin GPSMAP 3206 Owner's Manual Manual pdf 85 page image

GPSMAP 3206/3210 Owner’s Manual usIng sonar > understandIng sonarsonarThe wide beam is more helpful in shallow water, because it gives you a muchwider view of objects in the water, including areas beyond the sides of your boat.At a 30-foot depth, the wide beam covers the area of approximately a 20-footcircle.Understanding the Sonar DisplayOne of the first things to understand about sonar is that the transducer sends abeam down to the bottom of the water, much like the beam of a flashlight. Thebeam starts small near your vessel and expands as it gets to the bottom.The Sonar Page does not show a 3-D representation of the underwaterenvironment. Instead, the display is in two dimensions, much like if you took apicture of an aquarium. Only the depth of the item in the water is shown.The strongest sonar returns appear on your screen as the most intense solidcolor (depending on your selected color scheme; red is the default). The weakestreturns appear as the less intense, less solid colors (blue is the default).The bottom of the water is always going to be the strongest signal, and thereforethe most intense color. The bottom is the continuous, intensely-colored linerunning across the bottom of the screen. The GPSMAP 3206/3210 includes thelatest technology in interpreting bottom signals; it can see through fish, structures,and thermoclines (shown in the weakest colors). Therefore, large schools of fishor dense structures close to the bottom can affect water depth return readings.NOTE: If the GPSMAP 3206/3210 is unable to track the bottom for anyreason, the digits in the depth window flashes on and off to alert you that theunit is not tracking the bottom.At the top of the screen, you might see a grouping of intense colors. This area issurface clutter, which can be caused by waves or any other sonar interference atthe surface of the water. Too much surface clutter can obscure your view of fish.You can turn down the Gain setting to reduce this surface clutter.Between the bottom and the surface clutter, the fish appear as arches. Actualfish returns might not always appear as perfect arches, due to the speed, fishorientation, or other conditions. You can turn on the Fish Symbols setting if youwant to see on-screen fish in a fish shape.The strength of the sonar return can also help you interpret the hardness of thebottom of the water. The thicker the bottom line, the harder the bottom.Hard Structure Soft Structure