Abstract: A sound navigation and ranging (SONAR) transducer system comprises a transmit element and a receive element. The transmit element may be formed from ceramic material and configured to transmit an ultrasonic signal into a body of water. The transmit element may include a first component configured to transmit the ultrasonic signal in a first direction and a second component configured to transmit the ultrasonic signal in a second direction. The receive element may be formed from polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) in the shape of a sheet of material and configured to receive a reflection of the ultrasonic signal after the ultrasonic signal is reflected from objects in the body of water. The receive element may include a first section configured to receive reflections from the first direction and a second section configured to receive reflections from the second direction.

Abstract: A sonar apparatus using a phased array technique for steering an acoustical beam for scanning an underwater area. The sonar apparatus includes a scanning transducer having multiple elements for transmitting and steering the acoustical beam and receiving its reflection from an object, an electronic control circuit for generating steering information and computing a relative location of the object, and an input/output section for displaying the relative location to a user. The control circuit includes a software level/align control for compensating for mis-leveling or mis-alignment during installation, a scan control capable of selecting a scan center direction and a scan width in one degree increments, a forward gain control for optimizing the sensitivity of the sonar apparatus in a forward looking scan, and a combination of a time variable gain control and an autorange control for minimizing the reflection of sidelobes of the acoustical beam.