Do I need a GPS or other NMEA sensors?

FarSounder's user interface software processes and displays the 3D Forward Looking Sonar information generated by the sonar. This software does not need any external sensors (other than the FarSounder sonar head Transducer Module), to generate these images. However, users may optionally chose to connect common NMEA sensors to the user interface computer in order to enhance the user interface experience.

In addition to the 3D sonar display, the user interface software has display windows for vessel's speed, heading, position and depth. Additionally, basic chart plotting capabilities displaying Jeppesen Marine C-Map ENC (requires separate C-MAP license), are also included in the software.

In order to display the aforementioned vessel's status information and locate the vessel on the electronic chart, NMEA inputs are required. NMEA information is passed into the software via the user interface computer's COM port. If your computer only has USB, a serial to USB converter can be used. If you wish to read multiple NMEA streams with one COM port, a NMEA multiplexer can be used. Some multiplexers even have a built in USB converter. Though NMEA inputs are not required, we generally recommend using them for a better user interface experience.