31 March 2006 -- New for 2006, Airmar has launched its B258, a new 1kW dual frequency (50/200kHz) transducer engineered to make popular 600W fishfinders perform like their more powerful big brothers—especially when operating at 50kHz. It is the ideal transducer choice for recreational sport fishing boats 26 feet and larger, as well as small- to mid-sized commercial fishing boats.
This bronze thru-hull transducer replaces Airmar’s venerable B256 model, maximizing the performance of fishfinders from all major manufacturers. It comes standard with a precision temperature sensor and can be installed on vessels with up to 25-degrees of deadrise when used with a high-performance fairing.
Featuring Airmar’s new multi ceramic element construction, the B258 is 25 times more sensitive at 50 kHz than a single-element transducer, and 16 times more sensitive at 200 kHz. The B258’s narrow beam configurations will clearly display individual fish targets, and separate bottom fish from habitat at depths up to 2,200 feet.
For anglers seeking optimum performance at speed, Airmar recommends installing the new B258 with an optional, custom fit high-performance fairing. By ensuring clean water flow across the transducer face, the fairing helps deliver clear fishfinder images and a clean bottom trace at speeds up to 30 knots. The B258 is also offered in a transom mount version, called the TM258—the only 1kW transom mount transducer on the market today.
The new B258 is also offered with Airmar’s Transducer ID™ option, an exclusive feature that empowers the transducer and fishfinder to “communicate” with each other. This will allow compatible fishfinders to ‘ID” specific Airmar transducer models/configuration and fine-tune themselves to optimize performance.
