Why CHIRP Sonar is a Necessity

Garmin · October 26, 2015

Time and time again, people have said that CHIRP sonar technology is only useful in deep water, but thatâs an easy myth to debunk and weâre going to tell you why.

For starters, hereâs a little background on what CHIRP actually is. The acronym CHIRP stands for âCompressed High-Intensity Radiated Pulse,â but unless youâre an engineer or physicist, that probably doesnât mean a whole lot to you.

For the average Joe, what that means is that instead of sending one single frequency at a time like standard sonar, CHIRP sends a continuous sweep of frequencies ranging from low to high. CHIRP sonar technology then interprets those frequencies individually upon their return. Since this continuous sweep of frequencies provides CHIRP with a much wider range of information, CHIRP creates a much clearer, higher resolution image on your chartplotter, and gives you much greater target separation.

CHIRP will benefit freshwater anglers fishing any depth of water, but those fishing depths greater than 10â will benefit the most. Thereâs no doubt that if you compare CHIRP to standard sonar, you will see exponentially more fish with a CHIRP sonar unit.

With CHIRP

Without CHIRP

Looking for baitfish? With standard sonar, you would typically see one giant red blob. Garmin CHIRP sonar can actually separate each individual baitfish (especially with DownVu), showing you unbelievable detail that is incomparable to anything else on the market. Before, you wouldnât be able to tell if a big fish was in the pod of baitfish chasing them as your boat went over. With CHIRP, you can.

Looking for structure? Have no doubt what you are looking at with CHIRP DownVu and SideVu. Find ledges, humps, roadbeds, submerged bridges, railroads and more with detail that youâve never been able to have until now.

Hands down, no doubt, Garmin CHIRP sonar will change the way you fish.

CHIRP capabilities are already built-in to the GPSMAP 7600xsv series (with a CHIRP transducer), but if you have a GPSMAP 840xs or 1040xs, you will need to purchase a GSD 26 CHIRP Professional Sonar Module.

Helping you find the perfect device for your boat is something that our exceptional customer service team excels at. If you have any questions at all about Garmin electronics, please donât hesitate to contact our customer support team or your local Garmin dealer.

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