In-Use FOCUS
reprinted from BOATING MAGAZINE,  JUNE, 1998
 By Ken Englert

SI-TEX PROFISH II
COLOR LCD FISHFINDER

 When I first played with the PROFISH II in my shop, I thought its bright color LCD screen would be instantly wiped out on an open cockpit or flying bridge. Then I set it up outside, and was amazed at the clarity of the display. No matter how I angled it, the sun didn't wash out the screen.

Though the PROFISH II boasts a lengthy feature list, it is relatively easy to use. The 300-watt echo sounder lets you select any depth range from 5' to 1500'. SI-TEX's large numbers are set against a neutral background that makes them extra readable. The two-color circular speedometer mimics the display in your car, so you can easily follow acceleration and loss of speed. The PROFISH II stores locations just like a GPS, and you can catalog your depth and sea temperature along with your position.

 The PROFISH II's Strike Key is one of those "Why didn't someone think of this before?" functions. It works like a man overboard button. When activated, the chartplotting screen shows you a picture of where you are and the most direct route to your strike mark. Arrows and icons guide you to the location as easily as lane markings on a highway.

 Another handy feature is this fishfinder's ability to tell you the actual area of sea bottom the echo sounder is viewing. It takes the depth reading and factors in the transducer's beam width, does the math and tells you the size of the sea floor you're seeing.

 In all, my tests proved the PROFISH II to be quite a mythbuster: Color sounders can be seen in the sun, not all performance fishfinders are complicated to use and you can tell how much of the bottom you're looking at. For $1,379, this fishfinder/trackplotter is no fish story. Contact
 SI-TEX at 727/576-5734. -K.E.