Wesmar has added a load of new features to their CS30

Wesmar’s newest version of their trawl net catch sensor, the CS30, comes with a load of improvements that make them more durable, adaptable and easier to use.

Wesmar President Roger Fellows explained that most trawlers use four of these catch sensors in the net, each one with its own frequency to indicate what part of the net has filled up. Before, you needed back-ups for each frequency in case a sensor was lost.

“What’s novel about this one that no one else has is that it has multiple frequencies. There’s a little magnetic switch in there that allows you to swipe on the sensor and change the frequency,” Fellows said. That means instead of having four specific back-ups for each frequency, boats can carry just a couple of extra sensors that can then be used at any position.

Charging pins that were prone to corrosion were replaced with galvanically balanced pins, and Wesmar has made the sensors easier to handle, with spring-loaded locking pins that allow you to pop the sensors in and out of the housing even with gloved hands.

Another upgrade is the serviceability. Prior versions of the sensors were closed off, but the battery and electronics on the CS30 can be accessed and serviced.

“Obviously these are still waterproof, but we’ve made a cap on these that will come off so we can pull the electronics out and fix them if we need to,” Fellows said.

The battery life is long — 840 hours, or around five weeks — and aided by a saltwater switch, which ensures that the sensor is only running when it is submerged. And when batteries do run down, new charging stations are beefier, with a user-friendly docking station that eliminates the old alligator clips.

The CS30 can be mix and matched with its predecessor, the CS20, and is compatible with Simrad, Furuno, Carport and Scanmar systems.