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Simrad have announced the new model GO9 XSE chart plotter-SONAR multi-function display will be coming to the USA in November 2016 and, according to one source, will be sold exclusively through West Marine stores and their on-line website. However, some other USA retailers are already advertising that they also will be selling the GO9 XSE, so the exclusivity of West Marine seems to be in question. The MSRP prices will be:

$1,049 = GO9 XSE without transducer
$1,099 = GO9 XSE with HDI transducer and base level chart
$1,199 = GO9 XSE with TotalScan transducer
$1,299 = GO9 XSE with TotalScan and Navionics+ chart
$2,499 = GO9 XSE with TotalScan, Navionics+ chart, and 3G RADAR
$2,699 = GO9 XSE with TotalScan, Navionics+ chart, and 4G RADAR

The GO9 XSE has the following principal features:

--9-inch color wide screen display with multi-touch control, 800 x 480 pixels, 1,200-nits
--internal GPS receiver with 10-Hz update
--two Micro-SD card slots
--compatible with Simrad 3G and 4G and Halo RADAR systems
--compatible with SiriusXM satellite weather and entertainment radio
--compatible with SonicHub2 audio entertainment system
--compatible with Simrad auto-pilots
--compatible with C-Map and Navionics charts, and others
--side-scan, down-scan, frequency-modulated pulse compression SONAR with TotalScan
--forward scan SONAR with special transducer
--provides WiFi connectivity to smartphones with GoFree base
--has NMEA-2000 connectivity and will show engine and fuel management data

Note that the GO9 XSE has the same screen pixel dimensions as the GO7 XSE; both are 800 x 480. In the GO9 the display will be larger, but won't have any more pixels. To give some perspective to the screen size, the now quite old Lowrance HDS-8 first generation display had 800 x 600 pixels. That "8-inch" display had 25-percent more pixels than the "9-inch" display on the GO9.

The Simrad GO9 XSE bundle with the TotalScan skimmer transducer and Navionics+ chart card at $1,299 looks like a very good price point. The TotalScan transducer is typically selling for $300, but in the bundle it is only a $150 upcharge. The Navionics+ charts add only another $100 to the bundle price, which is half their retail cost of $200.

With the TotalScan transducer the GO9 XSE will be able to run normal down-scan SONAR at 83 and 200-kHz, frequency-modulated pulse-compression down-scan SONAR at "medium" and "high" frequencies, as well as 455 and 800-kHz side-scan SONAR. For more about the TotalScan transducer, see

http://continuouswave.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=215

With the TotalScan transducer, any frequency-modulated pulse-compression SONAR (sometimes called "chirp") will have its performance limited by the transducer. For really superior performance a specialized wide-bandwidth and low-Q transducer should be used for frequency-modulated pulse-compression SONAR.

For more about Navionics+ charts, see

http://www.navionics.com/en/navionics-plus-2

The GO9 XSE is listed on the website of West Marine which advertises the MSRP price of $1,299 and a shipping date of November 2016.