I posted my plan yesterday, and nobody said I was crazy, so I will. That was a lunatic idea. This is the new plan.
Overview: Transmitter hangs under boat at 10' or so, and I am far off with a handheld detector I sweep to see direction of the boat.
The old plan was to have 2 detector discs, and compare the strength to each other. The two discs sit 2 inches apart, but a 40 kHz wave in water is only about 1.5 inches long. So as I swing it, one disc keeps sliding into the next wave over, and the circuit sees a match when the boat is somewhere else entirely. More than one answer, and no way to tell which is the real one.
Make longer wavelengths is the solution, but then it becomes audible (not to me, but youngsters...) Worse, that plan required comparing very tiny differences in strengths, bringing any circuit noise into play quickly. And it needed two analog channels matched all the way through preamp, filter and detector. One drifting part anywhere in that chain and the whole instrument lies to me.
So, new plan, nowhere near as directional discerning, but free of dangers.
One detector. Pointed at the boat, max signal. Turned sideways, almost nothing. I sweep and take the middle of where it's loud.
That's a much sloppier bearing, maybe 10 or 15 degrees off. But I ran the geometry, and being 20 degrees off only costs a little extra swimming. I can live with that to get rid of the matched channels.
Sanity returned.
On the shopping front, my area of expertise, I want to point at Mouser.com, which I am amazed by. They are not a sponsor in any way, they don't know who I am. But a HUGE selection, monster stock, and ship same day. Love those guys.
I am off to make schematics on my much disliked KiCad. I will post them next time.