New in Echoview 10 for all users
Welcome to Echoview 10!
Echoview Software is very pleased to announce the release of Echoview 10. We are committed to improving the depth and efficiency of your acoustic data processing, regardless of your processing methodology. We are pleased to introduce features that will improve processing speed and simplify your work flow.
This page has been
prepared for the full release of Echoview 10. The contents of the Help
file may change and you should check with each subsequent update
of Echoview 10.
New features are presented in these categories:
Key new features and enhancements
Licensing changes
New operators and operator enhancements
Scripting and COM objects
Documentation changes
Bug fixes
New features for all users
Feature |
How it works |
Benefit |
New application |
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Echoexplore |
Echoexplore 2 is the latest addition to Echoview Software’s suite of tools for researchers collecting echosounder and sonar data files. For further information refer to About Echoexplore. |
An easy way to find and explore data files on your computer. |
Key new features and enhancements |
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Code operator | Introducing the Code operator, which contains a built-in Python interpreter that can be used for flexible custom algorithm development. For further details refer to New operators. |
Open source algorithm development capability. |
Analysis variables | New optional analysis variables for export. Such variables may be useful for species identification of fish schools or for echogram data characterization in long term studies. Region analysis variables for all types of region and cell exports: Variables for altitude, a measure of the distance from to top and bottom of a region to the exclude-below line, are available for the Analysis by Regions and Analysis by Cells by Regions exports: |
Additional morphometric parameters. |
Wideband data | PulseCompressedEffectivePulseLength is used to calculate Corrected_thickness for EK80 pulse compressed data. EffectivePulseLength is use to calculate Corrected_thickness for EK80 CW data. |
Updated wideband support. |
Line-referenced echogram | Single beam samples can now be displayed relative to an Echogram reference line; the reference line is flattened and is displayed as a horizontal line. This type of display:
See also: About lines. |
A useful display tool. |
Export for ICES CSV | Support for the export of single beam Sv data to a CSV file that is acceptable to the ICES acoustic trawl survey database. Echoview requires the specification of a grid and maximum threshold and the input of some additional survey and transducer metadata values. Other fields and values are read from the data file. Support for the ICES CSV export includes these changes:
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A useful export data format for ICES members. |
Export Complex Data | Introducing a Complex Data CSV export for Complex and pulse compressed Complex variables derived from wideband data. The Complex Data export is available from echograms, regions and selections. |
A useful wideband data export. |
Command interface | Introducing the new Echoview Command interface which allows you to access Echoview properties and actions. Use the Console dialog box to immediately interact with the Command interface. Use a script to execute batch commands. Support includes:
Refer to Automation module license changes and Scripting changes for more information. |
Fast and easy access to properties. |
Wideband Frequency Response graph | A performance improvement for the graph is achieved by only considering calculation intervals that overlap with the mask variable. A design change for Graph Properties allows a single (checked) variable to be automatically used as the Reference variable for calculations. Pings included in graph calculations now need to lie within the Maximum acceptable time difference from reference value. The specified time can be 0.0 to 30.0 seconds. Wideband frequency response data may now be exported for fish track regions in single target detection - wideband echograms. Updated documentation about input graph variables and the factors that degrade the wideband frequency response. |
A more useful graph. |
Fish track wideband frequency response export | Wideband frequency response data may now be exported for fish track regions in single target detection - wideband echograms. | Simplified export for this type of data. |
Tape measure tool | The Tape measure tool has been updated to measure vertical distance (depth/range) between two points on a single beam echogram. Available distance measures include:
|
Useful for measuring depth differences between targets/schools on single beam echograms. |
Line CSV files | Introducing two easy-to-edit Line file formats that can be added to a fileset to derive raw line variables. Both formats can be exported from EV files, or generated outside of Echoview:
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Increased versatility for lines. |
Echoview Edition | Echoview 10 is only available as a 64-bit edition. 32-bit editions of Windows are no longer supported. Windows Vista is no longer supported. |
Allows Echoview Software to focus on developing new features rather than supporting old technology. |
General changes | The following changes make Echoview features easier to use:
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More efficient work flow and time savings. |
Licensing changes |
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Automation module
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Use of the Command interface, Console dialog box and Command interface scripting are licensed under the Automation module. |
New feature licensing. |
Advanced Operators |
The Code operator is available under the Advanced Operators module. |
New feature licensing. |
New Operators
and Operator enhancements |
||
Code |
The multi-threaded Code operator, allows you to apply a Python® script from a *.py file to specified operands. Echoview supports and includes the Python NumPy and SciPy modules which offer a wide range of open-source scientific computing and numerical integration capabilities. The Code operator is available under the Advanced Operators module. See also: Using the Code operator (includes example scripts). |
Custom data processing via Python scripting. |
Enhancement and streamlining of the Single target detection - wideband operator settings and algorithm.
Please review your Single target detection - wideband settings in EV files created before Echoview 10, particularly Minimum/Maximum normalized pulse length and Minimum target separation. |
Improvements to the detection algorithm. |
|
Single target detection - split beam | Single target detection - split beam (Method 1) and (Method 2) variables now accept Complex angular position and Pulse compressed complex angular position in Operand 2. | Support for wideband angle data. |
Threshold offset |
An enhancement introduces Detect maximum threshold to join the existing Detect minimum threshold setting. Detect maximum threshold is useful when the Operand 2 line is positioned in empty water and the boundary of interest is nearby. |
Adds versatility to (line) boundary detection. |
Background noise removal Transient noise removal Impulse noise removal |
Power dB has been added to the accepted operand list for the Background noise removal, Transient noise removal and Impulse noise removal operators. |
Expanded acoustic data type support. |
Match ping times |
The Match ping times operator now supports multibeam variables as input data. |
Updated multibeam data type support. |
Reduce pings |
The Reduce pings operator is now multi-threaded. Multi-threaded operators process faster on multiple core computer systems. They are marked by a running hare on the New variable dialog box. |
Expands the number of multi-threaded operators. |
Scripting and COM objects
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Command interface |
The new Echoview Command interface can be used by the interactive Console dialog box or by COM scripts. The Console eases the development of commands with command syntax text matching, list filtering and immediate changes in Echoview. Command interface scripting is available with:
|
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Export EVD |
Use EvVariableAcoustic.ExportEVDRange to export EVD data for a specified subset of pings. |
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Export single target wideband frequency response for regions |
COM support for the export of the wideband frequency response of regions in single target detection - wideband data. Use EvVariableAcoustic.ExportSingleTargetWidebandFrequencyResponseByRegions to export by region class. Use EvVariableAcoustic.ExportSingleTargetWidebandFrequencyResponseByRegionsAll to export for all regions. |
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Export to ICES CSV |
COM support for the ICES CSV export. Use EvVariableAcoustic.ExportICESCSVByCells for an ICES CSV export by cells. Use EvVariableAcoustic.ExportICESCSVRegionClassesByCells for an ICES CSV export for a specified region class by cells. Use EvVariableAcoustic.ExportICESCSVRegionClassesByCellsAll for an ICES CSV export for all region classes by cells. Support includes new enums for EIcesCsvExportDataValue and EIcesCsvExportLogOrigin. |
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Export single target wideband frequency response | COM support for the Wideband Frequency Response Graph setting Maximum acceptable time difference from reference (seconds). An updated parameter is included for:
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Documentation changes |
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Live viewing |
Updated documentation about device firewall issues and troubleshooting. |
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EK80 equations |
Updated documentation for Simrad EK80 Power to SV and TS equations affects Center frequency, Transducer peak gain and Beam width at the Center frequency. |
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Echoview experimental features |
The Echoview experimental features page is removed. |
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Bug fixes |
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Resample operator |
Updated the Weighting along-track calculation within the Resample by Distance Interval operator to minimize calculation precision issues. Fixed an error where the Resample by Distance Interval operator could incorrectly calculate GPS distance for output pings if the Distance interval is smaller than the distance between the operand's pings. Fixed an error where the Resample by Distance Interval operator would inadvertently use the operand's Variable Properties Grid setting Start interval numbering from the first ping in the echogram. |
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Background noise removal |
The Vertical overlap (%) is now applied as intended. This setting increases the search area for the noise estimate calculation. From Echoview 5.1 the Vertical overlap (%) was not used when calculating data. If you have used this setting in your dataflow, be aware that your echogram results may change because the estimated noise is different. A diagram about averaging intervals and interval overlap is restored. |
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Formula Operator |
The Formula Operator algorithm now treats -999 dB that represents thresholded samples as a special data value during calculations. Arithmetic calculations and calculations in the linear domain handle the special value such that the result is consistent with the thresholded nature of the value, as opposed to a pure numerical evaluation that may mishandle the sample. |
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Wideband frequency response export |
When the wideband frequency response is not calculated (because target time doesn't overlap ping time or there are bad data samples), no export file is created. Previously, a file was created containing target information but no frequency response data. |
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Variable properties | Fixed an issue with line selection for Boolean and color variables. | |
ECS | Fixed the following issues:
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Lines | Fixed an issue where a line, used as an exclusion line, could not always be set as the source for another line. |
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Export pitch and roll data | Fixed an issue where the measurement range setting for exporting pitch and roll data to CSV was being ignored. | |
Ping subset | Fixed a Ping subset bug that sometimes used an incorrect initial distance. | |
Very small region height export | The export of data for regions is fixed. Previously, a region that included a height less than half a sample height would export no sample data for affected pings. |
New features for users of specific echosounders
There may be specific version 10 features for your echosounder - please take a minute to check what's new.
- New for users of data from ASL Environmental Sciences Acoustic Zooplankton Fish Profiler echosounders
- New for users of data from Kongsberg sonars
- New for users of data from Simrad echosounders