SonarTRX Support

If you have any questions regarding SonarTRX, please check the FAQ page or contact us at support@sonartrx.com

Updating SonarTRX

To check what version of SonarTRX you are running, click the Help button in the main SonarTRX window. This will bring up the "About SonarTRX" window, which shows the version and build number. Compare those with the most recent builds, of currently supported versions listed below. The specific release notes document that came with your release can be accessed from the "SonarTRX Documentation" link in the About SonarTRX vindow.

Subscription users can within their subscription period request download link for the latest release of SonarTRX. If the latest release is of a more recent major version, the product license on the subscription key might need to be updated, but for subscription users this is done at no charge as long as the activated Sentinel SL key for the subscription can be used. To request a link, please send an update-request email to support@sonartrx.com

Release Notes
2024/11/23: SonarTRX 23.1

Base product SonarTRX Pro (x64):

  1. Garmin Importer: Improved handling of Garmin RSD files written by recent Garmin firmware. Please contact SonarTRX support if there are problems importing RSD files after the firmware has been updated on the sonar.
  2. Imagenex YellowFin Importer: Import of geodetic positions from NMEA messages in Imagenex YellowFin *.872 files has been made more “forgiving” in terms of NMEA message sequencing. This was done to enable import of GPS coordinates, even if messages were not written to file according to the old Imagenex specifications.
  3. Marine Sonic SDS Importer: Fix issues with timestamps and support correction of data during import. Other improvements and bug fixes. (Note: Support for importing SDS files is not part of the standard license.)
  4. XTF Importer: Improved handling of recordings from ODOM CV-100.
  5. XTF Importer: Improved handling of recordings from Sea Scan Survey / using sonars from Marine Sonic.
  6. Bug fix SonarTRX viewer: Fixed issues with Save settings mechanism on SRC/TVG tab and prevent potential issues when the viewer is opened on a computer with high resolution display, using very large font-scaling factors.
  7. General: SonarTRX now makes use of a more recent version of the licensing system from Thales Group (Sentinel LDK 10.11 Run-time environment.)
  8. General: Miscellaneous internal changes.
2024/04/04: SonarTRX 23.1

Base product SonarTRX Pro (x64):

  1. XTF Importer: Support for up to 6 channels. Improved retrieval of channel frequencies, if available. Improved handling of inconsistent timestamps, channel information and sample format in recordings from some Klein sonar systems. See also item #5.
  2. Lowrance Importer: Speed up import of Clips (time-intervals) from beginning of large SL2 and SL3 files. Improved handling of corrupted SL2/SL3 files and variations in file format. See also item #5.
  3. Garmin importer: Removal of surface clutter for improved auto-correction of imported data. Improved handling of corrupt or inconsistent RSD files. See also item #5.
  4. Bug Fix: Mosaic creation dialog: Fix problems with the generated mosaic KML template file: “doc_web.kml.txt”. Note: This bug started occurring in the October 24, 2023 update and resulted in missing URLTOKEN entries.
  5. General: Option to limit maximum number of soundings imported to value specified in Advanced Settings dialog. This feature now also works for XTF, Lowrance and Garmin importers.
  6. General: SonarTRX now includes the installer for a more recent version of the licensing system by Thales Group (Sentinel LDK 9.16 Run-time environment includes important security updates.)
  7. General: Miscellaneous internal changes.
2023/10/24: SonarTRX 23.1

Base product SonarTRX Pro (x64):

  1. XTF Importer: Improved handling of XTF files from Klein sonars with Sample Format: 5 (4-byte float). Import of Water Temperature field from XTFPINGHEADER.
  2. Lowrance SL2 importer: Improved robustness and support for recordings generated by more recent Lowrance sonars and firmware versions.
  3. SonarTRX viewer bug fix: In some situations, the selected image-tile was not circled in the birds-eye view. This would depend on screen resolution and the number of soundings per image-tile.
  4. SonarTRX viewer bug fix: Resolved issues with cropping of the Nadir region in slant range corrected images: If parameter was defined in the SonarTRX_EditorOptions.xml file, but the altitude for slant range correction was zero, the minimum range-criteria was not being applied properly.
  5. SonarTRX viewer bug fix: Resolved issues with floating point number-formatting in SonarTRX_EditorOptions.xml file. Some parameter-values were formatted using U.S. decimal separator (“.”), causing problems when SonarTRX is used in countries/locales where “,” is the default. In the updated version, make sure the decimal separator for the selected Windows locale is being used if manually editing parameters in the xml file.
  6. General – KML Output and Google Earth Web compatibility: The doc.kml file generated by SonarTRX can now be compressed into a single *.kmz file along with the associated image-folders and imported with the Web version of Google Earth. (To generate the kmz file, select the doc.kml and associated image-folders and generate a *.zip file. Then change the file-extension of the zip file to kmz)
  7. General: Miscellaneous internal changes.
2023/07/31: SonarTRX 23.1

Base product SonarTRX Pro (x64):

  1. SonarTRX Slant Range Correction: There is now an option to crop/mask out the Nadir region where the acoustic side scan sonar beam does not generate sufficient shadows. This can be done by vertical angle, and/or by fixed horizontal range. If this option is turned on when generating slant range corrected data, the Nadir region becomes transparent in the generated images. The preferred angle and horizontal range can be specified in the “SonarTRX_EditorOptions.xml” configuration file. Please contact support if help is needed with this.
  2. SonarTRX Viewer and images: Regions at far ranges, without sonar coverage are now made transparent within each image tile. This applies to both slant range corrected images and images that includes the watercolumn. This is done to avoid opaque areas (without any data) in imagetiles, caused by range-changes or slant range correction without cropping.
  3. SonarTRX Viewer – View-tab: The option to “Highlight altitude pixels” will now use custom colors from the selected color-scheme to indicate bottom pixels, if bottom depth is available. The current set of pixel highlight colors are displayed below the checkboxes for Sensor/First Echo/Ship Echo. If depth is available, but colors do not stand out, try to use one of the Graytone schemes, or customize the new type of color scheme:
  4. SonarTRX Viewer - Sonar color schemes: An updated set of Sonar Color Schemes has been defined, with some additional customization options: Each color scheme in the new SonarTRX_SonarColorScheme.xml file can now be customized with desired user interface colors such as: Altitude (bottom) pixel highlighting, Gridlines, Bottom-lock and Target indicators. The new xml file will be automatically generated, if the current template file is of the old version. A backup will be created by appending “.Backup- ***.xml” to the file name, where “***” is the current date and time stamp. If custom color schemes were defined in the old file, the associated xml can be manually copied over to the new file. Please contact support if help is needed with this.
  5. SonarTRX Viewer - Clips and Targets: The Clip and Target timing information, and Target channel & range is now dynamically included when listed in the user interface. Times are in UTC or Local time, as per user preferences. All Clips and Targets are now listed and sorted in a consistent way, making it easier to identify and review the Clips and Targets. When a Target from the active channel is selected, the viewer will indicate the target location. The color of the Target indicator can be customized for each sonar color scheme. The Clip-related changes apply to dialogs for Data import, Data view and edit, and Mosaic creation, while Target-related changes apply to the Data view and edit dialog only.
  6. Lowrance Importer: Support import of traditional DownScan and SideScan channels from more recent Lowrance sonars.
  7. XTF Importer – If a channel defined in the XTF file header has no actual soundings, it is flagged as not available.
  8. General: SonarTRX now includes the installer for the latest version of the licensing system (Thales Sentinel LDK 9.14 Run-time environment.)
  9. General: Miscellaneous internal changes.
2023/05/25: SonarTRX 23.1

Base product SonarTRX Pro (x64):

  1. XTF Importer: Support import of XTF files from Marine Sonic, Sea Scan Survey (Version 5.3.) Some of these files may have inconsistent ChannelNumber in XTF ping channel header. Also retrieve channel frequency information, if available in XTF file header.
  2. Marine Sonic SDS Importer: Import channel frequency information. (Support for SDS file import requires cusomization, and is normally not part of the standard SonarTRX Pro product-license. Please contact SonarTRX support regarding this feature.)
  3. General: If available, include sonar channel frequency information in description for mosaic coverage areas (in output doc.kml)
  4. SonarTRX viewer: User-defined Clips are now sorted by start time, end time and name, while Targets are sorted by channel index, time, and name. System-defined clips are listed after any User-defined Clips. When selecting a Clip from the combo box, the viewer will highlight the image-tile where the start of the clip is located.
  5. SonarTRX viewer fix: When selecting specific targets or bottom lock entries, the viewer would not always display these properly, when outside of the viewer’s Range-limit settings.
  6. SonarTRX viewer: When one or more bottom lock entries are deleted, the bottom lock prior to the deleted locks will be selected and shown in the viewer.
  7. General: Miscellaneous internal changes and fixes.
2023/05/16: SonarTRX 23.1

Base product SonarTRX Pro (x64):

  1. SonarTRX viewer bug fix: The previous version would not always display all image-tiles in each tile group, especially when Inline Stretch was set to Speed Corrected or a high Stretch value. For the tiles to be displayed, a lower “Maximum image-tiles per page view” (tile group) had to be selected via the Advanced settings dialog. The new version can use a higher limit for Maximum image-tiles per page group and SonarTRX will automatically manage tile group size, without image tiles missing from the view.
  2. SonarTRX viewer: Fix issue with selecting specific Target (from the target combo-box,) or selecting specific Bottom-lock entry (from the list of bottom locks.) Previously, the selected item would not always be shown in the viewer when item belonged to another tile group. Items with timestamps outside the time-range of the imported data will still not be shown.
  3. SonarTRX Advanced Settings dialog: Fix issue with some settings not being restored to default via the “Restore Defaults” button (Transducer Depth, vertical Elevation correction and option to Flip port channel.)
  4. General: SonarTRX now includes the installer for the Thales Sentinel LDK 9.12 Run-time environment, w/support for most recent Windows 10/11 updates & other fixes from Thales Group. (i.e., Sentinel Admin Control Center, RUS utility program etc.)
  5. General: Miscellaneous internal changes.
2023/04/22: SonarTRX 23.1

Base product SonarTRX Pro (x64):

  1. XTF Importer: Improved handling of XTF files from additional recording programs.
  2. SonarTRX viewer: The targets listed are now prefixed with the associated channel index. By selecting a target from the list, it will be displayed in the viewer at applicable time and range provided that the applicable channel is being viewed. Previously, the image-tile was highlighted, but there was no visual indication of target location, except in the mini-map in the lower left corner of the viewer.
  3. SonarTRX viewer: When selecting a given bottom-lock entry from the Altitude tab, the bottom-lock is now shown in the viewer, at correct time, and with arrows indicating min/max range. Previously, there was no visual indicator showing the bottom-lock entry. A sequence of bottom-lock entries can be visualized one-by-one by using up/down arrow.
  4. PlusPack v2B: A meta-data file (*.csv) is now included along with raw and speed corrected images. The file includes a variety of attributes for each image, and can be used as input for post-processing of the images.
  5. General: Miscellaneous internal changes.
2023/02/27: SonarTRX 23.1

Base product SonarTRX Pro (x64):

  1. General: SonarTRX v23 can now use license keys with network-enabled, detachable product licenses. This will allow for licensing SonarTRX for a certain number of computers, and the ability to easily “detach” a license for offline use, directly from the Sentinel Admin Control Center. The default Annual Subscription products sold online does not yet include network-enabled, detachable product licenses, but please contact sales@sonartrx.com if you are interested in this licensing option.
  2. General: SonarTRX now includes the installer for the Thales Sentinel LDK 8.53 Run-time environment, w/support for Windows 10 22H2 & other fixes from Thales Group.
  3. XTF Importer: Fix issue with importing data from AquaScan side scan sonars.
  4. General: Miscellaneous internal changes.
  5. Note: Customers who purchased SonarTRX v22.1 prior to release of 22.2 can also upgrade to the latest version of 22.2 from November 2022. Please see 9/18/2022 release notes.
2022/11/11: SonarTRX 22.2

Base product SonarTRX Pro (x64):

  1. General: SonarTRX now makes use of Thales Sentinel LDK 8.51 Runtime environment and includes a more recent version of the Remote Update System (RUS utility program, version: 8.5.17118.60001)
  2. Imagenex SportScan Importer: Preserve original ping numbers from sonar recording.
  3. Garmin Importer: Improve robustness of importer.
  4. General: Miscellaneous internal changes.
  5. Note: Customers who purchased SonarTRX v22 prior to release of 22.2 can also upgrade to 22.2. Please see 9/18/2022 release notes.
2022/10/20: SonarTRX 22.2

Base product SonarTRX Pro (x64):

  1. Imagenex SportScan Importer: Fixed issue with a switched channel orientation (Starboard/Port) for period when only one channel was recorded to the *.81s file. Portions of the recording where both channels were recorded are not affected by this change.
  2. General: Miscellaneous internal changes.
  3. Note: Customers who purchased SonarTRX v22 prior to release of 22.2 can also upgrade to 22.2. Please see 9/18/2022 release notes.
2022/09/18: SonarTRX 22.2

Base product SonarTRX Pro (x64):

  1. General: Allow for time-based licensing. Please see additional note below.
  2. XTF Importer: Minor changes to handle Marine Sonic XTF files generated by Sea Scan Survey software. Show channel frequency category (Low/Medium/High) in Channel information dialog if frequency parameter is available in XTF file.
  3. General: Miscellaneous internal changes.
  4. Note: Customers who purchased SonarTRX v22 prior to release of 22.2 can also upgrade to 22.2. This can be done without switching to time-based licensing, but it does require updating product license on the Sentinel license key. Please contact support@sonartrx.com
2022/08/07: SonarTRX 22.1

Base product SonarTRX Pro (x64):

  1. XTF Importer: Fixed issues with importing XTF recordings from Imagenex YellowFin sonar. Bug fix: Only correct sample-data during import if TVGMethod is enabled in *.xtf.options.xml.
  2. Mosaic creation dialog: Default value for image correction is now set to: “Auto”. Ensure that all parameters on the selected Tab is set to their default value when user click “Restore Defaults” button.
  3. General: Miscellaneous internal changes.
2022/06/20: SonarTRX 22.1

Base product SonarTRX Pro (x64):

  1. General: SonarTRX now makes use of Thales Sentinel LDK 8.43 Runtime environment and includes a more recent version of the Remote Update System (RUS utility program, version: 8.4.10434.6)
  2. Humminbird Importer: Support import of recent recordings.
  3. General: Miscellaneous internal changes.
2022/04/28: SonarTRX 22.1

Base product SonarTRX Pro (x64):

  1. Garmin Importer: Improve robustness of RSD file importer.
  2. XTF Importer: Improved handling of XTF recordings from JW Fisher Side Scan Sonars.
  3. General: Miscellaneous internal changes.
2022/02/03: SonarTRX 22.1

Base product SonarTRX Pro (x64):

  1. General: SonarTRX 22.1 makes use of Thales Sentinel LDK 8.31 Runtime environment and includes a more recent version of the Remote Update System (RUS utility program, version: 8.3.3598.6)
  2. General: Miscellaneous internal changes.
2021/10/06: SonarTRX 21.1

Base products SonarTRX Pro (x64) and SonarTRX Pro (x86) only:

  1. General: SonarTRX now makes use of Thales Sentinel LDK 8.23 Runtime environment and includes a more recent version of the Remote Update System (RUS utility program, version: 8.2.55971.6)
  2. General: Miscellaneous internal changes.
2021/08/06: SonarTRX 21.1

Base products SonarTRX Pro (x64) and SonarTRX Pro (x86) only:

  1. Garmin Importer: Improve robustness of RSD file importer.
  2. Imagenex SportScan Importer: Added option to switch starboard and port channel during import, via parameter in the recording’s *.81s.Options.xml file.
  3. General: Miscellaneous internal changes.
2021/06/03: SonarTRX 21.1

Base products SonarTRX Pro (x64) and SonarTRX Pro (x86) only:

  1. Garmin Importer: Support import of both channels, recorded simultaneously, via the Garmin Split-Frequency view, when using a dualfrequency transducer, such as the various 50/200 kHz or 77/200 kHz models.
  2. Lowrance Importer: Fixed issues with channel availability and channel selection during import, for SL2 and SL3 recordings.
  3. Bug Fix – SonarTRX Data view and edit dialog: If a recording contains soundings with very long range-settings, combined with regions of normal or short range-settings, there could in some cases be problems digitizing Clips, Targets or bottom-lock entries. The cursor time would not always be correctly calculated and displayed for the short range regions.
2021/05/02: SonarTRX 21.1

Base products SonarTRX Pro (x64) and SonarTRX Pro (x86) only:

  1. Garmin Importer: Support additional variations in RSD recordings from EchoMap UHD units with associated UHD transducers (GT56UHD-TM etc.) Resolve issue with no data imported from these recordings.
  2. XTF Importer: Miscellaneous internal changes relating to Klein 3500 & 4900 sonar data-import.
  3. General: Miscellaneous internal changes & fixes relating to correcting data during import, via K0-K3 parameters in the *.Options.xml file.
2021/03/18: SonarTRX 21.1

Base products SonarTRX Pro (x64) and SonarTRX Pro (x86) only:

  1. General: SonarTRX now makes use of Sentinel HASP/LDK 8.15 Run-time environment and includes a more recent version of the Remote Update System utility program (RUS 8.0.50583.6)
  2. Garmin Importer: Supports import of RSD files generated by more recent sonar systems & associated firmware.
  3. XTF Importer: Improved support for import of RealScan recordings from SonarBeam S150 side scan sonar (by SonarTech Co., Ltd.)
  4. PlusPack v2A: Batch export of XYZ data at 2 second interval, from default down-facing channel, is now part of PlusPack v2A. The Z values are based on depth, as measured by the sonar. (Previously, this feature was not part of PlusPack v2A.)
2021/01/10: SonarTRX 20.1

Base products SonarTRX Pro (x64) and SonarTRX Pro (x86) only:

  1. General: Export of CSV file with depth-along-track (NavTrackProfile.csv) now supports intervals of 1, 2, 5 and 10 seconds, via Mosaic Creation dialog. (The previous version was fixed at 2 seconds sample interval.)
  2. General: SonarTRX now includes installers for Thales Sentinel HASP/LDK 8.13 Run-time environment (licensing system.)
  3. Garmin Importer: Miscellaneous bug fixes and support for additional variations in the RSD file format.
2020/08/23: SonarTRX 20.1

Base products SonarTRX Pro (x64) and SonarTRX Pro (x86) only:

  1. General: SonarTRX now includes installers for Sentinel HASP/LDK 8.11 Run-time environment and a more recent version of the Remote Update System utility program (RUS 8.0)
  2. General: SonarTRX now use Microsoft .Net Framework 4.8. This version of the .Net Framework is included with Windows 10 May 2019 Update, but can be installed manually on previous Windows 10 versions and Windows 7 SP1.
  3. General: No functional changes.
2020/06/17: SonarTRX 20.1

Base products SonarTRX Pro (x64) and SonarTRX Pro (x86) only:

  1. Garmin Importer: Improved robustness and ability to handle variations in file content.
  2. General: Miscellaneous internal changes and fix minor issues with status updates during batch processing.
2020/02/11: SonarTRX 20.1

Base products SonarTRX Pro (x64) and SonarTRX Pro (x86) only:

  1. General: SonarTRX now includes installers for Sentinel HASP/LDK 7.103 Run-time environment and a more recent version of the Remote Update System utility program (RUS 7.10)
  2. General: The SonarTRX user manual and documentation is now provided as a PDF documents, instead of the XPS files used in previous releases of SonarTRX.
  3. Lowrance Importer: The Lowrance file importer has been updated to support variations in the Lowrance file formats. For SL2 and SL3 files, the water temperature is also extracted, provided that the system is using a transducer with compatible water temperature sensor.
  4. Garmin Importer: The Garmin file importer has been updated to support variations in the RSD file format. Water temperature is also extracted, provided that system is using a transducer with compatible water temperature sensor.
  5. General: The option to interpolate altitude values have been modified to also handle zero-values in imported soundings. Some sonar’s maintain “sticky” values for depth, until a better value has been estimated, while others might intermittently store the value of zero. To handle this, the option to “interpolate” Altitude during import, or via viewer, also includes “bridging the gap” between (invalid) zero-values. This may improve the quality of the slant range correct images, in cases where sonar was only intermittently tracking the bottom.
  6. General: The NavTrackProfile.csv data, as exported via the Mosaic Creation dialog, now includes additional fields with timestamp and water temperature, if available in sonar recording. Elevation and geodetic coordinates are formatted with a reasonable number of digits. As before, Elevation of bottom is calculated based on soundings from the sonar, corrected for transducer depth and vertical offsets, as specified via the Advanced Settings dialog (via F2 function key).
  7. General: The SonarTRX Batch Process feature includes a new option to export Target position and attributes, from multiple files to a CSV file.
  8. PlusPack v2: A new version of PlusPack, for use with SonarTRX Pro v20, provides licensing for additional functionality within the main program. The “A” features described below are included in the core PlusPack product, while the “B” features are optional.
  9. PlusPack v2A: The Export of XYZ depth-along-track, in the SonarTRX viewer, now includes output of CSV files with Timestamp and Water Temperature, if available in the sonar recording.
  10. PlusPack v2B: The SonarTRX Batch Process feature, includes a new option to export XYZ depth-along-track, at nominal 2 second interval to CSV. This allows for faster multi-recording exports of depths, as estimated by the sonar itself. The new export also includes timestamps and water temperature, if available in sonar recording.
  11. PlusPack v2B: Some of the features provided by the PlusPack for the previous versions of SonarTRX are now available as optional “B” features of PlusPack v2. This includes export of raw ping data from viewer, and generation of “No-Bend”, “Raw” and Speed corrected images, from the Mosaic creation dialog.
  12. General: The date and time format used in CSV files generated by SonarTRX is now generally using ISO 8601-style strings, with one of these two formats: yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fff and yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.fff. The advantage of the latter is that these strings automatically converts to Date & Time values when imported to Excel, and can therefore be easily formatted within Excel. However, the former imports to Excel as strings, and are not automatically converted (i.e. preserved as ISO 8601 strings.)
  13. General: The Mosaic creation dialog is now by default configured to generate individual geo-referencing files for each image. The option to generate NavTrackProfile.csv and Targets.csv is also turned on by default.
2019/08/18: SonarTRX 19.1

Base products SonarTRX Pro (x64) and SonarTRX Pro (x86) only:

  1. General: SonarTRX now includes installers for Sentinel HASP/LDK 7.91 Run-time environment and a more recent version of the Remote Update System utility program (RUS 7.9) With the new Sentinel LDK 7.91 Run-time environment, significant Windows 10 operating system upgrades will not impact existing Sentinel SL AdminMode licenses, according to the makers of the Sentinel HASP/LDK licensing system.
  2. General: Made minor changes to the View tab in the Data view and edit dialog. Fixed issues with empty confirmation-messages etc.
  3. XTF Importer: Support import of XTF files from Marine Sonic, Sea Scan Survey (Version 5.2.0.) Some of these files may have inconsistent ChannelNumber in XTF ping channel header.
  4. EdgeTech Importer: Support import of up to 6 channels, including up to two sub-bottom channels. Allow for custom mapping of channels via Options.xml file. Handle additional JSF system types & data formats.
2019/04/10: SonarTRX 18.1

Base products (SonarTRX Pro / SonarTRX(x64) Pro only):

  1. XTF Importer: Support import of XTF files from Marine Sonic SeaScan Survey (Version 5.1.0.) Some of these files may have Starboard and Port channel swapped.
  2. Marine Sonic SDS Importer: Initial support for importing SDS files. This is a Beta version that does not support all possible sonar types or data-formats. The Marine Sonic Importer requires an additional feature-license.
2019/02/15 and 2019/02/23: SonarTRX 18.1

Base products (SonarTRX Pro / SonarTRX(x64) Pro and SonarTRX-SI only):

  1. Humminbird: Fix bug with sonar-data importer, causing file import to fail for certain recordings
2018/10/08: SonarTRX 18.1

Base products (SonarTRX Pro / SonarTRX(x64) Pro, SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS, SonarTRX-GVU):

  1. General: SonarTRX now use Microsoft .Net Framework 4.7.2. This version of the .Net Framework is included with Windows 10 April 2018 Update, but can be installed manually for Windows 7 SP1 and other more recent Windows Operating systems.
  2. General: When creating a new Clip file via the Data import dialog, the mechanism now allows for Auto-generated clips as short as 1 minute. The Auto-generated clip duration is configured via the Advanced Settings Dialog, accessed via the F2 function key.
2018/06/14: SonarTRX 17.1

Base products (SonarTRX Pro / SonarTRX(x64) Pro, SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS, SonarTRX-GVU):

  1. General: SonarTRX now includes installers for Sentinel HASP/LDK 7.80 Run-time environment and a more recent version of the Remote Update System utility program (RUS 7.80)
  2. Lowrance SL3 Importer: Improved support for variations in recording content. The previous version would in some situations not import the complete set of soundings, resulting in distorted side-scan images.
2018/05/05: SonarTRX 17.1

Base products (SonarTRX Pro / SonarTRX(x64) Pro, SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS, SonarTRX-GVU):

  1. Humminbird importer: Support variations in file-format for SOLIX.
  2. General: Fix inconsistent status message for XYZ export via PlusPack.
2018/03/10: SonarTRX 17.1

Base products (SonarTRX Pro / SonarTRX(x64) Pro:

  1. XTF Importer: Support additional XTF SampleFormats.
2018/01/06: SonarTRX 17.1

Base products (SonarTRX Pro / SonarTRX(x64) Pro, SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS, SonarTRX-GVU):

  1. General: Minor update to Remote Update System (RUS) utility program help information.
2017/10/28: SonarTRX 17.1

Base products (SonarTRX Pro / SonarTRX(x64) Pro, SonarTRX-SI:

  1. Humminbird: Improved support for variations in Humminbird file format.
2017/08/29: SonarTRX 17.1

Base products (SonarTRX Pro / SonarTRX(x64) Pro, SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS, SonarTRX-GVU):

  1. General: SonarTRX now includes installer for the Sentinel LDK 7.60 Run-time environment and an updated version of the Remote Update System utility program.
2017/06/04: SonarTRX 17.1

Base products (SonarTRX Pro / SonarTRX(x64) Pro, SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS, SonarTRX-GVU):

  1. General: SonarTRX supports import of up to 6 channels from select sonar models.
  2. Humminbird: Support for import of SOLIX sonar recordings (Beta version) and recordings with a 5’th channel.
  3. General: SonarTRX now includes installers for Sentinel HASP/LDK 7.55 Run-time environment and a more recent version of the Remote Update System utility program (RUS 7.5.1)
2016/09/30: SonarTRX 16.1

Base products (SonarTRX Pro / SonarTRX(x64) Pro and SonarTRX-GVU only):

  1. Bug: The Garmin importer in some cases failed to import data from some recent recordings. This code-change only affects import of Garmin recordings with SonarTRX-GVU and SonarTRX Pro.
2016/05/29: SonarTRX 16.1

Base products (SonarTRX Pro / SonarTRX(x64) Pro and SonarTRX-GVU only):

  1. Feature: Updates to the Garmin importer with improved support for echoMAP recordings.
2016/04/25: SonarTRX 16.1

Base products (SonarTRX Pro / SonarTRX(x64) Pro, SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS, SonarTRX-GVU):

  1. General: SonarTRX now includes installer for the Sentinel LDK 7.41 Run-time environment.
  2. Feature: The Garmin importer now supports recordings made with the most recent firmware-versions from Garmin.
  3. Feature: The Lowrance importer now supports import of Sidescan and Downscan data from *.sl3 recordings.
  4. Feature: The Mosaic Creation dialog now allows "Nominal Pings per Image" settings up to 10000 soundings. This can be used in conjunction with the "Save raw sonar images" to export larger (raw) images. (These higher-value settings are not suitable for geo-referenced images.)
  5. Feature: Added Amber color scheme
2015/11/01: SonarTRX 15.1

Base products (SonarTRX Pro / SonarTRX(x64) Pro, SonarTRX-GVU):

  1. Bug: The EdgeTech importer in some cases failed to import Sidescan channels from recordings with sub-bottom data.
  2. Bug: The Garmin importer in some cases failed to import data from recordings where the Garmin sonar had problems tracking the bottom. For more reliable results, it is recommended to manually manage the rangesettings of the Garmin sonar recordings.
2015/09/29: SonarTRX 15.1

Base products (SonarTRX Pro / SonarTRX(x64) Pro, SonarTRX-SI:

  1. Feature: The Humminbird importer now supports defining a custom recording reference-time (start-time) in the *.dat.options.xml file.
  2. Feature: The Humminbird importer was enhanced to be more robust when dealing with index files and ONIX recordings.
2015/08/02: SonarTRX 15.1

Base products (SonarTRX Pro / SonarTRX(x64) Pro, SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS, SonarTRX-GVU):

  1. General: The 15.1, August 2 version of SonarTRX make use of the Microsoft .Net 4.6 Framework. This framework is included in Windows 10 and is available from Microsoft for Operating systems newer than Windows XP. For this reason, SonarTRX 15.1 is not supported for Windows XP.
2015/05/03: SonarTRX 15.1

Base products (SonarTRX Pro / SonarTRX(x64) Pro, SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS, SonarTRX-GVU):

  1. General: SonarTRX now includes installer for Sentinel LDK 7.32 Run-time environment. This version of the licensing system supports installation on Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 10041.
  2. Bug: The Humminbird importer now handles additional variations of Humminbird ONIX recordings. (The previous version failed to import data from certain recordings.)
  3. Bug: The Garmin importer now handles additional variations of Garmin SideVu/DownVu recordings.
2015/02/09: SonarTRX 15.1

Base products (SonarTRX Pro / SonarTRX(x64) Pro, SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS, SonarTRX-GVU):

  1. General: This is a cumulative release with changes since the October 4 release.
  2. General: The 15.1 version of SonarTRX make use of the Microsoft .Net 4.5.1 Framework. This framework is included in Windows 8.1 and is available from Microsoft for Operating systems newer than Windows XP. For this reason, SonarTRX 15.1 is not supported for Windows XP.
  3. Feature: Support for import of Garmin SideVu and DownVu recordings is part of the GVU edition. Garmin support for SonarTRX Pro / SonarTRX(x64) Pro is available on request for users with a current maintenance agreement and users who purchased SonarTRX after February 9, 2014.
  4. Feature: Support import of sidescan channels from EdgeTech 6205 recordings.
  5. Bug: Fixed problem with EdgeTech importers ability to correct data during import.
  6. Bug: Improved the Humminbird *.dat importer’s ability to repair index files. This allows for regenerating index files in cases when sonar did not properly stop and save the recording.
  7. Feature: Humminbird importer can now import a sub-set of channels from Humminbird ONIX recordings. Preferred channels can be specified in Options.xml file for each recording.
  8. Feature: Minor changes were made to XTF importer to better deal with Sonar type 46.
  9. Feature: Improved robustness of Lowrance SLG importer by rejecting bad packets.
  10. Feature: Changed default preference for Beam Angle Correction to improve resulting images.
2015/01/31: SonarTRX-GVU 15.1

Base product SonarTRX-GVU:

  1. General: SonarTRX-GVU is a new edition of SonarTRX, with support for Garmin SideVu/DownVu recordings.
  2. Feature: Supports import from *.rsd files w/SideVu or DownVu data recorded by Garmin sonars.
2014/10/04: SonarTRX 13.1

Base products SonarTRX / SonarTRX(x64), SonarTRX-LSS:

  1. Feature: Improved robustness of Lowrance SL2-importer.Additional data-cleanup option can be turned on by using the Options.xml file associated with the *.sl2 recording. No changes were made to SonarTRX-SI.
2014/08/28: SonarTRX 13.1

Base products (SonarTRX / SonarTRX(x64), SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS):

  1. Bug: Fixed problem with creation of image-tiles while using simple layback correction, offset etc. from the Mosaic creation dialog. In some cases, the image tiles would not have the correct along-track scale, even though the corresponding polygon was correctly defined in the doc.kml file. The result of this bug was in the form of seemingly random gaps between images.
2014/04/11: SonarTRX 13.1

Base products SonarTRX / SonarTRX(x64), SonarTRX-LSS:

  1. Feature: SonarTRX Pro and SonarTRX-LSS Pro supports import from *.sl2 files without sidescan data recorded with Lowrance HDS 5 Gen 2. No changes were made to SonarTRX-SI.
2014/03/08: SonarTRX-LSS 13.1

Base product SonarTRX-LSS:

  1. General: This is a preliminary build of SonarTRX-LSS only.
  2. Feature: Supports import from *.sl2 files recorded with Lowrance HDS 5 Gen 2 (w/no sidescan data.)
2013/12/05: SonarTRX 13.1

Base products (SonarTRX / SonarTRX(x64), SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS):

  1. Feature: SonarTRX-SI and the full version of SonarTRX now supports import of recordings made with older versions of the Humminbird firmware. No other changes apply, except minor changes to the installation instructions.
2013/10/18: SonarTRX-SI 13.1

Base products SonarTRX-SI:

  1. General: This is a preliminary build of SonarTRX-SI only.
  2. Feature: Support import of recordings made with older versions of the Humminbird firmware.
2013/10/01: SonarTRX 13.1

Base products (SonarTRX / SonarTRX(x64), SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS):

  1. General: Support licensing of SonarTRX using both software based/SL-type licenses and hardware based/HL-type licenses. The installation instructions (readme-installation.htm) and some of the licensing system supporting files have been updated. SL-type licenses are provided in the form of a unique License key (text string) along with license update files exchanged via email.
  2. General Licensing: Updated version of the custom Sentinel HASP/LDK Run-time installer. The new version allows for installation of SonarTRX on several computers, while still having the ability to move (“rehost”), the active SL-type license key to the desired computer, using the Sentinel Remote Update System (RUS.)
  3. General Licensing: Include External License Manager (hasp_rt.exe) to support future use of driverless configuration.
  4. Bug Fix: If SonarTRX was started without having a USB license key attached, or without having a valid SL license installed, there would be a long delay before any warning message was shown.
2013/08/15: SonarTRX 13.1

Base products (SonarTRX / SonarTRX(x64), SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS):

  1. General: SonarTRX now ships with the SafeNet Sentinel 6.60 Run-time environment installer, which includes fixes that allows for running SonarTRX in trial mode on Windows 8 without warnings about Virtual machines detected.
  2. Bug: Fixed problem with Imagenex Yellowfin file importer. The symptoms were that the importer would not succeed importing data from the sonar file when certain combinations of NMEA 0183 messages were present in the recording.
  3. Bug: Resolved issue with activation process due to changes to the Sentinel Run-time environment. The symptoms were that watermarks would still be present in the images, even after entering activation codes.
2013/06/29: SonarTRX 13.1

Base products (SonarTRX / SonarTRX(x64), SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS):

  1. General: The Lowrance SL2 file importer was fixed to handle import of recordings made with newer versions of the Lowrance sonar/recording software. The changes to this maintenance release only affect SonarTRX-LSS Pro and SonarTRX Pro.
  2. NOTE: No feature changes were made to SonarTRX-SI, which has support for Humminbird sonar recordings only.
2013/06/08: SonarTRX 13.1

SonarTRX-LSS only:

  1. General: The Lowrance SL2 file importer was fixed to handle import of recordings made with newer versions of the Lowrance sonar/recording software. This maintenance release was only provided for SonarTRX-LSS.
2013/04/26: SonarTRX 13.1

Base products (SonarTRX / SonarTRX(x64), SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS):

  1. General: SonarTRX now ships with the SafeNet Sentinel 6.56 Run-time environment installer, which is now certified for Windows 8 by Microsoft.
  2. Bug: Fixed problems with the Edgetech file importer when NMEA data is present in the JSF file.
  3. General: Resized several forms to properly handle default Windows 8 window styles. (This applies to the Import dialog, Mosaic dialog and certain confirmation messages etc.)
  4. Gemeral: Changes were made to Mosaic creation dialog in the way it handles parallel processing.
2013/02/20: SonarTRX 13.1

Base products (SonarTRX / SonarTRX(x64), SonarTRX-SI):

  1. General: This is the first update of 2013, hence the new version number (13.1).
  2. Feature: The Humminbird file importer now supports import of data from recordings made with version 6.60 of Humminbird software. (Upgrade to this version of SonarTRX is not needed, unless you have updated your Humminbird sonar to Version 6.60 of the sonar software.)
2012/12/02: SonarTRX 12.1

Base products (SonarTRX / SonarTRX(x64), SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS):

  1. General: SonarTRX now ships with the SafeNet Sentinel 6.51 Run-time environment installer, which is compatible with Windows 8.
  2. Feature: The batch processing tool can now generate tracks from multiple sonar recordings in one operation. In addition, the tool has an option to update the Windows File Creation Date of the file based on the start time of the sonar recording. (This makes it possible to use windows Explorer to sort the sonar recordings by recording date.)
2012/10/01: SonarTRX 12.1 (x64)

New product: 64 bit version of SonarTRX Pro:

  1. General: The 64 bit version of SonarTRX Pro supports processing of larger sonar recordings and creation of larger MasterImages. This version requires a 64 bit Windows operating system.
2012/09/23: SonarTRX 12.1

Base products (SonarTRX, SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS):

  1. General: SonarTRX now ships with the SafeNet Sentinel 6.5 Run-time environment.
  2. General: The SonarTRX installation programs now creates desktop icon. All versions of SonarTRX have been tested for use with Windows 8.
  3. General: Internal changes has been implemented to prepare for upcoming 64 bit version of SonarTRX.
2012/08/03: SonarTRX 12.1

Base products (SonarTRX, SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS):

  1. Feature: Humminbird importer: Improved robustness in terms of handling invalid records (corrupted data), and provide warnings regarding empty channels, corrupted index files, lacking memory resources when try to load very large sonar recordings etc. Improved robustness of code that regenerates Humminbird index files (*.IDX)
  2. Feature: Lowrance SLG file importer: Supports additional variations of the file format. The channel orientation for SLG files can be specified in the *.options.xml file associated with the recording. (Example use: Single-channel Towfish system that generates SLG files with starboard or port sidescan data can now be imported. Improved status reporting during SLG import.
  3. Feature: XTF file importer: The (British) Ordnance Survey National Grid (EPSG:27700) can now be specified as the coordinate system for projected coordinates in the XTF file. If the Northing and Easting values are switched in the XTF fields, this can also be specified in the *.xtf.Options.xml file.
  4. Feature: SonarTRX can now use template import option files. The template *.Options.xml files are stored in the users My Documents\LEI\SonarTRX subfolder. When importing a sonar file for the first time, the template options file is copied to the folder of the sonar file. This feature can be used to configure default preferences for a particular sonar file type. Example1: Lowrance SL2 files can be imported, by default, with the left and right sidescan channels flipped. Example 2: Lowrance SLG files can be imported, by default, assuming that the data is from the port sidescan transducer.
  5. Bug Fix: XTF file importer: Fixed various UTM-projection related issues.
  6. Bug Fix: Improve robustness of code that retrieves MasterImage settings to prevent errors when generating image-tiles.
2012/07/16: SonarTRX 12.1

Base products (SonarTRX, SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS):

  1. Feature: SonarTRX can now check to see if there is a more recent release available for download. This is done by clicking on the Help button from the SonarTRX main window. If the computer is connected to the internet, it will show this information in the caption of the "About SonarTRX" window. To receive a download link, please contact Support@SonarTRX.com.
  2. General: The "About SonarTRX" window, accessed from the Help button in SonarTRX, will indicate if SonarTRX is running in 32 bit or 64 bit mode (The window caption will show "x86" or "x64" in brackets.).
  3. Bug Fix: Changes were made to the SonarTRX Viewer to attempt to fix issues with labels not shown in the proper location (on the “SRC/..” tab.) This would occur in certain cases, after the form was resized, or after completing a processing-task.
2012/07/11: SonarTRX 12.1

This update is for the full version of SonarTRX only (i.e. not SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS):

  1. Bug fix: SonarTRX Pro has been updated to resolve an issue with importing XTF files with UTM coordinates. The bug is only an issue if the XTF file contains positions in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projection instead of geodetic coordinates. The data would not import, even if the UTM zone was specified in the “*.xtf.options.xml” file associated with the XTF recording.
2012/07/09: SonarTRX 12.1

Base products (SonarTRX, SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS):

  1. General: The version number was changed to 12.* to reflect releases for the 2012 calendar year. (The previous release was 10.14)
  2. SonarTRX now includes SafeNet Sentinel Run-time environment installer version 6.23.
  3. Feature: Improved processing speed. SonarTRX now makes better use of Multi-Core computers by allowing for processing of sonar-channels in parallel.
  4. Feature: Faster to import data. Slant Range Correction (SRC) is no longer done as the data is read from file. This reduces the time it takes to import data, since SRC can be done more efficiently in parallel, by multiple CPU’s, after the raw sonar data has been read from disk.
  5. Feature: The altitude calculation /digitizing feature is now included in both SonarTRX-SI and SonarTRX-LSS. Some minor improvements were also made to the digitizing feature to ensure that the digitized points are saved to file.
  6. Feature: A new Beam Angle Correction (BAC) mechanism can be used to improve the slant range corrected images. BAC can be used to bring out more details at far ranges, and better balance the overall brightness and contrast of the images. The new automatic BAC mode relies on statistics for the average intensity of the return at various beam-angles.
  7. Feature: The sonar recording times can be displayed in UTC or in Local time (based on the computer clock). These preferences can be configured from the advanced settings dialog, available from the F2 function key.
  8. Feature: The Lowrance importers (slg and sl2) supports specifying alternate start-time in the options.xml file (time of the first ping in the sonar recording). This is to ensure proper time-synchronization with other data from the survey. (This feature was added in the LSS 10.14 custom build dated March 23, 2012.)
  9. Feature: Two additional color schemes were added to the default (auto-generated) color scheme file. One is a brown scheme similar to what found on the Humminbird sonars. The other is a color spectrum with a broader range of color variations. (The color spectrum scheme was initially added in the LSS 10.14 custom build dated march 23, 2012.)
  10. Feature: The optional EdgeTech importer is now able to handle additional EdgeTech systems and *.jsf file message types. (This change was added in the 10.14 custom build dated March 30, 2012.)
  11. Feature: Previous versions of SonarTRX would limit the number of soundings to be imported from a sonar file. This limit was 100000 pings, but has now been increased to 1 million in order to handle larger files. If the computer runs out of memory, consider using clips to import a sub-section of the recording only. Another way of conserving memory is to import only the channels of interest. (To process sidescan data, there is normally no need to import the down-imaging channels.)
  12. Feature: The file import dialog allows for manual creation of the “options.xml” file associated with the sonar recording.
  13. Feature: The summary dialog now shows the altitude source used when generating the Slant Range Corrected (SRC) data. It also shows status flags for each of the various statistics (Histograms).
  14. Feature: Viewer: Fixed various issues with time-pickers for targets and clips when no clips or targets were present. Display slant range angle for the cursor in the viewer (assuming the range is to an item on a flat sea-bed.)
  15. Usability: Progress bars are now hidden by default, until processing tasks are active. This results in smaller size dialogs for better display on 1024 x 768 screens.
  16. Bug fix: The Lowrance SL2 importer did not correctly interpret sonar recordings with resolutions below the highest level. Symptoms: Only a sub-set of the soundings in the file were imported, and the left and right sidescan data were sometimes offset. (This fix was included in the LSS 10.14 custom build dated March 27, 2012.)
  17. Bug Fix: Resolved issue with timestamps for clips and targets written to the *.clip.xml files and the altitude bottom lock settings in the *.altitude.xml file associated with a given sonar recording. Problems would occur if these files were generated, and at a later point in time the computer clock was configured to a different time-zone or if the daylight savings would change. The new version interprets the old xml files and has tools to correct the problems from the import dialog. The clip files for some Humminbird recordings may need to be manually edited with a text editor to correct for DST. If the recording clip files (*.clip.xml) do not contain any custom clips or targets, they can be deleted manually (and re-generated as needed.)
  18. Bug Fix: The Export of raw ping data did not properly reverse the data from a left sonar channel. The column name for the time is now titled “UTC+0.0” to indicate that times are always in UTC.
  19. Bug Fix: The optional EdgeTech importer generates more accurate preview-information about available data in the file. (This fix was added in the 10.14 custom build dated April 3, 2012)
  20. Bug Fix: Resolved issue with auto-correction of slant range corrected images due to pixels with zero intensity.
2012/03/16: SonarTRX 10.14

Base products (SonarTRX, SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS):

  1. Feature: The sonar data viewer /editor and the mosaic creation tool can now optimize brightness and contrast of the images. The viewer also has an option to customize the correction factors for individual channels. Histograms of both original and corrected images are rendered using the selected color scheme. Brightness and contrast settings in the viewer can be used when generating the mosaic images.
  2. Feature: Sonar data can now be imported with individual correction factors for each channel, minimizing the need for image correction in the viewer or during mosaic creation. The summary information dialog shows the parameters used during import (if any) for each channel.
  3. Feature: The new viewer / editor include the ability to view the data at various zoom-levels, for closer inspection of data at various ranges.
  4. Feature: The new viewer / editor have tools to digitize altitudes and altitude limits for recalculation of first echo return (altitudes) from each channel. This is useful for sidescan sonars that do not provide altitude estimates in the recorded files. In conjunction with the PlusPack, this feature can be used to generate a permanent altitude data-file that can be used the next time the recording is processed.
  5. Feature/Usability: The XYZ export, ping data export and target export now formats the output using the selected Windows display-culture: Semicolon is used as csv file separator in cultures that use comma as the decimal separator. The XYZ and ping data export also allows for TSV (tab separated files) and TXT output.
  6. Feature: The Humminbird importer now supports use of (import) options file with correction factors for each channel.
  7. Bug fix: The Imagenex SportScan importer did not properly import a sub-set of the channels.
  8. Feature/Bug fix: The sonar data viewer/editor user interface for the targets did not properly show the correct tile index of the target. The tile of the selected target is now activated when user select the target.
  9. Bug fix: When generating mosaic images and selecting to export XYZ data, the meta-data file was not always created.
  10. Bug fix: The logic to determine image tile index for a given Target did not always generate correct results for targets located at the boundary between tiles.
  11. Bug fix: The sonar data viewer / editor did not properly save/restore preferences for the Range limit, if the unit preference was set to a non-SI unit. In addition, the default value for the Display altitude option was previously set to “Undefined” instead of “SensorAltitude”.

PlusPack:

  1. PlusPack Feature/Usability: The XYZ and alternate data export now checks the bathymetry source and selected channel and shows a confirmation message before initiating the export.
  2. PlusPack Bug fix: When importing sonar data from a file without altitudes and then using the Viewer/Editor to load altitude from alternate data file, SonaTRX did not update status information for each channel (Altitude source and min/max altitude values). This prevented the system from generating slant range corrected images.
  3. PlusPack Bug fix: Resolved issues with exporting alternate data to a file and then (in the same session) importing data from the same file.
2012/02/10: SonarTRX 10.13

Base products (SonarTRX, SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS):

  1. Feature: Additional SonarTRX functionality is now available in an “Add-on” called “PlusPack”. Version 10.13 of SonarTRX, SonarTRX-SI and SonarTRX-LSS can make use of PlusPack features, provided that a PlusPack license has been installed on the system. Please see the separate feature-list at the end of this post for more information.
  2. Feature – Altitude calculations: A smoothing filter has been added to the altitude calculation features. The filter uses a moving average window and also ignores deviant soundings. Altitude preferences are persisted between sessions, either as default application settings, or in the *.Altitude.xml file associated with the sonar recording. Altitude calculation can also be done using multiple altitude limit definitions in the *.Altitude.xml file (“SonarBottomLockSettings” xml nodes). However, there is currently no user interface in SonarTRX to edit these entries. Only the first entry is shown in the user interface. Bottom-lock definitions can be captured to the clipboard using click & drag mouse operation in the viewer and manually pasted into the *.Altitude.xml file as XML nodes. The xml file can be reloaded for use during processing.
  3. Feature - Viewer: The SonarTRX viewer now shows histogram of the data loaded in memory for each sonar channel. This can be useful for evaluation of image-correction or first echo return calculation parameters. By selecting a intensity range window in the histogram (click & drag to define a horizontal range), the corresponding gain and multiplier factors can be determined (i.e. K0 and K1 for use to correct the slant range corrected images, or for use in the Options.xml file during import.)
  4. Feature: The sonar recording cataloging feature (batch) now also extract the starting point coordinates from some of the sonar file types. (Humminbird *.dat and Lowrance SLG only). The catalog also includes the files that for some reason could not be evaluated (corrupt files or files that could not be interpreted).
  5. Feature - Humminbird importer: Improved ability to handle corrupted Humminbird recordings.
  6. Feature – Lowrance importer: The left and right channel can now be switched during import, if the transducer is mounted in the opposite direction. This option can be specified in the *.sl2.options.xml file associated with the *.sl2 recording.
  7. Feature – Lowrance importer: The *.slg importer can now import older versions of the slg file format.
  8. Feature – Licensing system: The SonarTRX installation now includes version 6.22 of the SafeNet Sentinel runtime environment (command line) installer. This version is more robust and reliable than previous installers and better handles User Access Control (UAC) in Windows. The online FAQ document has been updated with information on how to download and use the GUI version (w/user interface) of the installer, should the command line version cause problems.
  9. Bug fix - Viewer: Improved handling of data with bad Latitude/Longitude values in the built-in viewer and mosaic creation dialog. SonarTRX now saves additional viewer preferences.
  10. Bug Fix – Mosaic feature: Resolved issue with mosaic tool if imported data is not time-stamped. The feature to reject image-tiles based on average vessel velocity no longer skip tiles when the data has no time-stamps.
  11. Bug Fix – Mosaic feature: The ability to include the sonar file name as a part of the image tile file names in a mosaic did not work properly.
  12. Bug fix – Humminbird importer: When SonarTRX regenerates corrupt Humminbird *.dat files, it did not always generate template clip files for that recording.
  13. Bug Fix – Lowrance importer: The *.sl2 importer did not properly import a subset of channels from the file. (The channels that were not imported were improperly flagged as “available”, causing issues when trying to create slant-range corrected images)
  14. Bug Fix – Lowrance importer: The *.sl2 importer’s preview and batch cataloging feature did not always determine the correct number of pings in each sonar channel.

PlusPack:

  1. PlusPack Feature: SonarTRX w/PlusPack can import precise positions and absolute elevation from RTK-GPS systems via the new alternate data import mechanism. This feature can be used to provide absolute elevation of the seabed (xyz data), independent of the tidal level or water level of the surface. This feature can also be used to “re-navigate” the sidescan data to the positions of a transducer on a Towfish, ROV, AUV or ASV, should such positions not have been stored in the original sonar recording, or if USBL or other tracking systems have been used for the positioning.
  2. PlusPack Feature: SonarTRXw/PlusPack can export bathymetric raw data files (XYZ files) in both projected and geodetic coordinate systems. There is also a sampling rate option to control how many soundings are included in the XYZ file. Meta data about the xyz information is saved to a separate text file, including projection, sampling rate, altitude source, units, vertical offsets etc.) There are also options to output depth instead of elevation and switch the sequence of the latitude and longitude column in the output file. In addition, the elevation of the water surface (if available & imported from RTK GPS) can be exported as the 4’th column (for use during river surveys, or any surveys where the water-level may fluctuate).
  3. PlusPack Feature: SonarTRX w/PlusPack can export & import depth below transducer (altitude) values to and from external files via the new alternate data import mechanism. This feature can be used to load altimeter data or manually edit the altitude used for generating slant range corrected images.
  4. PlusPack Feature: SonarTRX w/PlusPack can export raw ping data to plain text csv files for external analysis.
2012/01/26: SonarTRX 10.13 BETA

Base products (SonarTRX, SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS):

  1. Feature: SonarTRX can now export bathymetric raw data files (XYZ files) in both projected and geodetic coordinate systems from your sonar recordings. There is also a sampling rate option to control how many soundings are included in the XYZ file. Meta data about the xyz information is saved to a separate text file, including projection, sampling rate, altitude source, units, vertical offsets etc.)
  2. Feature: SonarTRX can now import precise positions and absolute elevation from RTK-GPS systems via the new alternate data import mechanism. This feature can be used to provide absolute elevation of the seabed (xyz data), independent of the tidal level or water level of the surface. This feature can also be used to “re-navigate” the sidescan data to the positions of a transducer on a Towfish, ROV, AUV or ASV, should such positions not have been stored in the original sonar recording, or if USBL or other tracking systems have been used for the positioning.
  3. Feature: SonarTRX can now export and import depth below transducer (altitude) values to and from external files via the new alternate data import mechanism. This feature can be used to load altimeter data or manually edit the altitude used for generating slant range corrected images.
  4. Feature: SonarTRX can export raw ping data to plain text csv files for external analysis.
  5. Feature: The SonarTRX viewer now shows histogram of the data loaded in memory for each sonar channel. This can be useful for evaluation of image-correction or first echo return calculation parameters. By selecting a intensity range window in the histogram (click and drag to define a horizontal range), the corresponding gain and multiplier factors can be determined (i.e. K0 and K1 for use to correct the slant range corrected images, or for use in the Options.xml file during import.)
  6. Feature: The sonar recording cataloging feature (batch) now also extract the starting point coordinates from each recording. (Humminbird *.dat files only). The catalog also includes the files that for some reason could not be interpreted.
  7. Feature: Improved ability to handle corrupted Humminbird recordings.
  8. Bug fix: When SonarTRX regenerates corrupt Humminbird *.dat files, it did not always generate template clip files for that recording.
  9. Bug fix: Improved handling of data with bad Latitude/Longitude values in the built-in viewer and mosaic creation dialog.
  10. Feature: SonarTRX can now save additional viewer preferences
2011/12/31: SonarTRX 10.12 - updated version

Base product (SonarTRX Pro):

  1. Feature: An updated version of SonarTRX 10.12 includes support for DeepEye 340 sonarfiles by DeepView (*.dvs)
2011/12/23: SonarTRX 10.12

Base products (SonarTRX, SonarTRX-SI, SonarTRX-LSS):

  1. Feature: User preferred display units and data entry units can be configured from the main SonarTRX window via the “F3” function key. This is of particular use to customers who prefer working in feet, miles per hour, knots etc. The previous implementation only allowed for SI units (meters, m/s etc.)
  2. Feature: A new “Batch process” command button in the main SonarTRX window has been added to allow processing of multiple sonar files. This feature can be used to select one or more sonar files to generate a “Table of content” file (*.csv/*.xml) with basic information about each recording, such as: Available channels, start time, duration and the total number of pings etc. The Batch process dialog is also shown if trying to import more than one sonar file from the import command button. In the future, the Batch process feature will be enhanced to allow processing of multiple files in one operation.
  3. Feature: The mosaic “doc.kml” file can now be generated with hidden sonar coverage area polygons (the “Areas” folder under the data from each sonar channel). The preference for this is available from the Mosaic Dialog. Please note that the pop-up window that shows up in Google Earth when clicking on the coverage area for a particular image tile is not available if the polygon is hidden.
  4. Feature: The Lowrance importer for *.sl2 and *.slg files and the Imagenex SportScan & YellowFin importer now supports display of available time-interval and estimated number of pings during import. They also support import of clips, or time-intervals of data.
  5. Feature: The Lowrance *.slg and *.sl2 importer and the Imagenex SportScan & YellowFin importer now supports use of an *.options.xml file containing image correction parameters. These parameters allows for correction of the sonar data during import.
  6. Feature: The name of the sonar file can now be appended to the master image file name the same way for the individual image-tiles when generating a mosaic. This makes it easier to avoid naming conflicts when importing master images to other applications.
  7. Bug fix: Improved notification and handling of errors that may occur when reading Humminbird (& other) sonar files directly from SD memory cards. The work-around is to copy the files onto the computer hard-drive.
  8. Bug fix / robustness: The Humminbird file importer now detects inconsistent index files (*.idx) for each sonar channel and regenerates them as needed. This may occur if a power-failure happens while the sonar is recording data.
  9. Robustness: Humminbird sonar recordings can now be imported even without a valid *.dat file. This may occur if a power-failure happens while the sonar is recording data.
  10. Feature: When importing sonar files, the user can now browse for sonar files of all supported types without first selecting specifically which type of sonar file to import.
2011/10/26: SonarTRX 10.10

Base products (SonarTRX, SonarTRX-SI):

  1. Feature: Better support for towed sonar: SonarTRX image-tiles can be relocated to correct for layback, cross-track offset and images can be adjusted for towfish heading (i.e. when towfish is pointing at an angle relative to CMG of the tow vessel). The corrections are done on the tile-segment level (i.e. constant offset values are used for a given batch of mosaic images.) This feature can be used to achieve a better match between mosaic-images from multiple tows of opposite direction or with different length of tow-cable.
  2. Bug: Fixed problems with the XTF file-importer: TVG correction during import was not always applied; Bad timestamps sometimes caused crash; StarFish XTF files "Sensor Primary Altitude" is now used as sonar altitude for use during slant range correction.
  3. Bug: Fixed problems with the Imagenex SportScan file-importer: Files with only one channel and no coordinate information can now be imported.
  4. Usability: Disable generation of track and targets in kml file if mosaic is relocated.
  5. Usability: Prevent generation of target file (*.csv) if no targets are defined.
2011/11/15: SonarTRX 10.9

Base products (SonarTRX, SonarTRX-SI):

  1. Feature: The viewer allows for definition of "Targets" (waypoints) associated with a given sonar recording.
  2. Feature: Newly captured Targets can be easily pasted to Google Earth as KML placemarks for immediate validation.
  3. Feature: The Targets can also be included as KML placemarks along with the mosaic image tiles.
  4. Feature: Ability to calculate altitude (time of first echo return) based on sonar data
  5. Feature: A detailed XYZ file (*.csv) containing soundings along track can be exported along with the mosaic image tiles.
  6. Feature: Depth values can be converted to elevation by correcting for transducer-depth and the elevation of the water surface relative to a vertical datum
  7. Usability: The Imagenex SportScan and Yellowfin importer is more capable, and handles import of select data channels
  8. Feature: The viewer can display optional grid-lines at a various range-intervals
2011/8/6: SonarTRX 10.8

Base products (SonarTRX, SonarTRX-SI):

  1. Feature: Display of speed corrected images
  2. Feature: Cursor information that shows time, altitude, range, horizontal range etc.
  3. Feature: Measurement tool - click and drag cursor to show differential values
  4. Feature: Tool to estimate the height of a bottom feature by measuring the size of the shadow
  5. Feature: Birds eye view that shows the navigation track of the sonar recording, the cursor location and position of the active tile etc.
  6. Feature: Ability to capture precise start/end time of a clip.
2011/7/6: SonarTRX 10.7

Base products (SonarTRX, SonarTRX-SI):

    2011/5/11: SonarTRX 10.6

    Base products (SonarTRX, SonarTRX-SI):

    1. Feature: The image range-cropping feature introduced in version 10.5 now allows for individual range limits for starboard and port sidescan channel.
    2. Feature: SonarTRX images have improved sharpness compared to previous versions.
    3. Usability: The XTF file-importer has improvements in how it handles files with certain Klein 3000 sidescan sonar data packets.
    4. Feature: SonarTRX can also be used to generate images from Tritech StarFish XTF files.
    2011/4/21: SonarTRX 10.5

    Base products (SonarTRX, SonarTRX-SI):

    1. Feature: The sidescan mosaic image tiles can now be cropped at a certain sonar range. This provides better control when producing maps that includes overlapping sidescan recordings.
    2. Feature: The naming of the SonarTRX mosaic image-tiles can now be customized in order to make it easier to manage the imagery with 3'rd party mapping programs (Global Mapper, Manifold GIS, ESRI etc.)
    3. Feature: The XTF file-importer now supports import of named "clips" of data (i.e. pings within a certain time-range). This makes it much quicker to process just the desired areas from a particular sidescan sonar recording.
    2011/3/26: SonarTRX 10.4

    Base products (SonarTRX, SonarTRX-SI):

    1. Feature: Support for Lowrance XTF files, Imagenex YellowFin and SportScan sonar files.
    2. Feature: Option to generate images in various Color Schemes (Color palettes)
    3. Feature: Support for import of named "clips" from Humminbird data files.
    4. Feature: Generation of geo-referencing files for import of images into Global Mapper and ESRI products.
    5. Feature: Ability to filter out periods of slow motion or excessive course changes.
    6. Feature: Use of navigation data from alternate sources in XTF file.
    7. Feature: Creation of kml file with links to online location of mosaic images (simplify publishing).
    2011/2/12: SonarTRX 10.3

    Base products (SonarTRX, SonarTRX-SI):

    1. Feature: Visualization of Humminbird down-imaging channels in Google Earth
    2. Feature: Import "clips" of data from Humminbird sonar recordings (i.e. data between two times)
    3. Feature: Sonar images can be "relocated" if you want to keep the location of the recording a secret when sharing your kml file.
    4. Usability: Google Earth placemark labels have been made optional (to reduce clutter when viewing a large number of images)
    5. Feature: Ability to click on an image-tile to get extensive information about the data (Recording file name, time, depth, distances, ping numbers etc.)