Software changes

TPOD.exe

v8.23 - 19 May 07

An export utility that gives the number of clicks in each class of train from a batch of files has been added. The Help file has better expressions for use in Access. The tabulated output for each day of the year is now much faster. Two minor errors have been fixed: one in the export of settings, thanks to Manolo Castellote for that, and one in the file linking, thanks to Paul Fisher.

v8.20 - 10 Mar 07

Tabulated data can now be exported directly from batches of files, giving values for each day of the year from each file. This save a lot shunting in Excel. The tutorials have been rewritten to accommodate this.

Detection positive 10 minutes and DPH can now be exported directly.

The communication default has been set to USB, COM port 4, which seems to be the commonest usage now.

Export of summed scan data previously failed if the first of any set of identical scans had been deselected, or if the first scan was deselected and 'sum all scans' was used.

v8.19 - 10 Dec 06.

This has a small button 'a.c' in the display section that graphs a form of auto-correlation of clicks per minute or several larger bin sizes. This is to get a quick and cheerful view of time patterns in the data, particularly the characteristic duration of encounters, diurnal and tidal patterns. It uses the time display unit, the filters and the endpoints currently selected and exports the values to the Jotter. Unlike the graph these are not scaled to 1 as the maximum.

21 Nov 06

Settings files: the V5 dolphins and porpoises settings file omitted the dolphin scans and has been replaced. Thanks to the Lighthouse Field Station.

v8.18

# Fixed: Batch exporting of train details was failing if endpoints were set and used. Thanks to Alice Mackay for this one.

v8.17

# The train detail export was omitting the very last train due to be exported. Thanks to Victoria Turner for spotting this.

v8.16

# Train detail text files now include the calculated PRF and Day of Year.

# Exporting settings of a batch of files now includes the user notes in each file.

# The column headings for some export files now avoid some duplication that caused them to be replaced by Access as field names.

# Saving Jotter text to a file via the 'Save' button is now done with 'word wrap' suppressed so that the file can be read correctly into Excel or Access.

# A longer period is allowed for the setup process in the POD, and this can now proceed if the memory size is larger than the POD identifiers indicate.

v8.13

# when the angle switch is set to 180 degrees (always ON) it now covers all possible outputs from the angle sensor, including erroneous values, and should be better at ensuring that it does stay ON.

# a v5 POD is now supported. It is a v4 but set so that higher sensitivity settings actually give the same results as lower settings on v4 PODs. This allows them to operate in a more comfortable range for the amplifier and threshold controls making standardisation more accurate.

# the duration of clicks is represented in inter-click interval displays by the horizontal length of line for each click. This has been reduced to half, by popular request, but can now be varied via an edit box at the bottom of the Files and Display page of the menu.

# the number of trains included in very doubtful has been reduced as this was a nuisance to the few users who look at all trains. So some have been ditched altogether. This does not affect normal use of CetAll or CetHi counts.

# some short fast trains classified as CetLo arise in some locations without cetaceans, and this seems possibly to arise from some contact with the transducer surface. These can be reduced by selecting a check box on the Train Filter page of the options dialog. Few users will need this.

# Export of click times now includes a column that identifies the train, if any, in which the click has a place.

# A new version of the USB port software proved to fail on some PCs, and has been replaced with the earlier version. ( this is Async Pro, now on www.sourceforge).

v8

This version contains a significantly improved train filter – version 4.1 - which does change the detections identified.

Existing data

All existing data can be re-processed using the new train filter. Dolphin data from PODs before V4 will show particular improvement. To make re-processing easy the Trains page of the menu has a button for batch processing.

Users working with train detail in a database can then export the details from the same batches of files and use this to repopulate their database. This is now very fast.

Acknowledgements

We have been greatly helped in this (and testing) by data on bottlenose dolphins from Anneli Englund and Evelyn Philpott (University of Cork), Malene Simon (SeaWatch Foundation); dusky dolphin data from Brian Lloyd (New Zealand, Dept of Conservation); porpoise data from Ansgar Diederichs, Chris Pierpoint, and by the IFAW monitoring project for the Fal estuary.

Other changes in TPOD.exe

Export

Exporting of train details now happens without running the train detection process again, and is very quick.

Values shown in the graphs can now be exported to the Jotter, and copied from there into Excel. Exporting train class data before re-processing a file with the new software is a convenient way to see how it affects different train classes.

Sonar risk can be exported.

Options

Apart from the commonly used options that are permanently shown on the main page and menu dialog, all other options have been put into one tabbed dialog that makes them easier to access.

Approach sequences

show options > train filter > find approach sequences is now finalised.

The file is marked where strong sequences of ascending or descending PRF are seen over several trains. All such 'detections' can be listed for research purposes. Negative values are descending PRF sequences. Values outside -5 to +5 are marked in the file and can be displayed ( see files and display page of menu ).

Two new options are:

'SKIP SONAR detection' on the Trains page. This can be used to get a quicker idea of what's in the data and could be used on data that is definitely sonar free (in a flooded Amazon forest for example…).

Include/exclude 10 microsecond clicks from sonar detection, on the 'train filter' page of the Options dialog. Some V3 and V2 PODs collected many very short clicks and this interferes with both sonar and train detection. So 10 microsecond clicks are automatically excluded from analysis of data from both these POD analogue versions, but these controls allow this to be over-ruled for locations in which boat sonar detections are a problem.