What is Son2XTF and How do I use it?Son2XTF is a piece of software that converts the Humminbird .son recording files over to a public format called XTF or eXtended Triton Format. This format has become widely used in the Side Scan Sonar industry for recording Side Scan and Bathymetric data.
When Humminbird found that there was a large number of users who wanted to view their recordings on the PC, instead of releasing their proprietary recording format, they decided to convert the files over to XTF. There are several FREE viewers on the market that will read the HB XTF format. One is Matt Norwoods SIView which can be found in the
Software Download Section of this site. The other is Deep View which can be found at
Deep View FV Download.
Son2xtf works with most of the files generated by a Humminbird side imaging unit during the recording process. For example, if you create a side imaging recording named 'R00001' on your unit, the following files from your SD card are required to create an XTF file:
RECORD\R00001.DAT
RECORD\R00001\B002.IDX
RECORD\R00001\B002.SON
RECORD\R00001\B003.IDX
RECORD\R00001\B003.SON
To use son2xtf, simply double click on the son2xtf application and use the windows interface to select your recording file for conversion. Once you have selected the file for conversion you will see that it has a start time and end time. You can change these fields if you only want to convert a certain portion of the recording or if you want to split it up into smaller files. You can also adjust the Output file name and location if needed.
Next, click Convert Recording to XTF and the process is done. As for viewing the file, again, this can be accomplished by one of the FREE viewers listed above.
Good Luck,
Robert Gecy
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q1. Can I use son2xtf with non-side imaging recording files?No. Son2xtf only exports the side imaging sonar data and supporting
information necessary for post-processing side imaging data.
Q2. I don't have an XTF viewer. Will Humminbird provide one?At this time, Humminbird has not created a software product for
viewing sonar recording files or XTF files on a personal computer.
A very basic free viewer is available from the Triton website at:
http://www.tritonimaginginc.com/site/content/public/downloads/Viewers/XTF/ Commercial 3rd party side imaging data processing products are also
currently available.
Q3. I don't use a Microsoft OS, but I would like to use son2xtf.
What can I do?We are currently exploring options for releasing versions of
son2xtf for Linux and Mac OS X. Please contact us if you require
a different OS platform and we will see if we can help.
Q4. I cannot make this work. Who should I contact?Please contact Tom Vickers at tvickers(at)johnsonoutdoors.com
for assistance.