<p>The fact that the presentation of SonoTrack talks about Avisoft (i,e. 3rd party SW) is for me an indication that data is simply binary. If you could provide access to a small sample, one could look into hex code and complete this answer.</p>
<p>Or you could read simply data and uint8 and deduce format (int16,int32,float).
If you do that and find correct format, I would suggest to prove answer to your own question.</p>
<p>Edit:
So far found: 16 bit PCM litle endian</p>
<p>Edit2:
Data seem to be 16 bit PCM; little endian; 32 kHz sampling: (2:44 min:sec total length); 3 kHz HP filter. checked with audacity</p>
<p>Comment: If the data are indeed raw without header, as concluded from hexedit and audacity, there must be another file with meta data (sampling frequency, number of channels, etc.)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-04T08:14:38.097Z
Thank you for your response! You are most probably correct - the data is binary. I have updated the question to include a sample. I will do as you have suggested to see if I can figure out the proper format.
Dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-04T10:39:16.603Z
Thank you! I will see what can be done with the information that you have supplied. :)
Dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-04T11:49:13.407Z
Again - I am very thankful for your help. I am learning some new things about binary files, which might be useful in the future. You have saved the day!
Dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-09-02T10:28:48.230Z
2023-09-04T11:02:24.857Z
2023-09-04T11:02:24.857Z
WMXZ
<p>Disclaimer: I have advanced knowledge of Python, R, and Matlab, so we can skip the basics (such as how to load a file into a programing environment).</p>
<p>The quest is to somehow decode data from .dat files obtained during recording sessions with <a href="https://www.metris.nl/en/products/sonotrack/sonotrack_specs/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">SonoTrack</a>. There seems to be no information about data encoding in their sparse documentation. I would like to avoid brute-forcing the encoding. Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Sample data (3 min long) is available <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IwHBN8zWPjtCLvIau0wwM8vaFio5SnPv/view?usp=drive_link" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>.</p>

<recording><r><python><matlab>
How to decode .dat files obtained from SonoTrack?
# How to decode .dat files obtained from SonoTrack?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-09-01)

Disclaimer: I have advanced knowledge of Python, R, and Matlab, so we can skip the basics (such as how to load a file into a programing environment).

The quest is to somehow decode data from .dat files obtained during recording sessions with [SonoTrack](https://www.metris.nl/en/products/sonotrack/sonotrack_specs/). There seems to be no information about data encoding in their sparse documentation. I would like to avoid brute-forcing the encoding. Thanks in advance!

Sample data (3 min long) is available [here](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IwHBN8zWPjtCLvIau0wwM8vaFio5SnPv/view?usp=drive_link).

**Tags:** recording, r, python, matlab


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2023-09-02. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

The fact that the presentation of SonoTrack talks about Avisoft (i,e. 3rd party SW) is for me an indication that data is simply binary. If you could provide access to a small sample, one could look into hex code and complete this answer.

Or you could read simply data and uint8 and deduce format (int16,int32,float).
If you do that and find correct format, I would suggest to prove answer to your own question.

Edit:
So far found: 16 bit PCM litle endian

Edit2:
Data seem to be 16 bit PCM; little endian; 32 kHz sampling: (2:44 min:sec total length); 3 kHz HP filter. checked with audacity

Comment: If the data are indeed raw without header, as concluded from hexedit and audacity, there must be another file with meta data (sampling frequency, number of channels, etc.)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you for your response! You are most probably correct - the data is binary. I have updated the question to include a sample. I will do as you have suggested to see if I can figure out the proper format.  
> **username_0**: Thank you! I will see what can be done with the information that you have supplied. :)  
> **username_0**: Again - I am very thankful for your help. I am learning some new things about binary files, which might be useful in the future. You have saved the day!  

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