File Upload Guidance

BioBase processing servers will extract data from the following file formats :

SLG, SL2, SL3, and GSD
These files contain sonar data captured by Lowrance chartplotters and must be undamaged for successful processing.

CSV
These files contain comma delimited data sets and must follow very specific rules for successful processing.

ZIP
Archive files contain compressed data and must follow relatively simple rules for successful processing.

After recording a file with your Lowrance chartplotter, you can transfer the file to a micro SD card. From the micro SD card, you can upload the file using any internet enabled device with a micro SD card reader. Do not modify the file's contents in any way. You may rename the file before uploading.

Installing the latest Lowrance operating software is recommended to ensure your sonar logs are processed correctly. Please ensure you have the latest version listed here: https://downloads.lowrance.com/

Before uploading a CSV file for processing, you must ensure the file contains the following headers and data specifications

• Total Number of Rows cannot exceed 10,000
• Headers:
  1. unix_time – this is the total number of non-leap seconds or milliseconds that have elapsed since midnight on January 1, 1970 (UTC). OR
  2. date_time – Preferably in the "yyyy-MM-dd hh:mm:ss.000" format (UTC-0). Redundant or duplicate dates or times might show strange ordering in the track (linestring) and could increase processing times OR
  3. 2 separate columns (need both)
     1. Date MM/DD/YYY
     2. Time hh:mm:ss

latitude
Latitude value for the WGS 84 projection in Decimal Degrees.

longitude
Longitude value for the WGS 84 projection in Decimal Degrees.

depth_bottom
Distance to the bottom of the water column in your preferred units of measurement. BioBase will use absolute values of the data for processing. Confirm your measurement preferences before uploading.

NOTE: If you are using a Deeper Sonar Devices, DO NOT Modify the exported file from the Deeper App and upload as is. contact info@biobasemaps.com if you receive an error processing Deeper Sonar csv files.

You may compress any of the above file formats into a .zip archive file. The compressed archive file must contain a single file. If more than one file is found in the .zip archive file, processing will consider the uploaded file as invalid. The contained file's name will be maintained. The uploaded archive file's name will be discarded.