qCF
quasi-Constant Frequency, see Quasi-Constant Frequency
Quality
The average smoothness for the whole call. Smoothness is the absolute value of the difference between the frequency of any point and the average of the frequencies of the points either side of it, divided by the frequency of that point. These values are summed over the whole call, and the result divided by the […]
Quasi-Constant Frequency (qCF)
Sometimes used to describe FM calls that have very low slope throughout (i.e. they are almost flat). qCF is sometimes used in combination with FM to better describe different types of FM calls (e.g. a FM-qCF call starts with a steep initial FM sweep and ends in an almost-flat FM sweep)
Recording Window
Also known as a Trigger Window. This is the minimum amount of time that the recording will continue after a trigger event. Set this to be longer than the longest time between bat pulses in calls that you expect to record. This will prevent a bat pass being broken up into multiple files.
S1
The slope of the first five points in a pulse, measured in Octaves per Second (OPS).
Sample Rate
How many ‘samples per second’ are taken (measured in ksps). The recommended sample rate will depend on the highest frequency bat you want to record. The sample rate should be at least double the highest frequency bat of interest. Note that higher sample rates require more storage space on the SD card. It’s also worth […]
Sc
Characteristic Slope; the slope of the body of the call, measured in Octaves Per Second (OPS).
Schedule Recording Mode
The schedule recording mode allows you to set a custom recording schedule on the detector or computer. You can set a schedule based on sunset/sunrise times or on absolute times.
Send
The slope of the last 5 ZC dots in each pulse.
Shape
In echolocation pulses, shape refers to the two-dimensional curve formed when plotting the change in frequency against time throughout the pulse.