...
.01a files are are ASL's internal binary raw format. These files are simply the raw data from the instrument. Our normal raw log files record all communication and data with the device in an ASCII hex format. This data product is produced from those files by stripping out the ONC timestamps, the driver commands and device ASCII responses and converting the HEX to binary. There are no data product options offered. Live data is available (the log files do not need to be archived for this data product to be available). These files are readable by ASL's software, particularly their postprocessing software and MatLab code, and third-party bioacoustic viewing and analysis software EchoView.
Plots: PNG and PDF
There are two formats of plots available: PNG or PDF. A PDF plot file can contain multiple plots as separate pages, and the graphics are vector images, which are better for printing or viewing at high resolution. The PNG format is a single plot in a raster image which is good for quick viewing and sharing. The data and appearance of the two plot formats are the same. These plots are also known as echograms, they plot echo intensity (backscatter) vs time and depth, and are basically what you would see as a sonar operator.
...