Acousonde™ FAQ (Sales)

Sales questions about the Acousonde™

Updated June 2013

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Price and delivery

How available is the Acousonde? Can I get one right now?: Acousondes are build-to-order. In some cases a unit matching your needs may be in stock, but if not, delivery time may be up to 18 weeks after receipt of order.
How much does the Acousonde cost?: If you are located in the United States and your funding originates with the US Government, please contact Acoustimetrics directly for government pricing. Otherwise, sales inquires should be directed to Cetacean Research Technology at the contact address given here. Volume discounts are available. Please be aware that the Acousonde is a custom-made, professional research instrument.

What's included

Does the Acousonde come with receiving gear to monitor the tag while deployed?

No.

The Acousonde is an archival tag, meaning that it must be physically recovered for you to retrieve its data. It has no telemetry capability, so there is nothing to receive.

Although the Acousonde is intended to be paired with a VHF transmitter for use in finding it once it comes off the subject, this transmitter is not included with an Acousonde purchase. The transmitter is a separate procurement.

Likewise, an Acousonde purchase does not include any retrieval equipment. VHF receiver, antenna, antenna cable, headphones, compass, GPS, charting capability, etc. are all separate procurements.

Does the Acousonde come with suction cups and flotation?

The Acousonde 3B does, but the Acousonde 3A does not. For the 3A you need to procure third-party suction cups and flotation. Cetacean Research Technology has developed these for sale, and some groups have developed their own suction cups and flotation in-house.

Does the Acousonde come with a deployment grip and other deployment gear?

Deployment grips are available as a separate procurement. Acoustimetrics makes a deployment grip designed to mate with the Acousonde 3B, and Cetacean Research Technology has developed a third-party deployment grip for the Acousonde 3A.

Other deployment gear, such as a pole, vessel mounting bracket (if any), and hardware for assembling them with the grip, depends on the species of interest and the vessel to be used. Such gear tends to be developed by the tag users and is not included with the Acousonde.

Does the Acousonde come with tracking gear?

No. Neither Acousonde model includes a VHF transmitter or any VHF tracking gear. All such equipment is a separate procurement.

Does the Acousonde come with the PalmOS-compatible commanding handheld?

No. A PalmOS-compatible handheld is required to command the Acousonde but is a separate procurement. More information about the Acousonde's Palm requirement can be found here.

Product history

What happened to the Bioacoustic Probe?: Production ceased on the B002B model Bioacoustic Probe in November 2007, and all remaining inventory was sold by early 2008. Two factors brought about the end of the B-Probe's life. First, the design relied on mature technology such as a Motorola 68000-series microprocessor; this technology severely restricted even small design improvements. Second, the microprocessor chip and mass-storage hardware at the heart of the B-Probe had been discontinued by their manufacturers, limiting our future production capability.
Why change the name?: For many reasons. The most practical issue was that user communications frequently abbreviated "Bioacoustic Probe" to "BioProbe" which is a trademarked name for another instrument. Of course this choice of abbreviation was natural and the conflict unintentional; nevertheless there was potential confusion for both user communities.
How does one pronounce Acousonde?: Like "ACK-ooo-sawnd" where the leading "ACK" is pronounced as in the beginning of "acoustic". Incorrect pronunciations include "ACK-oh-sound", "ACK-you-sawnd", and "ACK-you-sound", as if it were spelled accu-sound. Please especially avoid the latter, an accu-sound is something you would find at an audio/video store. But rest assured we will support you no matter how you pronounce it.
How was the name Acousonde derived?: Sonde is a generic term for a sensor probe, derived from the French word for a ship's sounding line. It is in common use in both solid-earth and upper-atmosphere geophysics. The word Acousonde thus succinctly conveys the concept of "an acoustic probe".
Why is it so easy to misspell and mispronounce Acousonde?: Beats me! Admittedly, the root "sonde" as a term for sensor probe or sounding instrument seems to be familiar only in Earth science. Perhaps folks unaccustomed to the word are assuming that "sonde" must be a misspelling of "sound" and correcting.
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