Ping Length

The signal sent by the ROVL transmitter is called a "ping." It is a burst of sound which is kept to the minimum practical length in order to mitigate multipath effects. ROVL Mk II transmitters, ROVL Mk III transponders, and ROVL Mark III transceivers all transmit pings.

The ping is sent at 25kHz. In water, the speed of sound is about 1500 meters per second but varies depending on the water temperature, pressure, and salinity. The ROVL defaults to assuming 1484 meters per second (but can be easily configured to assume something different). This makes a single cycle of the ping measure about 60mm in length.