em38 translates *.n38 binary files generated by the Geonics EM38-MKII ground conductivity meter, commonly used in soil research and precision agriculture. EM38-MKII devices are supported by an official translation app called DAT38MK2, but this lacks a command-line interface and is not easy to use in a reproducible workflow.

Install from github with

library(devtools)
install_github("obrl-soil/em38")

This package is in early development phase. Improving its reliability requires access to a wide variety of test datasets, so if you have an *.n38 file that fails to decode correctly, please consider sending it to me. I have been able to test decoding on around 50 sample files from two different EM38-MKII devices, but could always use more. The device and its logger have a large number of possible setting combinations, and I have not seen all of them. Additionally, a third-party GPS needs to be attached to the device and its data-logger, and GPS output data are notoriously variable by brand and model.

em38 is accompanied by a demo dataset gathered during a training exercise:

library(em38)

# all-in-one wrapper function:
demo_survey  <- em38_from_file(path = system.file("extdata", "em38_demo.n38", 
                                                  package = "em38"),
                               hdop_filter = 3)


# Plot spatialised output of survey line 1 (calibrated conductivity for coil
# separation 0.5m)
sl1 <- demo_survey$survey_lines[[1]]
plot(sl1[sl1$mode == 'Vertical', 'cond_05'], pch = 20, 
     main = 'Conductivity, Vertical Dipole Mode, Coil Separation 0.5m')

Its surprisingly difficult to walk in a straight line across a paddock :no_mouth:

If you want to look at the intermediate data more closely,

# import binary file as raw() type matrix
n38_mat     <- n38_import(system.file("extdata", "em38_demo.n38", package = "em38"))
# break matrix into sections according to file spec 
n38_chunks  <- n38_chunk(n38_mat)
# decode matrix chunks into useable data
n38_decoded <- n38_decode(n38_chunks)

You can also create the equivalent of an *.M38 text file, for comparison.

m38_example <- n38_to_m38(n38_decoded)
# write to file as e.g.
#  write(m38_example, paste0('m38_from_R_', Sys.Date(), '.m38'))