Bathymetry
Sounder S500Single-Beam Echosounder
The Sounder S500 is a precision single-beam echosounder built for small ROVs, AUVs and ASVs, where size, weight and power budget are the binding constraints. It ships as a board and a transducer for you to integrate, down to 3 mm range resolution.
At a glance
- Frequency
- 500 kHz
- Beam width
- about 5°
- Range
- 0.3 m to 100+ m
- Modulation
- CHIRP, 20 kHz bandwidth
- Depth rating
- 300 m
Full specification — 13 published figures ↓
Every Sounder S500 Configuration
Order the full kit unless you are replacing a part of a Sounder you already run.
Order the full kit unless you are replacing a part of a Sounder you already run.
Sounder S500, and what it produces
Cerulean’s own photographs of the hardware, and real output from it — not renders.
Every published figure
13 specifications, as Cerulean publish them. Nothing here is estimated or converted.
| Acoustic frequency | 500 kHz |
| Beam width (2-way, conical) | about 5° |
| Modulation | CHIRP with 20 kHz bandwidth; monotone ping also supported |
| Minimum range | 0.3 m |
| Maximum range | 100+ m |
| Range resolution | 3 mm to 17 m · 9 mm to 50 m · 24 mm beyond 50 m |
| Depth rating | 300 m |
| Power supply | 10–30 V, 2.5 W idle, 5 W at max ping rate (10 pings/sec typical) |
| Interfaces | Ethernet (RJ45), USB (micro-USB), 3.3–5.0 V serial (6-pin JST-GH) |
| External sync | 3.3–5 V digital sync input, to time pings away from other acoustics |
| Dimensions — PCB | 69 × 38 mm |
| Dimensions — transducer | 54 mm diameter × 22 mm, 2 × M4×0.7 inserts 28 mm apart |
| Mass | PCB 34 g · transducer 94 g in air, 50 g in water |
Published by Cerulean — specification page
What arrives in the box
Cerulean’s own packing list for this product. What you need alongside it is in Before You Order, below.
What’s in the box
- 1 × S500 control board
- 1 × transducer with 1.8 m cable (1 shield + 2 signal wires) and JST GH connector fitted
- 1 × 2-wire power cable with JST GH connector fitted, 60 cm
- 1 × spare 3-conductor JST GH connector
- 1 × oil-resistant Buna O-ring
- 1 × postcard with a link and QR code to the online documentation
Will it fit my vehicle?
Two things decide it — check these against your vehicle, or send us the build and we will check them for you before quoting.
We supply the brackets, hubs, cables and spares alongside the unit — see what fits Sounder S500 → · how to choose between these →
Common questions
Answers Cerulean publish, each linked back to the page it came from.
What is it for?
Four jobs: an altimeter for an ROV or AUV, bathymetry from a USV, obstacle avoidance, and general underwater distance measurement. Source
Why does CHIRP matter here?
The pulse sweeps 20 kHz rather than sitting on one note. That gives better signal-to-noise and finer range resolution — 3 mm out to 17 m. Source
Do I have to use SonarView?
No. The S500 will report a plain distance over its API to whatever host you like, and bottom tracking runs on the device itself. SonarView adds the waterfall display, firmware updates and IP configuration. Source
Request a Sounder S500 quote
Tell us the vehicle and the water depth and we will confirm the exact part number — and say so if a different model suits the job better.
Anything you have added to your quote list is carried into this form automatically.