From the datasheet that CowboyBob linked, I gather that the echo output is a digital on/off signal that should be fed directly into a microcontroller. You must program the microcontroller to send a 10 μs pulse into the SRF05's trigger input pin. After the SRF05 receives the input signal, it will emit a 8 cycle 40 kHz burst. Shortly after that, the echo output will go to its high state (i.e. 1). The amount of time the echo output pin stays high tells you how far away the object is. You must program your microcontroller to measure the amount of time the echo output pin stays high after it sends the trigger input signal and then convert that time to distance.