Small Multipurpose Stored Data Acquisition System

Abstract

Sandia National Laboratories Telemetry Department has designed and is fielding a small, inexpensive multipurpose stored data acquisition system in tests ranging from 6000 meters below the ocean surface in seafloor penetrators to 40,000 meters above sea level in gamma ray telescope balloons. The system consists of a simple microprocessor-controlled unit which digitizes analog data and stores the data in memory for readout after the test by a portable personal computer. The system has been used in over ninety tests consisting of parachute drops, water entry tests, vehicle environmental monitoring, and seafloor penetration tests. Data typically recorded with the system are acceleration, strain, temperature, pressure, and angular velocity. The system is also capable of generating control functions such as parachute release.