Accelerometer Data Recorder Comparison
Which GCDC accelerometer system should I buy?
If it was our choice, you should buy all of them! At least 100 copies each. Unfortunately, that's probably not a practical solution. The selection of an accelerometer data recording system depends on what types of motion you are interested in capturing and characteristics of the body you are studying. For example, most human motion occurs within 4Hz and rarely exceeds a couple of g's. However, the recoil of a firearm occurs within 30ms and can exceed 100g. The X16-1D is a good entry-level priced general purpose accelerometer logger and well suited for high school science experiments. The X16-4 adds a rechargeable battery feature and the X16-mini is the smallest logger available. If you plan to test impacts, such as egg-drop experiments or helmet tests, the g's will likely exceed the limits of the X16 series loggers. In such case, we recommend the X200 for impact tests.
Below is a table listing the important featurs of each accelerometer data recorder GCDC offers. We hope this helps your buying decision.
| GCDC Accelerometer Data Recorders | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product ID | |||||
| Cost | $89 USD | $140 USD | $150 USD | $130 USD | $199 USD |
| Axes | 3-axis Accel | 3-axis Accel | 3-axis Accel | 3-axis Accel | 3-axis Accel |
| Range | +/-16g | +/-16g | +/-2g | +/-16g | +/-200g |
| Resolution | 16-bit | 16-bit | 15-bit | 16-bit | 16-bit |
| Sample Rate (Hz) | 12, 25, 50, 100*, 200*, 400* | 12, 25, 50, 100*, 200*, 400* | 8, 16, 32, 128, 256, 512 | 12, 25, 50, 100*, 200*, 400* | 12, 25, 50, 100*, 200*, 400* |
| Battery Type | replaceable 'AA' type alkaline | rechargeable 500mAh Li-Po | rechargeable 500mAh Li-Po | rechargeable 250mAh Li-Po | rechargeable 500mAh Li-Po |
| Battery Life** | 29 hours recording constantly at 100Hz | 90 hours recording at 100Hz | 10 hours recording at 512Hz | 48 hours recording at 100Hz | 16 hours at 400Hz |
| On/Off Switch | YES | YES | YES | Magnetic | YES |
| Memory | |||||
| Example Applications | actigraphy, vibration analysis | roller coaster rides, actigraphy, vibration analysis, physics experiments | Low amplitude vibration monitoring | actigraphy | high g-force impact studies |
* Sample rates of >100 disable the power saving features of the logger and shorten battery life.
** Adding an external 5v supply via USB connector will extend the recording life of any of the X series data recorders. See the product specifications for details.