g-Meter
Approx construction cost US$56
This portable accelerometer will tell you the g-force you experience when you break hard in your car, when you ride in a lift, or at the fairground. It is based on a tiny polysilicon micromachined sensor etched onto an integrated circuit. The earth’s gravity is used as a reference standard.
As described, this is an experimental project designed as a simple introduction to the world of acceleration. The g-Meter output is in the form of a 10-segment bargraph type display, but for more accurate measurement or signal processing an output socket is provided
There are many ways of measuring acceleration involving various piezoelectric, resistive, or inductive devices, but the new micromachined silicon sensors represents a considerable advance. This project uses an ADXL105 from Analog Devices is of this type and the surface mount package contains all the driver circuitry to make a very effective accelerometer.
More details on this construction project can be found in the July 2000 issue of EPE Online, the world's first web-delivered electronics and computing hobbyist magazine.
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