Product category:
Data loggers
News Release from: Advanced Design Consulting | Subject: Shot Counter
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 23 May 2003
Novel counter predicts weapons
maintenance
Advanced Design Consulting has developed a lightweight shot counting device that fits on a soldier's automatic rifle and does not impede aim.
Whether they fight terrorism or keep despots from waging a reign of fear, soldiers need dependable weapons This brings the need to track weapon use and determine accurate maintenance schedules
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 13 Sep 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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To meet those needs, Advanced Design Consulting (ADC) has developed a lightweight device that fits on a soldier's automatic rifle and does not impede aim.
The device is called Shot Counter and the company has just received a contract from the US Navy to develop it.
Currently the military uses a timetable for servicing automatic weapons, says Alex Deyhim, President of the ADC.
Using Shot Counter, that timetable becomes a usage schedule.
"It will enable the development of weapon safety programmes in the military that will minimise catastrophic weapon failures and the resulting injuries", he says.
The design and engineering team working on Shot Counter included project manager Dr Eric Johnson, the VP of Research; Basil Blank, VP of Engineering; Ron Smith, manufacturing manager; and Deyhim.
Shot Counter clamps to the barrel of an automatic weapon and detects the number of shots fired by way of vibration and shock.
Concurrently it measures barrel temperature as each shot is fired.
After the vibration, shock and temperature information is collected, the data can be sent to a palm-size or personal computer.
As the Shot Counter uses no buttons or displays, it is waterproof to about 18m and it is impervious to dust.
To thwart design problems of older-style shot counters, this one stores its data in two histograms and it uses a single microcontroller, says Johnson.
The histograms make it unnecessary to use multiple memory chips, thus reducing its size and cost to the military.
Hundreds of thousands of "events" can be recorded into Shot Counter's memory.
Dead batteries on the Shot Counter should be a rare problem, if ever, says Johnson.
Its microcontroller has a sleep mode that conserves battery power and its timers are automatically reset when it awakens from sleep mode.
This makes it impossible to relate actual time to any recorded event, he says.
Each Shot Counter will include a short operation and maintenance manual.
Says Deyhim, "With its small size, light weight and the ability to mount it directly to the barrel or a receiver, it can be used on many of the military's weapons".
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