MTS SWIFT 30 Sensor - Manual (Page 83)

Test Track Vehicle
SWIFT 30 Sensors Installing the Transducer 83
Installing the Transducer Interface Electronics
The Transducer Interface (TI) electronics should be securely fastened to the
vehicle in a protected location. The TI box is designed to withstand the
accelerations associated with the body of a vehicle during rugged durability and
typical data acquisition testing.
The TI box can be located anywhere in the vehicle that is convenient. However,
if the TI is able to bounce around during data collection, it can bump against
another piece of equipment, pushing in the Zero button. If the Zero button is
pushed, you will lose all of the data.
Considerations
Suitable locations for the TI box include the vehicle trunk, flatbed, interior floor,
or rear seat. Consider the following guidelines when you fasten the TI box(es) to
the vehicle:
• Mount the TI box in a position on or in the vehicle that is protected from
impact and high acceleration events.
• Do not expose the TI box to rain, snow, or other wet conditions.
• Orient the TI box horizontally.
• Multiple TI boxes may be rigidly attached to each other using optional
mounting straps.
• Place a thin foam or rubber material between TI boxes and any hard
mounting surface.
• Use ratcheting straps to provide a tight connection that will not loosen or
untie during testing.
• Do not use rubber cords to secure the TI box because they may stretch and
lose retention in the cord due to inertial forces.
Procedure 1. Connect all data cables from the TI to the data recorder.
There is one cable per channel of data from the TI to the data recorder.
These correspond to the three forces, three moments, and angular position.
Note Make sure that there is no tension or strain in the cables or at the cable
and connector junction. There should be some slack in the cables to
ensure that they are not pulled during testing.
2. Connect the TI and the data recorder to a 12 V DC power source (such as a
vehicle battery).
Note Some data acquisition systems may introduce electrical noise spikes to
the battery and cabling. The TI electronics should always be used with
the cleanest power supply possible. To reduce the likelihood of noise
spikes from the data recorder, we suggest running the power cables in
parallel, as shown in the following diagrams. If this does not remove the
noise spikes, separate batteries may be required.