SMA Strong Motion Accelerograph

Perfect for structural health monitoring, the Gecko SMA is our all-in-one strong motion triaxial (East-West, North-South, Up-Down) accelerograph combining user-friendliness with the reliability and simplicity of a MEMS accelerometer, available in ±2g, ±5g, ±10g, and higher full scale ranges, all the way up to ±400g. Data storage is simple and continuous, streamed onto an SD card in MiniSEED format, organised into year/month/day/hour folders, easily browsed on any PC. Installation is equally simple – a bolt goes right through the middle of the SMA! The rock anchor, drill bit/punch, and lock nut needed to mount the threaded rod into the ground is included.

Description

The standard LCD and keypad offers full configuration without the need for a PC in the field. The Gecko SMA draws around 1W of power, so a lead-acid battery of similar size to a car battery will provide about a month of backup power. All Gecko models have dual alarm outputs, and an external EthernetWiFi adaptor or cellular modem is available, allowing you to stream data to a remote PC runing our included software, Streams. It will archive and display realtime data on screen, be viewed remotely via the web, and can also send out email alerts based on user set thresholds.

The low cost Gecko SMA uses MEMS technology accelerometers that are designed to detect large levels of ground motion that may cause structural damage. A magnitude 2.0 earthquake at 100km range might not be visible on a MEMS accelerometer, but with full scale ranges ±2g, ±5g and higher available you are certain to detect larger or nearby events. Although the Gecko SMA-HR is over 300 times more sensitive than the SMA, the SMA is only slightly noisier than a standard 4.5Hz geophone but with a much greater full scale range, so the SMA is great for near-field blast monitoring.

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