ABSTRACT McQ has developed a miniaturized, programmable, ruggedized data collector intended for use in weapon testing or data collection exercises that impose severe stre sses on devices under test. The recorder is designed to survive these stresses which include acceleration and shock levels up to 100,000 G. The coll ector acquires and stores up to four channels of signal data to nonvolatile memory for later retrieval by a user. It is small (< 7 in 3 ), light weight (< 1 lb), and can operate from various battery chemistries. A built-in menuing system, accessible via a USB interface, a llows the user to configure parameters of the recorder operation, such as channel gain, f iltering, and signal offsets, and also to retrieve recorded data for analysis. An overview of the collector, its featur es, performance, and potential uses, is presented. Keywords: data collection, rugged, miniature, shock hardened, data recorder 1. INTRODUCTION In the realm of military testing, devices under test (DUT) ar e often subjected to extreme levels of acceleration, impact, shock, vibration, temperature, and so forth. At what point these devices fail is of great importance to a manufacturer since it speaks directly to whether or not a device satisfies customer requirements and eventually becomes a feasible product. Thus, a method to instrument the DUT to measure and characterize the various test vectors is extremely helpful to manufacturers and test facilities. This function is typically provided by a ruggedized data recorder. During laboratory and fielding testing a data recorder prov ides insight into the conditions experienced by a device when undergoing a test that simulates the exp ected operating environment. The recorder must be ru gged enough to survive the conditions to which it is subjected and yet provide accurate data that can be reliably stored and retrieved by the testers. In the case of this recorder, the DUT is the fuze of a penetr ating weapon whose development and testing is greatly aided by the ability to gather and store data during an actual firing and/or impact event. The resulting data can help to determine why a fuze may or may not have successfully oper ated during the acceleration or shock profile experienced during the test. Tests, both field and laboratory, are performed on a fuze to determine if it functions correctly after being subjected to the severe acceleration and/or shock levels. Figure