Manufacturer we represent

Instrumented Sensor Technology in the Southeast

Self-contained shock, vibration and motion data recorders for capturing real-world transport and field environments.

Headquarters: Okemos, MI
Founded: 1987
Coverage: All territories (TN territory: Tennessee & Mississippi only; Carolinas/Virginia territory: North Carolina only)

About Instrumented Sensor Technology

Instrumented Sensor Technology, Inc. (IST) is an engineering company in Okemos, Michigan, that has designed and built portable, battery-powered data recorders for shock, vibration and motion measurement since 1987. Founder and president Greg Hoshal leads the company, which develops both the recording hardware and the Windows analysis software that turns field data into engineering results.

What IST makes

IST recorders are meant to be mounted on a shipment, vehicle, structure or test article and left unattended for days to months. Most models carry built-in accelerometers, so no separate data acquisition system is needed, and several also accept external IEPE sensors for precise placement.

The lineup scales with the question being asked. ShockTimer indicators and VibTimer-Plus loggers audit how carriers handle freight at low cost per unit. SnapShock-PLUS recorders capture peak g, duration and velocity change for drop-height and impact studies. Full-waveform recorders such as the EDR-5, with up to 64 GB of memory and IP67 protection, store complete triaxial time histories for PSD analysis and test specification work. Specialty units measure six-degree-of-freedom motion, helmet impacts and atmospheric pressure during parachute descent.

IST also rents most of its recorders, and it offers recalibration, logistics quality audits and an in-house shock, vibration and environmental test lab for prototype and pre-compliance work.

Why engineers specify IST

Field-proven heritage. Published IST case studies cover NASA Goddard spacecraft transport and lengthwise rail shock measurement, and EDR-3 recorders served as crash recorders in Indy cars in the late 1990s.
Self-contained deployment. Built-in sensors, long battery life and nonvolatile memory let a recorder run without a laptop or external DAQ.
Data that feeds the lab. DynaMax Suite produces PSDs and statistics that support shaker test profiles and environmental test level decisions.
Environmental claims. IST states that the EDR-3C, EDR-4 and EDR-6DOF meet most MIL-STD-810F test methods, and it rates the EDR-5 enclosure to IP67.
Buy or rent. Short programs can rent calibrated, pre-configured units instead of purchasing.

Local support from Vaughn Associates

Vaughn Associates represents IST in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida and North Carolina. The fit is strong around Huntsville, where missile, space and aviation hardware moves between test sites, and across the Southeast automotive corridor and Gulf Coast shipbuilding community.

Our sales engineers help you decide what to measure and how: peak versus waveform recording, sensor ranges, triggers, mounting and deployment length. We coordinate purchase and rental quotes with IST, connect you with factory engineers for complex programs and follow up once the data is in. Recorders are typically purchased or rented directly from IST.

Explore our shock and vibration data recorders overview, request help through /for-engineers/, or find your local rep.

Recording hardware and analysis software designed in-house since 1987

Built-in triaxial accelerometers, with external IEPE inputs on key models

From disposable shock indicators to 50,000 samples/s, 64 GB waveform recorders

Purchase, rental, pre-compliance testing and logistics audits from one company

Product lines

What IST makes — product categories we can help you specify.

Full-waveform shock and vibration recorders

Battery-powered triaxial recorders that store complete acceleration time histories with programmable sample rates, triggers and event lengths. IST's Sliding Window Overwrite memory mode keeps the most significant events during long deployments.

EDR-5 Series
EDR-4 Panther
EDR-4M6
EDR-3C
EDR-3D
EDR-3DM1

Multi-channel acceleration recorders

Field-portable recorders for tests that need many external accelerometer locations captured at once, such as vehicle structures, ship shock or armament environments.

MSR-3C 9-channel acceleration waveform recorder

Six-degree-of-freedom motion recorders

Combined linear acceleration and angular rate recorders that describe full rigid-body motion, including roll, pitch and yaw, for ride quality, watercraft, airborne platforms and crash events.

MotionMaster EDR-6DOF

Peak shock and impact recorders

Compact, rugged recorders that log peak g, shock duration, velocity change, temperature and time for every event above a set threshold, with a drop-height mode for package studies.

SnapShock-PLUS SSP-2000-1D
SnapShock-PLUS SSP-4000-1D
SnapShock-PLUS SSP-4000-3D

Low-cost shipment shock and vibration loggers

Inexpensive devices for sampling distribution channels, documenting rough handling and supporting freight claims, from a disposable time-stamp shock indicator to a g-rms and peak-g logger.

ShockTimer
VibTimer-Plus 3Dv2 (VTP-3Dv2)
Shipping warning labels

Specialty impact and environmental recorders

Purpose-built recorders for space-constrained helmet impact measurement and for atmospheric pressure and descent rate during air-drop testing.

HIRTS-1 High-G Helmet Impact Recorder
SSP-4000-P1R1 Atmospheric Pressure Recorder

Data analysis software

Windows software for recorder setup, download and time- and frequency-domain analysis, including PSDs, waveform overlays, statistics and package cushioning analysis. The base module is included with new recorders.

DynaMax Suite
RAW2UDF conversion utility

Recorder rentals

Calibrated, pre-configured recorders on daily, weekly or monthly terms for one-time high-value shipments and short test programs, with data download and summary report support available.

EDR-3C
EDR-3D
EDR-4
EDR-5
MSR-3C
SnapShock-PLUS SSP-4000-1D and -3D
MotionMaster EDR-6DOF

Testing, audit and calibration services

IST's engineering services include an in-house shock, vibration and environmental test lab for pre-compliance work, instrumented audits of shipping lanes and factory recalibration and repair.

Shock, vibration and environmental testing
IST Logistics Quality Audit (LQA)
Recalibration and repair

Applications

Spacecraft and high-value cargo transport monitoring
Railcar coupling impact studies
Package drop-height and fragility studies
Carrier handling benchmarking
Field data for PSD vibration test profiles
Flight, launch and UAV vibration measurement
Vehicle crash recording
Air-drop and parachute testing
Ride quality and 6DOF motion measurement
Helmet impact measurement

FAQ

Common questions about IST

What is the difference between a peak shock recorder and a full-waveform shock and vibration recorder?

A peak recorder such as IST's SnapShock-PLUS logs summary values for each event, including peak g, duration, velocity change and date and time, which keeps it small and easy to deploy for impact and drop studies. A waveform recorder such as the EDR-5 or EDR-3C stores the complete acceleration time history, enabling PSD analysis, shock response evaluation and vibration test profiles built from real field data.

How can I prove when a shipment was mishandled in transit?

IST's ShockTimer is a low-cost, disposable detector whose clock stops when a shock exceeds its trip level, recording when rough handling occurred. For more detail, the VibTimer-Plus 3Dv2 logs peak shock and g-rms vibration plus temperature and humidity over selectable time windows. EDR-series recorders add full waveforms with date and time stamps, and EDR-5 rentals include GPS data correlation.

Can field data from IST recorders be used to write shaker vibration test specifications?

Yes. IST waveform recorders capture triaxial acceleration time histories during real transport or operation, and DynaMax Suite computes power spectral density and other frequency-domain views from that data. IST lists vibration test specification development and environmental test level qualification among the uses of its EDR series, so measured environments can drive laboratory random vibration profiles.

Which IST recorder measures roll, pitch and yaw as well as acceleration?

The MotionMaster, model EDR-6DOF, combines a three-axis linear accelerometer with three-axis angular rate sensors for roll, pitch and yaw. It digitizes all six channels simultaneously at up to 3,200 samples per second per channel. Typical uses include amusement ride characterization, watercraft and underwater vehicle motion, airborne platforms, vehicle crashes and shipping environments where rotation matters as much as linear shock.

Can I rent a shock and vibration data recorder instead of buying one?

Yes. IST rents calibrated EDR-3C, EDR-3D, EDR-4, EDR-5, MSR-3C, SnapShock-PLUS and MotionMaster EDR-6DOF recorders on daily, weekly or monthly terms. Units can arrive pre-configured with mounting hardware and quick-start instructions, and data download and summary reporting support are available. Renting suits one-time high-value shipments or short test programs where buying a recorder is hard to justify.

Who represents Instrumented Sensor Technology (IST) in the Southeast?

Vaughn Associates, an independent manufacturer's representative headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, represents IST in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida and North Carolina. Vaughn's sales engineers help choose between peak, waveform and 6DOF recorders, set sensible ranges and triggers for a test, and coordinate purchase or rental quotes with IST in Okemos, Michigan.

Local support

Territory map