DART Drag Sled

The DART LX 2 uses the same external instrumentation case as the LX 1, a rugged, waterproof cast aluminium case made by Hoffman of Germany. When sealed, the case ensures that sensitive electronic and computerized components are completely protected from the external elements. The case is electronically sealed as a safeguard against anyone suggesting the device was opened and tampered with prior to court.

There are no buttons to push. The LX 2 is controlled by an interactive icon based touch pad LCD screen. The user needs only to touch the appropriate icon to complete a task. The menus are clear and easy to read, simple to follow and self explanatory.

DART can be user configured to your liking. Set test sample rates from 100 to 2000 samples for every second of pull. Pull from 2 seconds to 20 seconds!

The backlit LCD screen assists in dark environment viewing and automatically shuts off after two seconds if no input is sensed. The main screen identifies the current battery status and amount of charge remaining, as well as the current the time and date.

A simple configuration menu allows the user to change the time and date, the sample rate, sled weight, individual test time, screen contrast and even invert the video to enhance visibility in different lighting conditions.

Each sled is supplied with an actual automotive steel belted radial skid pad, mounted and interchangeable with any number of other contact patches. Up to 15 different skid pads are available and easily interchangeable at any time. Try heavy truck tread, studded tire tread, automotive sheet metal, fiberglass, leather and even denim for pedestrian strikes! DART is so versatile that whatever you can think of to use as a skid pad, the unit will accept it.

The system is powered by a 5 cell NMHi rechargeable battery pack with a wall charger supplied. A 12 V vehicle charger may be used as well. Typically, 8 hours of testing can be expected on a single full charge.

Force is measured electronically by an ultra accurate S Type Strain Gauge carried internally. This instrument is fed directly to a series of digital filters and to the computer through which data processing is completed. Within seconds of any test DART will return the test surface drag, time and date of the test, all the force measurements recorded, the average force and the calculated drag. The user can then choose to save or delete the data at the touch of an icon.

DART saves data on an SD card. Depending on the size of card selected, up to 5,000 individual tests can be saved! Alternatively, if a serious case requiring continuity of evidence protection is required, the SD card can be removed with the test data, tagged and bagged as evidence.