If you think the AS-1 can be tricky to run and takes up quite a bit
of space, check out the instruments that Andrija Mohorovicic
(1857-1936) used to discover the crust-mantle discontinuity, now call
the Mohorovicic Discontinuity, or Moho for short.
http://www.gfz.hr/sobe-en/seismographs.htm
With masses of up to 1,200 kg (2,645 lbs), these were truly gigantic
instruments!
There is a good article on this important scientist in the
Seismological Research Letters. It's posted
here:
http://www.seismosoc.org/publications/SRL/SRL_78/srl_78-6_hs.html
Happy Thanksgiving Reading,
John