COVERING THE DYNAMIC RANGE OF THE PLASMA ION FLUXES OVER DISPARATE REGIONS OF THE HELIOSPHERE AND OVER THE FULL RANGE OF CONDITIONS IS A CHALLENGE. THE DIFFICULTY IS INCREASED IF MORE THAN ONE POPULATION IS TO BE MEASURED BY THE SAME INSTRUMENT OR EVEN IF THE SAME POPULATION IS TO BE MEASURED BUT AT VASTLY DIFFERENT HELIOCENTRIC DISTANCES. IN THIS PROPOSAL WE PROPOSE A HARDWARE SYSTEM FOR ACHIEVING A LARGE DYNAMIC RANGE BY A SINGLE ION INSTRUMENT THAT CAN BE USED TO ADDRESS THE SCIENCE GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL WHICH IS: THE DETERMINATION OF THE COUPLING BETWEEN THE SOLAR-WIND INTERPLANETARY (IP) EVENTS AND THE MAGNETOSPHERE IONOSPHERE SYSTEM. IN ADDITION TO ADDRESSING THE SCIENCE GOALS OF NASA THIS PROPOSAL ALSO ADDRESSES KEY TECHNOLOGICAL GOALS. THE ANTICIPATED RESULT OF THIS PROPOSAL IS THAT WE WILL HAVE VALIDATED A METHOD FOR IMPLEMENTING A VARIABLE GEOMETRIC FACTOR. THROUGH DESIGN BUILDING AND PROTOTYPE TESTING WE WILL LEARN ENOUGH ABOUT METHODS TO DESIGN VARIABLE GEOMETRIC FACTORS MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION ON WHICH WAY TO PROCEED FOR FUTURE MISSIONS. BY BREAD-BOARDING THE MOST CRITICAL ELEMENTS OF THE ELECTRONICS WE INCREASE OUR TECHNICAL READINESS LEVEL (TRL) SO THAT THEY ARE MATURE ENOUGH TO BE PROPOSED FOR A FLIGHT MISSION. WE WILL ALSO BE ABLE TO MAKE VALID MASS/POWER ASSESSMENTS TO AID IN THE MISSION DESIGN.