The current folder of drawings and schematics weighs about 6 ounces. If you send the proper postage to get it to you, I will provide the envelope. The problem is how to deal with the negative side of the signal. These still have problems with low level signals, like near zero voltage.
Software can find the gain step and restore the gain.
Multiple gain-ranging has also worked. It has not been without problems, like dealing with the transient at the gain step. Often it is done at the ADC converter, where the n-bit mantissa is scaled by augmenting the exponent by the inverse of the programmable gain amplifier. Modern 24-bit EDME digitizers avoid the problem altogether for a price. But this means digital telemetry, with all its complications.