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Portable instruments are ideal
forinstallation,maintenanceand
emergency work on electrical
and electronic systems. Sources
of faults can be varied, ranging
from problems with the power
quality to faulty behavior of
electronic systems in the target
system. Rohde & Schwarz
developed the R&S Scope
Rider for such applications. The
rugged handheld oscilloscope
offers the performance of a
lab instrument in the compact
format of a handheld device.
Sleep Mode
Automation in building and
production technology is progressing
rapidly. Systems are controlled by
bus systems, have wireless, web,
and/or LAN interfaces and consist
of modern electronic components.
Disturbances can arise from a variety
of causes. Insufficient power quality
can lead to sensitive electronic
devices operating unreliably. A
drive's strong electromagnetic fields
can affect control signals and lead to
faulty behavior. The new handheld
oscilloscope from Rohde & Schwarz
is the all-in-one solution for such
situations. It offers the operational
safety to safely measure the AC
supply voltage/mains voltage and
simultaneously analyze sensitive
signals in electronic circuits.
Safely measure power quality
If hazardous live voltages need
to be measured, users have
to pay special attention to the
instrument's IEC 61010-1-compliant
measurement category. In a CAT
IV environment – upstream of the
main fuse of a building's power
supply – overvoltages of up to
8000 V can occur when measuring
a maximum voltage of 600 V. The
safety of the user is only guaranteed
if the measuring instrument was
developed for these overvoltages and
has the corresponding certification.
The R&S Scope Rider is certified for
voltage measurements up to 600 V
for CAT IV environments and up to
1000 V for CAT III environments.
It can therefore be used for power
quality monitoring at all points of the
installation.
The galvanic isolation of the input
channels relative to one another
is also crucial. With a conventional
oscilloscope, inadvertently switching
the ground and signal wires leads
to a short circuit with potentially
devastating consequences. The
isolated channels of the R&S Scope
Rider prevent this problem and
also allow simultaneous differential
measurement. Expensive differential
probes are unnecessary, for example,
when measuring power electronics.
R&S Scope Rider A multitalent for debugging
in the field
Dr. Markus Herdin
,
Rohde & Schwarz
34 l New-Tech Magazine Europe