[Solution Introduction] Simplify railway field maintenance with Rohde & Schwarz RTH user application

Oscilloscopes are basic instruments that engineers and electricians use every day. However, maintenance work sometimes requires special measurements that are not standard features of the oscilloscope or are difficult to set up manually. Now, engineers can use the R&S®RTH-K38 custom script option to design their own measurement functions and a simple user interface. This article describes how to use this unique feature for railway maintenance work.

Railway engineers often need to verify the quality of telecommunication signals in order to determine, for example, the position of a train on the track. To do this, engineers typically divide the track into sections using alternating frequencies, typically 95 Hz and 105 Hz. When a train reaches a specific section of track, the wheels short-circuit the signal, indicating the train's position to the receiver. If there is insufficient insulation between the sections of track or other electrical systems, such as the power distribution system, unwanted noise signals interfere, making it impossible to reliably detect the train's position. Verifying the insulation of the tracks at different frequencies is a necessary maintenance task in railway maintenance operations.

The R&S®RTH handheld oscilloscopes combine the performance and analysis capabilities of a laboratory-grade oscilloscope with the compact size and ruggedness of a battery-powered handheld device.