
Handheld oscilloscope offers lab instrument performance capability
The R&S Scope Rider combines five instruments in a compact format. The instrument’s rugged design makes it suitable for mobile installation and maintenance work. The instrument features isolated input and communications interfaces and meets CAT IV standards. The instrument, which can carry out measurements on low voltage installation sources up to 600 V, provides an an acquisition rate of 50,000 waveforms per second. The portable instrument features a 10 bit A/D converter developed by Rohde & Schwarz which has maximum bandwidth of 500 MHz for the analog input channels.
The R&S Scope Rider integrates five functions to offer a level of versatility not found in any other instrument. The instrument is based on a high performance oscilloscope featuring a precise digital trigger system, 33 automatic measurement functions, mask test and XY diagram mode. Plus, the R&S Scope Rider can function as a logic analyzer with eight additional digital channels, as a protocol analyzer with trigger and decoding capability, as a data logger and a digital multimeter.
The handheld oscilloscope claims to be the first to be equipped with a large format capacitive touchscreen, allowing it to be operated as intuitively as a tablet PC. It also features large buttons for use with gloves and a practical multifunction wheel for convenient parameter adjustment. Users can read their results at any time, as all measurement information is displayed in a clear, application oriented manner on the brilliant screen.
Suitabe for harsh environments, the R&S Scope Rider’s IP51 certified housing offers protection from environmental hazards such as dust and dripping water. The handheld oscilloscope has passed all mechanical load tests in line with military standards. The fully isolated instrument offers maximum safety and meets the measurement category requirements defined in IEC 61010-1 for CAT IV up to 600 V and for CAT III up to 1000 V.
In addition to a microSD card, the instrument features USB and Ethernet ports for uncomplicated storage and transfer of measurement data. The R&S Scope Rider also has an integrated WLAN interface. This can be configured as a hotspot to allow the instrument to be remotely controlled via a smartphone, tablet PC or laptop. A simple web browser on the mobile device is all that is required. There is no need for additional software or apps.
With more than four hours of battery runtime, the 2.4 kg R&S Scope Rider offers users a high degree of flexibility during installation, maintenance and in emergency situations. The handheld oscilloscope goes beyond traditional electrical engineering to serve a broad range of industries. Technicians and specialists can also use it to gain a clear understanding of the condition of electrical installations, systems and components. For everything from measurement data acquisition in industrial and manufacturing settings to repairing shipboard electrical drives and carrying out vehicle test drive analyses, the R&S Scope Rider is better suited to the needs of such tasks than any other oscilloscope in its class.
The R&S Scope Rider is available as a four channel or a two channel instrument, the latter with a digital multimeter, with bandwidths of 60 MHz, 100 MHz, 200 MHz, 350 MHz and 500 MHz. There will be trigger and decoding options available for I2C, SPI, UART, RS 232, RS 422 and RS-485 at the time of market introduction.
