Flaw detection modes can be set for either single or dual sensitivity operating modes. Thickness measurements are processed on every transducer test cycle for all pulse densities. AScan signals are monitored for system setup either on a standard analog or digital oscilloscope, or using a digitizing card located within the operator interface PC.

The operator interface is a menu/dialog-driven, easy to use format with all controls set via the PC's keyboard and mouse. All test parameters for all transducer channels are operator selectable, and all are user level protected using operator access codes. The number of parameter setups which can be saved to disk files for easy recall is limited only by the available disk space.

The RTS400 system architecture uses high-speed digital electronics and multiple microprocessors to form the most flexible, highest performance ultrasonic signal processing instrument available for general NDT applications. The instrumentation is provided as a complete turn-key system including the host PC computer for user I/O. Customized software can be provided to meet the need's of the user's unique application requirements.

The front-end pulser/receiver electronics consists of four internal plug-in boards, each of which can multiplex up to four transducers. Depending on the application, one to four data processing channels are used to analyze and characterize the ultrasonic data sets received from the pulser/receivers. Scan rates ranging from 100 to 1000 surface feet per minute (33 to 330 meters per minute) are achievable, depending on the mixture of thickness and flaw detection channels defined in the system setup.

Each transducer has two independent gain control settings, one from the excitation pulse to the surface interface signal, and one from the interface signal to the next excitation pulse. This dual gain feature provides enhanced near-surface resolution. The data collection electronics uses two hardware gates during which up to 256 time-of-flight measurements are stored into a FIFO for later data processing. Literally thousands of software gates can be established within both of the hardware gates as part of the analysis of the ultrasonic data sets by the microprocessor on each data channel.