Ongoing renewal of the ROB PTF

Abstract

In order to increase the reliability of the PTF at ROB and hence the reliability of UTC(ORB), the time was high for replacement of some major equipment. Obviously this was the ideal opportunity to give the PTF an upgrade and to solve some problems and issues. First the “old” PTF architecture was studied to pinpoint its shortcomings and possible improvements. Then a “new” PTF layout was defined and is gradually being implemented. This new PTF setup focuses on automatic (health) status monitoring, as well as on automatic control, of all operational devices. This should allow early detection of problems and prepares the PTF for future implementation of steering algorithms, such as a clock ensemble.