The recently approved India-based Neutrino Observatory will use the world'slargest magnet to study atmospheric muon neutrinos. The 50 kiloton IronCalorimeter consists of iron alternating with single-gap resistive platechambers. A uniform magnetic field of $\sim$1.5 T is produced in the iron usingtoroidal-shaped copper coils. Muon neutrinos interact with the iron target toproduce charged muons, which are detected by the resistive plate chambers, andtracked using orthogonal pick up strips. Timing information for each layer isused to discriminate between upward and downward traveling muons. The design ofthe readout electronics for the detector depends critically on an accuratemodel of the charge induced by the muons, and the dependence on bias voltages.In this paper, we present timing and charge response measurements usingprototype detectors under different operating conditions. We also report theeffect of varying gas mixture, particularly $SF_6$, on the timing response.
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