Instructor:  Catherine Jahncke

Office:       225 Bewkes,                   Lab:            215 Bewkes

Phone:         229-5496                       Office Hours: MW 9:40-11:40

Text:          There is not a required text for the lab.  However, there are a number of texts that you may find useful in the Reklis collection or the library. 

Course overview:

                  The primary purpose of this lab is to introduce you to analog electronics, and to foster a spirit of independence in the lab. 

Course requirements:

                  The general format of the lab will be a lecture followed by a lab exercise.  Typically the lab exercise will involve building a circuit and analyzing certain aspects of its behavior.  You will be required to keep a detailed lab notebook that will be discussed below.  This notebook will be a major component of your grade.  There will be one exam in the middle of the semester where you will be tested on the lab material covered up to that point.  You may be given brief reading or homework assignments on topics covered in the lab.  In the second part of the semester each of you will complete an independent project which is also discussed below.  There will be a lab practical during the final exam period for the course.

Lab Notebooks:

                  You will be required to keep an accurate and complete lab notebook.  For example, if you are testing a circuit, your notebook should include a labeled circuit diagram, a description of what you expect the circuit to do, and any data that you may take.  The data should include drawings and descriptions of how waveforms may vary when parameters are adjusted.  Note any discrepancies between what you expect your circuit to do and its actual behavior.  Your notebook should include all calculations. Answers to questions asked in the lab handout should be thorough and should also be included in your notebook.  You should also keep your notes from the prelab in your notebook.  Your notebook will be turned in approximately every other week for a grade.

Assignments: 

There will be homework exercises assigned in lab.  They will be due the following lab period.

Exam:       There will be one exam given in class covering the material completed before the exam.  Questions on the exams will deal with the circuits that you have studied in class, and with any electronics guidelines that you have learned. 

Project:

             For your project this year you will build a headphone amplifier. The amplifier consists of a DC powersupply and two opamp based audio amplifiers with a volume control and a LED on indicator. You will build and test the circuit. You will write a formal lab report explaining how the circuit works and some of the design considerations. The introduction should include general information about amplifiers, audio amplifiers in particular.  The theory section should include circuit diagrams and derivations of the ideal theoretical response for your amplifier. How do you expect the circuit to behave and why you expect it to behave that way?  Your procedure section will explain how you constructed your circuit. It will explain any design choices that you made, and it will explain how you obtained your data.  Your data should be presented in the form of graphs (both theory and data). Your analysis should include a comparison of the theory and the data.  A draft of your report will be due on Thursday May 1 at 4:30 pm. One letter grade will be deducted from your final report if your draft is missing or inadequate.  I will return the reports the following Monday.  The final draft of your report is due on Friday May 9 at 4:30 pm.  Late reports will not be accepted.

Lab Practical:

             During the last lab period there will be a lab practical. You will be given a box with a circuit inside, and you will have to determine what the circuit is and document your reasoning. You will be allowed to use your lab notebook. 

Grading:

Tentative schedule of topics: