ELEC 3509Fall 2012 Lab hints, tips and other information to make both our lives easier. Seriously, take this stuff into account.

ELEC 3509 – Fall 2012 Course website – Course Notes + Lab manual Norman Fong (head TA) – 3303 Canal Building – Lab website – Lab guidelines (read this!) Lab marking schemes Try to check this website at least once before each lab

ELEC 3509 – Fall Labs Labs are every week Worth 35% of your final mark You MUST pass the lab in order to pass the course Fall 2012: 6 FNDs 120 started the course, ~90 wrote the final You MUST hand in a satisfactory report for every lab – You cannot hand in a blank sheet of paper and “take a zero” on a lab. Lab kits will be distributed during the first lab Lab Plagiarism: Just don’t do it – Zero tolerance! Automatic zero for both parties.

4195 Mackenzie building Lab sections – L3: Monday 2:35-5:25 – L4: Tuesday 2:35-5:25 – L1: Wednesday 8:35-11:25 – L2: Friday 8:35-11:35 You must attend your registered section However you can work extra in the lab on your own anytime the lab is open.

Lab Goals 1.Learn to write effective lab reports 2.Learn to work in a group 3.Learn to manage your time 4.Learning to solve problems yourself 5. Learn technical aspects of Electronics

Lab Goals Everything you do in the labs and prelabs is directly relevant to the course material and will be on the midterm and final exams. As a 3 rd year Engineering student you are expected to be able to debug your circuit on your own before calling over a TA.

Lab Guidelines Labs will be performed in groups of 2 One report is to be submitted per group. Both students will be given the same mark. Every lab will have a marked prelab. – All or nothing – Does not have to be 100% correct but reasonable effort must be shown Every lab will have a marked checkout – Your lab must be complete on time and in your designated lab section If you are knowingly going to miss a lab contact Norm prior to the lab – We can arrange an alternate lab day for you to attend without lateness penalty

Lab Reports Reports are due one week after the lab has been completed They are due 30 minutes after the beginning of your lab session Drop off in stairwell drop boxes outside 41xxME. Late reports will lose 25% immediately and 10% PER DAY after. If you are knowingly submitting your lab late, contact your TA immediately and an electronic submission may be accepted. It is ultimately YOUR responsibility to have your lab in on time.

Mark Disputes We will try to return your labs 1 week after they are submitted If there is an obvious error in the mark then feel free to casually inquire about it with the TA For ANY other reason we request that you wait a day, and send the marking TA with an explanation as to why you think you deserve a different mark. If this cannot be resolved then you may request a meeting with him TAs are instructed to NOT give out additional marks just because a student complains. Justification is required. Tactics such as intimidation, mad-dogging and begging will be met with laughter and mockery.

Prelabs Every lab has a marked prelab The prelabs can be quite extensive. Don’t wait until the night before to start them! You may be asked technical questions about your prelab to verify that it wasn’t just copied The prelabs will be checked at the beginning of the lab (~first 30 mins) The prelabs typically include all of your design calculations and hence you will not be able to start the lab until your prelab is done You will likely not finish on time if your prelab is not ready at the start of the lab

Lab Schedule Lab 1: BJT DC and AC Characteristics (2 weeks) Lab 2: Two transistor amplifier project (3 weeks) Lab 3: 741-Op Amp (2 weeks) Lab 4: Active bandpass filter (2 weeks) Lab 5: Oscillator (1 week, no report) INSANITY WEEKS

Lab Report Tips Prove to us that you did the work and understood it – Readable without having prior knowledge of the lab – Explain what you did and how you did it – Results are explained and discussed – You will NOT be given the benefit of the doubt if your explanations are vague/unclear – Do NOT just show your numbers Reports should be thorough but concise – No strict format Label all plots and figures with appropriate units Stay in contact with your lab partner to make sure everything’s done on time.

Lab Tips Familiarize yourself with the breadboard Utilize the upper and lower “rails” for your power supplies. Intelligently place your transistors, resistors and chips. Use short jumper cables instead of stretching out the pins on your device. Try to lay out your devices to match the circuit diagram.

Lab Tips Bad Idea Good idea V CC =15 V

Lab Tips + -

A potentiometer is a 3 terminal variable resistor which acts as a voltage divider. You do not need to add another 1kΩ resistor to your circuit. The potentiometer is the resistor.

Other Lab Tips Do not measure current directly on the multimeter. Measure the voltage across the resistor and use Ohm’s law (V = IR) Use “Diode” range to measure diodes