ELEC 3509 Fall 2011

1. ELEC 3509 Fall 2011 Lab hints, tips and other information to make both our lives easier. Seriously, take this stuff into account.

2. ELEC 3509 – Fall 2011 • Course website • http://www.doe.carleton.ca/~jrogers • Lab manual • Norman Fong (head TA) • 3081 Minto • nofong@doe.carleton.ca • Lab website • http://www.doe.carleton.ca/~nofong/ELEC3509 • Lab guidelines (read this!) • Lab marking schemes • Try to check this website at least once before each lab

3. ELEC 3509 – Fall 2011 - Labs • Labs are worth 35% of your final mark • You MUST pass the lab in order to pass the course (even if you ace the midterm and 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 sold during the first lab • Lab Plagiarism: Just don’t do it • Zero tolerance! Automatic zero for both parties.

4. 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. • Circuit building and design experience. • More importantly, this lab is designed to teach you to problem solve, work in a group and write proper lab reports. • As a 3rd year Engineering student you are expected to be able to debug your circuit on your own before calling over a TA.

5. 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

6. 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 10% PER DAY.  • 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.

7. 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

8. Lab Schedule

9. 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.

10. VCC=15V Lab Tips Bad Idea Good idea

11. Lab Tips + -

12. 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.

13. 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

14. Lab Report Tips • The report should be “stand alone” • Readable without having prior knowledge of the lab • Clear as to what your goals were, what you did, what the results were • Results are explained and discussed • 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.