Course objectives
After this
course, students should be able to design, build and test several key
communication system components.
Course overview
This laboratory course
gives students hands-on exposure to key circuits and systems used in analog
and digital communications. In
particular, circuits for continuous-wave (CW) modulation and demodulation
are studied and tested. This
includes circuits for amplitude modulation (AM) and demodulation and
frequency modulation (FM) and demodulation. Experiments with digital communications
will also be conducted. We will
explore analog to digital conversion as well as digital to analog
conversion. Finally, baseband pulse
modulation and carrier modulation for the transmission of digital data will
be explored.
Grading
The total class grade
will be computed as follows:
- 10% Pre-lab
preparation
- 70% Regular lab
exercises and formal report write-ups
- 20% Lab practical
exam
The
total grade will be assigned using the following scale: 100%…A…,
92%…A-…, 89%…B+…, 86%…B…,
82%…B-…, 79%….C+…, 76%…C…,
72%…C-…, 69%…D…, 60%…F
Prerequisites
A good working knowledge of electronic systems is required.
Pre-lab Exercises
Labs will have a pre-lab
component that must be completed by each student and submitted to the TA the
day prior to lab experiment. Pre-labs
must be completed and submitted individually. However, students should feel free to
discuss the pre-lab and lab exercises with one another.
Lab Exercises
Students are expected to attend all lab sessions
and make a full effort to complete each lab experiment in the allotted
time. An unexcused absence will
result in a zero for that lab exercise.
Each lab group must demonstrate the successful operation of their
circuit or system to the lab TA or instructor in order for the group
members to be eligible for a full score on the corresponding lab write-up.
·
Formal Lab Write-ups: Formal
reports should be organized in a manner described in ‘Guidelines for
writing a formal report’. These write-ups should be done in Word and
should answer all the questions posed in the lab and include all the
graphs, tables, and data specified in the lab handout. They also need to answer the questions
posed clearly and concisely and must contain all the requested information
(plots, scope print-outs, data tables, etc.). These
reports are to be prepared and submitted individually.
Tentative Course Outline
- Introduction
to communications laboratory equipment (1 week)
- Chopper
AM modulator/transmitter (2 weeks)
- AM
modulation and demodulation (3 weeks)
- Crystal
oscillator and frequency multiplier circuits (2 weeks)
- FM
modulation and demodulation (2 weeks)
- Analog-to-digital
and digital-to-analog conversion (1 weeks)
- Modulated-carrier
digital communications (2 weeks)
- Lab
practical exam (1 week)
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