ELEC166 - Introduction to Electronic Systems (3 Credit Points)
Second Half-Year Unit Outline
1.
Aims
ELEC166 is intended as an introduction to electronics and electronic systems in general.
Although it includes some necessary basic circuit theory, it emphasises the functions,
properties and interconnection of basic units which use electronics, rather than the details
of exactly how the innards of these units work at the circuit level. Examples will be
drawn wherever possible from familiar systems and equipment. The general topics to be
covered are listed as below:
Week 1 - Basics of electricity
Week 2 - Electronic components and circuit diagrams
Week 3 - Alternating currents
Week 4 - Signal concepts
Week 5 - Electronic systems
Week 6 - Amplifiers
Week 7 - Signals and noise, signal transmission by cable, electromagnetic waves
and radio transmission
Week 8 - Infrared and optical transmission, modulation
Week 9 - Frequency conversion and other signal processing topics
Week 10 - Basic digital concepts and logic gates, flip-flops
Week 11 - Registers and counters, large digital systems
Week 12 - Digital communications
Week 13 - Revision
We will try to keep approximately to this timetable, but circumstances may necessitate
some revision as we go.
2.
Lectures and Tutorials
Lectures will be held in Building ___ Room ___ or Building ___ Room ___. There is no
practical work, but demonstrations of various concepts and principles will be arranged
where possible during lectures. Tutorials will be held each week, with 4 alternative times
for weekly tutorial sessions. Except for exceptional circumstances, students MUST attend
the tutorial session to which they were originally assigned. Tutorial attendance will be
recorded.
3.
Teaching Staff and Tutors Consultations
The lecturers are
Dr. ____ (Unit Coordinator), Building ___ Room ___, ext. ____, email: ____
Dr. ____, Building ___ Room ___, ext. ____, email: ____
We will generally be available for individual/group consultations during office hours.
One of the tutors will be rostered for consultation every Tuesday between 1 and 2 pm,
commencing in week 2, in Building ___, in or near Room ___.
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4.
Lecture Notes and Other Course Materials
Your lecture notes are the basic text. Most course materials (in .pdf format) will be
available at the following website:
http://online.mq.edu.au,
http://www.ics.mq.edu.au/~cl/teaching.html
You will need a recent version of the Adobe Acrobat reader to read them.
5.
Tutorials
The aim of the tutorials is to reinforce learning and skills acquired in the lectures and to
give you some practice in solving problems. Each week you will work at designated
problems individually. Your work will be checked by a tutor during the tutorial session
and you will be awarded 0, 1 or 2 marks according to the following scheme:
0 mark - for no tutorial work and attendance
1 mark - for tutorial attendance
2 marks - for reasonably attempting the problems
Solutions to the tutorial problems will be placed on the website in the following week for
one week. Note that although you will be awarded marks for the tutorials, they are not
primarily intended for assessment purposes; rather, they are there to help you learn, and
you should take full advantage of them.
6.
Assignments
There will be 5 assignments consisting of a number of problems covering the lecture
material. Solutions will be placed on the website in the week after each submission is
due. Assignments submitted after the due date will not be marked. You are expected to
work individually and submit your OWN solutions as instructed on the assignment
sheets. Your attention is particularly drawn to the policy on plagiarism as summarised
below.
7.
Plagiarism
The work you submit must be your own, not copied from other students or sources.
Clearly, copying does not help students to learn the material (which, hopefully, is the
primary aim of this unit). Moreover, it is a very serious breach of University regulations
and may result in failing the unit. You should be familiar with the University’s policy on
plagiarism, which can be found in the Handbook of Undergraduate Studies..
Where instances of plagiarism are found in this unit they will be penalised. Depending on
the circumstances, the penalties could range from the awarding of zero or negative marks
for assignments, failure in the unit or referral to the University Discipline Committee.
"Group submissions" of assignments will be particularly frowned upon. You have been
warned.
8.
Assessment
Assessment of the unit is based on tutorials, assignments, and the final examination. The
various components will be scaled as follows:
Tutorials
Assignments
Final examination
Total
15%
15%
70%
100%
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A satisfactory performance in each component is required. You are formally required to
attend at least half of the tutorials and submit 3 of the 5 assignments. In general, if you
gain 50% of the total marks, you can safely expect to pass.
9.
Final Examination
A closed-book written examination of 3 hours duration will be conducted. You will
require a scientific calculator for the final exam.
Exclusion
Students may be excluded from sitting for the examination if they fail to perform
satisfactorily in the assignments.
Requests for Special Consideration, Special Exams
All requests for Special Consideration due to illness, misadventure and so on should be
submitted to the Registrar with accompanying documentation, such as a medical
certificate, as early as possible; these requests are passed onto the relevant unit
coordinator. See Bachelor Degree rule 8: 'Special Examinations' regarding unavoidable
disruption to performance in the final examination. Note that students with unsatisfactory
results in the tutorials or assignments will not be offered a supplementary examination.
In case of disaster…
If, through misadventure, you suddenly find you are unable to attend or have missed any
exam, the most important thing to do is to contact the lecturer in charge as soon as
possible! A delay of even an hour on the exam day can affect the ease with which some
alternative arrangement can be made. Of course, a formal request for Special
Consideration should be submitted ASAP thereafter.
10.
Withdrawal
You are reminded that withdrawal on or before the specified date will incur no penalty,
including HECS liability. Please refer to the handbook of undergraduate studies for exact
date and details.
11.
Computer Access
If you do not have internet access at home, access to the accounts may be obtained via
the:


public access computer laboratories on campus including the Library and the
Office of Computing Services (OCS) Building E7B Room 146;
designated Division computing laboratories for students enrolled in units offered
by the Division concerned.
For further IT information and other issues, you can contact the IT Support Desk at the
Library.
12.
Textbook and Reading Lists
For further reading, try:
M. Tooley, Electronic Circuits: Fundamentals and Applications, 2/e (Newnes 2002)
N. P. Cook, Practical Electricity, 2/e (Prentice Hall 2002).
H. D. Young and R. A. Freedman, University Physics.
D. Halliday, R. Resnick, and J. Walker, Fundamentals of Physics.
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F. J. Keller, W. E. Getty, and M. J. Skove, Physics - Classical and Modern.
R. J. Smith, Electronics - Circuit and Devices, 3/e.
Beiser, Basic Mathematics for Electricity and Electronics.
Edminster, Electric Circuits.
Brophy, Basic Electronics for Scientists.
Sedra and Smith, Microelectronic Circuits, 2/e.
Ahmed and Spreadbury, Electronics for Engineers, TK 7815.A42.
Ahmed and Spreadbury, Analogue and Digital Electronics for Engineers, TK 7815.A419.
Alley and Atwood, Microelectronics, TK 7874.A429.
Benson, Problems in Electronics with Solutions, TK 7862.B43.
Brogan, Semiconductor Electronics by Worked Examples, TK 7871.85B69
Flyod, T. L., Electric Circuits Fundamentals, 4/e, Prentice Hall, TK 454.F559.
Horn, Basic Electronics Theory, TK 7815.H69.
Horowitz and Hill, The Art of Electronics, 2/e, TK 7815.H67.
King, Electronic Circuits and Systems, TK 7867.K56.
Lurch, Fundamentals of Electronics, TK 7815.L84.
Olsen, Electronics and Electronics Systems, TK 7816.O42.
Olsen, Modern Electronics Made Simple, TK 7816.O42.
Radio Shack, AC Circuits, vols. 1 and 2, TK 454.15.A48.F8.
Ryan, Basic Electricity, 2/e, QC 523.R9.
Smith, Circuits, Devices and Systems, TK 145.S616.
13.
Useful Websites
http://www.ibiblio.org/kuphaldt - Web-based course notes for basic electronics course.
http://www.physics.uoguelph.ca/toturials/ohm/index.html - Web-based tutorial for first
year undergraduate electronics course.
http://emc2.ohm.york.ac.uk/sites/eleccomp.htm - Links to the web pages of most major
electronics compaies in the world.
14.
Generic Skills
If you take full advantage of the lectures, the tutorial sessions, and the set assignments,
then you should expect to gain or reinforce the following generic skills:

Management of complexity; electronic systems are often very complex, and it
is normally necessary to make carefully chosen approximations to analyse
them.

Mathematical ability; both the theory and the set assignments involve
application of mathematics from a range of areas.

General knowledge; you will appreciate the background of electronic
techniques that have done much to shape the modern world.

Time management; Introduction to Electronic Systems builds up a tree of
knowledge, and you will need to study regularly to understand and absorb this
developing theory.
Mike Batty
Charles Lee
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