ELEC 3509 Fall 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
– http://www.doe.carleton.ca/~jrogers
• Course Notes + Lab manual
• Norman Fong (head TA)
– 3303 Canal Building
– 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
ELEC 3509 – Fall 2012 - Labs
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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
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Learn to write effective lab reports
Learn to work in a group
Learn to manage your time
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 3rd 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
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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 e-mail 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
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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
VCC=15
V
Good idea
Bad Idea
Lab Tips
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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