Final Project
ECE 002
04/21/10
Amir
Section 30
Group 11 –
Adam McCormack
Damon McCollough
Ben Miller
Brandon Minor - Sections: Circuit Lab, PSPICE Lab, Introduction. Was generally successful in all labs, and
attended every class. Showed competence when completing a project.
[picture goes here+captions w/ names]
Group 11 was undoubtedly one of the most capable groups. True, they had some tough times, but they
always knew what to expect. Their preparedness made up for their tardiness; for this reason, they never
were late with a report or an assignment, though they might have been late themselves.
Introduction
This all-encompassing report summarizes our group’s ECE 11 and 12 experiences. It delves into the
robotics projects done last semester that helped us understand sensors through practical use and
implication. The programming aspect that helped us operate said robots was just as important. The
instrumentation lab introduced us to oscilloscopes and voltmeters to make reading a circuit easier. The
circuit labs (with a little added PSPICE) required that we construct a circuit, and then read the voltages
for each. Building a radio took the circuit process a step forward by introducing a circuit board and
soldering. The elevator project, using a complex series of sensors, will also be reviewed. Finally, it’ll wrap
up with the results of our MATLAB homework.
Circuit Analysis
Objective: The purpose of this integrated lab was to learn how to calculate commonly used values in
circuitry, such as current and voltage, by using a multimeter. Groups also learned how different parts in
a circuit can affect these values.
Resources:
i.
Parts list – a breadboard, resistors, diodes, banana cables
ii.
Testing equipment – DC power supply, Multimeter
iii.
Program listing - MATLAB
Methods:
The circuitry lab was fairly straightforward: build a specific circuit, and measure an electric value across
that circuit. There were five circuits in all. Each circuit had a different objective; one demonstrated the
change in voltage across resistors in parallel as opposed to in series, while another might test the
voltage change when a diode is added to the circuitry.
We adjusted the DC Voltage supply by using the DC power supply
according to the needs of the problem. The only sensor used in the
project was the multimeter, which could register values for volts,
current, and ohms. This machine used pins placed on either side of a
part (such as a resistor or a diode) to measure the drop in voltage or
the change in current. To measure the value of a resistor, the group
had to turn off the DC power supply, or there would be no reading.
Most of the team worked on building the circuits or adjusting the power supply and the multimeter. One
member took down the measurements while another held the multimeter’s pins to the circuit’s part.
Results Obtained:
Circuit #1
current - 1 k
3.025 mA
voltage - total
3.002 V
voltage - 1 k
3.002 V
current - total
5.985 mA
resistance - total
492 ohms
Circuit #2
current - 1 k
3.025 mA
voltage - total
3.000 V
current - 2 k
1.502 mA
current - total
4.494 mA
voltage - 1 k
3.000 V
resistance - total
658 ohms
voltage - 2 k
3.000 V
Circuit #3
current - 1 k
1.007 mA
voltage - total
3.004 V
current - 2 k
1.007 mA
current - total
1.007 mA
voltage – 1 k
0.993 V
resistance - total
2973 ohms
voltage – 2 k
2.011 V
Circuit #4
current - 1 k
1.0661 mA
voltage - total
3.005
current - diode
1.0661 mA
current - total
1.0661 mA
voltage – 1 k
1.15 V
resistance - total
N/A
voltage - diode
1.85 V
Circuit #5
voltage - r1
1.55
voltage - total
3.001
voltage - r2
1.55
resistance - total
2.31
resistance - r1
2.31
resistance - r2
.31
N.B. – When resistors are different values, they are represented in the data as their value (ex: 1 k = a one-thousand
ohm resistor). When resistors are of the same value, the resistor that comes first in the flow of current is
represented r1, the second one r2, and so forth.
The results found in the experiment fit nicely with the mathematical values calculated for the same
circuits. This means that each of our circuits was set up correctly, and that the group used the machinery
properly.
Conclusion:
Overall, the group did a very good job of working together to find these results as quickly as possible.
There were some slight issues that we had to face: the cable would slip off of the wire, someone would
forget to change the value being read, or the group would just forget that resistors can’t be measured
while plugged into a power source (something that caused several moments delay). As we completed
more circuits, we developed methods to make the process faster. This helped a lot, and troubleshooting
in the beginning paid off in the end.
Knowing how to measure values on a circuit is of immense importance to someone in the Biomedical or
Electrical Engineering field. These types of professionals build their careers on circuits and machinery; if
they can’t even accurately find the voltage of a wire, then they won’t be getting hired anytime soon.
PSPICE Investigation
Objective: The purpose of this integrated lab was to learn how to calculate commonly used values in
circuitry, such as current and voltage, by using the computer program PSPICE.
Resources:
i.
Parts list – none
ii.
Testing equipment – none
iii.
Program listing – PSPICE
Methods:
The PSPICE lab involved recompleting circuits which we had hand-calculated with a calculator, on PSPICE
instead. PSPICE is a circuitry program that allows the user to create virtual circuits using any number of a
vast library of parts. The voltage and current values at and across any part can then be calculated by the
program using the virtual meters. This method greatly expedites the process, since time doesn’t have to
be taken building and taking apart each individual circuit; rather, one can just open a new file instead.
The group really didn’t have a lot of jobs to split up in this lab, since the main objective was for each of
us to learn how to use the program. The first circuit was completed as a group to get each of us familiar
with the program. After that, we split up the remaining circuits between the four of us for efficiency’s
sake.