Course Notes

It's been a while since I've taught this course, but it's not forgotten.

Lately, I've been thinking about course notes (for this class, and for the other courses I teach). I have written a few things for analog circuit design and feedback systems, but they need to be polished before release. In a desperate plea for attention, I've created a Patreon (my hope is that a crowdfunding audience will provide me with the motivation to finish --- I'm not in it for the money).

If you're interested in helping to motivate me, please visit: Kent Lundberg is creating textbooks on Patreon.

Final Lab Deliverables

1. Please send me your revised your-own-goals assignment.
2. For each lab, turn in a brief, informal lab write-up (you and your partner, together). It should be no longer than five pages (including figures) and should include:
• Complete schematic, BOM, and budget
• Plot showing the top layer (component side) of your layout
• Picture of your assembled circuit board
• Picture of a representative measurement (scope photo or data plot)
• A paragraph describing your results
• List of references used for the design
3. For each lab, turn in a "grade sheet" (individually), answering the six questions from the "Grading" post.

Your own goals

As you work to revise your own learning goals for the class, please refer back to the original assignment. Let me know if you have any questions or comments about your goals revision.

Design Project Schedule

For the design project, the schedule is:

Architecture design review: November 2
Schematic design review: November 9
Layout design review: November 16
Layout files due: November 19
Boards back by: November 30
Final presentations: December 10

Design Project Ideas

Gathering some ideas for the design projects:

1. Interactive displays for the EE Proto bulletin board.
2. Clock displays: LED/analog? Voltmeters? Metric time? POSIX?
3. Time synchronization: GPS, WWV, or WiFi beacon-frame timestamp?
4. LED-strip-driver audio visualizer (light organ).
5. MIDI control board (such as this Kickstarter project) with interesting interfaces.
6. A digitally controlled analog synthesizer voice.
7. A digital synthesizer voice (like these boxes).
8. A complete drum machine box (with sequencer and voices).
9. Drone synthesizer (for example, Drone Commander or Drone Lab).
10. Lecture demonstrations for Controls (PID box? SSE box?).

Grades

For each of the first six labs, consider the following questions:

1. What worked?
2. What didn't?
3. What are your lessons learned?
4. What could (should) you have done better? 
5. What grade do you give yourself on the lab?
6. What changes (if any) should be made to this lab for future classes?

Please write up your answers to these questions (each answer only needs to be a sentence or two). Meet with the Professor to discuss your grades, and bring your answers with you. Let's wrap this up soon.

Lab B5

Two options for Lab B5:

1. Analog filter design: Design a three-channel audio spectrum analyzer, with fourth-order band-pass filters and corners at 20 Hz, 200 Hz, 2 kHz, and 20 kHz (at least three channels and at least fourth order; more would be better).
2. Analog computer design: Read Section 12.3 in Roberge's Operational Amplifiers. Simulate and build the scaled analog computer for Van der Pol's Equation in Figure 12.16. Then, simulate and build an analog computer for Duffing's Equation (or some other interesting differential equation in consultation with the staff).

Op amps! Op amps! Op amps!

October Events

Three events this month that you need to attend:

1. Sunday, October 18, 9am: Electronics Flea Market at MIT
2. Saturday, October 24, all day: Analog Heaven North East Synthfest at Olin
3. Monday, October 26, 7:30pm, Blade Runner, Olin Auditorium

Really. You should attend these events. Mark your calendars.

Lab A4 Microcontroller

Lab A4 is to layout a simple microcontroller board. One possibility is a copy of the Arduino Micro, and you can find the schematic on their website. Other possibilities can be discussed with the staff.

Lab A3 Teardown

Part 1:

1. Get a toolkit (if you don't already have one).
2. Review the some teardowns at iFixit and send me an email with a link to your favorite one, with a short explanation of why it's your favorite. Be sure to venture beyond the lists of "Recent" and "Popular". For some examples, see
   • Teardown highlights from 2015.
   • Teardown highlights from 2014.
   • Teardown highlights from 2013.
3. Watch the following video (a teardown of an Anritsu spectrum analyzer from Mike's Electric Stuff; see his YouTube channel for more videos).

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Part 2:

Commercial Electronics Autopsy: Take apart a piece of commercial electronics (provided). Take pictures, study construction techniques, draw a block diagram, write a bill of materials of major parts (top ten), and find some data sheets, but don't draw a schematic. Make a list of the major components; the main integrated circuits are important, of course, but don't overlook interesting examples of passive components, sensors, connectors, switches (and other controls), internal cable assemblies, heat sinks, mechanical elements, etc. Deliverables (as a web page):

• Link to service manual (if found)
• Basic test results showing operation (or non-operation)
• Pictures of the disassembly and the insides
• Block diagram of the system
• Bill of materials of ten major parts, with date codes and datasheets
• Discussion of the mechanical design, including functional and decorative elements
• Short presentation for informal show-and-tell session

If your item has an FCC ID code on it, be sure to check out if any of the FCC filings are public at http://transition.fcc.gov/oet/ea/fccid/.

Extra credit for salvaging and reusing some interesting part from your autopsy (for example: motors, sensors, LEDs, switches, fans, etc.).