hope.rst

Hands-On Practical Electronics

Contents

• Timeline
• Resources
  • Simulation
• Course Format
  • Materials
  • Enrollment
  • Grading
  • Attendance
• FAQ
• Contact
• Outreach

Fall 2017

EE 198 (1 Unit)

Wednesday 8-10 PM, 140 Cory Hall

http://kevinz.sdf.org/hope/

This course is a whirlwind introduction to building useful things with electronics. Students will learn basic electronic theory, understand and draw schematics, prototype and troubleshoot using lab equipment, and apply their knowledge on a project of their choice.

There will be an emphasis on building sensor circuits with microcontrollers. Students are not expected to have any background in electrical engineering.

Timeline

Our first class for Fall 2017 is on Wednesday, August 30th.

This schedule is tentative and may change at instructor discretion.

Week	Topic
1	Introduction Preparation: Review syllabus Introduction to electrical engineering, Moore's Law, and current research in electrical engineering by guest lecturer Eric Wu
2	Soldering and Schematics Preparation: Review lab policies Learn how to solder Assemble, troubleshoot, and demonstrate LED blinker with 555 timer Understand schematics and schematic symbols for common parts Draw schematics for LED blinker circuit
3	Measurement, Ohm's Law, Power, and Batteries Use the digital multimeter to measure voltage, current, and resistance Apply Ohm’s law to predict voltage, current, and resistance in circuits Determine power consumption of LED blinker circuit Understand basic battery parameters
4	Digital Logic Understand logic levels, binary, and their relationship to voltage Recognize AOI logic gates and draw their truth tables Use truth tables to establish logic equivalence and simplify logic Implement combinational logic using 74xx TTL
5	Introduction to Microcontrollers Set up the Arduino IDE on your laptop Explain characteristics and features of a modern microcontroller Learn basic microcontroller programming using C Implement LED blinker using an Arduino
6	Amplifiers Preparation: Review circuits Introduce operational amplifiers and common amplifier topologies Discuss op-amp specifications such as bandwidth and input offset Build an active low-pass filter as an Ardiuno frontend
7	Sensors and Signals Preparation: Review sine, cosine functions Introduce AC, capacitors, inductors, filters, and frequency domain Build and test an LED ambient light sensor
8	Schematic Capture and Simulation (Simulation lab) (download ZIP) Preparation: Install KiCad and LTSpice Simulate circuit in LTSpice Use schematic capture on the LED ambient light sensor (next week's lab)
9	Printed Circuit Boards (PCB lab) Preparation: Begin final project brainstorming, form project groups Learn how printed circuit boards (PCBs) are manufactured Place components and route nets for a PCB Run DRC and generate design files for PCB production
10	Final Project Outside class: build final projects In-class “office hours” with facilitators for project debugging
11	Final Project
12	Final Project
13	Project Presentations Final project demonstration and videos

Resources

Our optional, supplemental text is Electronics by Ali M. Niknejad.

Simulation

• For absolute beginners: PhET Circuit Construction Kit
• For beginning and intermediate students: Falstad Circuit Simulator
• For advanced students: LTspice

Course Format

This course spans 13 weeks. Class meets for two hours once a week. Each class begins with a short lecture followed by a lab activity. Some labs build on previous weeks' labs. Students are expected to spend an hour a week outside of class reviewing material and preparing for class meetings.

The final project is intended to apply the concepts learned in the class to a practical or fun project that can be reasonably completed within a few weeks. Final projects are expected to take up to six hours of additional time outside of class.

Materials

All equipment and materials will be provided. Computers will be used during lab; students may bring their own laptops or use lab computers with their EECS instructional accounts.

Enrollment

CCNs are given out during the first week of class. Enrollment will be finalized during the third week of class. Priority will be given to students who consistently attend class.

Grading

Your grade is primarily based on completion of labs in class. The final project is graded on effort and a demonstration or description of your work. Students need 60% to pass.

• Labs: 70%
• Project: 30%

Attendance

Since grading is primarily based on completion of labs during class, students should make a best effort to attend class.

You may miss up to two labs unexcused; no instructor approval is required. If you miss a class, you may need to make up the missed lab before the next lecture. Labs that require make-up are labeled on the Timeline.

Additional unexcused absences may result in a NP.

FAQ

I missed the first class. Can I still enroll?

Yes. You will be given the CCN when you come to the second week of class. Keep in mind that we may not have enough seats for you to enroll, and that you will be joining the class with one absence.

Contact

For course-related questions, concerns, or attendance issues, email [email protected].

Outreach

• Pi Day (2017-03-14)

---

This course is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.