ET270L

DIGITAL AND DATA COMMUNICATIONS LAB

INSTRUCTOR: Tom Wheeler - Office Room 208
twheeler@kc.devry.edu
http://www.kc.devry.edu/homepages/twheeler

CREDIT HOURS: 1.0

NOTE: This is an advanced laboratory course. It is strongly suggested that you be enrolled in ET270 while taking it.

The following are planned dates for completion of the laboratory experiments of ET270L. Note that the lab reports are due during the lab section in that week. Late reports (up to 1 week) are penalized

10%. Reports more than one week late are not accepted for credit.

EXPERIMENT DESCRIPTION OF REPORT DUE

1 FIBER OPTICS 3

2 UART DATA TRANSMISSION 5

3 UART DATA RECEPTION 7

4 FULL-DUPLEX UART DATA LINK 9

5 RS232 INTERFACE 11

6 FIBER OPTIC SERIAL DATA LINK 13

7 WIRELESS DIGITAL DATA (OPTION) 14

Every person will write and turn in a complete lab report for each experiment performed in ET270L. The report format is similar to what might be required of a technician in industry. The general content will be as follows:

1. COVER PAGE -- Must be on UNLINED WHITE paper. Must be typed or computer generated. Contains:

YOUR NAME

COURSE / SECTION (ET270L 4T)

LAB NUMBER AND TITLE

DUE DATE (WEEK #)

FOR: PROFESSOR WHEELER

SIGN OFF____

 

 

Hint: Make sure to have a completed cover page when you start each lab.

This makes it easy to get a sign-off when the experiment is completed.

 

2. SCHEMATIC PAGE: Contains the schematic of the section you constructed in lab. Must be technically correct and neatly drawn. It is permissable to use electronic drafting programs such as EWB or OrCad CAPTURE. If hand-drawn, the schematic page can be drawn on either UNLINED WHITE paper, or GRAPH paper.

 

3. RECORDED DATA PAGES -- All required waveforms, Voltage and current readings, and data of any other sort will be NEATLY recorded in this section. Each lab has different requirements for this area; the requirements will be given in a handout for each experiment. ScopeLink or other automated tools can be used to generate waveforms, however, all waveforms must be clearly labelled and annotated.

d) RECORDED OBSERVATIONS -- This contains two important elements:

1) Written description of circuit operation -- MUST BE TYPED OR COMPUTER

PRINTED, and titled "CIRCUIT OPERATION." It contains a one-to-three

paragraph analysis of the operation of the circuit. The function of

each major component should be covered. Part of this information will

be covered in lecture, and other portions will be presented in each

experiment.

2) Laboratory notes -- again, TYPED or VERY NEATLY WRITTEN. Any observations

that do not fall into the category of RECORDED DATA (3) should be placed

here. This includes possible problems (and your methods of solution

to these problems), circuit changes you made to improve operation (if

any), and so forth. This section will be titled "LAB NOTES." In a

real-life situation, this is a very important part of the report. It

tells the engineer (or other technical person) how well the design

worked, or if it didn't work (in which case, you will tell HOW you

made it work--or WHY the design did not work in the first place.) The

labs you are performing in ET270L are of proven design, so the latter

will not apply here.

Each report in ET270L is worth 100 points. A total of 6 reports are required, therefore, 600 points are possible in this course. There is no "extra credit."

Letter grades are assigned as follows:

Letter Grade Percentage % Quality Of Work

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A 90 - 100% Far above average

B 80 - 89 % Above average

C 70 - 79 % Average; meets expectations

D 60 - 69 % Below expectations

F < 60 % Inadequate, failing

Work may only be turned in directly to the instructor, or his appointed representative, during the laboratory period. Do not turn in papers to room 208.

Signoffs are normally given during the assigned laboratory period. Your circuit board must be clearly marked with your name in order to receive a sign-off. It is preferred that you mark it on top, but if that bothers you while constructing circuits, you may mark it on the side (but not the bottom.)

I. Lab Partners: There are no lab partners allowed in ET270L, with the exception of experiments 3, 4, and 6, where a partner is required.

II. Handing Work in: Work should be given directly to the instructor or his authorized assistant. Under no circumstances should work be turned in to any other persons (including the office) without advance permission from the instructor.

III. Late Work: Reports are due during the assigned lab period, and are late when that period is over. The laboratory period ends at xx:50 UTC of the second hour of the assigned period. (UTC=Coordinated Universal Time, Standard World Time). Late reports are assessed a 10% penalty. Reports more than one week late are not accepted.

IV. Lab Success Hints: The successful student will have all circuits built and ready to test before coming to lab. Lab handouts and other information distributed in class are extremely important, and should be studied and understood before attempting the experiment. Try a "dry run" in your mind the day before the experiment to see if you can recall the important steps, setups, and results. SAVE ALL LAB HANDOUTS, YOU WILL NEED THE INFORMATION FROM THEM ALL TERM!

V. Plagiarism: Copying the work of another, and claiming it to be your own is plagiarism. This includes (but is not limited to) copying others homework, copying from a lab manual or textbook, or collusion. The minimum penalty for cheating in any form is a grade of zero for the element involved; in some cases, failure of the course and/or expulsion from the Institute will also result. All cases of misconduct will be documented and forwarded to Student Services for disciplinary consideration. The DeVry Student Handbook contains complete information on this topic.

Please do not turn in any work that is not your own! If in doubt, ask the instructor. Here are some ways to avoid any problems:

• Don't share your computer files (text files, schematics, etc) with anyone else.
• Don't share a diskette (or other media) with another student; it's too easy to get files mixed up.
• Don't copy answers from a neighbor. If you don't understand how to do it, ask!
• Decline any request from fellow students for a copy of your work. Anybody needing this level of help should ask the instructor.

Emergency Procedures: There are plaques located in the lab discussing

emergency procedures. The instructor will remain in charge of your class

group in an emergency.

Food and Drink: Are not allowed in the laboratory at any time, even in closed containers. Violators will be expelled from the laboratory.

Computers will be used extensively in this lab. The following tips will help to minimize the chance of losing a project:

• Make frequent backups. These backups should be in at least two different physical locations.

• Always keep schoolwork on two different diskettes. Both of these disks will contain identical information. If a computer damages one diskette, the data can still be recovered from the other during the lab period.

• Don't save your data to the hard disk on the workstation, except in an emergency. The hard disks on lab workstations are periodically "cleaned" of any extra information as part of a housekeeping program.

• Keep the work for each class on a separate disk.

• Write your name, course, section, and professor's name on each disk. This will make it easier for others to return your work to you should you accidentally leave a disk behind. It happens to all of us!

• If you're using a computer at home, an anti-virus program is strongly recommended.