Table of Contents

• Introduction to the Experiments Read this first. It gives an overview of the experiments in this manual.
• Experiment 1: Audio Monitor Construct and test an audio amplifier using the LM386. This circuit will be used again in other labs, so you'll want to save it.
• Experiment 2: Carrier Oscillator In this experiment you'll construct an RF oscillator that will be the foundation of a functioning low-power AM broadcast transmitter.
• Experiment 3: Buffer Amplifier This is the second stage of the AM broadcast transmitter project. You'll refresh your knowledge of op-amps and frequency response measurements as you build this important stage.
• Experiment 4: AM Modulator This is the last stage of the transmitter -- you'll be on the air with a 100 mW signal after completing this circuit.
• Experiment 5: AM Detector This experiment concludes the AM sequence. A classic diode detector circuit is constructed to demodulate the AM signal from the transmitter.
• Experiment 6: Voltage Controlled Oscillator A Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) is constructed and characterized in this experiment. VCOs are important building blocks in modern communication systems, so this is an important experiment.
• Experiment 7: Phased Lock Loop Building on the knowledge from Experiment 6, you will learn about Phase Locked Loops (PLLs), which are also essential ingredients in today's state-of-the art RF systems.
• Experiment 8: Frequency Modulation A complete FM system operating in the very low frequency (VLF) band is constructed in this experiment using a pair of LM565 PLL ICs.
• Experiment 9: Fiber Optics In this experiment you'll learn how both analog and digital signals are sent via fiber optics.
• Experiment 10: UART Data Transmission This experiment provides hands-on experience with asynchronous data formatting using the Harris HD-6402 Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART) chip.
• Experiment 11: UART Data Reception Decoding of asynchronous data is explored in this experiment, again using the HD-6402 UART.
• Experiment 12: RS-232 This experiment explores the EIA RS-232 interface. While this interface is now seldom seen in personal computing, it's still an important in quite a few industrial applications. The classic MC1488 and MC1489 ICs are utilized. Terminal emulation is provided by EZ-Term, which can be downloaded from the software page.
• Experiment 13: PC Fiber Optic Interface A simple PC-to-PC data interface is created in this experiment using fiber optics.



Appendices

• Parts Lists for the Experiments This is the complete parts list for the experiments. The experiment numbers for each part are cross-referenced.
• Lab Manual Errata This is a list of known errors and issues for the original, printed version of the laboratory manual. It does not apply to the online content posted here.
• National LM386 Data Sheet 
• National LM741 Data Sheet 
• National LM318 Data Sheet 
• National LM565 Data Sheet 
• Siemens SFH350V Fiber Optic Receiver Data Sheet 
• Siemens SFH450V Fiber Optic Transmitter Data Sheet 
• Harris HD-6402 UART Data Shet 



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