ENGR-4300 
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Class Materials
The Essence of Analog Electronics by Colin Lunn of Southbank University (England).
Lunn is a smaller book intended for students studying electronics for the first time. It is available at the RPI bookstore or from several online stores for less than $25. It does a relatively good job with basic circuits and op-amps, but has no in
formation on digital electronics.
1. Electronics class notes by D.M. Gingrich of the University of Alberta Physics Department
The class notes by Gingrich are an excellent source of online supplementary material.
2. Additional Online Supplementary Material
Additional links for each experiment and project are located on the links page.
OrCad Capture/PSpice Student Version 9.1
One of the most important tools we will be using in this class is the circuit analysis software from OrCAD -- Capture for schematic capture and PSpice for analysis. Both programs are available for free download directly from OrCAD or you can order a free copy of the demo CD at the same site.
All students are required to purchase a kit consisting of electronic components, a protoboard, some tools and a storage box. These kits are available in the studio for a cost of around $50. Please check out the parts list to be sure your kit is complete when you receive it. You MUST buy at least one kit per group. You will find, however, that one kit may not be enough to complete all the experiments in a timely manner. Two kits are strongly recommended. After the first experiment, all groups that do not have a kit will no longer be given grades for experiments they hand in. You may use a kit from a previous semester as your second kit, provided it is well stocked. Your instructor can verify this for you.
The Art of Electronics by Horowitz and Hill.
This is an outstanding book on the practical use of electronics that we recommend as an additional reference. It is probably the best source available for practical electronics advice and information. It also has some good introductory material on circuit analysis, op-amps and digital electronics.
There are several additional books that cover many more subjects than we do, but do have most of the background information needed to do the homework, experiments and projects. They are available from online bookstores and are relatively expensive. If you want to order one, but would like to look them over first, copies are available.
(1) Electrical Concepts and Applications by Boctor, Ryff, Hiscocks, Ghorab and Holmes of Ryerson Polytechnic University (Toronto) is written for nonelectric
al engineering students.
(2) Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering by Leonard Bobrow of UMass is intended for a first course in electrical engineering.
Graded Work
Experiment write up (45 points) Experiment write ups are not supposed to be a formal report. They should include the following:
Participation (5 points)
5 out of 50 points of your grade will be based on class attendance and participation. You will earn 5 points for each experiment if you are in attendance and doing your share. You can make up class time missed during open shop and give the following form to your instructor: makeup.pdf.
Late Penalty -- For full credit,the write-up must be be turned in on the due date. This is the date listed below and on the course calendar unless you are informed otherwise in class. The late penalty for experiment write up is as follows: For each school day late (weekends and vacations are not counted): 1 point per day for the first two days, 2 points per day for the next three days, 3 points per day for the next four days, and so forth. Thus, if the report is handed in 5 days late, the penalty is 8 points. Please note that there are, at most, 5 school days per week.
Weekly Schedule
Week One: Experiment 1 -- Signals, Instrumentation, Basic Circuits, and Capture/PSpice
Week Two: Experiment 2 -- Complex Impedance, Filters, and Steady State Analysis
Week Three: Experiment 3 -- Inductors and Transformers
and Transformer Circuit Applet : http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/electromag/java/transformer/
Week Four: Project 1 -- Instrumented Beakman's Motor
Week Five: QUIZ 1 and Experiment 4 -- Harmonic Oscillators
Week Six: Experiment 5 -- Operational Amplifiers
Week Seven: Project 2 -- A Beam Model for Harmonic Oscillation
Week Eight: QUIZ 2
Week Nine: SPRING BREAK
Week Ten: Experiment 6 -- Electronic Switches and the 555-Timer
Week Eleven: Experiment 7 -- Digital Logic
Week Twelve: GM Week Project 3 -- Digital Circuits Project
Week Thirteen: QUIZ 3
Week Fourteen: Experiment 8 -- Using Diodes to Limit, Rectify and Regulate Signals
Week Fifteen: Project 4 -- Optical Communications Link
Week Sixteen: QUIZ 4
Printable Calendar
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