Electronics & Instrumentation (ENGR-4220)
Which Will Soon Evolve Into
Electronic Instrumentation (ENGR-4300)

Active Announcements Are Marked In Red For Emphasis
• (Dec 14) Final GradesEveryone should have received an email from me with their final course grade (without the optional final exam). In these messages, you should have information on missing assignments if I thought you might not know about them. If you do not understand anything about the message or need clarification on how the final can help (but never hurt) your grade, please contact me (kc). All course materials have now been graded, we hope. You can pick up your papers at the final exam time. If you or we forget, please stop by my office to pick them up sometime this week.

• (Dec 4) OPEN SHOP: There will be extra open shop times this weekend (to finish up Project 4) and next week (to finish up the practicals and to ask questions in preparation for the optional final exam). On Sunday, 6 December, the studio will be open from 12-4 pm. On Monday, since it is a class day, you can work on Project 4 during most of the usual class time and during the regular 4-6 pm open shop time. The project has to be handed in on Monday. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the studio will be open from 10 am - 4 pm. This should provide enough time for everyone to finish their practical quizzes. (Be sure to read over the practical quizzes before you go to the studio to take them. You can find them in the syllabus in two places or link to them here: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, Q5, Q6, Q7. We may be using the studio on Friday and/or the following Monday for the final exam. We still need to look over everyone's plans for taking the final to see when the different parts will be given. We probably will not have that figured out until after everyone gets their Quiz 4 papers back on Monday. For those of you who are interested, we have compiled some feedback on Project 3 based on all reports handed in.

• (Nov 30) Quiz 4: These questions are taken primarily from Experiments 10-12 and Chapters 6 and 7 of Gingrich. Be sure that you review this material thoroughly before Friday. This list might change a little between today and Wednesday.
  1. Combinational Logic -- You can be asked a problem like the one in Homework #5 or Gingrich problem 4 on page 156. The latter problem is a classic example of using digital logic devices to control some piece of apparatus. You might have some optical sensors that produce HIGH and LOW signals depending on whether they sense some object. With 2 or 3 sensors, you can have a variety of inputs in a variety of sequences. If a particular sequence of events occurs, then you would want to turn something ON or OFF as a response. Thus, your system would be expected to obey some kind of truth table. You could be asked to identify which of several choices is the configuration of logical devices that would produce the desired truth table. The devices you will be expected to understand are found in sections 7.3 and 7.4 of Gingrich.
  2. Digital Meets Analog -- A summing amplifier configuration (see figure 6.8 of Gingrich) can be used to convert a digital signal into an analog signal. There are two examples of such digital-to-analog convertors (DAC) in the Engineering Sciences 27 webpage at Dartmouth. You may be asked to convert a 3 or 4 digit binary number to an analog number. Remember that the binary number will be represented as ones and zeros but the voltage for a one is 5volts with TTL devices.
  3. Schmitt Triggers vs Inverters -- The bottom figure on page 4 of Exp 11 is a PSpice configuration that is to show how Schmitt Triggers do not trigger several times near their turnon threshold, even with noise. The last figure of Part C (page 7) shows the experiment you were to do to show that Schmitt Triggers and inverters do not trigger the same. You may be given examples of figures taken from scope traces or PSpice simulations for each of these two cases and be asked to identify which is for the Schmitt Trigger and which is for the inverter.
  4. Flip Flop -- For the Flip Flop simulation and experiment (Part D of Exp 11), you might be given several plots showing either simulated output or data from an experiment and be asked to determine what is connected to each of the inputs.
  5. Misc. Experiments -- Given any of the Pspice or hardware configurations in experiments 10-12, you should be able to identify which input/output signal pair goes with which circuit. You should also know the properties of any of the devices used in these experiments.

• (Nov 30) Project 4 has been reduced in scope. However, those of you who need to improve your overall project grade can do the full project for extra credit. Please see the project description for further information. We will spend a few minutes reviewing for Quiz 4 during Wednesday's class. There are now 7 total practical quizzes to choose from. Please see the Syllabus. These quizzes do not have to be completed until the day before the Final Exam. There will be some additional open shop hours during exam week for this purpose.

• (Nov 29) There are some additional Extra Credit opportunities: A, B, C, D, E, each of which can replace one homework assignment. All extra credit assignments must be completed by the day before the final exam.

• (Nov 24) The information on the final project is now posted on the Syllabus webpage. There will be open shop on Tuesdays from 10-12 this week and next week. The 3rd and 4th practical quizzes are now available. If you intend to take some parts of the Optional Final Exam, you will have to email Prof. Connor before next Wednesday. You must indicate in your email the specific parts you wish to take (there are four, one for each quiz) AND your final exam schedule. There are some conflicts with the final exam time, so it is hoped that we can change the time of at least part of it. Finally, the time for Quiz 4 has been changed to Friday, 4 December.

• (Nov 24) You can calculate your grade at this point (based on 9 experiments, 4 homework assignments, 1 project, 3 quizzes and assume all 10 points on the practicals) by scaling the average for each category according to the percentage of the course grade ( homework 10%, experiments 15%, projects 25%, quizzes 40%, practicals 10%). The grade distribution at this time is A 87-100, B 78-87, C 69-78, D 60-69.

• (Nov 20) Extra Credit: During the last weeks of the term, there will be a few opportunities for some extra credit. The first, which can replace one of the homework assignments,involves the impact of the material from this course on your job prospects.

• (Nov 12) Please read over the list of Studio Rules, Policies and Procedures that was just posted. Any suggestions for improvements are appreciated.

• (Nov 12) To promote a little friendly competition between the two sections of this course, the instructors have agreed to sweeten the pot a little by providing an extra award to the group with the fastest time if it is from their class.

• (Nov 10) The solution for Quiz 3 is now posted on the bulletin board outside the studio. Now that we have finished 10 experiments, 3 quizzes and 2 projects, we will soon be posting a cumulative grade distribution so that you can see how you are doing as the semester nears its end. We have three activities to finish before the Thanksgiving break. Project 3 is to be completed by this Friday. Just as a reference, the motor speeds from last semester are available. The last two experiments, 11 and 12, which are a bit longer than usual (see schedule), address the last general topic of the semeseter -- logic circuits. Both of these experiments will be posted on the web this week, so it will be possible to work ahead on them, if you wish.

• (Nov 2) Quiz 3 Quiz 3 was originally scheduled for this Wednesday (4 November). Unfortunately, there has been some confusion obout the date for this quiz, so it has been changed to Friday (6 November). The course calendar had been updated to reflect this change. We will also spend some of Wednesday's class time reviewing for this quiz. Possible Quiz 3 Questions (Not all will be included). These questions are taken from Experiments 6-10. Make sure that you understand the basic work done in each of these experiments. The actual questions will be variations of what is listed below. What follows is somewhat preliminary, so watch for updates.
  1. Identify the correct output voltage for a half-wave rectifier with smoothing. You might be given the correct plot along with a plot for a circuit without smoothing or the voltage for some other configuration of diode, resistor and capacitor.
  2. Approximately reproduce or identify (as in the previous question) the plots asked for in the PSpice simulations of Experiment 7 involving diode voltage regulation or Zener diode voltage regulation. Note that both DC sweep and transient analysis were asked for.
  3. Any question included in a Results and Discussion section.
  4. Homework #4.
  5. Identify the types of op-amp configurations we have seen thus far.In addition, you might be asked to figure out what some configurations do that we have not yet seen. The latter questions will be multiple choice and not worth a lot. However, you might glance through the reading in Gingrich that covers op amps.
  6. Given a copy of the basic receiver and transmitter circuit diagrams from Project 2, identify the function of each section or stage of the circuits. There will be a list of possible answers to choose from with at least two more answers than questions.
  7. Inductance Measurement -- In Exp 10 you did a simple experiment to find the magnitude of an unknown inductance. You may be given data from another method, in the form of scope traces or simulated output, and be asked to estimate the inductance from this information. The circuit configuration to be used will be a series RLC combination. You may also be given some dimensions for the unknown inductor and be asked to estimate its inductance from an ideal formula. You should know whether or not this ideal formula will over estimate or under estimate the inductance of the coil.
  8. Interaction between magnets and coils -- You should be able to identify which of 3 or 4 possible figures corresponds to the signal one observes on a scope when a magnet is dropped through a coil.
  9. Integrators and Differentiators -- Given a particular input signal, determine which output signal corresponds to a specific differentiator or integrator op amp configuration.
  10. Transformers -- Given a resistive load connected to a realistic source using a transformer, determine when or whether or not the transformer is working as an ideal transformer. It is also possible to ask this question in a form like the previous question.

• (Nov 2) Extra Open Shop For this week, there will be an extra open shop time tomorrow (Tuesday) from 10-12 in the studio. Also, the full open shop time will be available (9-12) on Thursday for the remainder of the semester.

• (Oct 26) Typos In Experiment 9, page 4, second to last paragraph, in the sentence that begins "Change the plot ..," there is a divide sign missing between Vin and the expression in the parentheses. It should look the same as the expressions two lines above. In the 4th line of the paragraph, it should state that "Vin is the voltage between Rs and R1," rather than the voltage between R6 and R1.

• (Oct 26) Homework Please note that there is a homework problem included in Experiment 9. Also, many of you left out some of Homework #3. You only found the transfer function rather than repeating all the steps of the example in Gingrich for the new circuit. You can hand in a revised Homework #3 solution anytime in the next two weeks.

• (Oct 26) Project Report It is likely that you will not get to do all the experimentation you would like to do on any of the projects. Please note that you should include in your report any ideas you have for how to improve on the performance of your design, whether or not you get the chance to actually implement them. Such ideas are sometimes the best indicator of how well you understand what the project is supposed to do.

• (Oct 23) Project Open Shop There will be extra open shop hours from 1-5 on Sunday 25 October to complete the second project. Remember, that the project is due on Tuesday. No class time can be spent on the project next week. Hint: You will probably notice that the sound levels produced by the guitar are not as high as those from the walkman. This suggests that an additional stage of amplification might be necessary. There are three differences in sources that you should explore -- amplitude, frequency response and internal impedance.

• (Oct 22)Open Shop Change For this week and next week, open shop on Thursday mornings will run from 9:00 - 10:45. There is a meeting scheduled in the studio from 11:00 - 11:50. Sorry for the inconvenience.

• (Oct 22) Cable Box There is now a label on each cable box listing what should be inside. Please check your box from time-to-time to be sure the inventory is correct.

• (Oct 20) Project 2: The pre-project report is now due on Friday of this week. The project report is due next Tuesday. Information is available on the syllabus page. Please note that quite a bit of new information has been added to the Helpful Info section below, with a new section entitled Project Information.

• (Oct 15) This week's experiment should not take the full four hours allocated. The extra time can be used either to finish up Experiment 7 (due on Wednesday) or to begin working on the next project. Information on the project will be available on Friday.

• (Oct 5) Quiz 2 Info: Here are the questions that could be included on Friday's quiz (Only some of these will be selected). Please note that for this and subsequent tests, you can use one formula sheet, but no other reference materials.
  1. In homework #3, you analyzed a series RLC circuit. On the quiz, you will be asked to consider part of a simpler circuit. You will either be given an RC, CR, RL, or LR circuit. You will be asked to find the voltage across the second element in the circuit if it is driven by a sinusoidal source. Your answer will require both the magnitude and phase of the voltage. The method is the same as in HW #3, but there are only two impedances.
  2. Convert the result of the first question (or a similar expression) from phasor form to real sinusoidal form.
  3. Given one of the combinations listed in the first question above, identify whether it is a low pass filter or a high pass filter.
  4. Given a list of standard resistors, capacitors and inductors, choose a combination that will allow an audio signal to pass but will filter out electrical signals produced by mechanical vibrations (like we saw with the cantilever beam) and 60 Hz line noise. You could also be asked to select components that would pass the mechanical signal, but reject the audio signal.
  5. In homework #2, you set up and solved the differential equation for some simple circuits. You will be asked to set up the equation and initial conditions for a particular circuit and then to identify the solution from among 3 or 4 voltage and/or current plots. This question is, in effect, the transient form of the first question above, except that you do not have to figure out the solution yourself.
  6. Given a particular diode rectifier circuit (half-wave or full-wave) and four possible oscilloscope images, select the scope image that would be observed across the output of the rectifier.
  7. Determine the gain of one of the three operational amplifier configurations we have studied: inverting, non-inverting and differential.
  8. Given any of the circuits you have simulated in experiments 3 - 6, identify which of several choices is the correct voltage or current signal at some point.
  9. Given a simple mechanical oscillator or an equivalent simple circuit, determine its natural resonant frequency. You might be given a description of either device or a plot of their response vs. time.
  10. There may be one more question, but the quiz will last no more than one hour.

• (Oct 1)Homework #3: The statement for this assignment is found at the end of Experiment 5. Please note that you are to repeat the steps of the example which starts on P 56 of Gingrich for the circuit of problem 1 of this chapter. You do not have to do all the steps of the problem.One comment on the example problem -- the expression for the transfer function was obtained using the standard voltage divider relationship to find Vout in terms of Vin.

• (Sept 25)Extra Open Shop and Syllabus Update: The studio will be open from 1-5 pm this Sunday for groups who need more time to finish Project 1. Also, the remainder of the syllabus has been completed and corrected. Please read it over to see what we will be doing in each class. It is probably worthwhile to read over the entire syllabus at this time.

• (Sept 23) Parts Kits: Please note that there is now a parts list available for you to check to be sure that you have everything you have paid for. Please also note that you should go through the parts so that you can easily recognize them when needed. For example, there are some inductors that look like green resistors. If you do not check these things out now, you might fry some parts by using them for the wrong purpose.

• (Sept 23)Due Dates for Exp 4 and Project 1: Experiment 4 is due this Friday, 25 September. The work on the project should also be completed by then. The report for the project is due on Monday, 28 September. It can be turned in any time on Monday, so if you find you need to make some last minute changes, you can do so.

• (Sept 15) Hints for Homework #2
  1. Please be sure that you read over section 2.2 of Gingrich. He obtains differential equations for a number of simple circuits. You can follow the method that he uses but you have to come up with a differential equation for the capacitor voltage Vc.
  2. In case you have forgotten, you can solve differential equations using the Maple command dsolve. You can look it up using the Help button if you need to review. For differential equations like the ones for simple circuits, I find that method=laplace works well. This should be no big surprise because we humans also usually use Laplace transforms to solve circuits equations. We will discuss Laplace techniques after the quiz.
  3. You may or may not have figured out that the first problem in the HW assignment is identical to a PSpice simulation you did in class. Thus, you have a result that you can use to check your answer. In effect, PSpice is always available to play the role of answer book. Thus, you might want to simulate the second circuit to have something to check your answer against.
  4. For both circuits, you must first find the differential equation for Vc and then determine what are the appropriate initial conditions. Keep in mind the current voltage relationships for R, L, and C when working out the initial conditions. For example, V = IR tells us that the current and voltage in a resistor can track each other without delay. There is no fundamental limit to how fast either can change in an ideal resistor. We will assume that our resistors are ideal. For an inductor, V = L di/dt tells us that the current in an inductor cannot change instantaneously. That is, the current cannot instantly step up from nothing to some finite value, since the derivative of a step function is infinite. An infinite voltage would appear in that case. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that the initial current passing through the inductor in either of our circuits is zero. For a capacitor, I = C dV/dt tells us that the voltage across a capacitor cannot change instantaneously and, thus, the initial voltage across a capacitor should be zero. Another way to think about both inductors and capacitors is to recall that they are energy storage elements. The energy stored in an inductor is proportional to the square of its current while the energy stored in a capacitor is proportional to the square of its voltage. Thus, if we assume that neither stored any energy before the battery is connected to the circuit, then the current in the inductor and the voltage across the capacitor must initially be zero. The final comment on initial conditions is that, since the equation you will obtain will be a second order differential equation, you will need to provide two initial conditions. The best choices are V(0) and dV(0)/dt.

• (Sept 14) Quiz 1 Info: Here are the questions that could be included on Friday's quiz (Only some of these will be selected).
  1. Reduce a series or parallel combination of resistors to a single resistance.
  2. Find the voltage across a resistor in a voltage divider configuration.
  3. Find the voltage across a resistor in a voltage divider configuration with a load resistor attached.
  4. Find the Thevenin equivalent of a voltage divider or a Wheatstone Bridge configuration.
  5. Given an exact image produced on the oscilloscope (we have the software to do this), determine the mathematical representation of the signal displayed. For example, given a sine wave, find the frequency, the peak-to-peak amplitude, the rms amplitude, and/or the phase.
  6. Be able to answer the questions: Is an inductor a short circuit or open circuit at very low or very high frequencies? Is a capacitor a short circuit or open circuit at very low or very high frequencies? (Hint: think of high-pass or low-pass filters).
  7. Given an image of one of the instruments we have used in this class (function generator, digital multimeter, scope, dc supply), identify the buttons you would push for some specified purpose. Only the most basic functions will be considered. This question will definitely be on the quiz, since every quiz should have a gift on it.
  8. Given a PSpice Probe plot with two or more time-varying signals on it, identify which points in a circuit (also given) correspond to which signals.
  9. Given a PSpice Probe plot with time-varying signals on it, show that the signals satisfy the appropriate voltage and current relationships.
  10. Given that you wish to obtain a particular AC Sweep, DC Sweep, or Transient analysis with PSpice, describe the specific steps you would follow. You will be given blank windows and asked which ones you will use and what numbers you will input.
  Note that these are all questions motivated by our experimental work. It will be a good idea to review the first two chapters of Gingrich's notes and the writeups for the experiments we have done. Also note that the circuits in these problems will be taken from the experiments.

• (Sept 11) Please note that the due dates for experiment reports are now listed in the schedule found on the course syllabus website. Please also read the section on graded work that addresses the experiments, since this has also been changed.

• (Sept 11) Plans for next week. We have a full schedule next week (see Syllabus). We need to finish Experiment 3, do the pre-project proposal, review for Quiz 1 and take Quiz 1. Fortunately, none of these things will take all that long. We will use Monday's class to catch up with Experiment 3. All work should be done by then or will have to be finished during the open shop hours on Monday or Tuesday. On Wednesday, we will do the pre-project proposal as a group, so that everyone can learn what is expected in this kind of document. This exercise should take less than one hour. The remaining hour on Wednesday will be used to review for the quiz. The quiz will be held on Friday. Information on what kind of questions you can expect to see on this quiz will be posted here starting this weekend.

• (Sept 10) Regular open shop hours are now MTW from 4-6 and Thursday morning from 9-12. On MW we meet in the studio across the hall. Also, most student photos are now available. A few more must be taken to include everyone.

• (Sept 2) There will be open shop hours Thursday (Sept 3) from 10-12. Starting next week, there should be open shop from 4-6 on Tuesdays and 9-12 on Thursdays.

• (Aug 20) The Instrumentation Studio in which we meet is now almost 100% complete. The old computers we inherited from the old version of Electronics and Instrumentation have now been replaced by brand new Dells. The room is all painted. The carpet is clean. We have new storage bins for each student's parts and tool kits. Nearly all our troublesome cables have been replaced by new robust cables and adapters. All of our software is now installed and working and completely up-to-date. Our computer system is now fully operational and can recover quickly from almost any problems. We are looking forward to having a lot of fun. There remains one small problem area. I (Prof. Connor) had hoped to have most of the class experiments updated before you all returned to campus. Unfortunately, some evil #@$*#%! hacked into my research computer system (where I keep these webpages) by way of Italy and Australia. We have wasted at least 3-4 weeks so far trying to recover from this senseless garbage. We were apparently used as a path to several government computers, but we were messed with a bit to cover the tracks of the perpetrator. I am usually quite an upbeat person, but this kind of thing raises my anger level way too high. I ask that you be patient while I finish up this work in the next few weks.

• (Aug 19) I (Prof. Connor) apologize in advance for missing the first week of class. My daughter begins her studies at the University of Wisconsin this fall so I need to be in Madison to help her get settled. I know I have left you in good hands with Dr. Millard, but I really like teaching in our great new facility that we have worked so hard to make available to you. I look forward to meeting you all after the 30th.

• Engineering Central, employment resources and engineering information resources
  
• Electrical Engineering Links from Bruce Carter
  
• Doctronics practical assistance for Design & Technology students and teachers
  
• Canada's Schoolnet Learning Resources. Check out Engineering and Physics, but there is info here on just about everything you can think of!
  
• EDTN: The Electronics, Design Technology and News Network
  
• E.E. Internet Info Sites from Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln.
  
• Electronics Information from Tomi Engdahl -- something about everything!
  
• Application Notes from National Semiconductor
  
• Interesting Circuits from 4QD
  
• Spice Stuff from Spread Spectrum Scene (SSS).
  
• A Resistor Identifier from Danny Goodman
  
• An Introduction to Noise Reduction Ken Gundry of Dolby Laboratories
  
• Allocation of Radio Spectrum
  
• Tutorials and Audio Data from the Digital Playroom
  
• PSpice Tutorial from Alfred College of Technology
  
• Design Info from Globalspec.com
  
• Online Measurement Guide from Sable Systems
  
• Sensors and Techniques for Computer Based Measurements from Remote Measurement Systems
  
• Electroflash Electronics New Zealand
  
• Motorola Semiconductor's Transportation Systems Group
  
• Designing With Logic (pdf), an excellent discussion of logic devices and how to desig with them, from TI.
  
• Electrical Engineering Circuits Archive from the University of Washington EE Dept.
  
• Dynamic Systems -- There is quite a bit of conceptual overlap between Dynamic Systems and Electronics and Instrumentation.
  
• Interactive Guide to Strain Gauge Technology from Vishay Measurements Group, Inc.
  
• Dr. Bob's Electronics Resource
• Electronics and Instrumentation Links
  
• Equipment Tutorials
  
• Memory Devices for Sequential Systems from the University of Queensland.
  
• Engineer's Mini Notebook Series by Forest M. Mims, available from Radioshack.
  
• Car Audio Technical Info from AudioControl
  
• Technical Glossary from FLW
  
• Electronics and Instrumentation Webpage for Fall 1997
  
• Electronics and Instrumentation Webpage for Spring 1998
  
• BENCHMARK MEDIA SYSTEMS, INCis a manufacturer of ultra high performance analog and digital audio equipment. There website has some very interesting application notes, especially the Clean Audio Installation Guide.
  
• Diana, a helpful Texan with some good information on electronics, stepper motors, classic cars and trucks ...
  
• This course uses some software that is available only on PCs. If you wish to do circuit simulation or other engineering tasks on a Mac, you should look at: Mac Stuff for Engineers, a list maintained by Tim Kennedy, who is presently employed at Hughes Aircraft C>orporation.
  
• MATLAB in Education from Mathworks, Inc.
  
• Helpful Info from the Instrumentation Studio Webpage
  
• Operational Amplifers
  • Op amp Myths by Barrie Gilbert
    
  • Real Operational Amplifier Operation by Haralambos N. Kritikos at Penn
    
  • Basics of Operational Amplifiers
    
  • Operational Amplifiers by Stephen E. Bialkowski of Utah State
    
• Popular Component Information

  General

  • Chip Directory from Jaap van Ganswijk.
    

  555 Timer

  • 555 Timer Page from Lizard74
    
  • 555 Timer Applications by Kostas A Papathanasiou of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
    
  • LM 555 Timer info from National Semiconductor
    
  • 555 Timer Circuit from SpiceAge
    
  • Help For The 555 Timer Chip from Model Railroad Electronics
    
  • 555 Timer How Does It Work? from NC State
    
  • The 555 Timer from Colorado
    
  • 555 Timer Tutorial from the Rensselaer Academy of Electronic Media (Requires Shockwave).
    
  • MC1455 from Motorola (pdf file).
    
  • Dick Smith Electronics info on the 555
    

  Amplifiers (Especially LM741, LM386) Etc.

  • Dick Smith Electronics info on the 386
    
  • LM 741 Op-Amp info from National Semiconductor
    
  • LM 386 Audio Power Amplifier info from National Semiconductor
    
  • MC1458 Dual Operational Amplifier info from Motorola (pdf file)
    
  • LF 411 JFET Input Op-Amp info from National Semiconductor
    
  • LM3907 Frequency to Voltage Converter info from National Instruments.
    

  Logic Components

  • MC14029B from Motorola (pdf file).
    
  • MC14558B from Motorola (pdf file).
    
  • SN7414 Schmitt-Trigger info from TI.
    
  • SN7400 Quadrupule 2 Input Positive NAND gate info from TI.
    
  • SN 7401 2 Input Positive NAND gate info from TI.
    
  • SN7402 Quadrupule 2 Input Positive NOR gate info from TI.
    
  • SN7404 HEX Inverter info from TI
    
  • SN7408 Quad 2 Input Positive AND gate info from TI.
    
  • SN7410 Triple 3 Input Positive NAND gate info from TI.
    
  • SN7420 Dual 4 Input Positive NAND gate info from TI.
    
  • SN74LS21 Dual 4 Input Positive AND gate info from TI.
    
  • SN7430 8 Input Positive NAND gate info from TI.
    
  • SN7432 Quad 2 Input Positive OR gate info from TI.
    
  • SN7446A BCD to Seven Segment Decoder info from TI.
    
  • SN7473 Dual J-K Flip-Flops with Clear info from TI.
    
  • SN7474 Dual D Positive-Edge-Triggered Flip-Flops with Preset and Clear info from TI.
    
  • SN7485 4-bit Magnitude Comparator info from TI.
    
  • SN7486 Quad 2 Input Exclusive OR gate info from TI.
    
  • SN74107 Dual J-K Flip-Flops with Clear info from TI.
    
  • SN74160 Synchronous 4-bit Counter info from TI.
    
  • SN74LS169B Synchronous 4-bit Up/Down Binary Counter info from TI.
    
  • SN74190 Synchronous Up/Down Counters with Down/Up Mode Control info from TI.
    
  • SN74195 4-bit Parallel Access Shift Register info from TI.
    
  • SN74246 BCD to Seven Segment Decoder/Driver info from TI.
    
  • SN74390/SN74393 Dual 4-bit Decade and Binary Counter info from TI.
    
  • Logic Product Info from TI.
    
  • Logic Families from Motorola.
    
  • 
    

  Discrete Components (Diodes, Etc.)

  • IN4148 Diode
    
  • IN750 Zener Diode
    
  • Capacitors and Inductors form UPE
    
  
  

  Project Information

  • Infrared Link Circuit from Dan Evans of Fujitsu Microelectronics Ltd
    
  • Electronics Tips from the Electronix Express Tech Department
    
  • Mushroom Humidifier Timer from the Lycaeum entheogenic library and community
    
  • QKits
    
  • Pulse Width Modulation from Newcastle University
    
  • Valve Flow Control Using Pulse Width Modulation from Lee Electro-Fluidics
    
  • Infrared Transmitter and Receiver from Purdue
    
  • D.I.Y. Project Kits from Circuit Specialists
    
  • Bowden's Hobby Circuits
    
  • Hila Projects from the Hila Science Camp for Boys and Girls, near Ottawa
    
  • Beakman's Electric Motor
    
  • Battery Info from the Art of Electronic (pdf file).
    
  • Guitar Info
    • Guitar.com
    • Weber Vintage Sound Technology
    • Sites and Sounds Links from Kirk Oberlander
    • Speaker Building Page from www.hifi.com
  
  

  Wire and Cable Information

  • American Wire Guage Sizes and Resistances from Pitt
  • AWG/IMPERIAL/METRIC COMPARISON from Alpha Wire
  • Wire gauge, tensile-strength, DC-resistance calculation from Mogami
  • American Wire Gauge Table and Stranding Chart from Cobra Wire
  • Gauge Conversion Table from INDDEX Recherche d'équipements industriels
  
  

  Circuits, Electronics, Instrumentation Courses on the Web

  These sites were selected because they contain example problems and/or explanations of topics covered in our course.
  • ES 250 from Clarkson.
    
  • ENGR 201 at Oregon State University
    
  • EE1000 from James Cook University. Check out the tutorials.
    
  • EE215 from Penn.
    
  • EE-61 from Duke.
    
  • ECEN4618 from Colorado
    
  • ELEC421 from Newcastle University
    
  • ME235 from Berkeley (includes PWM info)
    
  • Chem498 from Maryland
    
  • ME220 from Stanford
    
  • SC410 from Boston University
    
  • Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory from Hong Kong Polytechnic
    

• Bryan Mumford Crackpot Inventor
  
• Theremin Info
  
• The Frog That Learned to Fly
  
• Laser Tag Technical Info
  
• Michael Burke and Jeff Wovkulich -- Home Built Laser Tag
  
• Glubco from WPI students with too much time on their hands.
  
• Jochen's High Voltage Page, Universität Marburg
  
• Amanda's Mnemonics Warning -- many are not in very good taste.
  

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  Resistor Color Code Chart