PHY 251

Most recently updated 8/31/09



Title:  Principles of Electronics.  (3 credits including lab)

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Announcements:

This course takes a hands-on approach to analog and digital electronics.  It is scheduled to meet three times a week, 2 or 3 hours for class and 3 hours for lab.  Some weeks, all class time may be devoted to lab.

Textbook.  The textbook is The Art of Electronics by Horowitz and Hill.  It is used partially as a reference and partially as a text.  It is possible that people may be able to share the book, so you may want to start out by getting a book with a friend.  If that doesn't work out after a couple of weeks, you can then each get your own book.

Grades will be based on Lab notebooks, summary lab reports, lab work, quizzes, homework and a final exam.
 

Tentative Schedule

There may be many modifications in what appears below before the end of the course.
 
week 1  8/31
 Basics - Voltage, Current, Resistance - Ch 1
 Lab: Intro to instruments
week 2  9/7
 More Basics - Ch 1
 No Lab
week 3  9/14
 Simple Power Supply.  Start Transistors  - Ch 2
 Lab:  RC Low Pass Filter
week 4  9/21
 Transistors  - Ch 2
 Lab:  Transistors I
week 5  9/28
 Finish Transistors.  FET's - Ch 3
 Lab:  Transistor Amplifiers
week 6  10/5
 FET's.  Operational Amplifiers - Ch 4
 Lab:  Finish Transistor Labs
week 7  10/12
 More Op Amps. 
Lab: Operational Amplifiers
week 8  10/19
 Finish Op Amps.  First project assignment
 Lab:  TBA
week 9  10/26
 Project Work
 Assemble Project.
week 10  11/2
 Comparators.   Start Timers  -  Ch 5
 Debug Project
week 11  11/9
 Oscillators.  Start Digital Circuits - gates  -  Ch 8
 Lab: The 555 timer,         
week 12  11/16
 Digital Circuits - Ch 8
 Lab:  Combinational Logic - Gates
week 13  11/23
 More Digital Electronics.  Thanksgiving
week 14  11/230

week 15  12/7