About the Labs

Due to restrictions caused by the current crisis, labs will be conducted in a virtual format. You will need to perform all experiments at home. For this purpose you will need to purchase a set of instruments from the list. The total cost for all the instruments should not exceed $100.  In addition, the instructors will send a lab kit (FREE) to an address provided by you.  In the kit, you will find components and parts needed to conduct the experiments.  Lab sessions will meet in online. They consist of three-hour lab sessions where the TAs will explain and share the procedure for the experiments. Students are expected to attend the lab section for which they have registered. Students are encouraged to read the laboratory assignment instructions and complete any prelab activities before signing in.

To get access to Keysight Advanced Design System (ADS), follow the steps below:

1. Connect to campus VPN (we recommend you to use TunnelAll option so the connection is more stable).
2. Open Citirx (download & installation guide here).
3. Under "Apps", double-click Advanced Design System 2022. If you do not see it in the list, click the icon buttom on the top right corner and select "Refresh Apps".
4. If you enconuter any set-up issues, contact ews@illinois.edu.

Special Instruction for Fall 2021

In the Fall 2021, the online lab instruction option will be available in addition to the in-person labs. We strive to deliver the best experience to the students by preparing the lab exercises so that you can do it at home, with the help of your TA. Students must have the following equipment:

• Component kit (more details below) : contains all electronics parts (resistors, capacitors, transistor, IC, PCB boards etc.) and instruments (Signal Generator, Portable Spectrum Analyzer, RF Mixer) needed to build circuits in the lab exercises.
• DC power supply : we will only use 12V DC power supply to power all of our circuits. Voltage regulator (VRM) will be used to down convert to different DC levels requires by the IC or sub circuitry. Some thing like this will work. If you own a adjustable power supply like this one, that's even better. Make sure that the DC adaptor comes with a female barrel so you can solder/connect power rail and ground rail to your circuits.
• Solder kit and Safety Glasses : If this is the first time you solder, we strongly recommend you go through the introduction to solder note on the course website first. It will provide you an overview about the solder kit and accessories (such as flux, soldering wire, de-soldering gun/wick etc.) as well as important safety information about soldering.
• SMA cable (male connectors)

Besides, other instrument such as portable Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) like this one or Oscilloscope like this one are good gears to have. 

Note: All links included above are for reference only. As long as your equipment have the same capability, you should be able to do the lab exercises.

Component kits

You will need the following parts

Additional Information and Links

ECE supply center catalog: https://my.ece.illinois.edu/storeroom/catalog.asp

Agilent Spectrum Analyzer Mode Measurement Guide: http://courses.engr.illinois.edu/ece453/lab_files/N9060-90035.pdf

Oscillator video #1: https://uofi.box.com/s/t9vebusvtj274e4jk43ebcx136tsp0vv

Oscillator video #2: https://uofi.box.com/s/cubtgy4sw6fo3skkh2j7v0gyvodeywtx

Oscillator video #3: https://uofi.box.com/s/ekt9y6nx1kym84qs7vxgyqujos3ld9nh

FM quadrature demodulation slides: http://courses.engr.illinois.edu/ece453/lab_files/FM_demod_slides.pdf

ECE453 Eagle supplemental part library: http://courses.engr.illinois.edu/ece453/lab_files/ece453.lbr

Additional Eagle use notes: http://courses.engr.illinois.edu/ece453/lab_files/Eagle_Use_Notes_JCG2.txt

Eagle schematic design tutorial video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AXwjZoyNno

Eagle layout design tutorial video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCTs0mNXY24