Memorandum

To: Professor Michelson

From: EECE 380 L2D4 Group

Subject: Review of the Previous Week

Date: March 10th, 2014

This week marked the start of our second project, where we will communicate with a satellite to obtain information about weather, temperatures or other factors. Our group has split the tasks and has began the software component of the project. We have also been able to communicate with the satellite and are getting custom to the new requirements and factors of this communication system.

Milind and Martin will be responsible for the creation of the hardware components, including any mechanical structures that will respond to certain factors, the actuators. This seems like a wise task allocation since both members have experience in this domain and were the expert for this sort of responsibilities in the previous project.

Colin, Rushil and Keith will be responsible for the task of the software development of the ORBCOM project. All three members gained experience from the last project, and their software skills will come in handy to complete this new system.

For the first class of the Orbcom module, the software team communicated to the satellite through the use of emails, which will be the medium of communication between us and outer-space. The satellite will come in handy to provide us with useful information that will help our project run fluidly.

The hardware team began the construction of circuits that will likely be used in the future, such as a temperature sensor, a led-driver, and the completion of an operational amplifier circuit that can amplify certain signals that are too weak.

Memorandum 

Date:               January 26^th, 2014

To:                   Professor David G. Michelson

From:              EECE 380’s L2D4 Group

Subject:          Project Report for Week 1

On the first week of the laboratory, our group has learned much about the spectrum analyzer. With the support of the laboratory sessions that helped us understand what the spectrum analyzer does, how it works, and what the components are that compose the machine, we now have a much better idea of the task that lies ahead. We familiarized ourselves with the components with multiple lab activities that investigated their properties. Our group also organized the structure and function of the team, by scheduling a meeting time, establishing a team leadership system and a common communication media.

Already, we have furthered our understanding on the machine that we need to build. During the lab module #1 and #2, we were led through the process of how the spectrum analyzer functions. Certain tasks included sweeping different outputs from the function generator and the power source, with shapes including sinusoidal functions and ramp functions. We familiarized ourselves with components such as the amplifier, the band pass filters, the splitter and other parts. A graphical block-diagram of the system showed how the radio-frequency signal (that we are trying to analyze) is processed with the use of filters, oscillators, attenuators and amplifiers. Much emphasis on the bandwidth resolution filter was expressed, as its frequency span determines the clarity of a result we obtain, and how fast the sweeping time takes. Our team learned about each component and absorbed many useful advices on how to diagnose our project with the various tools available in the laboratory room.

The first week also served for organizing purposes. The team laid out suggestions for communication, leadership and meeting times, which we chose for the best interest of the group. With the input of every member, we agreed to meet once a week, from 2 to 3 pm on Friday in order to discuss our individual progress and analyze our group’s current situation. All 5 members decided that “WhatsApp”, an android app, would serve well to communicate ideas and sources. We also created a Facebook group that allows sharing information via computers. Finally, we decided that we would take turns being team leaders, in order to get a feel for this powerful position and enhance our leadership skills for our future career.

Our group has furthered our understanding on the spectrum analyzer and has established important organization pillars that will help us succeed through the rest of the course. We are already satisfied with the amount of information we have accumulated, as previous project courses (EECE 280 and EECE 281) provided very little concepts and advices, leaving many of us disoriented.