DATE:  February 16, 2014

TO: Dave Michelson, Ph.D, P.Eng.

FROM: Remy Savard, EECE 380 Team L2B2

SUBJECT: Spectrum Analyzer Project Update – Week of Feb 10.

This week we encountered major setbacks on our peak detector and IF filter interface, but are still ahead of schedule. Our week became focused on accurately characterizing the IF filter and peak detector circuits as well as understanding why they did not function when used together. We were partially successful.

We succeeded in characterizing the circuits and fine tuning the IF filter. It now responds with a very narrow passband. Our precision peak detector was not sensitive enough to pick up the pulse passing from the IF filter and the IF filter output may need amplification. We also determined ideal operating power for the IF filter and the precision peak detector.

Attendance was an issue for our team this week and caused significant setbacks. With one team member hospitalized and others missing, our team was only able to push ten man-hours into the project. We are attempting to make up time during our vacation this week.

Our plan for the upcoming week is to develop a precision peak detector in parallel with a basic peak detector and characterize performance with an amplified output from the IF filter. If this is successful, our project will be in a functional form and our work will shift to adding features to software and reducing noise in our circuits. We will provide you with another update on our progress next Monday (Feb. 24) morning.