DATE: March 30, 2014

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

CC: Siamak Moori, Yin He

FROM: Wayne Huang, EECE 380 L2B2

SUBJECT: Progress report for the week of March 24

This week our group began by discussing how we would construct the hardware portion of our project. We discussed various ways to implement our sensor and actuator and decided to create a wind speed sensor using a photo-interrupter and a servo that would raise a flag under predetermined circumstances.

Our group then finished the design of our system and split the project into different blocks that could be worked on in parallel with each other. We assigned Remy, Frank and myself to work on the software components, and Chris and Mo were assigned to work on parts of the hardware.

Our goal is to complete each of our respective blocks by the beginning of next week and begin integrating our system together. If this is successful, we will move on to test our system and aim to have our prototype ready for demonstration on Friday April 4^th. 

DATE:        March 24, 2014

TO:    Dave Michelson, Ph.D, P.Eng.

CC: Md. Ahmed, Dennis Liang

FROM:        Mohammad Amirian, EECE 380 Team L2B2

SUBJECT:     ORBCOMM Project Update – Week of March 17.

This week we were still having trouble with attendance and therefore agreed upon a method to make it work out if any of our group members were to miss a lab/ meeting. This method consisted of putting in an equal amount of lab time along with a short description of the info gathered/ learned.

On Fridays session, Two of our members were able to successfully accomplish the redirecting of emails from our gmail to one of their ECE accounts. Once this was done, using a Linux bash script, the messages were combined into a single text file.

On top of last weeks ideas, we also agreed upon having a wind direction sensor along with a sail actuator. We have also ordered a list of devices for mainly for our sensors and actuators.

We will have another update for you on Monday March 31st in regards to our progress for the ORBCOMM project.

I forgot to tell you guys last night that I finished the memo and sent a copy to the professor already, so that Remy had to write another one this morning.  I am so sorry about that, but as the professor received mine as well, I guess it is not a bad idea to post my version here as well.

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DATE:              March 16, 2014

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

FROM:             EECE 380 L2B2

SUBJECT:         Progress report for the week of March 10

This week is our first week into the ORBCOMM project.  A group meeting was held on March 12 to discuss the work plan for the second project and the attendance issue of Mohammad Amirian.  We decided to impose a more rigorous test procedure, and Mohammad Amirian promised to participate in project activities from now on.

In the group meeting, we shared what has been learned from the first project and brainstormed how we can apply past experience to improve the outcome of ORBCOMM project.  Below are the points that we agreed upon so far:

• The first integration test should be achieved as early as possible, and repeated tests have to be done to examine the system’s stability to ensure a successful demo
• Whenever time allows, activities in previous labs will be performed again to allow solid understanding of essential procedures and system structures

Also, Mr. Amirian explained his numerous occasions of absence from the last project.  He expressed his apology for not contributing as a team member and promised satisfying attendance and diligence for the ORBCOMM project.

DATE: March 17, 2014
TO: Dave Michelson, Ph.D, P.Eng.
CC: Md. Ahmed, Dennis Liang
FROM: Remy Savard, EECE 380 Team L2B2
SUBJECT: ORBCOMM Project Update – Week of March 10.

This week we began the ORBCOMM project and are slightly behind schedule. We had poor attendance last Friday and were unable to complete the lab. We aim to get caught up by Wednesday by (i) meeting this morning and (ii) working independently to ensure that we are all ready to move forward.

We also were missing last week’s team leader who fell ill; that is why today’s memo was delayed slightly.

In lieu of being unable to do the Flash File System lab on Friday, we began brainstorming sensor and actuator ideas for the project. Current sensor ideas include: an acoustic whale sensor, a radiation sensor, and a temperature sensor. Actuator ideas include a collapsible sail or active sea water collection chamber.

We will update you next Monday on our progress with Orbcomm.

 DATE:        March 10, 2014

TO:    Dave Michelson, Ph.D, P.Eng.

CC: Md. Ahmed, Dennis Liang

FROM:        Remy Savard, EECE 380 Team L2B2

SUBJECT:     Spectrum Analyzer Project Update – Week of March 03.

This week we wrapped up our spectrum analyzer project with satisfactory results. As you have seen, we are able to measure signals from -25 dBm to -70 dBm with excellent accuracy and resolution. The main objection that you had for us was about our user interface which can definitely be improved if budget allows for one further week of development in the future.

Today by 4pm you will receive our final project report closing out the spectrum analyzer project. We will begin work on the new Orbcomm project this week and look forward to applying the lessons of the first project on to this one.

As discussed, we will attempt to correct our attendance issues by sending out a formal request for a commitment to increased attendance to our teammate. If you have any additional questions you can either reply to this email or we can discuss it at our meeting after the briefing this morning.

We will update you next Monday on our progress with Orbcomm.

DATE:        March 02, 2014

TO:    Dave Michelson, Ph.D, P.Eng.

FROM:        Remy Savard, EECE 380 Team L2B2

SUBJECT:     Spectrum Analyzer Project Update – Week of Feb 24.

This week we resolved a major issue that was causing difficulties interfacing with the signal generator. We then assembled and tested the entire system and it functions well for signals with power greater than -23dB. We tested multiple Butterworth filter/amplifiers but had difficulty achieving gain in the region of 10MHz and are now going to try a simpler non-inverting amplifier configuration to help us reach our target input signal power of -60dB.

The issue holding us back was the presence of a series capacitor in the output of the signal generator. As a result, with no path to ground at the input of the peak detector, the circuit would not function properly. We resolved this by placing a 100 Ohm resistor shunted to ground at the input of the peak detector. The circuit now functions as desired.

Attendance this week was better overall and we narrowly missed our goal of not needing any last-minute lab time before presenting. As of now, we will still need to meet one more time in order to test the amplifier and ensure that our demonstration routine functions as expected.

This is the final memo for this project. The prototype will be documented and ready for demonstration on Wednesday morning at 8:00am.