Memo Feb. 3, 2014

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DATE:               February 3, 2014

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

FROM:           Christopher Dunn, EECE 380 Team L2B2

SUBJECT:        Spectrum Analyzer Project Update Highlighting the Week of Jan. 27

 

    This past week, we made significant forward progress in the project. You will be pleased to hear that we are currently ahead of schedule and on budget. Our main focus last week was the peak detector, the software, and the development of our mathematical models. Our team is showing good communication and a shared vision for the project, with each member contributing equally and enthusiastically.

 

    We constructed a basic peak detector and tested it with a function generator up to 3.3MHz, which is the maximum capability of the function generator, but we will have to do further testing with an RF signal. We also constructed a precision peak detector, using an LM6172 op amp, but it does not perform well and may need significant modification.

 

We programmed and tested a ramp generator, and we successfully read test signals from the MyDAC analog input. We also made a very narrow and effective bandpass filter with the crystals provided, which we will use going forward, and we measured and recorded the losses in each of our RF components.

 

    This week, we will focus on refining and tuning our circuits and putting it all together. We expect to have a working prototype by the end of the week, and we’ll have another update next Monday.

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DATE:           January 26, 2014

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

FROM:         EECE 380 Team 2

SUBJECT:      Progress report of the week of Jan. 20

This week we finished two group meetings, the setup of project blog, and two lab activities.  In the meetings, we created the team blog on blogs.ubc.ca/team2blog, decided on reading “Spectrum Analyzer Basics” to better understand the structure of spectrum analyzers, and changed the meeting time to Monday 9:00 AM.  We proposed that the 10.7 MHz BBP be used as the IF filter and VCO be operated between 60.7 MHz to 64.7 MHz.

In the labs, we familiarized ourselves with the operation of signal generators and two different spectrum analyzers through activities such as marking the mixer output on the frequency domain and setting up a tracking generator to measure the frequency response of filters.  The hands-on exposure to spectrum analyzers helped us gain valuable knowledge of the signal flow and validation of the project design.