Hardware Practical Classes

The Hardware Practical Classes accompany the Digital Electronics series of lectures. The aim of the Practical Classes is to enable students to get hands-on experience of designing, building, and testing and debugging of digital electronic circuits. The labs will take place in the Intel Lab. located in the William Gates Building (WGB).

The Digital Electronics lecture series occupies 12 lectures in the first 4 weeks of the Michaelmas Term, while the Practical Classes occupy the latter 6 weeks of the Michaelmas Term and the first 6 weeks of the Lent Term. If required, extra sessions will be available for any students needing to 'catch-up' on missed sessions or to complete any remaining practical work.

The Practical Classes take the form of 4 workshops, specifically:

• Workshop 1 – Electronic Die;
• Workshop 2 – Shaft Position Encoder;
• Workshop 3 – Debouncing a Switch;
• Workshop 4 – Framestore for an LED Array.

In general, the workshops require some preparatory work to be done prior to the practical session. These tasks are highlighted at the beginning of each Worksheet. Typically this involves preparing a design that you will then build, test and modify during the practical class. Note that insufficient preparation prior to the practical classes may compromise effective use of your time in the Intel lab.

In the Practical Classes you will usually work on your own, and you are expected to complete one Workshop in each of your scheduled sessions. Demonstrators are available during the sessions to assist you with any queries or problems you may have.

Important: Remember to get your work ticked.