Lab 2: Introduction to TIMS

 

 

Lab 2: Introduction to TIMS 

Introduction

 

The following lab introduces the first visual instances of signals and systems. Visualizing wave forms benefits the student it learning as it demonstrates expectancy and demonstration of tools to be used throughout the rest of the semester. TIMS refers to a system comprising various equipment and tools designed for telecommunications, information processing, and media-related experiments. This includes signal generators, oscilloscopes, data acquisition systems, and communication modules, allowing students and researchers to study and experiment with a wide range of electrical and electronic concepts. The student should be familiar with what these tools do as not only will it be critical towards success in the signals and systems curriculum but also in the electrical engineering discipline.

 

Procedure

Part A: PC-MODULES CONTROLLER and PicoScope

    A.4:

1. First, locate the relevant modules on the TIMS unit, like PC-BASED INSTRUMENT INPUTS and MASTER SIGNALS. Connect Scope ChA to the 2 kHz MESSAGE and ChB1 to the 8.3 kHz SAMPLE CLOCK.

2. Open the PicoScope 6 application. Make sure ChA is on and ChB is off in the PicoScope window.

3. Adjust the PicoScope settings: set the Trigger to "Auto," set the time scale to 200us/div, experiment with different time scales (1ms/div and 10 ms/div), and then return to 200us/div.

4. Finally, enable ChB by changing it from "Off" to "Auto" to add it to the display.

Figure 1: Signal waveform with chB.

The following figure represents the output after following step four as described above.

     A.5:

 In step 5, select "Spectrum Mode" (the third icon from the top-left) in the PicoScope software. This mode displays input signals in the frequency domain based on the Spectrum Range setting, which is independent of the Scope mode. Set the spectrum range to 16MHz if it's not already set. If you change the Spectrum Range to 10kHz, you'll observe a blue spike around 2kHz, representing the frequency of the message signal.

Figure 2: Input signals in frequency domain.

 The following figure represents the output after following step five as described above.

 

Part B: Triggering

    B.8:

Triggering exists to make wave forms simpler to understand. Triggering wave forms serves to stabilize and synchronize the display of repetitive signals, like those on an oscilloscope. It makes it easier to examine and measure these signals by ensuring they appear consistently on the screen. Overall, the triggering tool's purpose is to benefit signal analysis.

Part C: TIMS S&S SFP

    C.4: 

ARB viewer is a reflection of the Picoscope display, both of which show signal wave forms oscillating with constant amplitude and wavelength. The ARB viewer is a user interface component that allows users to generate, view, and verify signals used in various experiments or tasks. It plays a role in controlling and monitoring signals sent to external equipment via ARB outputs.

 

Part D: SFP Control of TRIPLE ADDER Gains

    D.2:

The triple adder module was placed in slot 1.

    D.8:

    1. Start by disconnecting all leads and turning off both the PicoScope and SFP applications on the PC.

    2. Insert the TRIPLE ADDER module into any available slot in the TIMS-301/C unit and make note of the slot number indicated on the rack's backplane.

    3. Turn on both the PicoScope and SFP applications on the PC. Ensure that you select the correct slot number in the SFP settings under "TRIPLE ADDER Slot position."

    4. Connect the 2 kHz MESSAGE sinusoidal signal from the MASTER SIGNALS module to input a0, and attach the scope channel ChA to that input. Adjust the time scale to 200us/div and set the Trigger to Auto.

    5. Connect output A to ChB. In the PicoScope, activate ChB and set the scaling to +/- 5V for better visibility of signal changes as the input signal is amplified. Observe the PicoScope display, which will show both input and output signals with a gain a0 initially set to 1.0.

    6. In the SFP software, modify the gain of a0 to 2.0.

    7.  Introduce the 8.3 kHz signal from the MASTER SIGNALS module into input a1 of the TRIPLE ADDER module.

    8. In the SFP software, adjust gain values, setting a0 to 1.0 and a1 to 0.5. Note that these gain changes take effect immediately in the SFP, without needing to use the "Load ARB" function.

Figure 3: Input signal sums

 The following figure represents the output after following step eight as described above.

Conclusion

 

I enjoyed the visualization which was plentiful throughout the lab. Visualization is a must for students attempting to understand any concept as self study from lectures and textbook reading can only go so far in teaching. As the semester progresses I hope to experience more theoretical applications as these first labs feel more like following instructions rather than applying class concepts. I very much enjoyed the step-by-step process as it was easy to follow and complete during the designated time. In the future I hope to learn more about TIMS and how it can be applied to see different electrical waveforms.