ECE 317 - Signals and Electronic Systems

Chocolicious!
Three Kittens

ECE 317
Signals and Electronic Systems

Summer 2005
Tuesday, 11:30 AM - 1:20 PM, 179 ELB
Thursday, 11:30 AM - 2:20 PM, 179 ELB

Instructor: Luke Reisner

High five!
Three People

August 31: Here is requested image #1, remastered in glorious Technicolor. If you print this out and display it at your place of work, there's sure to be a happy ending.
By the way, I give a professorial high-five to those who voted for me at ratemyprofessors.com. You folks are too nice, and I'm seriously contemplating raising someone's grade for using the phrase "Doctor of Comedy".

August 28: The engineering e-mail server is completely toasted. Please send your e-mail to lreisner AT umd DOT umich DOT edu. If I haven't responded to an e-mail you recently sent, send it again to the new address.

August 26: If you sent me e-mail in the past 24 hours and I have not responded, please send it again. My engineering e-mail account was messed up again (my quota was lowered). If your mail still isn't getting through, you can send it to my more personal account (ooh la la!) by removing the "engin." in my regular address.

August 24: For those of you who need to see me on Thursday (for exams, extra credit, re-tests, assignment collection, and Shakespearean dramas about the plight of your grade), can you make it at 10:00 AM (or shortly thereafter)? I have a "Picky Patty" on my hands who may or may not cause me physical harm if my office hours are not moved to the morning. E-mail me if you have any objections, but I plan on being there at 10 AM (not 4 PM).

August 24: I have calculated your overall scores and letter assignments. (You can blame this guy for much of the delay.) Please review the grade sheet for any errors. For grading, I used the labs as 20%, exam #1 as 25%, exam #2 as 20%, exam #3 as 35%, and the extra credit as 33 extra lab points. The average score was an 80.55 (B-), which I think is fair. These grades will be final unless you e-mail me or see me Thursday with valid concerns.
Finally, I'd like to thank everyone for such a great semester. I can honestly say that you guys are the best class I've ever taught (yes, even including Heather). I wish you good fortune in your futures.
P.S. If you feel so inclined, you can vote for me at ~~hotornot.com~~ ratemyprofessors.com. Also, if you check back in a few days, I may have a few fun images available.

August 23: For those of you who need to see me (again), how does 4:00+ PM on Thursday sound? (Some people just can't get enough.)
I have graded all tests and assignments I have received. I am now in the process of assigning overall grades. Please review the grade sheet and e-mail me about any errors ASAP.

August 20: I just wanted to let you know that I have been delayed a bit in the grading. Among other things, I am having a family reunion. To those of you who recently had the same, how does it feel to have your own excuse used against you? Anyways, I'll be done when I'm done, so you don't need to send me e-mail asking what your grades are. (But I'm sure that won't stop you!)

August 18: You can now view the results of lab assignment #5. The final grades will be determined after I receive the remaining tests and assignments. I am currently thinking about a 25%, 20%, & 35% weighting for exams 1, 2, & 3, respectively.
If you have any concerns about your grades, today after 4 PM would be the best time to speak up.

August 17: The results of the final exam have been uploaded. All that remains are lab assignment #5 and the extra credit. You can come in on Thursday to ~~beg and complain~~ see what I took off points for.

August 15: The results of the proficiency test are now available. You really shouldn't have gotten anything wrong, but I'll be a nice guy. Let's say you need to retake it if you did 3 or more parts incorrectly (as indicated by the numbers on the grade sheet).
I will be on campus on Thursday around 4:00 PM (ish) to give out tests, view extra credit, or pass back your assignments. Please stop by since I'm ever so lonely.

August 14: I think the best time to handle the remaining exams/extra credit will be Wednesday or maybe Thursday at 4:00 PM (ish). Please let me know ASAP if you can't make one of these days so I can pick the other one. I will let you know later which day it will be for certain.
I will try to have at least the proficiency test results online by Monday. If you didn't do so well, you may also have to come in this week.

August 9: I have revised problem #2B of the proficiency test to make it easier and eliminate confusion (hopefully). You do not need to redo the problem if you've already done it.
In class today, I incorrectly copied the value of c_n for a square wave from the book. For odd values of n, c_n should have been -4j/(pi*n). Everything else I did was correct. This means the total power in the first harmonic is 3.24 W, which is much closer to the total power of 4 W.

August 8: The review questions have been updated with more questions and solutions. No wonder I'm so well-liked!
By the way, the engineering e-mail server has been broken (twice) since Thursday, so it's possible that I missed an e-mail.

August 7: The proficiency test is now available. It is due on the day of the final (this Thursday). Please note that this is an individual assignment. If I suspect you are cheating or "comparing answers", you may fail the course. If you have any questions, let me know.
Some review questions for the final exam are also available. I will probably add a couple more questions and solutions, so check back later.

August 3: You can implement the last problem of lab assignment #5 in hardware (using any components) for a small amount of extra points.

July 30: Rather than starting a new topic, I have decided that it would be best to focus on active filters for the last week of class. However, since I know you wouldn't want to miss the last topic (Fourier analysis), I have come up with a solution that everyone will love. Instead of learning the material from me, you can get it from some of Dr. Awad's video lectures! Please watch both videos on Fourier series, and at least skim through the video on the Fourier transform. There may be some Fourier material on the exam, but it obviously won't be very complex.
Lab assignment #5 (i.e. the project) is now available. You should be able to understand the first problem by watching the video, but you may need some more lecture for other two.

July 23: Here are your review questions for exam #2. Is there anything else I can do for you, my royal masters?

July 20: Fellow nomads, our room has changed (again) to 179 ELB. If we continue switching rooms at the current rate, I suspect we will be having the final at the Subway in the University Center (map).

July 19: The grades for lab assignment #3 have been posted, and lab assignment #4 is now available. It's due one (1) week from today.

July 9: If you have nothing better to do, problems #1, #5, and #6 of homework assignment #5 are good practice for the new material. You should also be able to do the rest of the problems.

June 27: Lab assignment #3 has been posted. Be sure to watch the associated lecture videos since I have not covered the material found in this lab. We will talk about this material after the break.

June 14: The solutions to the review questions have been updated with Matlab code that proves my inability to add.

June 11: I just spent my fun-filled Friday night making some review questions for exam #1. I'll answer any questions you have on Tuesday. Don't forget that the test is Thursday!

June 6: I've made a PDF file containing an example convolution problem I did in class, now with distinct variable names. You can download it from the Lectures section.

June 1: The Joy of Convolution page contains a Java applet that provides a graphical demonstration of the convolution operation. You simply select or create your two signals and drag the mouse cursor to vary the value of t. Check it out; it's fun!

May 30: Lab assignment #2 has been posted. Please review the assignment so you can ask questions on Tuesday.
I have also posted the grades for the assignments I have received. The lab assignment is out of 100 points, and the prerequisite assessment test is out of 4 problems correct.

May 20: I can't post the individual results of the prerequisite assessment test online, so I will speak in general terms. Most people got at least one problem wrong, but no one completely failed the test. Consequently, I will give everyone a chance to fix their mistakes when I return the tests on Tuesday.
If you are one of the people who didn't finish the last problem, you can do that this weekend. Remember, phasors are ~~like totally cool, dudes~~ a useful engineering tool.

May 14: I've added the links for homework assignment #1. (The homework is optional and not turned in.) Expect more updates soon.

May 10: The prerequisite assessment test has been updated to note that Matlab and PSpice should be used to verify your answers on problem #4. Also, remember that there are no office hours this week. Just send me an e-mail if you need something.

May 10: Greetings, new students! This page is still under construction. Be sure to check back often for updates. In the meantime, you can visit Dr. Awad's ECE 317 website for additional content.