525.654.81 - Communications Circuits Lab

Course Structure

Students will conduct a laboratory exercise each week and participate in group discussion related to the
weekly exercise. The exercise is augmented by recorded lecture material and instructor interaction via
Canvas discussion forums.

The laboratory will typically be available for student access for 5 days per week. The lab will be offline
during the remaining two days in order to reconfigure for the following week’s exercise. Students will
reserve lab time of their choosing with a scheduling tool. Students will then access the lab and work
individually during the appointed time slots.

After performing the weekly exercise, students will submit a written lab report based upon questions
posed in the lab procedure. This report will contain data downloaded during the lab session, and
subsequent post-lab analysis. These reports will constitute approximately 80% of the course grade.

Students are also required to engage in group discussion related to the weekly lab procedures. This
discussion will be conducted in Canvas discussion forums. These discussions will be the basis of the
remainder of the course grade.

No exams will be administered during this course; student grades will be based upon weekly lab reports
and discussion forums.

Course Topics

• Course Introduction
  
• Lab Familiarization
• FM Waveforms and Measurements
• Pulse Averaging Discriminator I
• Pulse Averaging Discriminator II
• Quadrature Discriminator I
• Quadrature Discriminator II
• Frequency Shift Key I
• Frequency Shift Key II
• Phase Shift Key Waveforms
• Phase Shift Key I
• Phase Shift Key II
• Quadrature Phase Shift Key
• Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

Course Goals

This course is intended to provide students with a deeper understanding of material presented in
communications engineering courses. This is done through the use of practical examples, laboratory
measurement, and analysis of measured data. This course will also provide insight into non -ideal
operation of communications circuits not typically covered in theoretical courses. Finally, the course will
introduce students to remote measurement techniques and highlight their strengths and limitations.

Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)

• Characterize operation of several modulation/demodulation circuits
• Conduct laboratory activity remotely, via JHU Remote Laboratory
• Understand limitations and benefits of remote instrumentation environments
• Understand strengths and weaknesses of specific modulator and demodulator implementations
• Understand some of the measurement techniques and figures of merit used to characterize communications circuits

Textbooks

No text is required for this course, as it is an extension of material covered in communications
engineering. Although no text is required, it is recommended that students consult the text required for
the prerequisite course as a reference. Any contemporary communications engineering text that covers
analog and digital communications will suffice. Specific areas to be referenced will be basic modulation
waveforms and circuits used to modulate or demodulate them.

Required Software

Students will download data from remote lab instruments in CSV (comma-separated value) format and
will be expected to analyze and plot data for inclusion in weekly lab reports. Matlab is well suited to this
task, though MS Excel could be used.

Student Coursework Requirements

It is expected that each module will take approximately 7–10 hours per week to complete. Here is an
approximate breakdown:

• Review of lecture material (approximately 1 hour per week)
• Research lab-specific topics (approximately 1-2 hour per week)
• Conduct of lab exercise (approximately 2-3 hours per week)
• Development of lab report (approximately 2-3 hours per week)
• Participation in weekly discussion forums (approximately 1 hour per week)

This course will consist of two basic student requirements:

1. Conduct lab exercise and submit report (83% of Final Grade Calculation)

Each lab procedure will pose questions to be answered in the report. Each report will be worth
10 points. Students are expected to simply answer the questions posed in the procedure.

Late submissions will result in grade reductions based upon the instructors discretion (no
exceptions without prior coordination with the instructors).

2. Research lab-specific topics and participate in discussion forums (17% of Final Grade
Calculation)

The instructor will pose research topics relevant to each week’s lab exercise. For example, a
research topic might be to study quadrature discriminators in preparation for an experiment
related to narrowband FM demodulation.

Evaluation of preparation and participation is based on contribution to discussions as follows:

2 points —Timeliness [regularly participates; all required postings; early in discussion; throughout
the discussion]; Critical Thinking [rich in content; full of thoughts, insight, and analysis].

1 point —Timeliness [participates; all required postings; some not in time for others to read and
respond]; Critical Thinking [substantial information; thought, insight, and analysis has taken
place].

0 point —Tiimeliness [rarely participates; some, or all required postings missing]; Critical Thinking
[rudimentary and superficial; no analysis or insight is displayed].

Grading Policy

Assignments are due according to the dates posted in your Canvas course site. You may check these
due dates in the Course Calendar or the Assignments in the corresponding modules. I will post
grades one week after assignment due dates.

We generally do not directly grade spelling and grammar. However, egregious violations of the rules of
the English language will be noted without comment. Consistently poor performance in either spelling or
grammar is taken as an indication of poor written communication ability that may detract from your grade.

The course grade will be calculated as follows:

• Weekly lab report: maximum 10 points
• Total maximum weekly points 10 (plus any bonus credit from labs)
• 14 weeks x 10 points per week: maximum course 140 points
• Normalize to 100 point scale: (total course points) * 100 / 140
• Map maximum 100 point normalized points to standard letter grades as follows:

EP uses a +/- grading system (see “Grading System”, Graduate Programs catalog, p. 10).

Academic Policies

Deadlines for Adding, Dropping and Withdrawing from Courses

Students may add a course up to one week after the start of the term for that particular course. Students may drop courses according to the drop deadlines outlined in the EP academic calendar (https://ep.jhu.edu/student-services/academic-calendar/). Between the 6th week of the class and prior to the final withdrawal deadline, a student may withdraw from a course with a W on their academic record. A record of the course will remain on the academic record with a W appearing in the grade column to indicate that the student registered and withdrew from the course.

Academic Misconduct Policy

All students are required to read, know, and comply with the Johns Hopkins University Krieger School of Arts and Sciences (KSAS) / Whiting School of Engineering (WSE) Procedures for Handling Allegations of Misconduct by Full-Time and Part-Time Graduate Students.

This policy prohibits academic misconduct, including but not limited to the following: cheating or facilitating cheating; plagiarism; reuse of assignments; unauthorized collaboration; alteration of graded assignments; and unfair competition. Course materials (old assignments, texts, or examinations, etc.) should not be shared unless authorized by the course instructor. Any questions related to this policy should be directed to EP’s academic integrity officer at ep-academic-integrity@jhu.edu.

Students with Disabilities - Accommodations and Accessibility

Johns Hopkins University values diversity and inclusion. We are committed to providing welcoming, equitable, and accessible educational experiences for all students. Students with disabilities (including those with psychological conditions, medical conditions and temporary disabilities) can request accommodations for this course by providing an Accommodation Letter issued by Student Disability Services (SDS). Please request accommodations for this course as early as possible to provide time for effective communication and arrangements.

For further information or to start the process of requesting accommodations, please contact Student Disability Services at Engineering for Professionals, ep-disability-svcs@jhu.edu.

Student Conduct Code

The fundamental purpose of the JHU regulation of student conduct is to promote and to protect the health, safety, welfare, property, and rights of all members of the University community as well as to promote the orderly operation of the University and to safeguard its property and facilities. As members of the University community, students accept certain responsibilities which support the educational mission and create an environment in which all students are afforded the same opportunity to succeed academically. 

For a full description of the code please visit the following website: https://studentaffairs.jhu.edu/policies-guidelines/student-code/

Classroom Climate

JHU is committed to creating a classroom environment that values the diversity of experiences and perspectives that all students bring. Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. Fostering an inclusive climate is important. Research and experience show that students who interact with peers who are different from themselves learn new things and experience tangible educational outcomes. At no time in this learning process should someone be singled out or treated unequally on the basis of any seen or unseen part of their identity. 
 
If you have concerns in this course about harassment, discrimination, or any unequal treatment, or if you seek accommodations or resources, please reach out to the course instructor directly. Reporting will never impact your course grade. You may also share concerns with your program chair, the Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, or the Office of Institutional Equity. In handling reports, people will protect your privacy as much as possible, but faculty and staff are required to officially report information for some cases (e.g. sexual harassment).

Course Auditing

When a student enrolls in an EP course with “audit” status, the student must reach an understanding with the instructor as to what is required to earn the “audit.” If the student does not meet those expectations, the instructor must notify the EP Registration Team [EP-Registration@exchange.johnshopkins.edu] in order for the student to be retroactively dropped or withdrawn from the course (depending on when the "audit" was requested and in accordance with EP registration deadlines). All lecture content will remain accessible to auditing students, but access to all other course material is left to the discretion of the instructor.