In this course we will be covering everything about Binary arithmetic, the language that computers and microprocessors use for all their calculations. We will build on your knowledge of the Decimal system that you already know, and show that every step of the way, what you already know can be applied to coming to a full understanding of Binary arithmetic. This is important because as we work with measurement from the sensors that we use in our projects, the measurement data is almost always natively Binary.

Topics

• Alphabets
• Introduction to Binary numbers
• Radix Prefix
• Arithmetic overflow
• Powers
• What is Hexadecimal
• Converting from Decimal to Binary
• Converting from Binary to Decimal
• Converting from Binary to Hexadecimal
• Converting from Hexadecimal to Binary
• How many bits are enough
• Numbers that are too big
• Negative numbers
• Fractions
• Addition
• Subtraction
• Multiplication
• Division
• Cheating with Decimal
• Let the computer do it for you

Awaiting detailed topic list

In this section we will be covering the transformation of signals between the world and our digital designs. In the world, signals are analog, meaning that their values are continuous, without steps. For example temperatures do not just jump from one value to the next. Instead it is always a continuous process of sliding between one value and the next that takes time. In our microprocessor based systems, the same information follows steps, the size of which we determine as part of our design

How long is a 1 foot ruler (or 30 cm ruler)

• Concepts of analog domain to digital domain
• Ever better magnifying glasses
• Grab 100 rulers and compare them
• How many watches should you own

Analog to Digital Converters

• Survey of types of converters, not going into too much detail
• Important parameters
  • Speed
  • Number of bits
  • Architecture
  • SNR
  • THD
  • SINAD
  • SFDR
  • ENOB
  • DNL
  • INL
  • Input Range
  • Input Offset
  • Input Impedance
  • Gain Error
  • Mux Topology
  • Timer controlled / DMA
  • Data Format
  • Power supply requirements
  • Power supply rejection
  • Reference Requirements
  • Power consumption
  • Sampling Aperture
  • Timing jitter
• Sample and Hold
• Track and Hold
• Anti-Alias filters
• Guess the number game, inc by 1
• Guess the number game, binary split
• Dual Slope
• Delta-sigma or Sigma-delta
• Successive Approximation
• Flash

Digital to Analog Converters

• Similar Long list to ADC
• Arduino PWM is a pretty crappy Digital to Analog Conversion

Sampling

• Long list
• Sampling rates
• How do you decide on a sample rate
• Aliasing
• ETS

How many bits are enough

• Understanding sensor capability
• What about number of bits during calculations
• Floating Point
• Don't fool yourself
• Don't fool other people either

Power Supplies

Multimeters

Signal Generators

Oscilloscopes

• Introduction
• Bandwidth
• Channels
• Vertical Modes
• Horizontal Modes
• Triggering Intro
  • Auto/Normal
  • Triggering Source
  • Triggering Coupling
• Analog vs Digital
  • Update rates
  • Single shot
  • Blindness
  • Storage

Synthesized Signal Generation

Spectrum Analyzer

Network Analyzer

Logic Analyzer

Understanding what waveforms tell us about what we are measuring

Waveform arithmetic in general

Waveform arithmetic of same frequency SIne waves

Waveform arithmetic of different frequency SIne waves

• All the sources of noise, and their implications

The enemy of my Enemy can be my Friend

Really

• Describe what it is
• Give some examples
• Where does it come from
• How bad can it be (how we lose the bits we paid for)
• What do we do now?

This is the focus of this course