Innovative Communications Experiments Using An Integrated Design Laboratory

In traditional undergraduate teaching laboratory environments, many communication topics are difficult to convey because of their complexity in implementation. This paper describes laboratory experiments that explore challenging communication topics using the University of Wyoming’s new integrated design undergraduate teaching laboratory. Each lab station comprises a PC using LabVIEW and GPIB to control oscilloscopes, arbitrary function generators, power supplies and a data acquisition card. In this environment, the approach is for the students to use a combination of hardware and software to generate and manipulate realworld communication signals. Topics such as AM modulation and demodulation including SSB and digital communication systems can easily be covered under the realistic time constraints of a two-hour laboratory. Furthermore, these benefits are achieved without requiring students to assemble overly complicated circuits or conduct pure simulations. Advantages of this approach to communications experiments are discussed in comparison to more traditional approaches such as simulation, breadboarding, or modular communication systems.