Instructor Name: Mark Allen
Email: electronics@markallen.com
Office Hours: Wednesdays by appointment
Teaching Assistant: Jules Hearne
Email: julesxviii@yahoo.com
Course Description: The human experience is increasingly
influenced and controlled by technology. 147A aims to be the first step in
transforming this influence into a space of play and exploration. This class
will cover the primarily techniques and ideas of working with electronics.
Students will be exposed to basic tools and components for building robust,
practical circuitry into their art works. No attempt will be made to provide
encyclopedic coverage of electronics due to the sprawling nature of the topic
– rather students will be encouraged to become comfortable with experimentation
and hands on hacking.
Course Prerequisites: Portfolio review.
Required Textbook: Practical Electronics for Inventors, by
Paul Schertz. You must purchase this book. It should be available in the bookstore,
or you can order it online from amazon, etc. If you really want to nerd out,
I highly recommend Nuts and Volts magazine, subscriptions available from http://www.nutsvolts.com/
. For real.
Website: www.markallen.com/teaching/ucsd/147a
Support: Help outside of class can be arranged for Wednesday
before or after lecture. Please email me at least 24 hours in advance for
scheduling. Questions of a non-technical nature (grades, attendance, fashion
advice) will be answered via email. Technical questions should be directed
to the class forum available on the class web site. The forum is a bulletin
board for posting and discussing technical issues and getting help with the
homework assignments. Please post freely - asking and answering questions
here will count towards your class participation. I will monitor the boards
and answer questions if needed on a regular basis. The forum is linked from
the web site and can also be reached directly at the following web address
http://www.markallen.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=2
Equipment: All students are required to purchase a component
and tool kit. The cost of this kit is still being determined but will be around
$100 dollars. The final cost will be announced during the second week of lecture.
You must purchase this by the second lab meeting. To do so bring a check made
out to UCSD to your lab section. Jules Herne will then give you your kit.
Additional costs for the final project will vary depending on individual needs,
but expect to spend $50-$100 dollars each. No tears please.
Weekly Outline:
Week 1: Class introduction and syllabus review. Read pages 1 - 11 in Practical
Electronics for Inventors
Week 2: DC basics. Lecture notes.
Week 3: AC basics, capacitance, induction and magnetism. Lecture
notes.
Week 4: Mostly semiconductors. Lecture
notes
Week 5: OMG! Integrated circuits! 555 timers! Voltage regulators! Lecture
Notes
Week 6: Op Amps. Lecture Notes
Week 7: Sensor design. Lecture Notes
Week 8: Stuff..
Week 9: Motors and mechanisms. Lecture
Notes
Week 10: Solar powered circuits and Final review. Yes, there is a final.
Final: DBA
Attendance: Attendance is mandatory for all lectures and
labs. Missing lab and/or lecture will affect your grade negatively. Missing
three or more classes will result in an automatic F.
Grading: Your grade will be determined through three factors - labs, tests, and projects.
Lab 40%
Test+Quizzes 30%
Final project 30%
Total 100%
Incomplete Policy: An Incomplete will be given only in the
case of medical leave or other extraordinary circumstances. Any request for
an incomplete will require documentation in the form of doctors note, etc.
Requests for an incomplete must be made before the last day of class.
Lab: Lab attendance is mandatory. There will be no lab make-ups.
Each lab is worth 4% for a total of 40%.
Projects: There will be a final project worth 30%. No projects
will be accepted after the end of the last lab section.