Design of electronic experiments using computer generated virtual instruments

Abstract

The recent availability of low-cost computer controlled data acquisition systems have made it conceptually possible to replace much of the data recording and data analysis work associated with the classical electronics laboratory experiments required in a typical Electrical Engineering program. This thesis reports the results of a study focused on putting those concepts into practice. It is the first application of student laboratory Virtual Instruments at the school. Specifically, this thesis reports on the practicality of using a standard personal computer equipped with National Instruments LabVIEW for Windows and a data acquisition board to replace the typical manual instrumentation and data extraction required for seven Naval Postgraduate School ECE 2200 laboratory experiments. Appendices include the front panel display with associated block diagram code and the revised course laboratory experiments