Lab 01: Test and Measurement

In this lab, I learned about the operation and proper use of the various equipment available in the RF systems lab. We began by using the 3311A function generator, setting it to produce a 10 kHz sine wave with an amplitude of 1V. These values were confirmed by connecting the output of the generator to the input of the TDS2022 oscilliscope. The oscilliscope displays the output of the function generator as a graph of voltage over time, and has cursors that can be used for precise measurements of the voltage at the peak of the sine waves. After confirming the output voltage, I used a multimeter to measure the AC voltage at the output. The voltage measured here was 0.7 V, lower than the peak output previouslly measured on the oscilloscope, indicating that the measurement represented the RMS voltage for the AC output. I repeated the process again with the same results for the BK Precision function generator. Using the internal modulation function of the BK Precision function generator, I was able to produce a AM signal with a carrier signal of 1 MHz and an intelligence signal of 1 kHz. The resulting graph was displayed in the oscilloscope and resembled the figure below:

One limitation of internal modulation in the BK Precision function generator is that it is fixed at a frequency of 1 kHz. In order to produce AM signals at different frequencies, I used an external function generator (3311A) connected to the BK Precision to modulate the carrier signal. With this setup, I was able to generate an AM waveform with an intelligence signal of 2 V at 2 kHz.

As a result of this lab, I learned about the proper operation and function of the function generators and oscilloscopes available for use in the lab. I also learned about how AM waveforms can be generated, and how to modulate them to generate the desired output. These skills will prove useful when trying to generate AM waveforms that carry sound signals for use in radios.