WA 1 Homework Pre-writeup With respect to engineering practices and principles, measurements are essential; they provide a means to accurately

describe, detail, and analyze phenomena relating to a particular topic of interest. Measurements can be obtained utilizing a wide variety of analytical devices. In particular, a meter may be used to determine AC or DC voltage levels of a circuit interest. Alternately, an oscilloscope may also be operated to yield the same results. The decision regarding which device to chose is based on the overall analytical requirements set the engineer. For example, voltmeters may be used to measure peak to peak voltages, magnitude, or phase of a signal. In addition, they may provide a quick and easily accessible connection to a test point of interest, thus portability may be one reasons for selection. However, with newer technology oscilloscopes have quickly become as easily accessible as meters, and may provide significantly more analytical detail, such as multiple signals plotting, and an ability to monitor a systems state in relation to a function of time. To aid the aforementioned devices in situations where the production of a particular signal is required for analysis, a function generator is one of the most versatile pieces of test & measurement instrumentation available. A signal, or function, may be produced by either a digital arbitrary waveform generator, or by a analog generator. As with the variations between meters and oscilloscopes, there are also pros and cons associated with signal generators as well. Analog function generators offer the advantage of quick an easily accessible control of signal amplitude and frequency, and are relatively free from high frequency limitation imposition on non-sinusoidal waveforms that is often associated with digital devices. In addition, the significant decrease in overall cost in relation to digital arbitrary waveform generators may be ideal for a prospective engineer. While these attributes may seem favorable, a digital device may have the capacity to generate non-standard or engineer defined waveforms which may be ideal or at least sufficient for many applications. However, the complexity in operation for some digital systems may prove unfavorable for some engineers. Ultimately the decision on which instrument to use depends the situation and analysis specifications. Taking the previously discussed topics into consideration, this document has been developed to detail a laboratory experiment in which the mentioned resources will be utilized in effort to not only provide an in-depth analysis of a defined function, but also to elaborate on the effectiveness of various devices in a given situation. A selected signal will be produced and its gross parameters will reviewed via a detailed engineering process that will integrate the use of various analog and digital analysis tools. Newer scopes and meters are now being integrated with computers. While the practice may prove beneficial in some situations, it may also present unfavorable limitations in others. This document will also address this topic in relation to the overall signal processing.