Analog and digital electronics
Analog and digital electronics
Analog Electronics
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Understanding Analog Electronics: Recognise that analog electronics deal with continuously variable signals. Information is encoded or carried in the signal magnitude, phase, or frequency.
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Analog Components: Familiarise with common analog components like resistors, capacitors, diodes, and transistors. Understand their individual functions and roles in an analog circuit.
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Analog Signals: Know that an analog signal can take any value within a given range, and changes continuously over time. The waveform of an analog signal is smooth and continuous.
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Amplifiers: Identify amplifiers as fundamental analog circuits that increase the power of a signal. Understand the parameters of gain, input impedance, and output impedance in context of amplifiers.
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Filters: Learn about the role of filters in manipulating analog signals, they can be used to remove unwanted frequencies from a signal or to enhance specific frequencies.
Digital Electronics
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Understanding Digital Electronics: Accept that digital electronics use signals that have only two states, often referred to as 0 and 1 or low and high. These signals represent binary data.
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Digital Signals: Understand that unlike analog signals, which smoothly and continuously change, digital signals change in steps or increments.
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Logic Gates: Know that logic gates are the basic building blocks of digital electronics. Familiarise with key types like AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR, XOR and XNOR, and the truth table associated with each.
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Binary System: Understand the binary number system as it is the foundation of digital electronics. Become comfortable with binary arithmetic and Boolean algebra.
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Microcontrollers and Microprocessors: Learn about the role of microcontrollers and microprocessors in digital electronics, these are integrated circuits that can execute a program.
Analog to Digital Conversion
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ADC Basics: Realise that Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADC) are used to convert a continuous analog signal into a discrete digital signal.
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Sampling and Quantization: Understand the concepts of sampling and quantization in the process of analog to digital conversion.
Digital to Analog Conversion
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DAC Basics: Recognise that Digital-to-Analog Converters (DAC) are used to convert a discrete digital signal into a continuous analog signal.
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Interpolation: Learn about the process of interpolation in digital to analog conversion, where in between points are filled based on known data.
Safety Measures
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Always ensure to Power Down before starting work on any electronic device to avoid electrical shocks.
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Be wary of the Storage of Energy in certain electronic components like capacitors.
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Make use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) while handling electronic components.
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Maintain Clean and Organised Workspaces to prevent accidents and misplaced components.
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Earth and Neutral Connections must always be clearly understood and applied safely.