The electronics lab occupies about 250 square feet on the third floor adjacent to the computer facillty, and contains most of the standard equipment used for construction and troubleshooting of electronic equipment: two dual beam oscilloscopes (Tektronix), several signal and pulse generators, bench power supplies, resistance and capacitance substitution and decade boxes, digital multimeters, and soldering/desoldering equipment as well as wire-wrap tools. The lab endeavors to maintain a reasonable stock supply of commonly needed parts and components both for repair and new construction work: assorted chassis boxes, circuit board material, generic power supplies, cables and connectors, as well as thousands of different circuit components, resistors, capacitors, controls, and ICs, both linear and digital.
The electronics laboratory is an important service within the college. As modern research relies increasingly upon electronically generated and controlled stimuli as well as upon automated data logging and analysis, there are continual needs for special interface, sensing and control circuits. As a result, the electronics service is undergoing major change. On one hand it is required to maintain equipment that may be twenty or thirty years old. On the other it is required to implement some of the latest in high speed processing techniques.
Always on hand is a continually updated library of reference materials, catalogs and specification sheets on all manner of devices which are needed for special designs or repair situations. Also on hand for computer support are special diagnostic devices: an RS-232 breakout/readout as well as an IEEE-488 analyzer. From time to time this service will produce printed circuit devices of original design. This might occur in the case of multiple device requirements of a teaching laboratory, or large research effort for example. In these cases, the layout art is done at the computer, and the fabrication of the more complex boards is contracted outside. The services of a professional electronic engineer are available for special needs and are only seldom required.
