Audio Electronics Club

The Audio Electronics Club is a sub-division of ELSoc, founded in May 2009 by Peter Oliver. The club was initiated for the purpose of allowing undergraduates to work together as a team, drawing upon the knowledge learnt in lectures and laboratory classes, to create practical circuits. Members decide upon a particular project in (but not necessarily limited to) the audio subject area and design, build, test and demonstrate the project. This process leads to an exchange of knowledge and experience between undergraduates and interested members of the academic staff. The club currently has 43 members.

Club Announcements[]

LabTimes, 2010[]

The Lab details are as follows for session 1, 2010:

Where: EE102

When: 1-3 p.m. Thursdays

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to drop me an e-mail at peter@elsoc.net

Registration[]

To register with the club, simply e-mail the following details to: audioelectronicsclub@elsoc.net

Name
Contact E-Mail
Student Number
Year of Study
Mobile Number (Optional)

You will then receive an e-mail confirming your registration within the next few days.

Communication[]

Mailing List[]

All registered members will automatically be placed on the mailing list. The mailing list will be used for important club announcements only. If you would like to be taken off the mailing list, or would like to change your registered e-mail address, please advise the club: audioelectronicsclub@elsoc.net

Wiki[]

This wiki is the main medium of communication between club members. It should be used for all general discussion, brainstorming, project specific discussion, experimental results and design parameters. If you would like to suggest a project idea, please list it in the Audio:Suggested Projects page. When delegating the design and implementation of functional blocks of a project to different groups of people, it is essential that design and testing is well documented on this wiki under the Audio:Projects page. For example, say two functional blocks are to be cascaded. The designer of the second block will have to include the output characteristic of the first block in his/her design parameters and visa-versa. Hence this wiki serves as a central location where all such data can be easily found. A general design specification will be included in each project page which will serve as the basis of design. If your particular functional block does not appear on the wiki, feel free to create a page!

Meetings[]

Session 1, 2010[]

Lab times are as follows:

Where: EE102

When: 1-3 p.m. every Thursday

Minutes[]

Minutes from all meetings will be included in the Audio:Archive of Minutes Section.

Club Structure[]

The club is an official sub-division of ELSoc. It consists of members and one club coordinator, who is appointed by the elsoc committee

Scope[]

The current scope of the club extends to all audio electronics, both analogue and digital. Audio is loosely defined as "low noise signals used primarily for the production of sound". The scope of the club is open to input and will likely be shaped over time as the club develops.

Club Coordinator[]

The Audio Electronics Club Coordinator is appointed by Elsoc at the start of each academic year. He/She becomes a member of the ELSoc committee and is expected to attend all meetings. The responsiblities of the coordinator are as follows:

Maintain The e-mail adress: audioelectronicsclub@elsoc.net

Login details may have to be changed at the start of tenure.

Facilitate and maintain the registration of new members

Once an e-mail is received, add the new member and his/her details to your contacts. Then update the "MembersRegistrar" file, found under "Documents" with the members details. Then send them the "Registration Complete" template, also found under "Documents", to confirm their registration.

Maintain, update and promote this Wiki

Ensure that all parts of the Wiki are current and updated as required, also try to ensure that members update the wiki with their progress on projects. The wiki is an effective means of centralising data and serves the same function as a "Work" data server would in a real, industry level design. Promote the use of the wiki by showing members how to get to it, how to use it and by using it during lab sessions.

Inform members of all news and information via e-mail and/or this Wiki
Liaise with the Lab Manager and the Head of School on matters of resource allocation

Lab times, tools, big components, etc. need to be discussed with either the Head of School or the Lab Manager.

Select a suitable time for labs to take place and confirm with Lab Manager

This is tricky. Suggested approach is to look up all class times for all electrical engineering students and try to pick a few times with a minimal amount of clash. For example, say on mondays at 12am-2pm, say there were no 1st year subjects scheduled, no 2nd year subjects, a 3rd year elective and no 4th year subjects, this would probably qualify as minimal clashes. As a counter-example, say Tuesday 3pm-5pm there are no 1st year subjects, 2nd year maths, 3rd year DSP and some 4th year electives, this time probably should be avoided as most of 2nd and 3rd year will be unable to attend. Timetables for subjects can be viewed here: http://www.timetable.unsw.edu.au/current/subjectSearch.html (You should be able to work out which subjects are important and which aren't, i.e. 3rd year core subjects as opposed to Gen Eds)

An IMPORTANT point to note, is that people don't like getting out of bed earlier than they have to, also they like to go home as soon as possible. The implication of this is that lab times toward the middle of the day are ideal. Preferably in the hours of 12pm-4pm and preferably AFTER a core subject is schedule (hence the members will already be at uni and won't have to come to uni especially).

Ensure that someone updates the Minutes after each meeting

This is not a particularly important point and can be done by the coordinator or a volunteer

Monitor the "Request Components" page and take note of what components people need and procure them before the next lab

Small parts that are stocked in the lab are procured by simply asking the lab staff for them on behalf of the club, they will give the components only to the club coordinator on the basis of familiarity. Bigger parts will need to be ordered in advance by the lab staff and for expensive items, approved by the Lab Manager/Head of School.

Maintain/improve the club's design methodology
Responsible for any resources that the club acquires (books, tools, etc)

This includes IP (Intellectual Property), i.e. files of code (C, VHDL, etc). The coordinator should have a dedicated flash drive for all club data that serves as a backup of all work done.

To advise the committee on a suitable successor at the end of the academic year

During Session 1, the coordinator should continually ask members if they are interested in taking the coordinator role for the following year. In session 2, the coordinator should pick one or two of the most dedicated and interested members and take them on as a "Padawan", this involves sharing leadership responsiblities with them so that they are ready to lead the following year. At the end of the year, the coordinator should advise the committee on who the next coordinator should be.

To promote the club and encourage attendance and growth

Perhaps the most difficult duty of the Coordinator is to keep the club interesting and attractive to existing and new members. This duty involves:

- promoting the club and recruiting new members as much as possible

- Encouraging attendance by engaging the interests of all members

- Promoting feedback from members on ways to improve all aspects of club operations, this can be verbal or by other means such as surveys.

To guide design flow and delegate tasks once a project has been decided upon

The coordinator should chair meetings and try to guide project design flow along the club's established methodology. Delegation is important in big projects and the coordinator should try to allocate appropriately sized tasks to members.

Resources[]

Club resources will be maintained by the club coordinator. If a member would like to borrow a resource he/she should ask the club representative. When a member is in possesion of a resource, he/she will appear on this wiki in the Audio:Resources Registry.

Literature[]

It was suggested that the club buy a book on general audio electronics design. Please offer suggestions for which book to buy via the discussions page.

Components[]

Passive Components such as resistors and capacitors will usually be available from the lab during meetings. For transistors, ICs, etc. a request will have to be made to the laboratory workshop. If you require any such component, please list it on the Audio:Request Components page and the club coordinator will arrange its procurement.

Projects[]

Suggested Projects[]

To view or contribute to the list of potential projects, please visit the Audio:Suggested Projects page.

Current Projects[]

To view or contribute to the design/testing of current projects or to view past projects, please visit the Audio:Projects page.

Design Methodology[]

To view a suggested club design methodology, please visit the Audio:Design Methodology page. This methodology is open to input/improvement by all members.

Trivia[]

The official sandwich of the Audio Electronics Club is the Audio Electronics Club Sandwich. It consists of three breadboards, with resistors between the bottom and middle breadboards and transistors between the middle and top breadboards, with solder dripped along the top. It is not very nice.