ECE348 Lab FAQ

Spring, 2016

Main course page: ECE348 Main Page
Email:

Note: All email related to the course should be sent to the staff email above. Even if you think you need to contact a specific TA, you should say so in your message and send it to the staff email. TAs are not responsible for any email not mailed to the staff address.

Important Lab Documents

Lab Safety Guidelines - This is a list of do's and don'ts for the lab procedure. This will help you build good habits that will protect you and your equipment.
Circuit Debugging Tips - This is a checklist of procedures to follow if you're having trouble with your lab circuits. Do these before you ask a TA for help. A TA may ask you about them if you come to them for help.
Hand-in checklist - This is a checklist to avoid "easy" mistakes in handing in course materials. We strongly suggest you actually print out this list and put check marks next to every bullet whenever you have a course deadline. If you have a suggestion for something to add, please let us know.
Coding Style Guidelines - This is a description of the coding style guidelines for use in this class. All code files must follow these guidelines.

Board test procedures - These are tests to help you make sure your board is working with both USB and serial cables.

Online File Submissions (for labs and prelabs)

File submissions will be made using the course AFS space. Handins will be made to the location: /afs/ece/class/ece348/handin/ . In this directory there will be a directory for each lab/prelab (e.g. prelab_01) and subfolders for your group (or individual). The actual handins go into the early/ontime/late folders in the group/individual subfolders. You should be able to access this space when logged in with your ECE username on any of the ECE systems (e.g. color machines). Make sure you are using your ECE login for submissions, NOT your Andrew login. There will be a separate folder for each assignment (e.g. prelab_01, lab_01, etc. and for you or your lab group under each assignment). Late submissions will be treated in accordance with the course late policy. If you overwrite or otherwise update a file, the time stamp displayed will be treated as the hand-in date and time for the entire assignment. If you want to submit a draft and overwrite the files before the deadline that is fine.

Technical glitches can (and probably will) occur during the course of the semester. We will try to be reasonable, but it is your responsibility to submit your work on time. You should plan ahead enough so that you can turn your work in comfortably before the deadline. Report any problems with the submission as soon as you are aware of them. Most technical issues, especially those avoidable with reasonable planning, will not result in an extension of the deadline.

Grade Feedback

When grading is completed look for feedback in your subdirectory at this location: /afs/ece/class/ece348/handin/feedback/

Hand-In Requirements

File headings:

All submitted prelab files (which are entirely YOUR OWN work) shall include the following information in a header at the top of the first page:

ECE348, Spring 2016
Group <your group number>
<Your name> <Your Andrew ID (without the "@andrew.cmu.edu")>

All submitted lab files (which are the work of your two-person lab group) should include the following information in a header at the top of the first page:

ECE348, Spring 2016
Group <your group number>
<Group member 1's name> <Group member 1's Andrew ID>
<Group member 2's name> <Group member 2's Andrew ID>

Failure to include this information will result in points deducted from your grade. Repeated failure to include this information could result in your submissions not being accepted at all.

File names:

All prelab filenames shall have your andrew ID appended according to the following convention:

<base filename>_<andrewid>.<extension>

So if your Andrew ID is pk1g, submitting lab1_prog1.c, your filename should be "lab1_prog1_pk1g.c".

All lab filenames shall have the group number appended according to the following convention:

        <base filename>_g<group #>.<extension>

So if you were group 3A, submitting lab1_prog1.c, your filename should be "lab1_prog1_g3A.c".

Use descriptive, meaningful file names for the base file name! It is not the TAs job to decipher your personal file name scheme!
        Good:    lab1_prog1_g3A.c, prelab1_handin_yourAndrewID.pdf, lab1_handin_g3A.pdf
        Bad:      myCoolLab.c, lab_thisoneworks.c, DOC00001.PDF

Code Handins:

In general, each lab or prelab is divided into parts which require only a single .c or .asm file. These file should contain the header information described above. Unless directed otherwise by specific directions in the lab, submit only the relevant files and not files generated by the Codewarrior system or files we give you that you haven't modified.

Document (non-code) Handins:

SHOW YOUR WORK when answering questions. For example, with numeric calculations show the equations you used to get the answer. Answers without a reasonable amount of supporting work shown will receive no credit.

All lab write ups shall be submitted in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. No other format will be accepted, unless stated otherwise for a specific lab. You can access a free windows PDF printer here: pdfcreator. You can also use the ps2pdf utility installed on any of the Andrew or ECE machines.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE:
It is your responsibility to ensure that the file you submit is readable. This includes any images/graphics/schematics in the document. After you convert your document to PDF, VERIFY THAT IT IS READABLE by opening it in Adobe Acrobat 6.0 or later. If you are having trouble generating PDF documents, come see one of the TAs during office hours.

The Acrobat handin requirements apply to ALL documents that are not code files.

Lab Computer Virtual Machine Usage Guide

Because of some confusion with using the virtual machine on lab machines, please adhere to the following steps in order to successfully connect to the module board.

FILES ARE LOCAL TO A COMPUTER AND PERSIST ACROSS USER ACCOUNTS FOR A VM. Every time before logging out, save your files elsewere and DELETE THE LOCAL COPY. Looking at other students' files that may be left on the VM is a violation of course policy.

NOTE: If you want to run your program using the project board (big board), then you do not need to use the 32 bit virtual machine - open CodeWarrior directly from the 64 bit host machine instead.

Make sure your MCU is actually plugged into the computer. The monitors have deceptively attractive USB ports on them which may or may not be connected to the computer, even though they will provide the USB standard 5V and provide power to your board.
Start VMware Player. If you haven't opened and started the virtual machine, go to Player > File > Open... > C:\ECE 18-348 - Lab
When you start the VMware Player, go to Player > Removable Devices > Motorolla Semiconductors HK USB Device > Connect (Disconnect from host) If, instead, you see Disconnect (Connect to host), that means the USB device is already connected to the virtual machine
You may or may not see the "Installing new USB Device" dialogue on the virtual machine when you do this
Open CodeWarrior, open your project, select the TBDML target, and Debug. The connection may or may not work. If the TBDML driver is not found, restart the virtual machine and redo this step.
Remember to delete your files when you are done, as per step above.

If the VM prompts for login, simply restart the VM from within the VM. You may have to press "switch user" first to see the power off/restart button in the bottom right.

Lab Updates and Notes

Monitor this section for updates about lab procedures, lab bugs, and general lab-related information. In general, we will post to the 348 blackboard announcements section, but check here first if you're having a problem!