Project TUGBOAT

Revised June 9, 2006

Project TUGBOAT (Texas UnderGraduate Basic Op Amp Tester) is a computer-based laboratory instrument designed as a class project in EENG 4409 (Electronic Circuit Analysis II) in the spring semester of 2000 at the University of Texas at Tyler. It combines LabVIEW virtual-instrumentation software, a PCI-1200 multifunction I/O card, and custom external hardware to measure non-ideal electrical characteristics of operational amplifiers. It measures input-offset voltage (V_IO), input-bias currents (I_IB+ and I_IB–), dc open-loop gain (A_VOL), and ac open-loop gain at 1 kHz and 10 kHz. The prototype Project TUGBOAT instrument was first used in instruction in EENG 4409 in the spring semester of 2001.

The operation of the Project TUGBOAT instrument is described in a tutorial prepared for EENG 4409. Schematic diagrams of the Project TUGBOAT external hardware are available in .pdf format. The LabVIEW virtual-instrument program is now available. A laboratory exercise in non-ideal electrical characteristics of operational amplifiers using the TUGBOAT instrument is available. Artwork for fabrication of printed-circuit boards of the Project TUGBOAT instrument has been developed in AutoCAD format.

Project TUGBOAT was developed with support from grant DUE-9952292 under the CCLI program of the National Science Foundation.