December 10, 2005
Ante-finals-week
I built a Gilbert Multiplier for my Analog ICs class. The whole idea of a Gilbert multiplier is that you have a differential input signal which is amplified (made louder, bigger, etc.) by some amount determined by a DC voltage input at some other node. Basically, it's a sort of volume control system.
This was super fun and one of the coolest projects I've done yet. We were given the project just before Thanksgiving break and me and my partner pretty much completed the project the Wednesday after break was over. Since then we've been working on the add-on extra credit project which is an Automatic Gain Control system.
The idea of this system is that you once again have some signal input that is being amplified. You have another DC voltage input at some other node and the system will change the amplitude of the output signal to match the value of the DC voltage input. This is kinda how your radio can receive signals of different strengths from all over the place and yet they're still all at the same volume regardless. Another super-cool project to work on although basically we've been pounding our heads against the wall while working on it. It was indeed finished this morning though, which means we are the first students in the history of the class as taught by our current professor that have actually made a working AGC system. And we get some mega extra credit, booyah.
I've also been watching a buttload of DS9. I enjoy DS9 quite a bit, and I think I would gladly say that I enjoy watching DS9 more than I enjoy watching TNG. It's simply a matter of story and character depth.
I did indeed buy Mother 2 (Earthbound) for the GBA as well. It was expensive, but I really do like the game so it's pretty much worth it. Once Winter break comes around, I'm sure I'll go through the game at least once.
And, really, I've not much to say. I've been pretty much living at school, with all the crap I've been having to do. It'll be nice when the quarter is over, though it seems like my next two quarters are going to be at least as much and probably more work than this quarter has been. At least, I should be done in Spring, if I don't decide to stay longer to take some sweet classes that'll be around next year.
