Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Intended as a continuation of the DC and AC Electronics Intro course (MT 111A) or equivalent. The course emphasizes the correct usage of test instruments such as the multi-meter, oscilloscope, clamp-meter, watt-meter as applied to diagnosing and troubleshooting DC and AC complex circuits.

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

1. Estimate and measure current, voltage, and power in DC and AC circuits based on using, among other methods, superposition theorem and phasor algebra.
2. Test, diagnose, and troubleshoot DC and AC complex circuits consisting of resistors, inductors, and capacitors. 
3. Recognize the sources of hazard in working with DC and AC power systems that have multiple sources and practice the safety protocols specific to the manufacturing industry.

The course is for students who have a basic knowledge of DC and AC electronics, but need to develop more advanced related skills needed for curriculum advancement in the MT AAS degree and  automated-manufacturing industry.

One midterm exam on paper and weekly quizzes based on the homework should be expected. The final exam in the course will be a practical exam given in the lab. The exam should be based on a combination of calculations and tests, all being used in the context of diagnosing and fixing a given circuit, pre-faulted with a short or an open.

1. Proper usage of the most common test instruments to the electro-mechanical industry such as the multimeter, oscilloscope, RLC meter.
   1. Testing C and L with the RLC for capacitance and inductance respectively but also for reactance and impedance.
   2. Using the oscilloscope for AC voltages test, p-p values, RMS values, and phase shifts.
   3. Using the oscilloscope and the sensing resistor technique in order to measure impedance (magnitude and angle).
   4. Using the oscilloscope in order to prove the relationship between frequency and impedance.
2. Analysis of  combinations of series and parallel impedances, including  multiple source networks.
   1. The superposition theorem is used in order to simplify DC circuits with two or more sources.
   2. The superposition theorem is applied to the simplification of circuits in which there are present DC and AC power sources.
3. Phasor algebra is introduced and used as a tool in the analysis and troubleshooting of AC circuits at a frequency in the audio range.
   1. Both forms of the phasor are introduced, polar and rectangular, and the four arithmetic operations with these are reviewed.
   2. Total impedance of complex circuits will be calculated using the phasor algebra.
   3. Diagnosing and troubleshooting RLC-AC complex circuits using phasor algebra.
4. Network theorems such as Thevenin and Maximum Power Transfer. 
5. Power in AC versus DC circuits
   1. Power generation and transmission.
   2. True power, reactive power, apparent power.
   3. Power factor and its significance.
   4. Power triangle used in assessing the  efficiency of an AC circuit.
6. R-C and R-L circuit step response.