A brief introduction for every lab will be held in Workman 109 at 8am on the day of the lab. Don't be late, as your pre-labs may be graded during this time. From there, we will either move to the digital lab (Workman 116) or possibly to the analog lab (Workman 183). Food or drinks of any kind are not allowed in any of the EE labs. You may place drink containers on the bookshelf outside the digital lab.

All laboratory exercises are to be completed in a Comp Book, which will be required for the second lab session. A brief introductory lab will be held during the first lab session, during which you can use normal paper to writeup the lab.

Starting with Lab 1, any work that is not completed in a comp book will be graded, but the grade will not be recorded until that work has been pasted into a proper lab notebook. All lab work is to be completed in ink (either black or blue - labs done in neon green WILL BE IGNORED).

Mistakes should be crossed out with one line only, not scribbled out. When looking at your lab book at a later time, you may want to know what mistakes you made as well as what you did correctly. Also, you may find out that what you scribbled out is actually not a mistake.

Only one side of the pages in the lab book should be used for actually writing up the lab. The other side can be used, however, as scratch paper for calculations.

You must turn in your notebook by the end of each lab session. Your laboratory notebook is to be stored in the wooden cabinet located on the north wall of the digital lab (Workman 116). Ideally, your lab books will be graded and ready for you to pick in these cabinets on Tuesday mornings.

Before turning in your lab notebook for grading, each section of your just completed exercise should be verified and initialized by a lab assistant.

The first page of your lab notebook is to be reserved for a table of contents. You will add to this table as you complete each lab exercise. Your grade for each lab will be recorded on this page, along with the initials of the grader. After the first week, your table of contents will look something like the following.

Questions or concerns about lab grades should be brought to the attention of the Lab TA's. If there are any unresolved differences after first doing this, the matter may be brought to the lab instructor.

Your lab reports should be broken down into the following sections. Each of these should have its own label in the lab write-up.

1. Title to be completed before arriving to the lab
2. Pre-lab to be completed before arriving to the lab
3. Data should include what the lab asks for, and your findings
4. Questions should include the questions and answers
5. Summary

Title - the name of the lab exercise

Pre-lab - Pre-labs should be completed before you come to lab. Pre-labs that are not completed prior to lab will not receive any credit (which can vary from 10 to 30 percent of the lab grade).

Data - the data you collect in the lab, along with any calculations you are asked to perform. It is advisable to literally cut out the lab requirements and tape them into your lab notebook, and to complete the data gathering and calculations under these cutouts. Tape and scissors are usually available in the lab, but it is recommended that you obtain your own supplies.

Questions - if applicable, answer the questions following the lab exercise in this section. Again, cut and paste from the lab notebook.

Summary - required! Write a few sentences summarizing, in your own words, what you did and learned in the lab. Furthermore, if you have any insights on how to make the lab better, please note them here.

When working with the computers in the EE labs, be sure to save your work often! Any one of a million things could result in you losing your files. Furthermore, if you can't afford to lose something, it is best to have copies of your files on floppy disks. Keep this in mind throughout your career here at New Mexico Tech.

Before using a floppy disk in the lab - and when you are done saving to it - use the virus scanner station ("Crusher") to clean your disks. DOS and Windows (including 3.1, 95, and NT) are very susceptible to viruses. If you should come across a virus while working the lab, inform your lab instructor, the lab assistant on duty, or Chris.

Do not leave personal items unattended in the lab. We are not immune to theft in the labs.