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Music with microcontrollers

The Music Technology pack uses a single Sysblock and Flowcode Embedded to allow students to quickly construct a wide variety of digital music applications and understand the principles of digital music manipulation and effects. Students will gain an appreciation of D/A conversion and A/D conversion and Digital Signal Processing Techniques that allow music to be sampled, delayed, manipulated and produces in the digital domain. Students make use of signal generators, microphones and speakers/headphones to create and understand a variety of applications in Music Technology. The pack is suitable for students 16+ with an interest in embedded programming and Music.

Learning objectives/experiments:

  • Analogue to Digital Conversion
  • Digital to Analogue conversion
  • Simple Digital Signal Processing
  • Nyquist
  • Audio effects including echo, reverb, distortion
  • Mixers
  • Sampling and music creation
  • Delays and stadium balancing
  • EQ and filters
Music Course
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Results

Simply connecting the input to the output allows students to study sampling techniques in digital audio systems. Varying the sample rate allows students to understand the Nyquist criteria. Shown here are the simple data flow program and oscillograms for Nyquist compatible and incompatible sample rates.
Nyquist result 1
nyquist results 1
Nyquist result 2
nyquist results 2
Nyquist result 3
nyquist results 3
Students can understand how digital audio signals are constructed and manipulated. In this case a mixer program allows students to mix together different frequencies and waveforms to create musical chords and study their shape on an oscilloscope and their spectral plot. Shown here are the waveforms for note A and chord A with spectral plot
Audio Mixer result 1
Audio Mixer results 1
Audio Mixer result 2
Audio Mixer results 2
Audio Mixer result 3
Audio Mixer results 3
Audio Mixer result 4
Audio Mixer results 3

Systems, Signals, DSP and FFT

The Systems, signals, DSP and FFT pack introduces students to a number concepts in digital systems including A/D and D/A conversion, Nyquist, Digital Signal Processing, signal manipulation, Fourier analysis of signals and the FFT algorithm, and Digital Filters. Students perform a range of experiments that teach them about the details of signal manipulation using a single Sysblock, pre- written programs created in Flowcode embedded, a signal generator, an oscilloscope and a spectrum analyser. Students download the programs and carry out a number of experiments that teach them about the parameters and techniques of Signal processing. There is also plenty of chance for creative programming using Flowcode embedded for the advanced students who will find that the Sysblocks and Flowcode combination provide the perfect platform for the rapid creation of signal manipulation systems.

Learning objectives/experiments:

  • Analogue to Digital Conversion
  • Digital to Analogue conversion
  • Nyquist
  • Digital Signal Processing techniques
  • Digital Signal manipulation
  • Convolution and level detection
  • Fourier analysis
  • FFT systems
  • Digital filters
DSP Course
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Results

This example shows how harmonics can be added to create a square wave. Images show the data flow diagram, a composite oscillogram with different numbers of harmonics and a typical spectral plot.
Theory of Fourier example 1
Theory of Fourier results 1
Theory of Fourier example 2
Theory of Fourier results 2
Theory of Fourier example 3
Theory of Fourier results 3
Students can construct a wide range of different types of digital filter - including FIR and IIR types - and study their performance. The images show the simple data flow program, and oscillograms and spectral plots of signals before and after filtering.
Digital Filters example 1
Digital Filters results 1
Digital Filters example 2
Digital Filters results 2
Digital Filters example 3
Digital Filters results 3
Digital Filters example 4
Digital Filters results 4

Communications and digital radio techniques

Once students have been through the Systems, signals, DSP and FFT pack they can move onto the Communications and digital radio techniques course. This course allows students to construct and experiment on a wide range of systems based on Sysblocks. Students use a panel with three Sysblocks on to create a sequence of communications modulators and encoders, add noise, and then demodulate / decode the resulting signals. In doing so students understand the parameters of communications systems including Phase Locked Loop performance, signal to noise ratios, bit error rates and the principles of digital radio techniques. The communications systems students investigate include PLLs, AM, FM, OOK, ASK, FSK, BPSK, QAM, QPSK and DSSS. Students work with pre-written programs for Sysblocks. There is also plenty of chance for creative programming using Flowcode for the advanced students who will find that the Sysblocks panel and Flowcode combination provide the perfect platform for experimentation with digital comms. The hardware platform includes 3 x Sysblocks panels (encode/modulate, decode/ demodulate, and noise generator) and a mixer board.

Learning objectives/experiments:

  • AM and FM
  • Digital communications systems
  • Modulation / Demodulation
  • Encoders / Decoders
  • Phase Locked Loops
  • PRBS and Bit Error Rates
  • AM, FM, OOK, ASK, FSK, BPSK, QAM, QPSK and DSSS
  • Digital Radio Techniques
  • Spread spectrum techniques
DSP Course
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Results

The equipment allows students to set up AM and FM systems that show some of the principles of digital radio technology. Here you can see the AM transmitter and receiver Flowcode data flow programs, an oscillogram of a 1kHz modulated wave and the associated spectral plot.
AM receiver transmitter example 1
AM receiver transmitter results 1
AM receiver transmitter example 2
AM receiver transmitter results 2
AM receiver transmitter example 3
AM receiver transmitter results 3
AM receiver transmitter example 4
AM receiver transmitter results 4
With the equipment it is possible to set up various kinds of modulator encoder - demodulator decoder systems. The first image here shows the Data Flow program in Flowcode. Accompanying code sets up data packets. Also shown here are the I and Q outputs, constellation plots for 4-QAM and 8-QPSK, an eye diagram for the system and the Bit Error Rate counter program.
Coherent detector example 1
Coherent detector results 1
Coherent detector example 2
Coherent detector results 2
Coherent detector example 3
Coherent detector results 3
Coherent detector example 4
Coherent detector results 4
Coherent detector example 5
Coherent detector results 5
Coherent detector example 6
Coherent detector results 6