Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) and Digilent Inc. recently unveiled at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association (ECEDHA) in Austin, TX, two all-in-one analog design kits that enhance engineering students’ educational experience by allowing students to experiment quickly and easily with advanced technologies and build and test real-world, functional analog design circuits anytime – anywhere – right on their PCs. Watch an analog design kit video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DEOtVelvek

Complete Analog Design Kits For The Price Of A Textbook

For the price of a textbook, students can purchase a low-cost analog hardware development platform and components, with access to downloadable teaching materials, online support, textbook, reference designs and lab projects to design and implement analog circuits as a supplement to their core engineering curriculum.

The Digilent Analog Discovery Design Kit ($99 USD) and the more advanced Digilent Analog Explorer Design Kit ($199 USD) allow students to build and test a wide range of analog and digital circuits using their own PC without the need for any other equipment. This approach eliminates the time and space limitations of traditional university lab settings and allows students more flexibility to experiment with real circuits through direct hands-on experience. Digilent is the leading supplier of academic electrical engineering design kits with kits in use at over 1,500 universities in 70 countries. ADI is one of the world’s leading analog semiconductor companies.

“Active learning – learning by doing – helps engineering students understand the process of breaking down larger problems into smaller, more easily solved parts without losing the overall understanding of the complete system,” said John Robertson, professor, Department of Engineering Technology, College of Technology and Innovation, Arizona State University. “The two new analog design kits from Digilent and Analog Devices set-up quickly and generate lots of data making any PC a 24/7 design studio for engineering students. I believe that students who own design kits and build circuits frequently learn better, retain more and enjoy the experience.”

Digilent Analog Design Kits Contents and Educational Material

Each design kit is powered by ADI components and includes:

 

Digilent Analog Discovery Design Kit

 

 

 

Digilent Analog Explorer Design Kit

Two 50 MSPS, 5 MHz differential oscilloscopes

     

Four 100 MSPS single-ended oscilloscopes

Two 50 MSPS, 5 MHz waveform generators

     

Two 50 MSPS, 5 MHz waveform generators

Two fixed power supplies

     

Two 12-W programmable power supplies

16-channel logic analyzer

     

16-channel logic analyzer

USB-powered (cable included)

     

Volt and current meters

Trigger in/trigger out

     

Programmable reference voltages

Probes

     

Trigger in/trigger out

WaveForms™ Software

     

Integrated solderless breadboard

Optional accessory kit available

     

Universal AC power adapter and USB cable

       

Starter analog parts kit included

       

Optional accessory kit available

Both design kits connect via USB to a PC, run Digilent’s Waveforms software and are based on earlier, field-tested designs currently in use at colleges and universities worldwide.

“I like the flexibility of Digilent’s analog design kits. The department doesn’t need to maintain and staff the traditional large laboratory classrooms for my engineering students,” said Kathleen Meehan, associate professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. “Students instead complete experiments after class where and when they want with the analog design kit they purchased at the beginning of the semester. We provide help in the traditional way as well as online videos that give students assistance when they need it – no matter what time of day or night.”

 

Worldwide Availability and Pricing

Product

 

 

Availability

 

 

USD Student
Pricing

 

 

Students

Digilent Analog
Discovery Board

 

 

June 2012

 

 

$99

 

 

Freshman and
Sophomore

Digilent Analog
Explorer Board

 

 

August 2012

 

 

$199

 

 

Junior and
Senior