From picone at ece.msstate.edu Wed Feb 4 18:45:39 2009 From: picone at ece.msstate.edu (Joseph Picone) Date: Wed Feb 4 18:46:10 2009 Subject: [ece3163] [Fwd: Electromagnetic Spectrum Auctions: 700 MHz] Message-ID: <498A36B3.8060200@ece.msstate.edu> As we were discussing in class... It appears the conversion to digital TV has been postponed to June 12 :( -Joe -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Electromagnetic Spectrum Auctions: 700 MHz Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:47:01 -0500 From: Joseph Picone Reply-To: joseph.picone@gmail.com To: ece3163@ece.msstate.edu Here is a nice article on how the government auctions the electromagnetic spectrum: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/700_MHz_wireless_spectrum_auction They raised $20B for the 700 MHz band :) You also need a "real estate" map of the electromagnetic spectrum: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_spectrum The recovery of the 700 MHz band was made possible by the conversion to digital television that will take place in Feb. 2009. -Joe From picone at ece.msstate.edu Wed Feb 4 18:52:57 2009 From: picone at ece.msstate.edu (Joseph Picone) Date: Wed Feb 4 18:53:34 2009 Subject: [ece3163] first exam Message-ID: <498A3869.4090000@ece.msstate.edu> In case you aren't watching the syllabus, our first exam is next Monday: 14 Monday, February 09, 2009 1.1 - 3.6 Exam No. 1 I would suggest you use Thursday night's recitation to review for the exam. The ground rules are that you are allowed one double-sided 8.5"x11" page of notes. The exam problems will be taken from the homework problems. There is a good inventory of previous exams on-line, but pay close attention to last semester's exam. Calculators are allowed for basic calculations (you shouldn't need them). Laptops are not allowed (but will be for the final exam). Let me know if you have any questions. -Joe From picone at ece.msstate.edu Wed Feb 4 23:07:29 2009 From: picone at ece.msstate.edu (Joseph Picone) Date: Wed Feb 4 23:07:59 2009 Subject: [ece3163-01] [ece3163] first exam In-Reply-To: <3c93b5d00902042056i5dbfc7d0k6c61d09757dcefa8@mail.gmail.com> References: <498A3869.4090000@ece.msstate.edu> <3c93b5d00902042056i5dbfc7d0k6c61d09757dcefa8@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <498A7411.8060200@ece.msstate.edu> > Any specifications on the 8.5x11 page? Can it be typed? Can it be > microprint? Can me and a friend make one together and make copies? > > Anything goes on the 8.5x11? > No constraints. I suppose you could bring in a microscope and copy the entire set of homework solutions on the page using very small print. Certainly students can share these sheets and jointly develop them. However, note that the solutions posted are not very detailed and skip a lot of important details. In grading the exam, I'll focus more on the details of the solution rather than whether you got the right answer. Showing a set of coherent steps to reach the solution is what is most important. You will not need MATLAB for the exam, so that narrows the potential problems that can be selected. But one way or another you need to solve the homework problems to be fully prepared for the exam. I would also encourage you to study in groups for the final so that you can be more efficient in the way you study. -Joe From picone at ece.msstate.edu Fri Feb 6 12:48:00 2009 From: picone at ece.msstate.edu (Joseph Picone) Date: Fri Feb 6 12:48:11 2009 Subject: [ece3163] transform tables Message-ID: <498C85E0.3000505@ece.msstate.edu> This is the document I'll make available during the exam: http://www.isip.piconepress.com/publications/courses/ece_3163/lectures/current/lecture_14_tables.pdf Let me know of any additions you think are needed. Also, I thought I should mention something about our discussion of exam scores. In the past, my exams required much more creative thinking. Hence, as you look back at previous exams, you will see a lot of interesting problems. We have had varying results on these types of exams over the years. One year I had an excellent class that challenged me to give them the hardest problems I could think of. I had students scoring over 80 on those exams, which was impressive (this was somewhere around 1998 if you are searching the archives). One semester, however, I had a class of students that were really struggling. Though I gave a final exam consistent with previous years, that class scored very poorly on the final (class average below 10). Obviously, no one benefits from such a situation. Ironically, I still keep in touch with some of the students in that class - they were an interesting bunch that just got a bit overwhelmed that semester. This semester things are going very well so far. You seem to be a good class that is paying attention in class and studying outside of class. Hence, I am optimistic the class average will be above 50. The key to any exam is efficient time management. Time to solution is very important in today's world, so the time-limited nature of the exam is an important attribute of the exam. If you follow some of the principles we discussed in class today you should do fine. Good luck, -Joe From picone at ece.msstate.edu Tue Feb 10 00:48:21 2009 From: picone at ece.msstate.edu (Joseph Picone) Date: Tue Feb 10 00:48:40 2009 Subject: [ece3163] exam no. 1 results Message-ID: <49912335.3030204@ece.msstate.edu> Below are the results for exam no. 1. If you send me an email, I will send you your individual grade. I have also posted the solutions to the course web site. Obviously, when you review the distributions below, you see a wide range of scores. I think this is the first time I have had two perfect scores on an in-class exam. On the other hand, a number of people struggled on probs. 2 and 3. I designed this exam to be fairly easy. It was shorter than previous exams, and focused on basic concepts. So it doesn't surprise me that we had 13 people score 70 or above. If you scored below 70 on this exam, you need to evaluate your approach to the course. There is still plenty of time to improve, but perhaps you need to think about a different study regimen. Things will only get harder, and we will build on the concepts previously discussed. Let me know if you have further questions. -Joe ===================== Avg 67 Median 68 Stdev 21 Min 23 Max 100 Histogram: < 10 0 10-19 0 20-29 3 30-39 2 40-49 0 50-59 3 60-69 6 70-79 5 80-89 4 > 90 4 From tm334 at ece.msstate.edu Thu Feb 12 15:50:40 2009 From: tm334 at ece.msstate.edu (Tao Ma) Date: Thu Feb 12 15:50:25 2009 Subject: [ece3163] Recitation Schedule In-Reply-To: <496395CF.7030105@gmail.com> References: <496395CF.7030105@gmail.com> Message-ID: <499499B0.5000309@ece.msstate.edu> The department shows that Monday evening has no lab, would that be better to move Tuesday recitation to Monday 7-9pm? I know some students have conflict for both Tuesday and Thursday. If you have conflict for [Monday Thursday] schedule, please response in the next 24 hours. Or if you have any other suggestions, please let me know. Btw, we do have recitation in this week. Very few showed up on Tuesday, so I would hope to see the rest of you tonight. :) -Tao From tm334 at ece.msstate.edu Sun Feb 15 11:16:22 2009 From: tm334 at ece.msstate.edu (Tao Ma) Date: Sun Feb 15 11:16:14 2009 Subject: [ece3163] Recitation Schedule In-Reply-To: <499499B0.5000309@ece.msstate.edu> References: <496395CF.7030105@gmail.com> <499499B0.5000309@ece.msstate.edu> Message-ID: <49984DE6.3020203@ece.msstate.edu> Our [Monday Thursday] schedule will start from now on. See you on Monday (Feb 16) 7pm. -Tao Tao Ma wrote: > The department shows that Monday evening has no lab, would that be > better to move Tuesday recitation to Monday 7-9pm? I know some students > have conflict for both Tuesday and Thursday. > > If you have conflict for [Monday Thursday] schedule, please response in > the next 24 hours. Or if you have any other suggestions, please let me > know. > > Btw, we do have recitation in this week. Very few showed up on Tuesday, > so I would hope to see the rest of you tonight. :) > > -Tao > _______________________________________________ > ece3163 mailing list > ece3163@ece.msstate.edu > http://www.ece.msstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/ece3163