High Cost Parts

A reader asked us to identify which labs use the less routine and more expensive parts so he could decide if he wanted to skip the labs that used them.  The spreadsheet below breaks out the parts from both the Analog and Digital Parts Lists that cost more than $5, with a column added to show where they are used.

Parts you probably need:

The FPGA is required for all the FPGA labs in Chapters 15 – 19 and 21.
The microcontroller and the debugging probe are required for all the microcontroller labs in Chapters 22 – 27.
The matrix keyboard and Sparkfun 16×2 LCD display are required for the microcontroller labs if you want to build the Lullaby Jukebox in Chapter 27.

Parts you could skip without too much compromise in learning:

The LTC1150 zero drift op amp is used in the integrator lab (7L.1) to demonstrate the difference between a good op amp (the LF411) and an expensive, low offset, low bias one in a demanding application, the integrator.  But at more than $12 it is an expensive lesson.

The $10 LT6020 low offset op amp is used in the instrumentation amplifier lab (7L.4.3.1) for the same reason. It is also used in the JFET lab because it works better than the cheaper LM358, but you can still do the experiment with the latter.

The LT1167 instrumentation amplifier (IA)  is used in Lab 7L.4.5 to show how much better a commercial IA is than the one you build from parts in 7L.4.3.  You could just take our word for it and save $13.

In the instrumentation amplifier lab, the purpose of the HX711 Load Cell Sensor Module is to allow you to try an IA with an Arduino microcontroller.  We skip this exercise (7L.4.7) when we teach the course since we cover microcontroller interfacing  in depth in the last third of the book.

The AD630 used in the lock-in amplifier lab (10L.2) again demonstrates the superiority of a packaged solution to the one you build yourself, but at $41 you probably will want to take our word for it instead.

The LT1073 introduces you to switching voltage regulators but these days you mostly buy power supplies rather than make them yourselves so you could consider skipping Lab 11L.2 to economize.  However, if you want to understand how switching regulators work, it is $11 well spent.

The AD588 DAC helps to understand how the successive approximation analog-to-digital converter works (Lab 20L.1).   It is quite expensive at $31.  We have seen them much cheaper on eBay but as always caveat emptor. The AD557 should also work and is somewhat cheaper at $22. However, you can also just replace it with the FPGA for free.  See Footnote 5 on Page 827 for a link to a Verilog program that turns the FPGA into a replacement for the AD558.  Finally, you could skip it if you are not interested in data conversion. (Again something you normally buy rather than make yourself.)

Parts you could skip but “it would be wrong” (pedagogically speaking):

The motor driven potentiometer is used in the PID lab (10L.1). At $20 is is relatively expensive but it is a worthwhile lab that brings together a number of  topics (integrator, differentiators, feedback, stability) covered earlier in the book.

The hobby servo used in the lunar lander is a fun lab (25L.1.4).  You could save $6 by skipping it but try it if you can.

A #344 incandescent light bulb ($7) is used in the sine wave oscillator (8L.7) but a cheaper alternative is recommended in the notes.

Parts you could skip but are worth doing unless you have to go without dinner to buy them:

The 6.3V transformer ($12) is used both to demonstrate rectification (Lab 3L) but also to separate 60Hz power line voltage from noise in the filter lab (2L.2). If you don’t have a floating function generator, it is used in Lab 5L.1.4 to generate a common mode signal for the differential amplifier lab.

The CA3096 ($11) is used in Lab 5L to build an op amp out of discrete transistors.  This is not only a fun lab, it also demystifies a device that is often presented as a black box. The 1N5294 current source diodes used in this lab have gotten ridiculously expensive ($17 and two are needed), but we suggest a number of  much less expensive substitutes. The CA3096 can be hard to find. If you get desperate, email us at parts@LAoE.link for help.

The MAX294 switch capacitor low pass filter ($15) could be skipped but it is quite impressive in Lab 12L.2.2 to see how fast an 8th order filter attenuates and it is useful to see a filter whose corner frequency is set by a clock frequency, not component values.

Description Qty Needed Mfgr. Part No (exact) Source Distributor Part No  Price (Qty 1) $US  Where Used Notes
SWITCHES
Keypad, Membrane, 4×4 Matrix, Telephone Format, A – D 1 Parallax 27899 Digikey 27899PAR-ND  $              9.36  21L (optional), 23L.3, 27L Adafruit 3844 ($5.95) should work as well, but we have not tested it
TRANSFORMERS and INDUCTORS
Transformer, 115V Primary, 6.3V Secondary Center Tapped, 1.2A 1 Triad F-14X Digikey 237-1917-ND  $           11.72  2L.2, 3L.3, 3L.4, 5L.1.4 (optional), 17L.5.2 (optional) 115V/230V can be deadly.  Be sure to insulate the primary leads before using the transformer with line voltage in Chapters 2L and 3L.
AUDIO DEVICES
Electret Microphone with Amplifier (optional) see notes Adafruit 1063 Digikey 1528-1013-ND  $              6.95  26W.3 (optional worked example) Used in worked example of Chapter 26W.   SparkFun BOB-12758 is similar but does not include volume control.
DISCRETE SEMICONDUCTORS: DIODES
1N5294, JFET Current Source Diode, 0.75mA (see notes for alternatives) 2 Solid State 1N5294 Mouser 579-1N5294  $           17.36  5L.1.5, 5L.1.6, 8L.3.2, 8L.5.2 but see notes for cheaper alternatives Two required for BJT II Lab 5. These are getting quite expensive and hard to find – see https://LAoE.link/1N5294.html for alternatives.
DISCRETE SEMICONDUCTORS: BIPOLAR TRANSISTORS
CA3069, BJT Array, 3 NPN, 2 PNP 1 Intersil CA3096E Walmart See notes  $           10.95  5L.1, 5L.2, 5L.3.2 Also try eBay or  google shopping. HFA3096 will not work.  16-SOIC version from Digikey (2156-CA3096CM96-ND) with 333 minimum qty
INTEGRATED CIRCUITS: OP AMPS
LTC1150, Op Amp, Low Offset Voltage, Zero Drift 1 ADC LTC1150CN8#PBF Digikey LTC1150CN8#PBF-ND  $           12.52  7L.1.2, 7L.1.3 Used in integrator lab
LT6020, Op Amp, Low Offset Voltage 1 ADC LT6020HMS8#PBF Digikey LT6020HMS8#PBF-ND  $              9.27  7L.4.3.1, 12L.5.1 Used in instrumentation amplifier and JFET labs
INTEGRATED CIRCUITS: VOLTAGE REGULATORS
LT1073, Voltage Regulator, Adjustable, 1.5A, Switching, Buck/Boost 1 ADC LT1073CN8-5#PBF Digikey LT1073CN8-5#PBF-ND  $           10.69  11L.2.1
INTEGRATED CIRCUITS: OTHER
MAX294, Switched- Capacitor Low Pass Filter 1 ADC MAX294CPA+ Digikey MAX294CPA+-ND  $           14.66  12L.2.2 Also try Amazon, eBay or Octopart
LT1167, Instrumentation Amplifier 1 ADC LT1167IN8#PBF Digikey LT1167IN8#PBF-ND  $           13.07  7L.4.5
AD630, Balanced Modulator/Demodulator (see notes) see notes ADC AD630JNZ Digikey 505-AD630JNZ-ND  $           41.31  10L.2 (optional) Optional IC modulator/demodulator for lock-in lab.
AD558, DAC, 8-bit, Parallel Input, Single Supply 1 ADC AD558JNZ Digikey AD558JNZ-ND  $           31.57  20L.1.1, 20L.1.2, 21L (optional) The AD557JNZ ($28.70 at Digikey) should work as well. It is pin identical to the AD558 but the output range is a fixed 0 – 2.56V and Vcc is 5V.
OPTICAL
#344 Lamp, Incandescent,  10V, 0.014A 1 JKL Comp 344 onlinecomp  $              6.56  8L.7 (see note) Sustitute #7344 (same lamp with bi-pin base) for single qty purchase.
Sparkfun 16×2 LCD Display, RBG Backlight, SPI, Serial , I2C w/ Headers 1 SparkFun LCD-16396 Digikey 1568-LCD-16396-ND  $           22.50  26L.3, 27L.1 Slightly cheaper direct from SparkFun
MISC
HX711 Load Cell Sensor Module, SPI Output see notes Sparkfun SEN-13879 Digikey 1568-1436-ND  $           10.95  7L.4.7 (optional) Optional experiment using Arduino in instrumentation amplifier lab.  You can buy this module with the load cell on Amazon.
Hobby Servo, 180 degree angular postion, micro 1 Adafruit 169 Digikey 1528-1076-ND  $              5.95  25L.1.4 This is a TowerPro SG92R servo available from multiple sources including Amazon.  Any size 90 or 180 degree hobby servo will work.
POTENTIOMETERS
Potentiometer, Motor Driven 1 Alps Alpine RK16812MG099 Mouser 688-RK16812MG099  $           19.84  10L.1 Cheaper in single quantity here (but not sure about shipping costs.)
PROCESSOR/FPGA
FPGA board, WebFPGA 1 Direct WebFPGA  $           38.00  15L, 16L.5, 17L.7, 18L, 19L.1, 21L See Chapter 15O for possible alternatives.
Microcontroller, SAMD21 Cortex M0+ , Mini Breakout Board 1 SparkFun DEV-13664 Digikey 1568-1327-ND  $           22.50  22L to 27L See Chapter 22O for possible alternative.
Debug and Microcontroller Programming Probe 1 Segger 8.08.91 J-LINK EDU MINI Adafruit 3571  $           59.95  22L to 27L Segger has a number of J-Link models at increasing price points. The EDU version cannot be used for commerical applications. 
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