Campus Monterrey

Electrical Engineering Department

ITESM, Campus Monterrey

Electrical Engineering Department

eLab - Remote Electronics Lab

Practice Interface Detailed Instructions

PRACTICE INTERFACE .................................................................................................. 2

Logging In ...................................................................................................................... 2
Circuit Diagram .............................................................................................................. 5
Variable Input Control ................................................................................................... 6
Oscilloscope Control ...................................................................................................... 7
Oscilloscope Display ...................................................................................................... 7
Display Control .............................................................................................................. 8
Cursor Control ................................................................................................................ 9

M. E. Macas, I. Mndez

eLab - Remote Electronics Lab

PRACTICE INTERFACE
Logging In
Important note: To be able to use the Practice Interface, you must have a
valid username and password, which should be provided to you by the
courses instructor. If you do not have an account, please refer to your
instructor and ask for one. You will also need the LabView 8.6 Runtime
plug-in for your browser. If you dont have it, it can be downloaded from
the National Instruments webpage.

To access the practice interface, click on the PRACTICE LOGIN button on

the top of the eLab webpage. This will take you to the practice interface
login window, shown here:

In this login window, you must provide a valid account and password to
obtain access to the practice. You have 1 minute for this; if your time runs
out, a message telling you your time is up will be displayed and your
connection to the interface severed. You also have only 3 login attempts.
Each time your login fails because of an erroneous account or password, the
attempt counter will decrease. If you run out of attempts, a message is
displayed and your connection to the interface severed.

2008 ITESM Campus Monterrey DIEC

-2-

eLab - Remote Electronics Lab

If your account and password are valid but you do not have a reservation for
the current time slot, an error will pop up saying that your account is valid
but no reservation was found. Your connection to the system is then closed.
If your account and password are correct and a valid reservation is found for
the current time slot, youre granted access and the practice interface
window will pop up, as shown in the following sample image. The
connection to the login window will be terminated automatically 5 seconds
later.

2008 ITESM Campus Monterrey DIEC

-3-

eLab - Remote Electronics Lab

VARIABLE INPUT
CONTROL

CIRCUIT
DIAGRAM

OSCILLOSCOPE
DISPLAY

OSCILLOSCOPE
CONTROL
DISPLAY
CONTROL

CURSOR CONTROL

2008 ITESM Campus Monterrey DIEC

-4-

eLab: Remote Electronics Lab

Circuit Diagram
This section shows the circuit diagram for the current practice. It shows all
the elements connected to the remote laboratory as well as the location of the
variable inputs, measurement points and variable components. In the case of
variable components, the control for these is placed on top of the element,
allowing you to modify them.

It also has the EXIT button, which allows you to finish the practice and
terminate the connection to the interface.

2008 ITESM Campus Monterrey DIEC

-5-

eLab: Remote Electronics Lab

Variable Input Control

This section is only available if the circuit has a variable input source. It
allows you to select the voltage amplitude (in Volts) applied to the circuit, as
well as the frequency (in Hertz) and type of signal (Sine, Triangle, Square).

To change the amplitude of the signal, just move the amplitude knob to the
desired value. This value is limited according to the practice and power
capability of the source.
To change the frequency of the generated signal, just type in the value you
want to apply, or you can increase or decrease the frequency in steps of 1Hz
with the buttons available to the left of the display. This control is also
limited according to the practice and generation capabilities of the source. If
you enter a value that is out of range, the control will automatically adjust
the value to an in-range value.
The buttons on the bottom allow you to select the type of signal to be
generated, be it a Sine, a Triangle, or a Square signal. You may only choose
one type at a time.

2008 ITESM Campus Monterrey DIEC

-6-

eLab: Remote Electronics Lab

Oscilloscope Display
This is where all the plots are shown. It displays the plots you activated as
well as measurement cursors to facilitate the measurement of each plot.
Below is the time scale in which it is displaying the information and to the
left it shows the voltage scale being used. You may change the voltage scale
with the scale control on top of the display. This voltage scale is also
changed according to each practice.

Oscilloscope Control
This section allows you to control which oscilloscope plots are displayed in
the oscilloscope display section. The button on the left allows you to turn on
or off any given plot. The color in which the button lights up indicates the
color of the corresponding plot in the display.

2008 ITESM Campus Monterrey DIEC

-7-

eLab: Remote Electronics Lab

For each plot, you may select the measurement node to assign to the specific
plot. These nodes are labeled and marked accordingly in the circuit diagram
for the practice. You can also select the node to reference the voltage
reading for that plot. Available nodes are limited and vary according to each
practice.
Display Control
This toolbar is used to control the oscilloscope display and its utilities. The
first button serves as a PLAY/PAUSE button. In PLAY mode, all plots are
updated according to the sampling rate specified by the administrator. In
PAUSE mode, the displayed plots are frozen, not updating the signal, just
like in a digital oscilloscope.

The second and third buttons are used to turn on or off each of the two
available measurement cursors. If you activate a cursor, it shows up in the
middle of the oscilloscope display and allows you to move it by clicking and
dragging the cursor with your mouse or with the cursor control section. The
little rectangle to the right of the cursor buttons indicates the color of the
selected cursor.
The fourth button is used to center both cursors. This allows you to center
the cursors automatically without having to turn them off and on again.
The last button gives you instructions on how to save the current display
image to a file or to the clipboard.
2008 ITESM Campus Monterrey DIEC

-8-

eLab: Remote Electronics Lab

Cursor Control
This section allows you to read the measurements taken by both cursors (if
activated). It shows the coordinates in the x (Voltage) and y (Time) axes.
It also allows you to activate and deactivate the cursors or lock and unlock
them.

The motion cross at the right allows you to move the cursors in all four
directions, one step at a time.

2008 ITESM Campus Monterrey DIEC

-9-