MEP EP#293: Tom Anderson, the Gold Ear Sympathetic

MEP EP#293: Tom Anderson, the Gold Ear Sympathetic
Tom Anderson

An old-timer engineer working from HP/Agilent/Keysight
Currently still employed at Keysight
Volunteering at Alembic, where he designs electronics for bass guitars
Career includes:

Design of firmware
Digital
Analog
Microwave
Optical
Power supplies
Software
Information systems

Metrology and You

Do I need to worry about all of this? (as a hobbyist, is accuracy important?)-
Measure with micrometer...
Taking Measurements

voltage, current, resistance, inductance, capacitance, Q, frequency, time, noise, RF/microwave
Measurement Uncertainty

+/- 0.1dB specification - what can go wrong?

How do you make things more accurate?

System engineering - when the boards are put together, does the system work?
Testing the idea that multiple resistors are tighter tolerance than single

Are the values random?

Sources of errors - narrow things down to the path between a sensor and an ADC

Temperature
Noise, thermal
Noise, switching power supply, rectifier diodes
Noise, clock, data, address
DC shift - where does the ground current flow? Screws, contact resistance, and X-Acto blades.

Offset voltage and current

Connector Repeatability
Temperature

Repeatability/Skid
Controlling temperature (room air, coffee cup, fingers, oven proportional control)