To ensure that its third-semester students have access to the up-to-date tools they require to conduct their research effectively, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) has invested in 20 workstations comprised of instruments made by Agilent Technologies.
Key to the institution’s vision of being at the heart of technology education and innovation in Africa is its principle of introducing its electrical engineering students to the latest measurement techniques as early in their curriculum as practically possible.
To this end, new equipment was sourced from Agilent’s South African partner, Concilium Technologies, for students within the Electronic Communications stream of the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering. They will now be able to make use of a new 2000X series oscilloscopes, 33210A function generators and U8001A power supplies for projects such as designing simple filters and attenuators, and measuring their parameters.
According to Clive Whaits, senior lecturer in Electronic Communication and Radio Engineering at CPUT, “The Agilent products dovetailed with our desire to provide cost effective, latest technology instruments even for our entry level students. The flexibility of having a built-in waveform generator and DMM in the scope adds excellent value. It is also a bonus that the education option preloads pre-designed waveforms into the waveform generator for analysis by the scope, as this makes the teaching of practicals much simpler to set up.
“The value-added partnership we have with Concilium Technologies, the South African Agilent resellers, gives us peace of mind,” he continues. “Not only because of their committed pre- and post-sales support, but also because an Agilent approved repair and calibration facility assures that entry level instruments are cared for, and that our extensive investment in RF test equipment is protected.”
Over and above the basic training labs for third-semester students, CPUT has invested in sophisticated RF analysis instruments such as spectrum, network and noise figure analysers from Agilent for students completing their fourth-semester national diploma and moving on to BTech and MTech programmes.
The donation of Agilent’s Advanced Design System design automation software for RF, microwave and high-speed digital applications enables students to develop low-noise amplifiers, power amplifiers, filters and oscillators using ADS. They can build their design and then test the real world results against the simulation. With the innovative use of an Agilent gateway to connect many generations of instruments to a LAN, experiments performed in the lab can now be displayed in real time in the lecture hall.
The Electronic Communications group is especially proud of its key role in the CPUT satellite engineering programme hosted by the French South African Institute of Technology (F’SATI). This prestigious programme is funded by the Department of Science & Technology to develop skills in satellite systems engineering in South Africa.
On 21 November 2013, CPUT made history when TshepisoSAT, Africa’s first nanosatellite, was launched from Russia. Developed by CPUT students and staff, it carries an in-house developed UHF/VHF transceiver as well as an HF transmitter.
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