Technical Support

Mechanical Support is located in Coniston. If you require mechanical support, it is essential that you email Brian Webb bwebb@uow.edu.au and arrange a time to see him.

All jobs are to be submitted to Carlo Giusti for approval.

When undertaking ECTE250 and ECTE350 projects it is essential that you meet with Steve and Frank to discuss the ideas of the project you wish to undertake. They will provide support to your project on electrical matters. If you require any mechanical support you can discuss this with Brian Webb.

All job requests must be submitted to the Workshop Coordinator via the "SECTE Workshop Requisition Form" available in the forms section.

Any student with a job request for a printed circuited boards must work through the printed circuit board questionnaire available in the forms section. Please note that all PCB work needs to be completed in the first half of Spring Session. Work is done on a first come, first served basis.

Note: The last PCB order to go through will be the 25th of September. Therefore your designs must be ready well in advance of this date.

The Stores

The Stores is located in 35.132A (outside the electronics lab)

At the stores you can:

- Borrow equipment

- Pick up Lab Reports

- Obtain Lab Access

- Purchase of project parts.

The Stores is only open part time so please pay attention to the opening hours.
Opening hours for the Stores is:
7:30 am - 8:30 am;

10:00 am - 12:30 pm;

1:00pm - 2:00 pm

Software In The labs

The SECTE laboratories run a large diverse set of software. The school runs both Windows and Linux environments. Due to the diverse range of software only core programs are installed on the base of the machine. The majority of software needs to be run via Virtual Machines. This is basically running an operating system on top of the existing operating system, which provides the school with great flexibility. The following VMware Procedures show you how to run Virtual Machines in the SECTE Labs.

The following is a list of free software programs that are similiar to our licenced software used in our laboratories:

- LTSpice from Linear Technologies has similar capabilities to Electronic's Workbench

Purchasing Parts

Various subjects such as ECTE250, ECTE350 and ECTE457 require purchasing of equipment for the allocated projects. Purchasing of such equipment is achieved via the “Authority to Order Parts” form. This and other forms can be downloaded from the Forms section.

Preparation:

Before you can commence purchasing:

- You must talk to a Workshop (Electronic Support) staff member about your project and what you plan on buying. This will help you determine the feasibility of the project you are attempting.

- You must complete and hand in the appropriate Project Form and Risk Assessment Form. This will ensure that you have a good understanding of the risks associated with your project. These are located in the forms section.

ECTE250 and ECTE350 groups must designated 2 people that will be responsible for purchasing and consulting the Workshop staff. No orders will be accepted from non designated students. The designation is placed on the ECTE250/350 Project Forms.

Finding Suppliers:

It is advised that all purchases are made from an Australian company. An extremely good case will need to be made to justify a purchase from an international company. Please note that significant delays may occur when undertaking international orders. This may be a result of a number of factors including import/export documentation, customs, and shipping method. Previously some students have received their parts only days before submitting their project work. The school does not take responsibility for the time it takes parts to arrive.

SECTE recommends the following three suppliers:

- Farnell www.farnell.com.au

- RS Australia www.rsaustralia.com.au

- Jaycar www.jaycar.com.au/

If placing an order via one of these three suppliers you do not need to include a freight cost. The cost of freight will be covered by the school.

Please note that when ordering most web sites show the quantity of items currently in stock. Please allow at least a month should the item be currently sold out.

Orders from certain web sites can also be placed. Create a shopping cart at the chosen web site (including the freight cost) and attach a printed screen dump to the “Authority to Order Parts” form. Please note that Ebay or other auction sites, or sites that require payment via Paypal, Cheque, Money order will not be accepted. Credit Card orders must be accepted.

When using suppliers other then the 3 recommended please ensure that you check that all stock is available. Most online suppliers will not ship any parts until they have all the stock available. Therefore if 1 item is on backorder for a long period of time, then all parts will not arrive until that back order has been filled.

Suppliers Blacklisted:

The following suppliers cannot be used to purchase parts for your project due to bad delivery record:

- Futurlec

Ordering:

When you have found your required parts fill in the “Authority to Order Parts” form and have it signed by a member of the Workshop. This is to ensure that you are buying a suitable part for its purpose. Then the form needs to be approved by your supervisor/mentor and can then be handed in at the Stores or placed in the appropriate box in the hallway outside 35.132.

Please note that you must fill in one form per supplier you are requesting parts from.

Orders are usually placed on Wednesdays. Orders received after Tuesday afternoon will not be placed until the following Wednesday. Please allow 2 weeks for delivery. The school does not take responsibility for the time it takes parts to arrive. It is your responsibility to query any orders should you believe the process is taking to long.

Budget:

ECTE250: Each team has a budget of $200 which can be used for the purchasing of parts and posters (posters ordered via Stores Officer)

ECTE350: Each team has a budget of $200 which can be used for the purchasing of parts and posters (posters ordered via Stores Officer)

ECTE457: Each project has a budget of $250 which can be used for the purchasing of parts

As a part of Project form process you need to submit a budget that will estimate your expenses for the entire year. The budget only needs to be very simply and just highlight the expenses you anticipate throughout the project. An example of a sample budget is shown here.

Posters:

ECTE250/350 teams are required to produce posters for the Trade Fair. Teams may use up to $40 of their team budget to produce up to two posters of A1/A2 size ($20 each). The posters are produced on near photo quality printers.

The poster should be saved to PDF, PowerPoint or Microsoft Publisher formats. Set your page size to A2 or A1. If you are submitting in PowerPoint format, only use Windows/Office supplied fonts. If you are submitting in Microsoft publisher format you must save your poster as “Publish and Go” under the file menu. The preferred format is PDF.

To obtain a poster a 'Poster Voucher' must be obtained from the Stores Officer in 35.132A. They will charge your team budget $20 for each poster you would like to print. Please note that you must have the available cash flow in your team budget. The Stores Officer will then provide you with a voucher for each poster. The voucher together with your document for printing must be taken to the SCSSE/SISAT helpdesk at room 3.238. This must be done before the expiry date. Please note that no refund to the team budget will be made for lost or expired vouchers.

Please take note that the final date to order the posters will be Friday the 25th of September.

Important Notices:

Students who purchase parts without going through the above procedures will not be reimbursed for their purchases. Do not even ask.

Final Day for ordering International items is Friday the 25th of September

Final Day for ordering is Friday the 2nd of October

Forms

The following forms are required by you to use:

			SECTE Workshop Requisition Form - Use this form to request work to be completed by the workshop
			Authority to Order Parts Form - Use this form to request parts for your project to be purchased.
			Laboratory Access Form - Use this form to request access to the Laboratories.
			Project Form ECTE250/350 - ECTE250/350 students use this form to submit details on their project
			Project Form - Thesis and research students use this form to submit details on their project.

Risk Assessment Form - The form used to access the risks associated with your project

Printed Circuit Board Questionnaire - The form needed when submitting Printed Circuit Board requests

OH&S

The following documents relate to OH&S policy within SECTE. You must ensure that these documents are read and understood by you.

			Laboratory Safety Regulations - The basic rules that you must follow in the laboratories
			OH&S Guidelines - Detailed guide to OH&S in SECTE and a core document when undertaking any project within SECTE
			Risk Assessment Procedures - Procedures on how to complete a risk assessment form

All OH&S related incidents that occur within the school need to be reported. All reported items are tracked. To report an item simply raise an incident in Safety Net located in the student administrative page.

Project Forms:

When undertaking a Project in SECTE you must complete a project form. The project form is used to guide you through the process of commencing your project. It is broken up into four main parts:

- Listing details about yourself and emergency contact details should something go wrong when working on your project.

- Providing a checklist of tasks that you need to complete when starting your project such as consulting experienced staff, considering any risks involved and planning your budget for expenditure.

- Providing a checklist of items that you may have not considered when starting your project.

- Providing details about your project so that it can be assessed and any training etc can be provided.

The steps to complete a project form are:

- Determine what your project is

- Meet with the workshop staff to talk about your project. This includes how you plan on building it and the sorts of parts you were planning on using. This is where you should also talk about what skills or training you might require to build the project. Note: If you are doing a simulation only project you do not need to undertake this step.

- Examine your allocated budget and price out all the equipment that you plan on purchasing. Don't forget to include freight costs. At this stage you can determine if you will have enough money to complete your project. - Complete a Risk Assessment on your Project.

- Fill out a project form. There is one form for ECTE250 and ECTE350 students and another form for everybody else.

- Submit your Project Form, Risk Assessment and Budget (more information available under purchasing parts) to the Stores.

Please note that you cannot begin purchasing any equipment until your Project Form and all supporting documentation is submitted and has been approved.

Risk Assessment Forms:

OH&S is very important for Engineers as they can work or manage others that work in dangerous environments. As a result all projects undertaken in SECTE must undergo a Risk Assessment. Procedures on how to fill in a Risk Assessment form are at the top of this section.

Lab Reports

Lab reports and assignments are generally handed back from the Stores Office. Some are handed back by the lecturer of the subject. Please check with the lecturer if you are to collect your marked work from the Stores Officer.

Please note that reports are not marked by the Stores Officers. If you have any queries in regards to your marks you must see the lecturer.

Any report/assignment that is handed back for collection by students on the Friday of Study Recess will be kept in the Stores for three weeks after Study Recess. Any report handed back for collection after that date will be kept until week 2 of the next session. It is the students responsibility to ensure that they collect reports as soon as they become available. The Stores Officers will keep a list of reports/assignments available for collection in their window.

Printing Quota

The following determines the printing quota you will receive that can be used in specific SECTE computer laboratories:

Undergraduate students: $0 a year (0 pages)

Postgraduate students: $5 a year (50 pages)

Activation of printing quota occurs at the beginning of the year at the commencement of Autumn session.

The printing quota is only available in SECTE computer laboratories that have a network printer. The quota will not work on other printers throughout the university.

Students may purchase additional quota by paying $10 at the Faculty of Informatics Student Enquiry Centre in building 3. To activate the additional quota the receipt must be given to the Laboratory Manager in 35.135.

It is important to note that all quota is reset at the end of each year. That is the balance of all students printing quota should they have free quota remaining or purchased quota remaining will be reset to zero in December. No printing quota is rolled over into the new year.

Laboratory Improvements

The school works very hard to ensure that students obtain the best possible experience when studying at the University of Wollongong. The school conducts sessional surveys on the Laboratories to gather feedback on what improvements can be made and to find out what the school is doing right. Therefore when undertaking the survey please ensure that you take the time to consider all questions carefully and place as many comments as you can. Outcomes from previous Laboratory surveys is shown below:

Laboratory Survey Outcomes Autumn 2009:

- Replacement of Wishmakers (a new model has been sourced and will be available for Autumn 2010).
- The breadboards have been replaced in the Electronics Lab
- New wires for use with the breadboards in the Electronics Lab
- Upgrade of computers in Electronics Lab
- New adder modules purchased for the Telecommunications Lab
- Windows in labs have been cleaned
- New bag rack installed with space to store larger bags

The Team

The following staff members make up the Workshop Team:

Management

Carlo Giusti	Sasha Nikolic

IT Support

Neil Wood	Mike Macgirvin	Joe Tiziano

Electrical/Electronics Support

Frank Mikk	Steve Petrou

Stores Officers

Brian Biehl	David Moore

IT/Electronic Apprentices

Chris Radoll

Last reviewed: 2 October, 2009