Implementation of a Remote Analog and Digital Communications Lab for e-Learning Akram A. Abu-aisheh and Thomas Eppes Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Hartford West Harford-CT, USA A. Y. Al-Zoubi Communications Engineering Department Princes Sumaya University for Technology Amman, Jordan Abstract-- A remote instrumentation model used to perform modern RF and digital communications experiments over the internet is presented. The setup allows for highly cost effective and pedagogically rigorous mechanism of instructions for students in situations where traditional laboratory equipment is either unavailable or at a premium cost. In the model, a switch matrix is used to eliminate the need for students to be present in the laboratory. Index—Remote, Analog, Digital, E-learning I. INTRODUCTION Rapid changes in the field of engineering technology have increased the need for universities to provide engineering and engineering technology students with meaningful and relevant practical experiences. However, limited available resources in the provision of laboratory hardware and infrastructure have been the principal impediment in achieving this objective. Such hardware limitations have been increasingly marginalizing the quality of engineering and engineering technology education. E-learning can be used to help universities and technical collages overcome this problem and one approach is to expand e-learning activities in programs with limited resources to take advantage of online computer-based technology. In this model, remote instrumentation technology and the internet are merged to interface students with the physical world. As such, remote laboratories allow students around the world to access a computer equipped with the suitable interface circuits, such as data acquisition systems connected to various sensors or communication modules, and perform real-time experiments. Each year, a growing body of work has appeared that has further validated both the technological viability of distance laboratories, and their effectiveness in delivering a worthwhile laboratory experience [1-4]. The quality of the architectures and designs has shown steady improvement, and there appears to be ample evidence that this form of experimentation delivers a valuable learning experience for students [5-9]. In this paper, a setup is proposed to perform modern RF and digital communications experiments remotely in a distance learning environment. The National Instrument Educational Remote Instrumentation Suite (NI ELVIS) and Emona Instrument’s DATEx telecommunications trainer [10-11] were utilized in this setup. An amplitude- shift keying (ASK) experiment was performed online to demonstrate how students can easily carry out many tedeous tasks to perform the experiment; and hence focus on understanding the underlying principles of operation of the communication systems. II. REMOTE LABORATORIES Hands-on laboratories provide valuable experience in engineering and technology education. However, such trainers are not always necessarily available to students. Limitations on equipment access and funding further reduce the availability of laboratory resources in many institutions. Virtual laboratories are therefore a possible alternative to traditional laboratories, and they are already used in distance learning education in several universities. On the other hand, remote labs help alleviate these problem by increasing access and simultaneously reducing cost and a growing body of work has appeared that has validated both their technological viability and effectiveness in delivering a worthwhile laboratory experience. Over the past 10 years, two primary solutions have been implemented. Recently reported work continues to mirror this trend [12-17]. Some researchers have developed customized hardware and software that enables management and control of the process including data-based driven web pages with access scheduling. Others have chosen to employ commercial platforms, e.g. LabVIEW in combination with NI ELVIS. We decided on this latter approach since ongoing support, maintenance and design improvements would be readily available from the supplier network. The NI ELVIS II can be used in many electrical engineering laboratories. In addition to its built-in instruments, it can be used to build LabVIEW-based remote instruments, a multifunction data acquisition device and a custom designed bench top workstation and prototyping board. The Main features on ELVIS II, shown in Fig. (1), are: • Offering modern digital and analog experiments in a single board. 1425