Milestone map
Milestone map
4 milestones
Bits: source coding and error-correcting codes
about 3 weeks (about 12 hrs/week)
Read 6.02 text chapters 1–8 and watch the matching lectures; do problem sets 1–3 (Python). Then solve 6.02 problem sets 1–3 and the source-coding questions of a 6.450 Quiz 1. Self-check: MIT 6.450 Principles of Digital Communications I: quizzes with solutions. Free tools only.
Proof required
Link the public repo with 6.02 problem sets 1–3 and the source-coding questions of a 6.450 Quiz 1 written up (a typeset PDF, LaTeX source or notebook), and show the self-check: which answers matched and how you fixed the ones that did not.
What gets checked
- Entropy and code rates are computed, not quoted.
- The decoder is tested on corrupted bits and its error rate measured.
- Quiz answers are checked against the published solution.
Common mistakes
- Answers copied from a solution with no working.
- Missing units, or a sign or factor-of-2π slip left unexplained.
Powstik Guide
A public write-up of 6.02 problem sets 1–3 and the source-coding questions of a 6.450 Quiz 1, with the self-check shown.
Steps
- Study the linked course material.
- Solve the problems on your own first.
- Check them against the self-check and rework the misses.
- Typeset the write-up (LaTeX or a notebook) in a public repo.
- Ask someone who knows the subject to check it.
Template
README ECE 8: Communication Systems, unit 1: Bits: source coding and error-correcting codes Problems: Self-check result (matched / reworked): What I got wrong first and why:
What gets sent back
- No working shown.
- The self-check result is missing.
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- Entropy and code rates are computed, not quoted.
- The decoder is tested on corrupted bits and its error rate measured.
- Quiz answers are checked against the published solution.
- Is the engineering right, not just the final number?
You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.
Signals: modulation and channels
about 3 weeks (about 12 hrs/week)
Read 6.02 text chapters 9–14 and do problem sets 4–6. Then solve 6.02 problem sets 4–6 and the sampling and modulation questions of the 2006 6.450 Quiz 2. Self-check: MIT 6.450 Principles of Digital Communications I: quizzes with solutions. Free tools only.
Proof required
Link the public repo with 6.02 problem sets 4–6 and the sampling and modulation questions of the 2006 6.450 Quiz 2 written up (a typeset PDF, LaTeX source or notebook), and show the self-check: which answers matched and how you fixed the ones that did not.
What gets checked
- Channel distortion is modelled as an LTI system.
- Bit error rate is measured and compared with theory.
- Quiz answers are checked against the published solution.
Common mistakes
- Answers copied from a solution with no working.
- Missing units, or a sign or factor-of-2π slip left unexplained.
Powstik Guide
A public write-up of 6.02 problem sets 4–6 and the sampling and modulation questions of the 2006 6.450 Quiz 2, with the self-check shown.
Steps
- Study the linked course material.
- Solve the problems on your own first.
- Check them against the self-check and rework the misses.
- Typeset the write-up (LaTeX or a notebook) in a public repo.
- Ask someone who knows the subject to check it.
Template
README ECE 8: Communication Systems, unit 2: Signals: modulation and channels Problems: Self-check result (matched / reworked): What I got wrong first and why:
What gets sent back
- No working shown.
- The self-check result is missing.
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- Channel distortion is modelled as an LTI system.
- Bit error rate is measured and compared with theory.
- Quiz answers are checked against the published solution.
- Is the engineering right, not just the final number?
You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.
Packets: MAC, routing and reliable transport
about 3 weeks (about 12 hrs/week)
Read 6.02 text chapters 15–19 and do problem sets 7–9. Then solve 6.02 problem sets 7–9 and the Kurose and Ross interactive problems on reliable transfer and routing. Self-check: Computer Networking: interactive end-of-chapter problems (Kurose and Ross). Free tools only.
Proof required
Link the public repo with 6.02 problem sets 7–9 and the Kurose and Ross interactive problems on reliable transfer and routing written up (a typeset PDF, LaTeX source or notebook), and show the self-check: which answers matched and how you fixed the ones that did not.
What gets checked
- Throughput and delay are worked out for each protocol.
- Routing tables converge in your simulation.
- Interactive problems are answered, and misses are reworked.
Common mistakes
- Answers copied from a solution with no working.
- Missing units, or a sign or factor-of-2π slip left unexplained.
Powstik Guide
A public write-up of 6.02 problem sets 7–9 and the Kurose and Ross interactive problems on reliable transfer and routing, with the self-check shown.
Steps
- Study the linked course material.
- Solve the problems on your own first.
- Check them against the self-check and rework the misses.
- Typeset the write-up (LaTeX or a notebook) in a public repo.
- Ask someone who knows the subject to check it.
Template
README ECE 8: Communication Systems, unit 3: Packets: MAC, routing and reliable transport Problems: Self-check result (matched / reworked): What I got wrong first and why:
What gets sent back
- No working shown.
- The self-check result is missing.
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- Throughput and delay are worked out for each protocol.
- Routing tables converge in your simulation.
- Interactive problems are answered, and misses are reworked.
- Is the engineering right, not just the final number?
You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.
Send text over sound and measure the error rate
about 3 weeks (about 12 hrs/week)
Make a software audio modem (FSK or BPSK) that sends text from one device's speaker to another device's microphone. Build the modulator and demodulator in Python and send a known random stream of at least 10,000 bits. Record it at three distances or volumes and estimate Eb/N0 from each recording. Then add noise in code to sweep at least six Eb/N0 values, and compare measured bit error rate with theory in a table and a plot.
Proof required
Link the public repo with the notebook, your recordings (or links to them) and the predicted-vs-measured table, and a README that says how to rerun it and what limits the result.
What gets checked
- The recordings (or links to them) are in the repo and the decoder runs on them.
- Measured BER is plotted against Eb/N0 next to theory: Q(√(2Eb/N0)) for coherent BPSK, ½·e^(−Eb/2N0) for non-coherent FSK.
- Each BER point counts at least 20 errors, and gaps from theory are explained (multipath, clock drift).
Common mistakes
- A result that nobody else can rerun from the repo.
- A table with no explanation of the gaps.
Powstik Guide
A software audio modem (FSK or BPSK) that sends text from one device's speaker to another device's microphone, in a public repo.
Steps
- Write down what you expect before you start.
- Build the modulator and demodulator in Python and send a known random stream of at least 10,000 bits. Record it at three distances or volumes and estimate Eb/N0 from each recording. Then add noise in code to sweep at least six Eb/N0 values, and compare measured bit error rate with theory in a table and a plot.
- Fill the predicted-vs-measured table.
- Explain every gap with a cause someone can check.
- Write the README and ask someone who knows the subject to rerun it.
Template
README ECE 8: Communication Systems — Send text over sound and measure the error rate What I expected: How to rerun it: Predicted vs measured: Why they differ:
What gets sent back
- It does not run from the repo.
- No predicted-vs-measured table.
Resources
Foundationstart here
What a verifier looks for
- The recordings (or links to them) are in the repo and the decoder runs on them.
- Measured BER is plotted against Eb/N0 next to theory: Q(√(2Eb/N0)) for coherent BPSK, ½·e^(−Eb/2N0) for non-coherent FSK.
- Each BER point counts at least 20 errors, and gaps from theory are explained (multipath, clock drift).
- Rerun it from the repo: does it run, and do the numbers match the table?
You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.