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ECE 477 Final Report Spring 2004
12.0 Summary and Conclusions
The hardest lesson to learn this semester was to implement our objectives in the simplest
way possible. It’s easy to fall into the trap of envisioning a fantastic final product, but having no
previous experience with the hardware means that the development lead time is huge. We placed
too much faith in our RF reference design and it ultimately let us down. Aside from the RF, our
schematic and board layout were excellently done. No fly-wiring or extra components were
needed to realize our design. The software required much less lead time once our hardware was
working properly. We learned how important it is to communicate with each other and plan our
project in stages. Problems were more easily fixed when we were all in the loop. Our project
would not have been successful if we didn’t have so much experience to draw on from the
classes we’ve taken. We utilized our strengths in designing and building our project. It’s
impossible to escape a learning curve in a situation like this, but our backgrounds made learning
new material easier. We all feel that this project was an invaluable experience, the best
preparation for work in the outside world that we have gained so far. We are proud of the work
we’ve done and the near complete realization of our project goals.
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