Students can simultaneously attend our multi-user hardware labs anytime, from anywhere, expanding the value of your courses.

net*TIMS – Hardware for Online Telecoms Lab Experiments

Emona net TIMS offers real TIMS hardware experiments delivered online simultaneously to multiple students across LAN & Internet in real-time.

  • Students control real TIMS hardware from their PC, Laptops, Tablets and Smartphones to obtain immediate PC-scope display of the real signals
  • Remote control of hardware via GUI
  • HTML5 Support
  • User circuits can be controlled by net TIMS via Remote Project Module
  • Flexible experiment patching
  • Fault insertion capability for student debugging
  • 24/7 access to real TIMS hardware experiments via browser/client
  • Real-time logging of student experiment progress and access
  • Flexible, fast experiment authoring using TutorTIMS simulation package

The ‘hands-on’ approach builds student confidence and makes the experiment satisfying as the students are free to explore and learn by making mistakes. When they explore more, they learn more.

Access a live experiment session at our experiment centre and experience netTIMS in action. 

Go to Live netTIMS Experiment

net TIMS set uop and screen

Diagram of netTIMS experiment unit with local users via LAN and remote users via internet

net*TIMS – TIMS via LAN/Internet: hardware experiment in the lab net TIMS allows professors to set-up real TIMS telecommunications experiments in their own laboratory, which students can then access and control from within the lab and at a distance, to carry out the experiments.

net TIMS operation diagram

net*TIMS-enabled modules have switches and potentiometers which are remotely controlled via Ethernet. The net TIMS enabled modules are plugged into a standard Emona TIMS-301 System Unit and are patched to the net*TIMS Server, which is connected to the LAN/Internet via an Ethernet port.

The GUI at the user PC mimics the experiment front panels and displays acquired real signals, using a digital 2 channel oscilloscope from 8 different points in the experiment for each channel. 4 trigger points are also available.

All waveforms can be viewed in both the time and frequency domain.

View a brief

3 minutes video presentation

ABOUT net*TIMS

 

See more

Simple Browser Log – On

A user logs on to the net*TIMS Server using their web browser.
They receive a JAVA-based client screen, as shown to the right, corresponding to the particular experiment set up on the net TIMS System.
The student can simultaneously access other course material provided by the professor and also transfer actual experimental results between the net TIMS screen and other applications to create Lab reports.
The user can switch, insert or by-pass hardware modules in the experiment, as set-up by the professor, for multi-stage experiments.

Multi-User

The net*TIMS Server manages a multiuser environment, allowing several students, each at a different location, to be logged onto the same net TIMS Server and independently carrying out their own session of the same experiment.

Course Management

The net*TIMS Server provides gatekeeping access and a log of all student activities. The professor can manage the net*TIMS Server from a password protected administration page via their browser.

NEW: Remote Project module, build your own circuits

This module enables the user to implement the netTIMS switch and potentiometer remote controls to their own circuits. A variety of switches and pots are included on this module which can be wired into the users custom circuits. The circuits can be implemented on a solderless breadboard, or on the prototyping area of the module.
The net TIMS client front panel includes the controls for the remote devices as well as 3 input/output terminal pairs for connecting this module to other net TIMS modules in the rack.
A simple example of some circuits is documented in the attached links. As well, a working example of this module with circuits is currently online at the LIVE netTIMS server accessible from this website.

Any number of these modules can be used in your netTIMS system, depending on your curriculum needs, alongside the many other standard netTIMS modules available.
Go to our Resource centre to download additional documents on Remote Project module
In a net*TIMS experiment, the student has real-time control of every module’s knob and switch, and rapidly sees the effect of any front panel adjustments made.

Experience net*TIMS from our LIVE server on this website, as well as download an evaluation version of TutorTIMS Simulator for pre-lab learning. Just follow the links on this page and contact us with any further questions you may have.

Enjoy your experimenting with NetTIMS.

net tims remote project module

net*TIMS FAQ

1. How do I view the net*TIMS online experiment?

net*TIMS runs on HTML5. You can do the netTIMS Experiment on your Browser.

2. What can I control in the experiment?

You are controlling real hardware TIMS modules in a real TIMS system, and viewing the real electrical signals via a PC based scope.

All front panel toggle switches, rotary switches and Potentiometers can be changed by the user.
net*TIMS switch: net*TIMS is an internet telecommunications instructional modelling software system
All signal levels can therefore be altered and investigated.

All significant points throughout the experiment can be viewed by moving the scope leads, ChA, ChB, and triggering points can also be altered to suit.

The patching of the modules in the experiment can be altered if a SWITCH module is being used, otherwise the patching remains fixed. Modules also remain fixed for each experiment.

All the knobs and switches are controllable. This image shows a typical toggle switch and Potentiometer knob control.

3. How do I adjust the knobs?

To adjust knobs, you can either:

  1. click on the knob and drag the knob pointer to your required point
  2. click on the knob, which highlights it, and then use left or right arrows on your keyboard to move by one increment at a time.
  3. click on either left half or right half of knob to rotate either anti-clockwise or clockwise respectively by one increment at a time.
4. How do I adjust the toggle switches?

To adjust toggle switches, you simply click on them and they cycle through the available positions – up, middle (for a three position switch) and down.

5. How do toggle switches work?

net*TIMS scope: TutorTIMS instructional modelling softwareThe scope is designed to mimic a traditional scope with manual controls. The TIME and FREQ buttons activate the time domain or frequency domain displays respectively.

To select a point to view, firstly select a scope input channel by clicking on the input terminal alongside labels ChA, ChB or TRIG. This will highlight and number ALL outputs which are available for that input to connect to. Then, click on the highlighted output you wish to view. The scope lead will connect to that point. The number of points to view is fixed and determined by the experimental setup at the net*TIMS system unit. The ‘Single / XY / Acc’ switch selects between the default of single shot mode, XY mode where ChA is plotted against ChB and Accumulate mode. Accumulate mode continuously requests a new screen capture and overlays them onto the display. This is useful for viewing Eye diagrams and other subtle variations of a waveform over time. Triggering at the same point in the waveform is usually very important when using Accumulate modes in scopes.net*TIMS scope: TutorTIMS instructional modelling software

The ‘wiring’ button changes the look of the patching of the wires, but doesn’t change the connections themselves. This can be useful to improve visibility of connections and settings.

Use the ‘ELASTICITY’ control knob to vary the position of the patching leads to suit yourself.

Triggering is very important in net*TIMS, as always in TIMS. The net*TIMS scope has full triggering features as on a normal scope.

The Rise/OFF/Fall switch is used to turn on Triggering mode. The source of the trigger signal is then selected by the ChA/Ext/ChB switch. If EXTernal trigger is selected, then the trigger comes from the signal connected to the TRIG terminal with the green patching lead. LEVEL and DELAY set the trigger level and trigger delay time.

When using FREQ mode on a channel, the x1, x2 and x4 switch zooms in on the FFT display for closer inspection. SNGL (single) and AVG(average) mode create an FFT display based on one screen capture or several.

Beware of the aliasing which arises on digital scopes…creating false signals which appear correct. Always be aware of your time base settings and check that what you see is what you expect.

Experiment Centre

Choose an experiment from the menu to see the system in action.
It is important that you print out and follow these guides from the boxes below

Live NetTIMS Experiments

IIR filters

IIR filters

This experiment implements a 2nd order IIR Direct Form 2 structure, with remotely variable coefficients. The user can modify the coefficients from the math and see the implementation of these polynomials with real electrical signals in real time.

CONNECT TO LIVE net*TIMS SERVER

  • Access LOGIN – Username: user, Password: visitor
  • Best viewed FULL SCREEN at 1024 x 768 display resolution
  • If you enter the incorrect IP address, you will receive an ERROR message.

Binary Phase Shift Keying

Binary Phase Shift Keying

This experiment explores the creation and demodulation of a BPSK signal, from a TTL data stream, being passed through a noisy channel.

DSBSC Generation

DSBSC Generation

This experiment explores the creation and demodulation of DSBSC signals using simple messages, as well as speech. The SWITCH module enables the experiment patching to be altered remotely by the user to explore different input signals and output paths.

Sampling

Sampling

This experiment explores sampling and reconstruction of an analogue waveform. Issues such as reconstruction filter bandwidth, sampling rate and sampling pulse width can be investigated. The switch module enables the sampling rate to be changeable from fixed to variable.

  • This experiment is currently offline

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