Teaching random signals and noise: an experimental approach

A practical approach for teaching random signals and noise is described, where theoretical aspects are complemented by several laboratory experiments enriching the student's understanding on basic topics, such as histograms and estimation of probability density function, autocorrelation function, and power spectral density. The equipment required is minimum and inexpensive. In fact, the existing equipment of laboratory benches employed for an electronic instrumentation course has been used. No investment from our institution has been necessary due to the full exploitation of the potentials of the existing instruments and their PC connectivity.