Electronic Systems Thinking and Circuits Lab (EE1104) in IITM BS: Syllabus

The Electronic Systems Thinking and Circuits Lab (EE1104), or ESTC Lab, is a 1 credit foundation lab in the IITM BS in Electronic Systems. It is the hands-on partner of the ESTC theory course (EE1101). You look inside everyday devices and build simple circuits on a breadboard. You need the ESTC course first, and you complete the lab with a visit to IIT Madras.

The Sep 2025 syllabus uses the code EE1104. The handbook tables list the same lab as EE1901. The name and the 1 credit match, so it is the same course. The syllabus names three instructors from the Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras: Prof. Sankaran Aniruddhan, Prof. Boby George and Prof. Janakiraman Viraraghavan.

What you need before the ESTC Lab

The handbook course tables list ESTC as a corequisite. The lab policy from May 2026 is stricter. It calls the ESTC course a prerequisite and says there is no lab in Term 1. So finish ESTC first. The ESTC course page covers the theory course.

What you learn in the ESTC Lab

The syllabus gives no week-by-week plan for this lab. Its description is the same paragraph used for the ESTC theory course. The themes, in order:

• Taking a device apart. You start with a teardown of a laptop or a mobile phone and look at the parts on the board.
• Power and current. The battery leads into voltage and energy sources that run out. The chips on the board, such as the processor and radio parts, share one supply and each draws its own current. This is used to explain Kirchhoff's current law (KCL).
• Basic circuit analysis. Simple network analysis runs alongside, with breadboard experiments to show the theory.
• Processors and memory. These are explained with simple comparisons, not in full detail.

The ESTC theory course plan also includes experiment lectures, such as measuring resistive circuits, the RC step response and filter experiments. They show the hands-on style, but the syllabus does not say which experiments are graded in the lab.

Campus visit, kit and lab rules

• In both approved foundation tracks, the ESTC Lab is in your first lab visit, together with the C Programming Lab. See ES campus visits.
• You cannot register for this lab alone in a term. A single lab means no visit and an I grade. Read the single lab rule.
• Home experiments use the ES lab kit, a USB powered instrument that works as a function generator and oscilloscope. You buy it separately from the course fees.

Who finds it hard and how to prepare

If you have never built a circuit, the first experiments feel slow. Early on, wiring mistakes cause more trouble than the theory does.

• Learn which breadboard holes are joined inside before you build anything.
• Work out the expected voltage or current first, using Ohm's law and KCL. Then measure. A big gap usually means a wiring mistake.
• Check the circuit against the diagram one wire at a time before you power it.
• Keep a notebook with each circuit, the expected values and the measured values.
• Set up the lab kit with your computer and test it well before your lab term.

What to take before and after

Take ESTC before this lab. After it, the ESTC Lab unlocks the 3 credit Electronics Laboratory (EE1105), which needs this lab as a prerequisite.

Common questions

Do I need electronics experience before the ESTC Lab?

No. The handbook lists only the ESTC course as the requirement. The lab starts from everyday devices and simple circuits, so ESTC itself is your preparation.

What happens if I delay the ESTC Lab?

The Electronics Laboratory needs it first. The handbook also says the courses up to the Electronics Laboratory must be done before you register for diploma courses. So a late ESTC Lab can push back your diploma start.

Which code do I register with, EE1104 or EE1901?

Use whatever the registration portal shows. Both codes point to the ESTC Lab with 1 credit. If both appear, ask support which one is current.