Electronics Assembly and Cabling and Lab

Course Description

Electronics Assembly and Cabling and Lab trains students in communications cabling and electronics assembly techniques. The curriculum encompasses computer network cable fabrication, installation, and management, along with safety protocols, testing and troubleshooting procedures, and cabling industry standards. Students also learn component identification, soldering and desoldering methods, and how to read and create schematics.

Within the SCNS taxonomy, EET is the Electronic Engineering Technology prefix and the C suffix marks a combined lecture-and-laboratory course. Daytona State publishes it at 3 credits with a $102.00 lab fee, offered spring, giving approximately 60 contact hours at the prefix's C-form convention.

This is a hands-skills course, and those skills are immediately employable. Soldering to a recognised standard and terminating cable correctly are the two things an electronics employer can verify in ten minutes at an interview — and they are trainable to a professional level within one course, which is unusual.

Daytona State does not publish a lecture and laboratory split for its EET courses. The prefix's C-suffixed courses cluster tightly at 20 contact hours per credit — EET1015C, EET1035C, EET1084C, EET1180C, EET1214C, EET1215C, EET1610C, EET2326C, EET2355C, EET2724C and EET3085C are all published at 3 credits and 60 hours, and EET1033C, EET1142C, EET2142C, EET2323C, EET2351C, EET3716C, EET4158C and EET4732C are all published at 4 credits and 80 hours.

Learning Outcomes

Required Outcomes

• Identify electronic components by appearance and marking.
• Read component values, including resistor colour codes and capacitor markings.
• Read and interpret schematic diagrams.
• Create schematic diagrams to accepted conventions.
• Relate a schematic to a physical board layout.
• Apply electrostatic discharge precautions correctly.
• Select solder, flux, and tip appropriate to a task.
• Solder through-hole components to an acceptable standard.
• Desolder components without damaging the board.
• Inspect solder joints and identify defects and their causes.
• Describe surface-mount techniques and their requirements.
• Apply soldering safety, including fume extraction and burn prevention.
• Describe cable types used in communications and their applications.
• Describe cabling standards and their purpose.
• Terminate twisted-pair cable to standard.
• Terminate cable to jacks, patch panels, and outlets.
• Fabricate and test patch cables.
• Install and dress cable to professional standards.
• Apply cable management and labelling practice.
• Describe pathways, spaces, and separation requirements.
• Test cabling and interpret certification results.
• Troubleshoot cabling faults systematically.
• Apply safety practice in installation environments.
• Document an installation accurately.

Optional Outcomes

• Describe fibre optic termination and testing.
• Describe coaxial cable systems.
• Apply IPC workmanship standards.
• Describe printed circuit board fabrication.
• Describe rework and repair of assemblies.
• Prepare for an IPC or BICSI certification.

Major Topics

Required Topics

• Component identification
• Reading component values
• Reading schematics
• Creating schematics
• Schematic to board layout
• Electrostatic discharge precautions
• Solder, flux, and tip selection
• Through-hole soldering
• Desoldering
• Solder joint inspection
• Surface-mount technique
• Soldering safety and fume extraction
• Communications cable types
• Cabling standards
• Twisted-pair termination
• Terminating to jacks and panels
• Patch cable fabrication
• Cable installation and dressing
• Cable management and labelling
• Pathways, spaces, and separation
• Cable testing and certification
• Cabling fault diagnosis
• Installation safety
• Installation documentation

Optional Topics

• Fibre optic termination and testing
• Coaxial systems
• IPC workmanship standards
• PCB fabrication
• Rework and repair
• IPC or BICSI certification

Resources & Tools

• The programme's laboratory and its instruments — the reason to take these courses in person. Oscilloscope competence in particular is built only by using one.
• LTspice, Multisim, or Falstad's circuit simulator — LTspice and Falstad are free; simulate before you build and after it fails.
• The Art of Electronics (Horowitz & Hill) — the reference practising engineers keep, and unusually readable.
• Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory (Boylestad & Nashelsky) — the standard course text.
• Manufacturer datasheets and application notes — free, and the primary source; learning to read a datasheet properly is a genuine professional skill.
• IPC standards (ipc.org) — the electronics assembly and soldering standards industry actually works to; IPC certification is recognised by employers.
• BICSI (bicsi.org) — structured cabling standards and installer credentials.
• A decent multimeter of your own — and know its limitations; a cheap meter lies confidently.
• ABET (abet.org) — free accreditation lookup; check which commission a programme is accredited under.

Career Pathways

• Electrical and electronics engineering technologist or technician — SOC 17-3023.
• Electronics assembly and test technician — a common entry route.
• Field service and maintenance technician — instrumentation, medical devices, industrial equipment.
• Structured cabling and network infrastructure installation — a distinct and steady trade.
• Communications and RF technician — broadcast, telecommunications, and avionics.
• Controls and instrumentation technician — process industries and building systems.
• Aerospace and defence electronics — a large Florida sector on the Space Coast; ⚠ many roles require U.S. citizenship and some a security clearance.
• Test engineering and quality.
• Manufacturing engineering support.
• Continue to a bachelor's or master's — ⚠ see the note on engineering technology and professional licensure.

Special Information

⚠⚠ Solder fume causes occupational asthma — extract it

• The fume from soldering is mostly vaporised flux, not lead, and rosin-based flux fume is a recognised cause of occupational asthma. It is one of the more common industrial respiratory sensitisers.
• Sensitisation is permanent. Once someone reacts to rosin fume, they generally react to it thereafter — which can end a career in electronics assembly.
• Use fume extraction, positioned close to the joint, and keep your head out of the plume. A fan blowing it away from you is better than nothing and much worse than extraction.
• Lead solder is still in use in some applications. Wash hands before eating, do not eat at the bench, and keep solder away from your mouth.
• Lead-free solder requires higher temperatures, which changes technique and increases both burn risk and fume production.
• Ventilate the room as well as extracting at source.
• Report any developing cough, wheeze, or breathlessness — early symptoms are reversible and ignored ones frequently are not.

⚠ A good solder joint is a specific, inspectable thing

• Soldering is a motor skill built by repetition, and there is a defined standard for what "good" means — it is not a matter of opinion.
• Heat the joint, not the solder. The pad and lead should melt the solder; solder melted by the iron tip produces a cold joint that looks acceptable and fails later.
• A good joint is shiny, concave, and wets both pad and lead with a smooth fillet. Dull, blobby, or ball-shaped means cold; a joint with a crater or a spike means it moved while cooling.
• Cleanliness first. Oxidised leads and dirty pads prevent wetting, and flux exists to address it — not to compensate for skipping preparation.
• Keep the tip clean and tinned. A blackened tip transfers heat badly, which makes everything harder and tempts you to raise the temperature.
• Use the right tip and the right temperature — too cool causes cold joints, too hot damages pads and lifts tracks.
• Do not move the joint while it solidifies.
• Inspect every joint under magnification, and rework the bad ones rather than hoping.

⚠ Electrostatic discharge damage is invisible, cumulative, and real

• A static discharge far below the threshold you can feel will damage semiconductors, and the damage is frequently latent — the device works, then fails weeks later in service.
• That latency is the whole problem. Because nothing appears to go wrong at the bench, the discipline feels unnecessary — which is exactly why manufacturers enforce it and hobbyists do not.
• Use the wrist strap, and check that it is connected. An unclipped strap is decoration.
• Work on a grounded mat, and keep sensitive parts in their antistatic packaging until the moment of use.
• Handle boards by the edges, and avoid touching connector pins and component leads.
• Humidity matters — static risk rises sharply in dry, air-conditioned conditions.
• Common synthetic materials generate charge, so what you wear and what is on the bench both matter.
• Follow the practice even when nothing seems to go wrong, because by definition you will not see the failures you cause.

⚠⚠ Electronics laboratory safety — low voltage is not no voltage

• Bench voltages can injure and kill. The assumption that electronics work is inherently safe because it is not mains voltage is wrong — and equipment on the bench is frequently mains-powered regardless.
• ⚠ Capacitors store charge after power is removed. Power supply filter capacitors in particular can hold a dangerous charge for a long time. Discharge before touching, and treat every large capacitor as charged.
• De-energise before rewiring. Build the circuit, check it, then apply power — not the reverse.
• Check polarity and voltage before switching on. Reversed electrolytic capacitors vent violently, and over-voltage destroys semiconductors instantly.
• Current-limit the supply when testing a new build; it converts a destroyed board into a puzzle to solve.
• ⚠ Oscilloscope grounds are usually earthed. Connecting a scope ground clip to a point that is not at earth potential creates a short circuit through the instrument — this destroys equipment and can be dangerous, and it is one of the most common laboratory accidents.
• Eye protection when cutting leads. Clipped component legs travel at speed.
• Soldering irons burn and they do not look hot. Return them to the stand every time and never pass one hand to hand.
• Report damaged leads, cracked cases, and equipment faults rather than working around them.

⚠⚠ Engineering technology is not engineering for licensure purposes

• This distinction matters for anyone who may want to become a licensed Professional Engineer, and students frequently discover it too late.
• An engineering technology degree and an engineering degree are different qualifications, accredited under different criteria, and state licensing boards treat them differently.
• Requirements for PE licensure vary by state, and a technology degree may mean additional experience, a different pathway, or in some states no pathway at all.
• ⚠ If professional licensure is a goal, establish the pathway before you invest years in a programme — ask the Florida Board of Professional Engineers directly, and ask about any state you might move to.
• This is not a criticism of engineering technology. It is a distinct and valuable discipline oriented to application and implementation, and most graduates never need a PE licence — but the ones who do need to have planned for it.
• ABET accredits both, under different commissions; check which one a programme holds.
• ⚠ Rule 11 applies — licensure requirements change; verify with the board rather than relying on any course guide.

How Florida course levels affect transfer

The first digit of an SCNS number denotes the year of offering, not transferability. Courses at the 1000 and 2000 levels transfer transparently between Florida public institutions, and 3000 to 4000 is unproblematic since both are upper division. The boundary that actually matters is 2000 to 3000, where lower-division credit generally cannot satisfy an upper-division requirement — and it is live in these prefixes, where Daytona State offers both associate-level and bachelor of applied science coursework.

EET1607C is 3 credits and approximately 60 contact hours with a $102.00 lab fee, offered spring at Daytona State.

The skills here are directly demonstrable at interview — consider pursuing an IPC soldering credential or a BICSI cabling credential alongside the course. See also EET1610C (Through-Hole and Surface-Mount Soldering) and EET2609C (Electronic Fabrication and Fiber Optics).