Lab Experiment#01

Roll No. ____________________________________________ Date of Conduct: _______________________

Submission Date: ___________________________________ Grade Obtained: ________________________

LAB
DATA ANALYSIS
PERFORMAN SUBJECT AND
ABILITY TO
PRESENTATIO CALCULATION
OBSERVATION/
CONDUCT SCORE
KNOWLEDGE INTERPRETATI N AND CODING
CE ON
EXPERIMENT RESULTS

INDICATOR

Getting familiar with basic computer hardware: peripheral devices

Objectives
 To get familiar with basic computer hardware.
 Understand how computer processes data in to information.
 To get familiar with different input devices and their working mechanism.
 To get familiar with different output devices and their working mechanism.

Tools
 All the basic computer hardware.
 Different peripheral devices: Input and Output.
 Screw drivers.

Keywords:Data, Information, Pointing, Peripherals, Input, Output. Duration:03 hours

1 Introduction

1.1 Computer Defined

The computer is an electronic device,

which is capable of receiving input,
processing the data according to the
given set of instructions, producing
output and also capable of storing
huge amount of data permanently.
Computer is so called an electronic
device because a computer is simply a
machine which operates on the
electric signals. There are many types
of computers but the primary job of
every computer is to convert raw data
in to the useful information by
applying some processing on the raw data according to the given set of instructions. The computer
receives the data from the user via input devices then it applies some processing on to it with the
help of processing devices (processor) and converts it into useful information then it shows that
output on the output devices (like monitor or printer) and if requested it stores that processed data
(information) on to any storage media (like hard disk or floppy disk etc.) permanently so that it can
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be accessed by the user at any time. Computer is basically a calculating device but the ability to store
and execute programs makes computers extremely versatile and distinguishes them from
calculators.

Computer helps us doing certain jobs in split seconds that the human even can’t think of it. The
computers are becoming the fundamental part of every field like they are widely used in industries,
banks, insurance companies, universities, colleges, nuclear science, weather forecasting, weapon
designing, car modeling, air crash investigation, Bio-medical sciences etc. because they perform
specific tasks very quickly, accurately and very fast. The computers that we see all around us in
schools, colleges, universities and offices are digital computer.

As there are many different types of computers therefore computers can’t be classified in one or two
categories. Computer can be classified in many aspects as according to type of data they can
represent (i.e. Analog or Digital), according to the size, according to the data handling capabilities,
according to the hardware they contain, according to the software they can support and many many
more.

1.2 Basic task of a computer

No matter what type or size of the computer is the basic task of any computer is to convert raw data
(useless data) in to information (useful data).

1.3 Information Processing Cycle

As the basic task of a computer is to convert the raw data in to the useful information. To do this
task the computer performs a process called information processing cycle (also called data
processing cycle), which is set of steps arranged in a particular manner. Each step of this process
requires one or more components of the computer. Information processing cycle contains four
steps:
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INPUT: During this step the computer accepts the input from the user via any input device like
keyboard or mouse. It is very important step as the computer cannot do anything by itself so it
needs the instructions in the form of input.

PROCESS: During this step the processing devices (Microprocessor) of the computer performs some
processing on the inputted data according to the given set of instructions and converts the data in to
information. The data processed by the processor in stored in memory (RAM) temporarily so that
the processor can receive and access the data very fast. So in this step the two important devices of
the computer RAM and Processor are used.

OUTPUT: During this process the computer shows the result of processed data on some sort of
output devices like monitor or printer. It is very important for the computer to show the output
because if the computer cannot show the result then how a people can come to know that data has
been converted in to information.

STORAGE: During this step the computer permanently stores the processed data on any storage
device like hard disk, floppy or USB. It is important to save your important data on the permanently
storage media so that you can access that data again whenever you want, else you have to set the
data again which will be itching and can be time consuming to write the data again and again.

1.4 Input Devices

The input devices are used to enter the data into the computer (system unit) to instruct it to work
accordingly. The input devices are considered as the interface between the user and the computer.
Through the input devices the users can communicate and instruct the computer.
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There are many types of input devices but the most commonly input devices used in a personal
computer are keyboard and a mouse. The keyboard is used to enter the text and numbers, whereas
the mouse is used to enter the data which is used by the computer to set the cursor on the screen.
There are also many other input devices which may include the variants of mouse like, track ball
and track pad; it may include optical input devices like a digital pen also called a stylus; the devices
that input still and moving pictures which includes the digital camera and web cam; the devices to
control the movement of the character in a computer game like, joystick or joy pad; the sound
inputting devices like a microphone and many many more. List of some of the input devices is
shown below:

• Keyboard
• Mouse

• Trackball  Trackpad
• Joystick
• Game Controller
• Microphone
• Digital Camera
• Web Cam
• Barcode Reader
• Scanner
• Finger Print Reader

1.4.1 Keyboard

Keyboard is primary input device it is used to input text, numbers and commands. It is just like a
typewriter which works as a communicator between the user and the computer. It is small plastic
body containing matrix of several elastic keys arranged in certain groups. Keyboards can be
categorized according to the shape, according to the size, according to the color, according to the
number of keys they contain and so on. But the most commonly used keyboard is IBM Enhanced
Keyboard designed by IBM, contains about 100 keys. These keys are arranged in to the five groups
namely,

1. Alphanumeric Keys
2. Modifier Keys
3. Numeric Keypad
4. Function Keys
5. Cursor-Movement Keys
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Alphanumeric Keys: The group of keys or the portion of the keyboard which looks like a
typewriter containing alphabetic character ( i.e. A, B, C, X, Y, Z), special symbols (i.e. &, @, $, #),
numbers (i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) and some special keys as (ENTER, SPACE, BACK SPACE, CAPS LOCK and
TAB) keys is named as Alphanumeric Keys. The first line in this group is arranged as Q, W, E, R T, Y,
this arrangement is called QWERTY arrangement and sometimes the keyboard containing this type
of arrangement are known as QWERTY keyboards. It is very important group because it enables us
to enter the English syntax.

Modifier Keys: The keys SHIFT, ALT, CTRL are known as modifier keys because they modify or
change the functionality of other keys. To modify the functionality of other key you have to press
that key while holding down the modifier key. Like when you press J key it displays the small letter j
on the screen but when pressed while holding down SHIFT key it will display capital J on the screen.
Similarly F4 key has its own function but when pressed while holding down ALT key it closes any
opened active window. The modifier keys have played very important role in shrinking the size of
the keyboard as if there were no modifier keys present in the keyboard then you had separate keys
for capital and small letter and for some special functions so the modifier keys have helped very
much to overcome this complex problem.

Numeric Keypad: It is just like a calculator located usually at the right side of the keyboard. It
contains numbers from 0 to 9, arithmetic operator (+, -, *, & /), an enter key and a num lock key. It is
used for fast calculation as it provides separate calculator based design. It is widely used in the
fields where people perform a lot of calculations, creating data spread sheets and in accountings.
The num lock key also plays an important role in this group, when the num lock key is activated this
group behaves as a calculator while when deactivated it performs cursor-movement keys’ functions.

Function Keys: The keys labeled as F1, F2, F3, . . . , F12 located usually at the top of the keyboard
are known as function keys. These keys enable you to enter the commands without writing very
long and complex syntax of certain command. These keys perform specific functions and each key
has its own different functionality. As F1 key in most programs is used to open the help window of
the program. The function of these keys can vary from program to program according to the
structure of the program. The function of these keys like other keys can also be modified by using
them with modifier keys as F4 key has certain function but when pressed while holding down ALT
key it closes any opened active window.

Cursor-Movement Keys: The four arrow keys UP, DOWN, RIGHT & LEFT located between the
alphanumeric keys and numeric keypad are known as cursor-movement keys because they can
control the position of the cursor on the screen. These keys are used in wide variety of programs as
they are used in word processing applications to move around in the document for changing the
misplaced words, adding some text or removing unnecessary text added. Also in many games these
keys are used to control the movement of the object in the game.
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Beside these five groups the keyboard also contains two special purpose keys:

Start Key: It is used to open the start menu in many GUI (Graphics User Interface) based operating
systems. The identity of this key is that the windows logo is labeled on to it. The keyboard contains
two start keys one at the right and one at the left of space bar but both have the same functionality
to open the start menu.

Shortcut Key: It is locate at the right side of the right start key. It is used to open the list of menus
which that program contains. It has the same functionality as right mouse button has. So, pressing
the shortcut key means right clicking the mouse.

The latest developments in the keyboard manufacturing are Multimedia and Internet keyboards.
The multimedia keyboards contain some extra features that control the multimedia capabilities of
your system. These keyboards include some extra buttons as play, stop, pause, forward, rewind,
volume controlling key etc. These keyboards control the volume of your system and can control
your media player. On the other hand the Internet keyboard controls the Internet features of your
system as you can open a web page by just pressing a single button also you can send an e-mail with
the touch of a single button. Now days, these two developments are becoming more and more
popular among the people.

1.4.1.1 Mini-Keyboard

Mini-keyboards as their name implies are the

smaller keyboards then the standard
keyboards but have same functionality as
found in standard keyboards. The mini
keyboards lack one feature i.e. numeric
keypad that is usually found at the right side
of a standard keyboard. The keyboard
manufacturers have been struggling to
shrink the size of the keyboard without
eliminating certain features. They have
realized that the numeric keypad is an extra
feature which occupy about one third of a whole keyboard and can be eliminated because the same
keys i.e. numeric keys 0-9, & arithmetic operators +, -, /and * are also available in alphanumeric
keys. In this way by eliminating numeric keypad, the size of the keyboards has reduced without
eliminating certain features. These mini-keyboards are lighter in weight and take less desk space
than the standard keyboards. These keyboards are ideal for home desktop and office desktop PCs,
where we do not have more room for huge devices. But the professionals who every time deals with
numbers and calculations will not feel comfortable with these devices. These devices like other
keyboards are available in both wired and wireless forms and can be available in PS/2 or USB ports.
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1.4.1.2 Fold-Out/ Roll-Up Keyboards

The fold-out keyboards are the newest development in the keyboard

manufacturing technology. These keyboards are so flexible that they can be
easily fold-out like a paper sheet for easy carrying therefore these
keyboards are also known as roll-up or flexible keyboards. The whole
casing and the buttons of these keyboards are made up of rubber type
material and this elastic rubber material is actually the responsible for such
flexibility in these devices. Although these devices are so much flexible in
terms of mechanism but are not so much flexible in working because these
devices always require a flat hard surface to sit on to work properly. These
keyboards are very expensive as compared to the other keyboards and are
not widely used because of their short life.

These devices have got one major advantage that they can be cleaned easily
as there are no hollow surfaces under the sides of the keys as found in other keyboards. These
devices are available in both wired and wireless forms but the manufacturers are very keen to build
wireless fold-out keyboard to make them even more flexible.

1.4.1.3 Keypads

Keypads are the smallest type of keyboards contain

only single group of keys i.e. numeric keys from 0-9
and arithmetic operators +, -, / and *. These are even
smaller and lighter than mini-keyboards. They are
only used for entering numeric data and cannot enter
characters. These types of devices are ideal for
workplaces where the people every time deal with
numbers and calculations and there these devices
play the role of a calculator. These devices are not so
much flexible as they can only enter numeric type
data so you should be very much careful when
purchasing these devices by keeping in your mind
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that for what purpose you are going to purchase them either for professional numeric data entry or
for office work. If you are purchasing keypads for office use then you are at wrong way and you will
only put your hand on your head and say oh! What I have purchased?

If you are a regular computer user you should have a standard or a min keyboard. As you are a
regular user you should know that sometimes operating system corrupts. In this case you have to
reinstall the operating system but the most operating systems come with serial number also known
as product key which is series of 25-characters long
alphanumeric string. At this time your numeric keypad will not
be able to input the whole product key. So it is recommended
that you should have a standard or min-keyboard with the
numeric keypad for full functionality.

1.4.1.4 Round Mini-Keyboards

As there name implies they are circular shaped keyboards.

These keyboards are even smaller then mini-keyboards. These
are full-featured keyboards which have same functionality as
offered by traditional standard keyboards. They are usually operated by single hand. These are
portable and easy-to-use devices which occupy less desk space.

If you see carefully some of the alphabetic keys are missing in this keyboard. Because normally you
have a pair of round mini keyboards, so there will be another round keyboard and the missing keys
will be present in that keyboard. You have pair of round mini keyboards, one for your left hand and
one for your right hand.

1.4.1.5 Projection Keyboard

A projection keyboard is a form of

computer input device whereby the image
of a virtual keyboard is projected onto a
surface: when a user touches the surface
covered by an image of a key, the device
records the corresponding keystroke.

1.4.2 Mouse

Mouse (plural Mice) is a pointing device. It was

invented by Douglas Englebart in 1963, who at
the time was working at the Stanford Research
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Institute. It is used to control the cursor on the screen. The movement of the cursor is controlled by
moving the mouse, when we move the mouse forward the cursor moves upwards and when we
move it backward the cursor moves downwards. You can also move the mouse in left and right
direction to move the cursor left and right. The mouse can have at least two buttons one is called left
mouse button and the other is called right mouse button. The left mouse button is used for functions
like clicking, double-clicking and dragging and right mouse button is used for right-clicking. Clicking,
double-clicking, dragging and right-clicking are the functions that make the mouse more flexible and
more function able. Today’s modern mouse have a scrolling wheel, located between right and left
mouse button, used to scroll around a large documents or web pages quickly.

The mouse is used in GUI (Graphical User Interface) based operating systems. It allows the users to
interact with the on-screen pop-up menus and dialog boxes. The mouse offers two main advantages
firstly, you can easily and quickly move around the screen and secondly, you can enter commands
without entering and remembering the large and complex syntax of the commands. Mice like other
peripherals are available in different shapes and sizes. A mouse can be as large as a human hand or
a mini sized mini-mouse. The mouse can be in wired or wireless form. The mice are available in
Serial, PS/2 and USB ports.

1.4.3 Types of mouse

There are two types of mouse:

1. Mechanical Mouse
2. Optical Mouse

1.4.3.1 Mechanical Mouse

This is a traditional mouse, which works on

mechanical basis, containing a rubber ball
which protrudes from the back of the mouse
casing through a hole. It also contains a pair of
rollers and sensors. When you move the mouse
the ball at the bottom moves and with it the
roller that are in contact with the ball also rolls
then the sensors send the signals to the
computer telling it the distance, direction and
speed of the move. Then the computer uses its
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stored data to set the cursor on the screen so in this way the position of the cursor is controlled on
the screen.

1.4.3.2 Optical Mouse

Optical mouse is the newest development in the mouse sometimes also called lesser mouse, because
the laser is at the heart of this mouse. This mouse contains a built-in lesser instead of a heavy rubber
ball. When you mouse this mouse the lesser emits the beam of lesser light and with the help of
reflected rays it identifies the distance, direction and speed of the move and sends the signal to the
computer and then the computer uses its own stored data to set the cursor on the screen. As this
mouse does not contain a ball therefore this is slightly lighter than the mechanical mouse. People
often use optical mouse instead of mechanical mouse because of its better performance.

1.4.4 Trackball

Track ball is a pointing device. Like mouse it is

also used to control the cursor on the screen.
It is just like up-side down mouse. It contains
a rubber ball on the top of it and two or more
buttons. To use this device you have to place
your thumb or index finger on the ball and
other fingers on the buttons. With the help of
index finger you can roll the ball and control
the cursor on the screen as you desire. As you
don’t have to move the whole device therefore
it is ideal for the places where you don’t have
enough room for mouse. Track balls are
widely used in laptop computers because
you do not have enough space at you lap to
move the mouse.

Track balls come in many different

varieties. Some track balls are heavy with a
huge ball and some are very light and
contain very small ball. Track balls also
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come in left and right hand model for left and right-handed people. Track ball like mouse can
contain two or more buttons and scrolling wheel.

1.4.5 Trackpad

Track Pad is a pointing device also called touch pad. It is small pad approximately the size of 1.5 or 2
inches. It is used to control the cursor on the screen. To use this device you have to move your index
finger on the pad and the motion of your finger is then translated into the cursor’s movement. As it
is approximately 1.5 or 2 inches wide so your finger doesn’t have to move very far therefore it is less
tiring to use track pad instead of using mouse or trackball. It also contain two or more buttons but
some track pads are strike sensitive that is you just have to tap the pad instead of pressing certain
buttons. Track pads are now widely used in laptop computers. Track pads are also now built-
directly in to the modern keyboards releasing the extra port for other devices. You can also buy a
separate track pad like mouse and keyboard but you will consume one extra port for it.

1.4.6 Joystick

Joystick is a type of game controller which looks like

a car’s gear contains a lever and some buttons. The
lever is used to control the direction and motion of
the object in the game and other buttons perform
some specific functions. The joystick is ideal for
playing racing and flying games. A joystick is a
personal computer peripheral or general control
device consisting of a handheld stick that pivots
about one end and transmits its angle in two or three
dimensions to a computer. Joysticks are often used
to control video games, and usually have one or
more push-buttons whose state can also be read by
the computer. The term joystick has become a
synonym for game controllers that can be connected
to the computer since the computer defines the
input as a "joystick input". Apart for controlling games, joysticks are also used for controlling
machines such as elevators, cranes, trucks, powered wheelchairs and some zero turning radius lawn
mowers. More recently miniature joysticks have been adopted as navigational devices for smaller
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electronic equipment such as mobile phones. There has been a recent and very significant drop in
joystick popularity in the gaming industry. This is caused by the lack of new simulation games, flight
for the most part.

1.4.7 Game Pad

Gamepad, also called joypad or control pad, is a

type of game controller held in the hand, where the
digits (especially thumbs) are used to provide
input. Gamepads generally feature a set of action
buttons handled with the right thumb and a
direction controller handled with the left. The
direction controller has traditionally been a
fourway digital cross (D-pad), but most modern
controllers additionally (or as a substitute) feature
an analog stick. Gamepads are also available for
personal computers, although a keyboard and
mouse combination tends to be utilized more often for certain genres.

1.4.8 Microphone

It is an input device used for sound input. It catches the analog

signals of sound and sends them to the sound card which
converts those analog signals into the digital form that the
computer can understand. To use a microphone you should
have a sound card which can convert the sound into the
computers own language so the computer can understand. You
can record the sound with the help of microphone and store it
to the computer. Microphones are very useful in audio and
video conferences and presentations. Latest concept in the
computer field is to input the text without interacting with the
keyboard by only pronouncing the words with the help of
microphone. The software called Speech Recognition Software
does this job by translates the speech into the text. It takes the
smallest individual sounds in a language, called phonemes, and translates them into text or
commands. It is very complex software as in English language there are some words which have
same sounds and also it depends up on the speaker how he or she pronounces certain words. It does
not guarantee for 100 percent accuracy.

1.4.9 Digital Camera

It is again an input devices used to input the still images into

the computer. It is very much identical to the traditional
camera found in the hands of a professional photographer
usually called a film camera which captures the images on a
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special carbon coated film but the computers digital camera captures the image in a special memory
chip. These are portable handheld devices that you can easily carry to any place to captures your
favorite stills. Some digital cameras offer a small screen on to which you can see the captures stills.
You can transfer the images stores in the memory chip in the computer and can use a software to
modify and enhance it.

1.4.10 Web Camera

Web camera usually known as Web Cam is an input device used to input
videos (moving pictures). The difference between this device and a
digital camera is that the digital camera captures only still image
whereas this device can capture moving pictures usually known as
videos. Web cam is very handy tool most commonly used in video
conference on the Internet. You can use this device to communicate
with your friends face to face on the Internet. People usually set this
device to the top of their monitors. This camera digitizes the image by
breaking them into individual pixels. Each pixel’s color and
characteristics are stored as digital code. This code is then compressed
so that it can be stored on the disk or transmitted over a network. Most
of the laptops have built-in web cam at the top center.

1.4.11 Barcode Reader

A barcode reader (or barcode scanner) is a computer peripheral for reading barcodes printed on
various surfaces. Like a flatbed scanner, it generally consists of a light source, a lens and a photo
conductor translating optical impulses into electrical ones. Additionally, nearly all barcode readers
currently produced contain decoder circuitry analyzing the barcode's image data provided by the
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photo conductor and sending the barcode's content to the scanner's output port. Bar code reader
reads the special Bar codes, which are the patterns of small printed lines that appear on product
packages. The bar code reader emits a beam of lesser light on the printed bars. A light-sensitive
detector identifies the bar codes so as the product. It is used as a product identifier. These special
bars on each different product are different. After the detector identifies the bar codes, it converts
the individual bar patterns into the numeric digits that are then matched with the data stored in the
computer which tells whether the product is genuine or not.

1.4.12 Scanner

A scanner is an input device used to input the soft copy of a printed document. The image scanner or
simply scanner converts a printed document in to digital form by shinning the lesser light on the
image and with the help of reflected rays of light it identifies the colors and intensity of the colors.
The color scanner uses RGB (Red, Green and Blue) color scheme.
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You can now save that digital image into your computer
and use software like Adobe Photoshop or Corel Draw to
modify that image by increasing the brightness, color
intensity, saturation, hue etc. If you scan a text document
the scanner will convert it in to an image but not in to a
document. You can use software named as Optical
Character Recognition (OCR) to convert that scanned
image in to a document format. This software contains
some assumptions that how the characters will look like
and matches the characters of an image with its
assumptions and converts that image file into a
document format. Now when the OCR has converted the
image into a document you can edit and modify it.
Although it is very complex software because the hand-
writing varies from person to person and this software contains only a few assumptions so this
software does not guarantee to convert the hand-writing of every person.

1.4.13 Finger Print Reader

It is a device which captures the

finger print by striking the laser light
over the finger and the reflected light
is captured through sensors and is
translated in to digital images (finger
print).

Fingerprint scanning is a standard

biometric method that authenticates
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a user’s identity based upon who they are. Even though authentication using finger print scanning
attempts to verify identities by using a completely unique characteristic, it is not 100% secure or
reliable.

A user’s fingerprint consists of a number of ridges and valleys on the top layer of skin. A fingerprint
scanner plate using optics or capacitors collects a print sample of the pattern of peaks and valleys,
converts the pattern to a number or algorithm, and compares it to other stored templates.

Most of the laptops have nowadays built-in finger print reader.

1.5 Output Devices

The output devices are used to display the result of processed data (information). The computer
produces the result by accepting the data from user via input devices and by performing some
processing operations on to it. Now this result is very much meaningful to the users and there must
be a device at which this result should be displayed and this task is performed by the output
devices.

There are many types of output devices but the most commonly used output devices in a personal
computer are the monitor and printer. The monitor shows the result temporarily by creating the
soft copy while the printer shows the result permanently by creating the hard copy. There are also
some other output devices like, plotter which is a special printing device, speakers which produces
the sound output and many other devices.
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Some of the output devices are listed below:

• Monitor
• Printer
• Plotters
• Speakers
• Projector

1.5.1 Monitor

A computer monitor, usually called simply a monitor, is a

piece of electrical equipment which displays viewable images
generated by a computer without producing a permanent
record. The word "monitor" is used in other contexts; in
particular in television broadcasting, where a television
picture is displayed to a high standard. A computer monitor
is usually either a cathode ray tube or some form of flat panel
such as a TFT LCD display. The monitor comprises the
display device, circuitry to generate a picture from electronic
signals sent by the computer, and an enclosure or case.
Within the computer, either as an integral part or a pluggedin
interface, there is circuitry to convert internal data to a format compatible with a monitor.

Along with the mouse and keyboard, the video display (monitor) is a vital part of the user interface
of any computer. Actually, it is a latecomer to computing; before CRT monitors came into general
use, the teletypewriter was the standard computer interface—a large, loud device that printed the
input and output characters on a roll of paper. The first CRT displays used on computers were
primitive by today's standards; they displayed only text in a single color (usually green), but to
users at the time they were a great improvement, allowing real-time display of input and output
data. Over time, color displays were introduced, screen sizes increased, and LCD technologies
moved from the portable computer to the desktop.

Today, PC video displays are much more sophisticated, but you must be careful when selecting
video hardware for your computer. A slow video adapter can slow down even the fastest and
mostpowerful PC. Incorrect monitor and video adapter combinations can also cause eyestrain or be
unsuitable for the tasks you want to accomplish.

The video subsystem of a PC consists of two main components:

Monitor (or video display): The monitor can be either a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) or an FPD (Flat
Panel Display).

Video adapter (also called the video card or graphics adapter): On many recent low-cost
systems, video might be built into the motherboard or included as part of this motherboard's
chipset.
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1.5.2 Types of Monitors

There are two basic types of monitors:

1. CRT (Cathode Ray Tube)

2. FPD (Flat Panel Display)

1.5.2.1 CRT (Cathode Ray Tube)

A monitor can use one of several display technologies. The

original display technology, and still the most popular, is
cathode ray tube (CRT) technology—the same technology
used in television sets. The CRT monitors are the monitors
which rely on Cathode Ray Tube for displaying the images.
The CRT or Cathode Ray Tube is the picture tube of a
monitor. The back of the tube has a negatively charged
cathode. CRTs consist of a vacuum tube enclosed in glass.
One end of the tube contains an electron gun assembly that
projects three electron beams, one each for the red, green,
and blue phosphors used to create the colors you see
onscreen; the other end contains a screen with a
phosphorous coating.

There are two electromagnets

around the collar of the tube
which deflect the electron beam.
The beam scans across the top of
the monitor from left to right, is
then blanked and moved back to
the left-hand side slightly below
the previous trace (on the next
scan line), scans across the
second line and so on until the
bottom right of the screen is reached. The beam is again blanked, and moved back to the top left to
start again. This process draws a complete picture, typically 50 to 100 times a second. The number
of times in one second that the electron gun redraws the entire image is called the refresh rate and
is measured in hertz (cycles per second). It is common, particularly in lower-priced equipment, for
all the odd-numbered lines of an image to be traced, and then all the even-numbered lines; the
circuitry of such an interlaced display need be capable of only half the speed of a non-interlaced
display. An interlaced display, particularly at a relatively low refresh rate, can appear to some
observers to flicker, and may cause eyestrain. Whenever the beam strucks the phosphor dots they
glow. This light is what you see when you watch TV or look at your computer screen. Three layers of
phosphors are used: red, green, and blue. A metal plate called a shadow mask is used to align the
electron beams; it has slots or holes that divide the red, green, and blue phosphors into groups of
three (one of each color). Various types of shadow masks affect picture quality, and the distance
between each group of three (the dot pitch) affects picture sharpness.

The image on the monitor screen is usually made up from at least tens of thousands of such tiny dots
glowing on command from the computer. The closer together the pixels are, the sharper the image
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on screen. The distance between pixels on a computer monitor screen is called its dot pitch and is
measured in millimeters. Most monitors have a dot pitch of 0.28 mm or less.

1.5.2.2 FPD (Flat Panel Display)

Flat panel displays encompass a growing number of

technologies enabling video displays that are lighter and
much thinner than traditional television and video displays
that use cathode ray tubes, and are usually less than 4
inches (100 mm) thick. The Flat panel displays require
continuous refresh. These flat panel displays has given the
birth to the number of technologies which include:

• Digital Light Processing (DLP)

• Plasma Display Panels (PDPs)
• Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs)
• Organic Light-Emitting Diode Displays (OLEDs)
• Light-Emitting Diode Display (LED)
• Electroluminescent Displays (ELDs)
• Surface-Conduction Electron-Emitter Displays (SEDs)
• Field Emission Displays (FEDs)
• Nano-Emissive Display (NEDs)

Only the first five of these displays are commercially available today, though OLED displays are
beginning deployment only in small sizes (mainly in cellular telephones). SEDs are promised for
release in 2006, while the FEDs and NEDs are in the prototype stage.

Flat panel displays balance their smaller footprint and trendy modern look with high costs and in
many cases inferior images compared with traditional CRTs. In many applications, specifically
modern portable devices such as laptops, cellular phones, and digital cameras, whatever
disadvantages are overcome by the portability requirements.

1.5.3 Differences between CRT and FPD

CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) FDP (Flat Panel Display)
Heavier in weight. Lighter in weight.
Bulky in size. Thin in size.
Consumes more power. Consumes less power.
Consumes more space. Consumes less space.
Has greater viewing angle. Has smaller viewing angle.
Cheaper than FPD. Expensive than CRT.
Has concave or convex shaped screen. Has flat screen.
Not suitable for portable computers. Ideal for portable computers (e.g. laptops)
1.5.4 Printer
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A printer is an output device, which produces a

hard copy (permanent human-readable
text and/or graphics) of
documents stored in electronic form,
usually on physical print media such as paper or
transparencies. Many printers are primarily used
as computer peripherals, and are permanently
attached by a printer cable to a computer which
serves as a document source. Other printers,
commonly known as network printers,
have built-in network
interfaces (typically wireless or Ethernet),
and can serve as a hardcopy device for any user on the network.

In addition, many modern printers can directly interface to electronic media such as memory sticks
or memory cards, or to image capture devices such as digital cameras, scanners; some printers are
combined with a scanners and/or fax machines in a single unit. A printer which is combined with a
scanner can essentially function as a photocopier.

Printers are designed for low-volume, short-turnaround print jobs; requiring virtually no setup time
to achieve a hard copy of a given document. However, printers are generally slow devices (30 pages
per minute is considered fast; and many consumer printers are far slower than that), and the cost-
per-page is relatively high.

In contrast, the printing press (which serves much the same function), is designed and optimized for
high-volume print jobs such as newspaper print runs-printing presses are capable of hundreds of
pages per minute or more, and have an incremental cost-per-page which is a fraction of that of
printers.

The printing press remains the machine of choice for high-volume, professional publishing.
However, as printers have improved in quality and performance, many jobs which used to be done
by professional print shops are now done by users on local printers.

1.5.5 Plotters

A plotter is a vector graphics printing device that connects to a computer. Plotters print their output
by moving a pen across the surface of a piece of paper. This means that plotters are restricted to line
art, rather than raster graphics as with other printers. They can draw complex line art, including
text, but do so very slowly because of the mechanical movement of the pens. (Plotters are incapable
of creating a solid region of color; but can hatch an area by drawing a number of close, regular
lines.) When computer memory was very expensive, and processor power was very slow, this was
often the fastest way to produce color high-resolution vector-based artwork, or very large drawings
efficiently.

Traditionally, printers are primarily for printing text. This makes it fairly easy to control, simply
sending the text to the printer is usually enough to generate a page of output. This is not the case of
the line art on a plotter, where a number of printer control languages were created to send the more
detailed information like "draw a line from here to here". The two common ASCII based plotter
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control languages are Hewlett Packard's HPGL or Houston Instruments DMPL with commands such
as "PA 3000, 2000; PD".

Programmers in FORTRAN or BASIC generally did not program these directly, but used software
packages such as the Calcomp library, or device independent graphics packages such as
HewlettPackard's AGL libraries or BASIC extensions or high end packages such as DISSPLA. These
would establish scaling factors from world coordinates to device coordinates, and translating to the
low level device commands. In HP 9830 BASIC, it was actually simpler to write a plotting program
than today with C#.NET.

Early plotters (e.g. the Calcomp 565 of 1959) worked by placing the paper over a roller which
moved the paper back and forth for X motion, while the pen moved back and forth on a single arm
for Y motion. Another approach (e.g. Computervision's Interact I) involved attaching ball-point pens
 Lab Experiment#01

to drafting pantographs and driving the machines with motors controlled by the computer. This had
the disadvantage of being somewhat slow to move, as well as requiring floor space equal to the size
of the paper, but could double as a digitizer. A later change was the addition of an electrically
controlled clamp to hold the pens, which allowed them to be changed and thus create multi-colored
output.

Plotters are used primarily in technical drawing and CAD applications, where they have the
advantage of working on very large paper sizes while maintaining high resolution. Another use has
been found by replacing the pen with a cutter, and in this form plotters can be found in many
garment and sign shops. If a plotter is commanded to use different colors it has to replace the pen
and select the wanted color. A niche application of plotters is in creating tactile images for visually
handicapped people on special thermal cell paper.
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1.5.6 Speaker

Speaker is an output device which produces sound.

Computer speakers range widely in quality and in
price. The computer speakers typically packaged
with computer systems are small, plastic, and have
mediocre sound quality. Some computer speakers
have equalization features such as bass and treble
controls.

The internal amplifiers require an external power

source, usually an AC adapter. More sophisticated
computer speakers can have a subwoofer unit, to
enhance bass output, and these units usually include the power amplifiers both for the bass speaker,
and the small satellite speakers.

Some computer displays have rather basic speakers built-in. Laptops come with integrated
speakers. Restricted space available in laptops means these speakers usually produce low-quality
sound.

1.5.7 Speaker Channels

The sound systems have different number of channels which determine the number of speakers that
can be connected to that system known as channels. Three of the sound channels types are:

1. Mono
2. Stereo
3. Surround Sound

The mono sound contains only 1 channel, it means no matter how many speakers you are
connecting to the mono sound system you will have same sound in all the speakers.

The stereo sound contains 2 channels, it means two speakers can be connected and in each speaker
you will have different sound. One for your left ear and one for your right.

The surround sound contains more than 2 channels (usually 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 channels), it means
more than 2 speakers can be connected and in each of the speaker you will have different sound.
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1.5.8 Variants of speakers

Other forms of speakers are:

• Headphones
• Earphones

1.5.9 Projector

An image projector is an Optical device that projects an

image (or moving images) onto a surface, commonly a
projection screen.

Most projectors create an image by shining a light

through a small transparent image, but some newer
types of projectors can project the image directly, by
using lasers.
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The most common type of projector used today is called a video

projector. Video projectors are digital replacements for earlier types
of projectors such as slide projectors and overhead projectors. These
earlier types of projectors were mostly replaced with digital video
projectors throughout the 1990s and early 2000s (decade), but old
analog projectors are still used some places. The newest types of
projectors are handheld projectors that use lasers or LEDs to project
images. Their projections are hard to see if there is too much ambient
light. Movie theaters use a type of projector called a movie projector.

EXERCISE

1. What different input and output devices you found in the lab. For each of the device fill in
the following:

Device Name Brand Name Type/Mechanism Type of Data Input/Output

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Device Name = Name of Input or Output.

Brand Name = Company Name device manufactured by.
Type/Mechanism = Type of device or working mechanism. For example: For mouse specify whether it is
optical or mechanical, for monitor specify whether it is Cathode Ray Tube or Flat panel Display.
Type of Data = Specify the type of data, the device inputs or output. For example: Image, Text, or Sound.
Input / Output = Specify whether the device is an input device or output device.
2. For each of the following devices list few names of the software applications that uses
them intensively:

• Keyboard  Mouse
• Microphone  Speaker
• Scanner  Webcam
• Digital Camera  Joystick
• Printer

3. Unbox the mechanical mouse and with the help of a diagram describe its working
mechanism.

4. Unbox the laser mouse and with the help of a diagram describe its working mechanism.

5. Unbox a standard keyboard and with the help of a diagram describe its working
mechanism.

6. With the help of a diagram describe the working mechanism of a Cathode Ray Tube
monitor.
Note: Please do not open the case of CRT monitor, it contains very high voltage even when it
is turned off.

7. With the help of a diagram describe the working mechanism of a lesser printer.