LAB / WEEK 05
Wake a Dead System
Choose circuit measurements that distinguish faults, repair what the evidence supports and verify the powered result.
IN PERSON (PREFERRED) · ONLINE AVAILABLE
What you will learn in this lab
Choose circuit measurements that distinguish faults, repair what the evidence supports and verify the powered result.
Keep this evidence: circuit diagnosis. Later use: A2 requires a diagnosis another role can use. Final power checks support transmission or continuous support, and transport only when the selected route depends on power.
The online environment also supports preparation and revision between classes. Campus packs specify the proposed teaching setup; physical apparatus has not been validated by this website prototype.
For online participation and revision: follow the Lab mission checklist and named controls below. Complete the practical outcome named for this week. Perform an intervention or receiving handover only when the activity requires it; other field extensions are optional. Explain and save the attempt before switching phases. Need an example first? The demonstration uses a different scenario and keeps separate practice progress.
FIELD TRAINING / 05
Wake a Dead System
Bring the Beacon Back. Restore the approach beacon so the incoming recovery crew can identify the correct landing point.
The beacon is dark. Random replacement can conceal the fault, and supply voltage alone cannot prove that its lamp works.
The skill you need: Measure a six-volt training circuit, isolate its first open component, switch off, replace it and verify the lamp.
Evidence output: circuit-diagnosis. Later use: A2 requires a diagnosis another role can use. Final power checks support transmission or continuous support, and transport only when the selected route depends on power.
Learn the skill · worked example
An alternate model has a 4 V supply and two connectors. One reads 4 V and the next 0 V, narrowing the break to the segment between them. A 0 V reading alone would not distinguish a failed supply from that segment. Isolated continuity offers a second way to test the explanation.
First explain what you predict. Manipulate the apparatus, compare the observed result, then change one relevant condition. The transfer challenge changes the context so that repeating an earlier answer may fail.
Start here: read the worked example, then use the controls in Practice. After verifying the skill, apply it at the mission station and confirm its physical consequence. Then try Skill check and Transfer challenge. The six rows in the lab timetable describe the whole teaching session; they are not six hidden game levels.
Scene guide · people, evidence and object placement
People and the circuit rig
A six-volt model circuit with a configured open component.
- Your part
- The moving student avatar represents you. Inspect the scene and use the lesson controls to record and test your decisions.
- Your instructor
- Mara stands in the marked teaching bay outside the investigation area. She guides the exercise. Her presence, appearance and idle gestures are not clues about what happened in the case.
- People in this scenario
- You take measurements and verify the repair. Mara provides guidance; her gestures are not electrical readings.
- What counts as evidence
- Use probe locations, measured voltage, isolated continuity results and the lamp output.
- Why the objects are here
- The source, fuse, cable and lamp form a labelled bench test circuit. Other lights in the room are scenery and do not report its state.
Systems Garage
Explore the room. Inspect its instruments. Discover the obstacle, use your skills and complete the operation.
Loads on request · all equipment also has accessible controls belowHow to move, inspect and complete the activity
Use WASD or arrow keys to walk. Press E near an instrument to examine it. Inspect means read its details; Use equipment performs the action named in its status message. The task controls let you choose exact settings and test a solution. Once verified, use the mission station to put it into effect, collect the resulting evidence or cargo, follow its checkpoints and complete the handover at the receiving station.
Scroll over the scene or use Zoom + / Zoom − for a closer or wider view. Click and drag to turn whenever the cursor is free. Choose Fullscreen mission to keep the scene, mission instructions and all task controls together. Fullscreen starts with a free cursor so you can scroll the panel and choose options. Press X or Lock cursor (X) to turn by moving the mouse. Press X again to free the cursor and return to click-and-drag turning. Tab also frees the cursor. The X shortcut stays inactive while typing or choosing a form value. Press Escape or Exit fullscreen to return to the page. On touchscreens, drag to look and use the zoom buttons. If your browser cannot enter native fullscreen, the mission expands to fill its window.
The activity below also works without 3D. Follow its objective and feedback, then save your record. Walking around the scene is optional and does not complete the lab by itself. The campus worksheet provides a printable alternative.
FIELD OPERATION · Briefing
Bring the Beacon Back
Restore the approach beacon so the incoming recovery crew can identify the correct landing point. The beacon is dark. Choose measurements that discriminate a supply break from a failed load.
The beacon is dark. Random replacement can conceal the fault, and supply voltage alone cannot prove that its lamp works.
Inspect the mission station to begin your investigation.
Nothing collected.
Mission actions become available when the activity loads.
Mission record and accessible controls
These controls perform the same actions as the marked stations in the scene. Use them with a keyboard or touch, or when graphics are unavailable. Equipment tests establish whether your intervention is supported. The final handover records a mission outcome; your explanation is assessed separately.
- No mission actions yet.
LAB MISSION / Practice
What you are trying to do
Locate the faulty component using measurements before replacing it, then prove the lamp works.
DO THIS NEXT
Select Switch on and choose measurement points. A powered upstream 6 V plus adjacent downstream 0 V narrows a supply break; an isolated open continuity test can distinguish a failed component.
Equipment instructions for this mission
- Choose discriminating measurements
Select Switch on and choose measurement points. A powered upstream 6 V plus adjacent downstream 0 V narrows a supply break; an isolated open continuity test can distinguish a failed component.
- Isolate and diagnose
Select Isolate power. If the lamp was dark despite a 6 V supply, use Test lamp continuity. Continuity checks whether the disconnected part has a complete path.
- Repair the diagnosed part
With power isolated, choose Replace for the component supported by your readings. Restore power, measure the lamp supply and check whether the lamp lights.
- Verify the evidence
Select Test this configuration. If you repaired before measuring the original fault, restart this phase and preserve that measurement first.
How you know you are done: Your action trace includes evidence of the original fault, a replacement with power isolated, and a working lamp after power is restored. Then enact the verified intervention at the mission station and confirm its consequence.
Inspect means select a named object and read its finding. Use the equipment means operate the labelled controls below, then check the result. Exploring the scene does not automatically complete the task.
The apparatus and the controls below use the same model. All tasks can be completed with keyboard controls. No timer is required.
The complete worksheet below is available while the interactive lab loads.
Practice in progress
Load the controls or use the worksheet to begin.
Hint 1. Measure with power on before trying to locate an open fault.
Hint 2. Compare consecutive nodes against the common return.
Hint 3. Isolate power before replacing a component; then verify the downstream result.
After playing · explain and save this attempt
Finish the practical attempt first. Then record what you noticed, what changed and any help you used. You can also preserve an unfinished attempt.
Recording preserves your actions and explanation. Practice feedback does not award an academic grade.
Your recent action trace
- No actions recorded yet.
Complete worksheet and explanation · works without JavaScript
Mission: Restore the approach beacon so the incoming recovery crew can identify the correct landing point.
Obstacle: The beacon is dark. Random replacement can conceal the fault, and supply voltage alone cannot prove that its lamp works.
Task: Measure a six-volt training circuit, isolate its first open component, switch off, replace it and verify the lamp.
Practical enactment: once the equipment check passes, connect the verified beacon circuit. Trace the result through Approach receiver, then confirm the approach signal is received. Expected consequence: The measured and repaired circuit powers the approach beacon; the receiving crew acknowledges the signal.
Circuit investigation worksheet
Supplied measurement cards for the static route
Practice powered readings: battery 6 V, fuse 0 V, cable 0 V, lamp 0 V. Check: battery 6 V, fuse 6 V, cable 0 V, lamp 0 V. Transfer: every supply point 6 V while the lamp stays dark; with power isolated the lamp reports open continuity. Record the pair or component test that distinguishes your explanation before choosing a replacement. After the supported correction every lamp supply reads 6 V and the lamp lights.
6 V battery → fuse → cable → lamp → return. One component is open. A supply fault removes voltage downstream; a failed lamp can still receive 6 V. Isolate before continuity tests or replacement.
Use a facilitator to reveal requested readings from the campus pack. Compare adjacent powered points, or test the isolated component. Record an explanation that distinguishes an upstream fault from the component you propose to replace. After a supported replacement, measure lamp supply again and observe whether it lights. For independent browser practice, use the labelled measurement controls; the fault is not named in the briefing.
A working lamp by itself does not demonstrate diagnosis. An isolated supply reading of zero does not identify the original fault.
Reflection and example
Separate demonstration: The nine-volt beacon's first trace supported a cable repair. Afterwards every supply point read 9 V, but the lamp remained dark. I preserved that failed verification, isolated power, confirmed an open lamp and replaced it. I verified both light and supply before calling the whole repair complete.
Your output: circuit-diagnosis. Record the conditions, actions, result and what you would test next. An explanation can be defensible while differing from the example.
YOUR SKILLS PASSPORT
Keep what you learn.
Practice stays in this browser. Export it to take your work with you.
Which save or export should I use?
- Record attempt in skills passport on a lab keeps that phase's actions and your explanation. Save it before switching to a different phase.
- Export backup JSON downloads a backup you can bring back with Restore backup.
- Export learning record creates a readable account for your portfolio. Print record prepares the same kind of evidence for printing.
- Export assessment record inside a mission keeps that trial's decisions and debrief. Keep your written assessment explanation with it.
These controls keep your work; they do not submit it to an institution. Export a backup before changing browser, clearing browser data or resetting the passport.
Preparing your saved progress…
Your mission, in plain language
Your task: A model beacon is dark. Choose measurements that distinguish a supply break from an output fault before replacing anything.
What you will produce: Keep candidate faults, predicted readings, selected measurements and power states, the repair and fresh powered verification. Explain why a plausible alternative no longer fits.
Start here: in-person attendance is preferred. Read the briefing and In-person lab instructions. If you cannot attend, use the Online lab with the same learning record. The 3D environment also supports preparation and revision.
Before you arrive
Trace EL-01 from source to return (10 minutes). Write predicted lamp states for an open switch and a broken return (10 minutes).
Read the briefing. All starting rules and data are supplied here, so you can begin directly even if you missed an earlier lab. For the preferred in-person route, read the campus pack. The online route is available when you cannot attend. Both assess the outcomes below.
What you will learn
- Predict measurement patterns for two causes of the same dark output.
- Use paired powered readings or isolated continuity to justify a repair.
- Verify supply and output afterwards and state the model’s limits.
Supplied case file and rules
EL-01 is the six-volt circuit and probe convention. EL-02 is the facilitator’s measurement-card set; the student chooses which reading to request.
- Model loop: 6 V source → fuse → switch/cable → lamp → common return.
- Probe labels mean the node after each named component, measured relative to common return.
- A supply break can leave healthy voltage upstream and zero downstream. An open lamp can have a healthy supply while remaining dark.
- Candidate faults include fuse, cable and lamp. Each phase starts with one unknown open component.
- Justify a replacement using adjacent powered readings that bracket the break, or an isolated continuity check showing the candidate is open.
- Record power state. Isolate before continuity testing or replacement. Zero measured while off does not locate an operating supply break.
- After replacement, restore power, obtain a fresh lamp-supply measurement and inspect the output. A lit lamp alone does not demonstrate your initial diagnosis.
- This is an idealised node model; label real measurements separately from simulated cards.
From example to independent challenge
Worked example: use the alternate scenario to learn the method. Its completed decisions cannot be copied into your assigned case.
Practice: use prompts and hints, recording help. Make the prediction or choice before checking.
Skill check: begin from the objective and evidence. Decide which test or action matters before consulting the optional explanation.
Transfer: inspect the changed condition. Decide what it invalidates and what remains supported; a justified unchanged decision can be correct.
The two-hour lab
These are the teaching session’s time blocks, not six compulsory game objectives. Adjust timing as needed; reasoning matters more than speed.
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 0–10 minutes | Sketch the current path and predict two reasons for a dark output. |
| 10–30 minutes | Pause the alternate two-fault example after its first repair; predict verification results. |
| 30–60 minutes | Select and record measurements, isolate and replace only the supported part. |
| 60–80 minutes | Diagnose the second fault using an evidence pair rather than a disclosed name. |
| 80–105 minutes | Investigate a changed symptom; change test type if healthy supply is insufficient. |
| 105–120 minutes | Keep prediction, diagnosis, repair and fresh verification, including any failed verification. |
In-person lab · preferred route
Printable circuit and grid sheet. Print at 100% on A4; each sheet includes a 50 mm scale check.
Equipment: Preferred: battery-powered educational circuit kit with a lamp, switch and protected low-voltage source; labels and fault cards. No mains supplies. A printed circuit with voltage cards is an equally available conceptual route.
Setup: Prepare a healthy series loop and label both sides of each component. The facilitator introduces one open fault at a time. Verify the kit’s manufacturer instructions and component ratings before class; the proposed physical setup has not been hardware-tested by this prototype.
What you do together: Predict competing circuit-fault patterns, request adjacent powered readings or isolated continuity, then make the supported repair. Obtain fresh supply and output verification.
The printable facilitator pack includes rules, prompts and explanation. Campus apparatus is a proposed teaching design; physical construction and handling have not been validated by browser tests. Use the paper model when equipment is unavailable.
Keep the same prediction, changed-condition attempt and explanation as the online route. A dated observation, test, agreement or route sheet serves as the action record. Add acknowledgement where a handoff is part of the task; an additional browser run is not required.
Online lab · equivalent participation and revision
Do these actions in order
- Select Practice and predict readings for two candidate faults. Choose the next useful measurement rather than replacing parts to see what happens.
- With Switch on, use the named Measure… controls. A supply-break diagnosis needs a healthy upstream reading and the next zero reading; one zero alone is insufficient.
- Use Isolate power before Test … continuity or a replacement. An isolated open result can support the component diagnosis; healthy supply to a dark lamp calls for a different test.
- Use the Replace… control justified by your observations. Restore power and take a new lamp-supply reading; inspect whether the lamp now lights.
- Select Test this configuration. If the original evidence is missing, restart and investigate before replacing. Complete the beacon consequence below and save the trace.
- Repeat with the unknown faults in Skill check and Transfer challenge. Explain which measurement ruled out an alternative, and keep any failed verification.
Put your solution into effect
A correct equipment check is the preparation for your mission action. In Field operation, first Inspect mission station. Once your skill check is verified, select Connect the verified beacon circuit. The scene and mission record now show the consequence: The measured and repaired circuit powers the approach beacon; the receiving crew acknowledges the signal.
Collect the named result or record, follow the checkpoint controls in order (or visit the marked stations in the scene), and select Confirm the approach signal is received at the receiver. The status changes to Mission accomplished only after that acknowledgement. Keyboard and touch controls perform the same actions. If you change the underlying model, the dependent intervention must be verified again.
Your mission outcome is practice evidence, not an academic grade. Explain its reasoning in the debrief after playing.
Finish and keep your work
After each practical phase, open After playing · explain and save this attempt, write a brief reflection and select Record attempt in skills passport before switching phases. Keep the attempts and changed-condition evidence you discuss; an unfinished attempt can still be useful if you explain its limit. Export a backup using the passport tools.
For an uninterrupted view, choose Fullscreen mission. The Mission & controls panel contains the task and lesson controls. Scroll over the scene to zoom, click and drag to turn with the cursor free. Press X to lock the cursor for mouse-look; press X again (or Tab) to free it for scrolling and choosing options. Esc or Exit fullscreen returns to the page. Touch and keyboard controls remain available.
What leaves the room
circuit-diagnosis
Keep candidate faults, predicted readings, selected measurements and power states, the repair and fresh powered verification. Explain why a plausible alternative no longer fits.
Include scenario and assistance. Preserve a failed attempt if it explains a useful revision. Add approximately 100 words connecting result to decision.
A2 requires a diagnosis another role can use. Final power checks support transmission or continuous support, and transport only when the selected route depends on power.
Feedback and explanation
Optional explanation and separate exemplar · open after an attempt
A single zero is ambiguous. Pair upstream and downstream powered measurements or obtain isolated open continuity before replacement. After repair, a fresh lamp-supply reading and lit output verify more than the replacement action alone.
Worked reflection from the separate demonstration: The nine-volt beacon’s first trace supported a cable repair. Afterwards every supply point read 9 V, but the lamp remained dark. I preserved that failed verification, isolated power, confirmed an open lamp and replaced it. I verified both light and supply before calling the whole repair complete.
Inspect this example’s complete record. Use your own assigned scenario and observations for your reflection.
How to judge the response
A strong response makes a decision the instructions did not supply, supports it with evidence and explains an alternative or limit. A model check establishes its published conditions only; a facilitator judges reasoning. Text length and game endings are not academic grades.
Keep candidate faults, predicted readings, selected measurements and power states, the repair and fresh powered verification. Explain why a plausible alternative no longer fits.
Closing reflection
Which measurement reduced uncertainty most, and which merely repeated what you already knew?
Afterwards
Export your record and keep a backup. It contributes to Weekly Fieldwork, with the best ten of twelve counting. Continue to the assessment brief and consult policies for access, collaboration and extensions. Exporting does not submit coursework.
SLOP UNIVERSITY · THE ACADEMY OF IMPOSSIBLE SKILLS
An original fictional course. Progress records practice, not academic certification.