Quick Start

Hopefully, a person could start using the MATLAB Continuous time LTI tool without any need to read these help files.  Features were designed to be intuitive and familiar to those with basic computer experience.

For those who like to read the manual, this section will give you the minimum you need to get started and be comfortable with the use of the GUI.

First, if you have not already done so, follow the information given in the Installation section to install and start the MATLAB Continuous time LTI tool.

To begin, set the parameters for the input signal:

  1. Use the sliding bars to adjust the Amplitude, Frequency, Phase, and DC Level of the signal as you desire.  The display in the INPUT SIGNAL and OUTPUT SIGNAL plots will instantaneously update themselves to reflect each change you make to the input signal.

  2. Choose a filter type by clicking the Filter Choice pop-up menu at the bottom of the Filter Specifications area.  The plots titled Magnitude of the Filter and Phase of the Filter will immediately update to display the frequency response of the filter type you just chose.  Depending on the type of filter, extra sliding bars and/or data boxes may appear in the area immediately above:

    - The Ideal Lowpass and Ideal Highpass filters allow you to specify their cutoff frequencies and phase slopes.  The non-ideal First-order Lowpass and First-order Highpass filters allow you to specify only their cutoff frequencies.

    -The Ideal Bandpass and Ideal Bandreject filters allow you to specify their center frequencies and phase slopes. The non-ideal Second-order Bandpass and Second-order Bandreject filters allow specification of center frequencies and bandwidths.


  3. After attempting to find the exact mathematical solution by hand (see Theory section for help), press the Theoretical Answer button at the bottom of the window to reveal the equation form of the system output which will appear above the output signal plot.


That's it!  You now understand the basics of how to use the MATLAB Continuous time LTI tool.  For a more in depth description of LTI systems, frequency response and an example of filtering, see the Theory section.  The Controls section provides a description of all the elements in the user interface.