REVIEW OF PREVIOUS LECTURES

What is modulation and Why do we modulate?

Modulation is a process by which the properties of one signal is made to vary the
properties of another signal.Signals are variations of electrical current or voltages over
time.
Signals have basically THREE basic properties; Amplitude, Frequency and Phase

How do we increase the frequency?

We select a known signal (e.g. sinusoidal) and make it to carry the speech
How?
1. We can make the Amplitude of the sinusoid to carry it >Amplitude
modulation
2. We can make the frequency of the sinusoid to carry it >Frequency
modulation
3. We can make the Phase of the sinusoid to carry it >Phase
modulation
4.0 ; Modulators
A radio system must operate in the frequency band it has been allocated to. Therefore the
modulating or base band signal must be frequency translated to different part of the
spectrum. The translation process is carried in the radio transmitter by modulating either
in amplitude or in frequency carrier signal of suitable frequency. The function of
modulators is to cause one of the characteristics of the carrier to vary in accordance with
the modulating signal. At the receiver the intelligence is extracted from the modulated
wave by a detector or a demodulator.

4.1; AMPLITUDE MODULATORS

There are two types
1. Non-Linear
2. Linear.
4.1; NON LINEAR TYPE
Non linear types are also two i.e Continuous and Switching
4.1.1;CONTINOUS.:-It uses a non linear device that obeys the non linear relationship
expression both the carrier and the modulating signals are applied
in series to the non linear.
 Non linear
device

Vc sin ωct

Vm sin
ω mt

The carrier voltage is normally made small to ensure the non linear device operation.

4.1.2;SWITCHING MODULATORS
A carrier is used to switch a circuit ON and OFF to which a modulating signal is applied.
Let the switching function be represented by

S(t)

S(t) = V1 Cos ωct +V3Cos 3ωct+V5Cos5 ωct

and the modulating signal Vm(t) =Va+VbCos wmt

then Vo = Vm(t)S(t)
= (Va+Vbcosωmt)(V1cosωct+V3cos3ωct+…..)
= VaV1Cosωmt+VbV1CosωctCosωmt+…..
Carrier double sideband
See ring counter and cowan modulators.

AMPLITUDE MODULATORS
4.2;DOUBLE SIDEBAND (DSB)

The dsb modulators utilize the non linear relationships between the applied voltage and
the resulting current of many electronic devices. Amplitude modulation is achieved if the
carrier and modulating signal are applied in series with the device having a non linear
relationship between the applied signals. Suppose the carrier wave is given by
and the modulating signal is
The non linear characteristics device is given by the expression
where and a, b, c are constants and i, is the resulting current
Substituting for v in equation (i)

The second and last terms are represented in amplitude modulated wave .i.e.
 other frequencies.

If fm is the modulating frequency and (fc) is the carrier freq. then the resulting current
will contain components at various frequencies. These are components at carrier
frequency, sum (fc + fm) and difference frequencies (fc-fm) .These components are
selected and others rejected by means of a parallel tuned circuit.

4.3;TRANSISTOR MODULATOR

The transistor is biased to operate over the non linear part of its characteristics. The
carrier voltage is introduced into the base by means of a transformer TX1. The
modulating voltage is introduced into the emitter circuit by means of a transformer TX 2.
The carrier voltage is inserted in series with the modulating signal.
The collector circuit is tuned to select only the wanted amplitude modulated wave and
reject other frequencies. The use of a non linear modulator is restricted to low power
application, this is because it has a disadvantage of
(i) Low efficiency
(ii) high percentage distortion level.

4.4; Balanced modulator.

BALANCED MODULATOR {SSB}

VC C
R1 1 k

T2 !PNP
TR1
modu lat ing N2 L2 1m modu lat ed
N1 N3
signal N3 N1 out put
L1 1m N2 (no carrier)
C2 1 u

C3 1 u
R3 1 k

carrie r
TR2
wav e
T1 !PNP
R2 1 k

C1 1 u

f ig 1 .1 t rans ist or balanc ed modu lat or

In this system the carrier component is suppressed during the modulation process by
using balanced modulator. The transistors T1 and T2 are biased to operate on the non
linear part of their characteristics. The input transformer TR1 is centre tapped hence the
modulating signal voltage applied to the transistors are in antiphase with one another..
The carrier voltages are introduced between the centre tapped and the earth. And so
applies in phase voltages to two transistors. The collector currents contain components of
a number of different frequencies and flow in opposite direction in the primary winding
of T2. Since the transistors T1 and T2 are driven in antiphase then,

The transistors T1 and T2 are connected in push pull and the output signal is proportional
to the difference ic1-ic2 between the collector currents.

Thus the output signal contains

(i) the modulating signal frequency
(ii) upper and lower side frequencies (fc + fm)
But the carrier component is not present. In practice the two halves of the circuit. are not
identical and some carrier leak is always present in the output circuit.

NOTE : Balanced modulators employed in multi-channel line systems do not utilize the
square law characteristics of the diode or the transistor but instead use a device as an
electronic switch. When the transistor or diode is in the ON state its forward resistance is
very low and in the off state the resistance is very high and can be considered as an open
(infinite).
The secondary T2 is connected in series with the d.c supply .The positive peak of the
message signal will add to the d.c voltage and increase the gain of the Rf amplifier.
The negative peak oppose the d.c supply and decrease the output of the RF amplifier. In
this manner the message signal alters the amplitude of the carrier signal thereby
achieving amplitude modulation.
Application :Used in high power transmitter requiring good linearity.

Anode modulated RF Amp. (See class work)

RF blocks high frequency carrier from reaching the power supply .C1 blocks d.c from
reaching the high frequency circuit.

POWER CALCULATIONS
Pin = Pdc +Pmessage
Vht2/R +Vrms2/R = Hht2/R + Vp2/2x 1/R = Vht2/R +Vp2/2R
Carrier message.
Message power /carrier power = Vp2/2R ÷ Vht2 /R
= Vp2/2R xR/Vht2= (Vp/Vht)2 x1/2
Message power =m2/2 carrier power = m2/2dc.power.
= m2/2 where m is the modulation index
EFFICIENCY = Po/Pinx100%
Example.
The supply to the anode of the final rf modulated amplifier of an am modulator is 100 V
at 4A . determine
a) the d.c power
b) audio power for 80% modulation
c) Total input power
Sol.
a) D.C power = voltage x current
= 4 x1000 =4000w
b) Audio power 80% modulation
0.82/2 x400 = 1280w
c) Input power = Pdc + Pmessage
= 4000+1280
= 5280w
4.4;SINGLE BALANCED MODULATOR
SINGLE BALANCED MODULATOR

D1 1N1183
L 3 1m

TR3
L 5 1m

N2 A B
m o du l ati ng m o du l ated
N1
si gn al N3 ou tp ut
P1 5k
L 4 1m

D2 1N1183

ca rri e r
si gn al

Ideally the forward resistance and reverse resistance of D1 and D2 are considered to be
zero and infinite respectively. Provided the carrier voltage is greater than the modulating
signal voltage it will control the switching ON/OFF of the diodes.
Operation: During the half cycle of the carrier waveform that makes point A positive
relative to B , D1 & D2 are forward biased and the modulating signal appears at the
output. The modulator circuit reduces to

M1 M2
m od ula ting m od ula te d
N1 N2 N1 N2
signa l out put

M3 M4
m od ula ting no
N1 N2 N1 N2
signa l ou tp ut
When point B becomes positive relative to A the diodes are reverse biased and the lower
figure below represents the modulator.
The action of the modulator is to switch the modulating signal ON and off at the output
terminals at the carrier frequency. The output waveform can be deduced as follows

Modulating
signal

Carrier wave

O/p waveform
of a single bal.
mod

The output waveform shows that it contains the upper and lower frequencies of the
carrier fc+fm ,the modulating signal frequency (fm) and other number of unwanted
frequencies ,but the carrier component is not present. In practice non ideal diodes are
used therefore some carrier lea k is present.A potentiometer is often included to enable
adjustment for minimum leak to be carried out.
4.5;COWAN MODULATOR (VARIABLE IMPEDANCE MODULATOR)

COWAN MODULATOR

D1 1N1183 D2 1N1183
P2 5k

m od ula te d
m od ula ting
out put
signa l
(no ca rrier)
D4 1N1183 D3 1N1183

ca rrier
signa l

The carrier voltage is applied between points A and B and switches the diodes between
the conducting and non conducting states. It is made larger than the mod. Signal. The
modulator behavior is determined by the carrier voltage.
1) when point B is positive relative to A the four diodes are reverse biased and
a appear as an open and the modulator is represented as :
 m odu lat i ng m odu lat ed
si gnal o ut put

m odu lat i ng no
si gnal out pu t

2) During the alternate carrier half cycle that makes point A positive relative to B the
four diodes are forward biased and the circuit acts as a short reducing to the lower
fig above

The output waveform is the same as for single balanced modulator circuit. The modulator
output therefore contains the modulating signal switched on and off at the carrier
frequency.
Adv.
i) Its cheaper- since it does not require a centre tap transformer
ii) posses a self limiting characteristics on the side frequencies output voltage is
proportional to the input signal level.

4.6; RING MODULATOR (VARIABLE IMPEDANCE MODULATOR)

RING MODULATOR

D1 1N1183
L6 1m

D3 1N1183
TR4 modu lat ed
L8 1m

ou tp ut
modu lat ing N2
D4 1N1183 P3 5k
N1 (no ca rrier o r
signal N3 A B modu lat ing signal)
L7 1m

D2 1N1183

carrie r
signal

Often it is necessary to suppress the modulating signal and carrier wave during the
modulation process. The double balanced modulator is employed.
Operation:
During the half cycle of the carrier wave when point A is positive relative to point B,
diodes D1 and D2 are forward biased and the circuit reduces to:

M5 M6
m od ula ting m od ula ting
signa l N1 N2 N1 N2
signa l

M7 M8
m od ula ting
m od ula ting
N1 N2 N1 N2 signa l
signa l

When point B is positive with respect to point A the diodes D1&D2 are non conducting
and have infinite resistance. The diodes D3 and D4 are forward biased and have zero
resistance. The circuit reduces to the lower fig:
The direction of the modulating signal current (I) at the modulator output terminal
reverses at the carrier frequency.
Output waveforms of a ring modulator.

Modulating
signal

Carrier wave

O/p waveform
of a single bal.
mod

Analysis of the output waveform shows the presence of components at the upper and
lower side frequencies of the carrier wave and a number of higher unwanted frequencies.
Both the modulating signal and the carrier wave are suppressed.

DSBSC
The most common and simplest AM system used is double –sideband (DSB)
transmission in which the carrier and both sidebands are transmitted.
Adv.
 Receiver design is fairly simple
 It reduces costs.
Disadv
 Requires a wide bandwidth
 Requires high power for transmission.

As the carrier does not contain information it may be suppressed wholly or partly at the
transmitter yielding a dsbsc system.(saving of power) Hence the carrier must be re-
inserted at the receiver in order that the original modulation may be recovered.
The circuits used to generate DSBSC are called balanced modulator. A balanced
modulator employs a non linear device such as transistors.
A push pull arrangement to generate dsbsc. (draw cct by hand)

The carrier is inphase in both halves of the circuit but the modulating signal is out of
phase. The output currents are given by
I1 = K (1+msinwmt)sin wct

I2 = K (1-msinwmt)sin wct
Where K is a constant. The current through the TX is ( i1-i2) = 2kmsinwct-sinwmt
It is seen that both the modulating signal and the carrier are suppressed. The higher
frequencies produced are filtered out.

4.7;SINGLE SIDE BAND TECHNIQUES

There is a further saving of power and bandwidth achieved by either suppressing the
lower or upper sideband. This is due to the fact that the information is present in either
sideband. The carrier must be re-inserted at the receiver before demodulation. To enable
correct re-insertion of correct frequency and phase at the receiver , a low amplitude
carrier or pilot carrier may be transmitted.
Application: The main use of ssbsc is for translation to permit a large number of
telephone conversation to be transmitted down a single coaxial cable having a bandwidth
of about 4Mhz, this is called FDM (frequency division multiplexing.)
circuit.
The frequency spectrum of various types of SSB systems:

fc-fm fc
fc-fm b) ssb(pilot carrier
a) ssbsc

fc-fm fc-f1 fc-fm fc

c) ssbsc d) ssbsc( pilot carrier)

This is achieved by
(i) filter method
(ii) the phasing method

4.7.1;FILTER METHOD
In this method the output of the balanced modulator is passed through a band pass filter
to remove the unwanted sideband.
 Modulating Bal. mixer
signal (fm)
Bal.mod

fc+fm plus SSBSC

other O/P
R.f carrier freqs.
signal (fc)
Attenuator Pilot
signal
Oscillator

When fm is close to the wanted sideband, the filter may not be able to provide a sufficient
rejection; therefore double balanced modulator is used so that the modulating signal will
not reach the input terminals of the filter. The filter used must have a flat attenuation
characteristic
Filters with a flat characteristic in the band pass a sharp cut off outside the pass band are
difficult to design. Inductor/capacitor & crystal filters are normally used.
Application In post office lines where lowest audio frequency is 300Hz hence giving
600Hz between sidebands.

LSB USB
fc
Fc+340 f
Fc-340

Fc+30
Fc-300 0 0

1. An anode modulated class C amplifier has an anode efficiency of 70% and provides
output power in the absence of modulation of 7000W determine the anode dissipation
with :-
a. No modulation (3000w)
b. 80% modulation. (3960w)
2. A carrier is sinusoidally modulated to a depth of 80% using a push-pull class B
modulator which has an anode efficiency of 50%. If the total RF power is 1200w the
total efficiency of RF amp. Stage is 75% . Determine
a. total anode dissipation of RF amp. (400W)
b. The anode dissipation of the modulation. (388w)

4.7.2;PHASE SHIFT METHOD

This method employs the technique of phase discrimination. It does not require a filter
but two balanced modulators and two phase shifters. Two balanced modulators are
employed one which has its carrier and modulating signal shifted by 90 relative to the
other modulator. The output of the balanced modulator are summed up to yield the lower
sideband without the carrier signal (SSBSC)
 Mod Bal.mod1
signal

V1
90˚ phase
shift Crystal osc.
SSBSC
Summing cct

90phase shift
osc. V2

Ωmt+π/2

Bal.mod 2

Modulator1: the modulating signal and the carrier –generating oscillator are applied to it.
Modulato2: the modulating signal after it has passed through a phase shifting network
and the carrier –generating oscillator after it has been phase shifted are applied to it.
The adder combines the two outputs such that the inphase components cancel out.

Assg with the aid of a diagram and mathematical analysis explain how the upper side
band is generated using the phase shift method.

Sol.
If the USB is the one required the carrier signal applied to modulator one is phase
shifted.
 Bal.mod1
Mod
signal

V1
90˚ phase
shift 90phase shift
osc. SSBSC
usb
Summing cct

Crystal osc. V2

Bal.mod 2

OR
Advantages
The advantages of this method over the filter method are:
i) Filter is not used; hence it will operate at higher frequencies.
ii) It is easy to switch from transmitting one sideband to transmitting the other
sideband.
Disadvantage:- The need for a network that ca introduce 90 phase shift over the whole
audio frequency band.

4.7.3;THIRD METHOD

Bal.mod 1 LPF Bal

.mod 3

Adder

Bal. LPF Bal

mod .mod.4
2

Advantages of ssbsc over dsb transmission

1. Half the bandwidth per channel is required –more channels can be transmitted
over some medium
2. Elimination of distortion due to selective fading
3. 9-12 db improvement in S/N ratio.
4. Reduction in carrier interference with other stations
5. some privacy automatically provided
6. Reduction in operation cost.
7. Power output is present at all times in DSB system where as SSBSC does not.
This results in increase in overall efficiency of the transmitter.
Disadvantages of SSB system.
Need for the carrier to be re-inserted at the receiver before demodulation.. This
requirement increases the complexity of the receiver hence the cost.
This is the reason why SSBSC system is not used in sound broadcast receivers. SSBSC
transmission is mainly in multichannel telephony systems.
It is commonly found in high frequency like HF radio calls (Rodger Rodger)
SSB PILOT CARRIER
The pilot carrier in ssb system is arranged so that a low level carrier signal is transmitted
with the single sideband in its proper place in the spectrum, but at a much lower level
than would be in the case for dsb transmission. Pilot carrier is used at the receiver to
synchronize the local oscillator used to produce the original carrier, thus greatly
improving the demodulator operation.
The output power of an ssb transmitter is usually specified in terms of the peak Envelop
power (pep) . The peak envelope power is the power which would be developed by
carrier whose amplitude is equal to the peak amplitude of the pilot carrier and the
transmitted sideband. When the pilot carrier is not transmitted or neglected, the peak
sideband power(psb) is often used instead of pep.

4.8; ISB AM
The basic principle of isb is as shown in the block diagram.
Usb filter

Channel 1
Bal.mod 1

Fc+fm

Fc-fm

oscillator
attenuator

Bal.mod 2

Channel2
LSB filter

4.8.1;Production of ISB signal.

After modulation process two band pass filters are used to select the USB (fc+fm) from
modulator 1 and (fc-fm) from modulator 2. The selected sidebands are combined in a
hybrid coil to produce ISBSC signal. Each sideband carrier with different information.
The frequency spectrum of the ISB signal
 Gurd band

LSB USB

The characteristics of the filter circuit will determine the gurd band(to separate the 2
bands at the receiver point.)
ISB system channels can be spaced closer together hence further economy is achieved in
utilizing the available frequency spectrum. This depends mainly on the filter attenuation
since a frequency gap between adjacent channels must be provided.

Fm1
Fc+fm1
Bal
.Mod
Summing
device
Fc+fm1

Carrier
osc.
Fc-fm2
Fm2 Fc+fm2
Ufc-m2SB
Bal.
Mod2

4.9;VESTIGIAL SIDEBAND (VSB) A.M

Used to conserve the frequency space in the crowded television band. With this system
the carrier plus the whole of one sideband is transmitted plus a vestige (small amount) of
the other sideband. The highest video signal for a 625-line system is 5.5 MHz resulting in
a modulation bandwidth of 11 MHz if dsbfc is used. A compromise is hence to use V.SB
A Vestigial sideband transmission (VSB) consist of all the upper sideband plus a part of
the lower sideband. The vestige of the Lsb transmitted for the first 1.25 MHz, is full
amplitude and there after the maximum amplitude falls linearly to zero. The RF
bandwidth occupied by the USB signal is 8 MHz which is 72% of the dsb that would
have been used. This is illustrated in the diagram below. Vsb permits a reduced
bandwidth to be used and also the use of a simple diode detector.
TV signal consists of 0Hz -5.5MHZ Filtering is normally hard and VSB is used .
Telephony 300hz -3400Hz
 -1.25MHZ 0
+6MHZ

Vestige
of LSB
USB

-1.75MHZ 0
6MHZ

8MHZ

Advantages
Has DSB transmission
Economy in Bandwidth
Reduction of cost

FREQUENCY MODULATION
As the name suggests frequency modulation uses changes in frequency to carry the sound
or other information that is required to be placed onto the carrier. As shown in Figure 1 it
can be seen that as the modulating or base band signal voltage varies, so the frequency of
the signal changes in line with it. This type of modulation brings several advantages with
it. The first is associated with interference reduction. Much interference appears in the
form of amplitude variations and it is quite easy to make FM receivers insensitive to
amplitude variations and accordingly this brings about a reduction in the levels of
interference. In a similar way fading and other strength variations in the signal have little
effect. This can be particularly useful for mobile applications where charges in location
as the vehicle moves can bring about significant signal strength changes. A further
advantage of FM is that the RF amplifiers in transmitters do not need to be linear. When
using amplitude modulation or its derivatives, any amplifier after the modulator must be
linear otherwise distortion is introduced. For FM more efficient class C amplifiers may be
used as the level of the signal remains constant and only the frequency varies.
Wide band and Narrow band
When a signal is frequency modulated, the carrier shifts in frequency in line with the
modulation. This is called the deviation. In the same way that the modulation level can be
varied for an amplitude modulated signal.

The level of modulation is governed by a number of factors. The bandwidth that is

available is one. It is also found that signals with a large deviation are able to support
higher quality transmissions although they naturally occupy a greater bandwidth. As a
result of these conflicting requirements different levels of deviation are used according to
the application that is used.

Those with low levels of deviation are called narrow band frequency modulation
(NBFM) and typically levels of +/- 3 kHz or more are used dependent upon the
bandwidth available. Generally NBFM is used for point to point communications. Much
higher levels of deviation are used for broadcasting. This is called wide band FM
(WBFM) and for broadcasting deviation of +/- 75 kHz is used.

5.0 ; FREQUENCY MODULATORS

Two types Direct and Indirect.
5.1; DIRECT MODULATORS :
A direct method for producing FM wave is to vary the frequency of the carrier signal.
This can be done by using a non –linear device such as a valve or transistor, to vary the
capacitance a cross the tuned circuit of an oscillator. i.e. the use of a reactance modulator
In Direct frequency modulation the frequency of an oscillator may be varied by placing a
cross its tuned circuit the variable reactance transistor as shown below
CIRCUIT DIAGRAM (Subst. with FET refer to class notes)
.

The variable reactance circuit presents a variable capacitance to the oscillator when a
modulating signal Vm is applied to the base. The output admittance yo of the reactance
circuit is given by
This amounts to an effective capacitance gmRC across the tuned circuit, where gm is the
mutual conductance of the transistor ,R and C are the components of the feedback
circuit. The gm of the transistor /valve is varied by the modulating signal and also does
the effective capacitance gmRC
To obtain the corresponding change of the tuned circuit we have
fo =½ π √LC where fo is the response frequency
And fo-ðf == ½ π √L(C+ðC)
= ½ π √LC(1+ ðC/C)-1/2
= fo (1+ ðC/C)-1/2
fo-ðf /fo= fo/fo (1+ ðC/C)-1/2
1- ðf /fo= (1+ ðC/C)-1/2
Expanding up to the 2nd term we have
1- ðf /fo = (1-1/2ðC/C +--------)
ðf /fo = ðC/2C
ðC = 2C x ðf /fo
Since C equals gmRC where RC is a constant, f varies as gm. Hence for linear
modulation, gm must be varied linearly by the modulating signal.
Two methods
i) Reactance frequency modulator
ii) A varactor diode modulator
Transistor reactance modulator

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM( refer to class notes)

R1R2R3 and C1 are biasing and decoupling components.C3 is a d.c blocking capacitor to
prevent L1 shorting the d.c collector potential of T1 earth. The output impedance of the
circuit is given by Zo = Vo/Io measured at the terminals AA
For this reactance to be capacitive the current must lead the voltage by 90˚ and this is the
function of R4 and C2 . The voltage drop across R4makes the transistor to conduct a
current that leads the collector voltage by 90˚
For the frequency modulation to occur the effective capacitance of the circuit must be
varied by the modulating signal. Since the capacitance is directly proportional to the
mutual conductance of the transistor, it can be varied by applying the modulating voltage
to the base of the transistor.
NoTE the resistive component of the impedance shunting the oscillator tuned circuit of
the modulator will lead to amplitude modulation. If the amplitude modulation produced
cannot be tolerated then a limiter is used to remove the AM component.

5.1.2VARACTOR MODULATOR
Principle of operation
An alternative circuit uses the variable capacitance of P-N junction semiconductor which
is known as a varactor diode.
 P N

V
- +

When a d.c voltage is applied in the reverse direction across the P-N junction the charge
are drawn a way from the junction leaving a depleted region at the junction because it is
depleted off the charge carriers. Hence a capacitance appears across the junction between
the separated charges and may be varied by varying the bias D.C. voltage. The
capacitance at the junction varies according to the expression Cα I/V where V is the
applied voltage.

TYPICAL VARACTOR MODULATOR

 Varactor diode modulator is the direct method of FM generation wherein

the carrier frequency is directly varied by the modulating signal.
 A varactor diode is a semiconductor diode whose junction capacitance
varies linearly with applied voltage when the diode is reverse biased.
 Varactor diodes are used along with reactance modulator to provide
automatic frequency correction for an FM transmitter. The varactor diode
modulator circuit is shown in Fig5. for generation of FM wave.

Fig5. Varactor diode modulator

 Varactor diode is arranged in reverse bias to offer junction capacitance
effect. The modulating voltage which is in series with the varactor diode
 will vary the bias and hence the junction capacitance, resulting the
oscillator frequency to change accordingly.
 The external modulating AF voltage adds to and subtracts from the dc
bias, which changes the capacitance of the diode and thus the frequency
of oscillation.
 Positive alternations of the modulating signal increase the reverse bias on
the varactor diode, which decreases its capacitance and increases the
frequency of oscillation.
 Conversely, negative alternations of the modulating signal decrease the
frequency of oscillation.
 The RFC and capacitor C b act as a filter which transmits only the AF
variations to the varactor diode and blocks high frequency RF voltage from
reaching the AF stage.
 The varactor diode FM modulators are widely accepted because they are
simple to use, reliable and have the stability of a crystal oscillator.
 This method of FM generation is direct because the oscillator frequency is
varied directly by the modulating signal, and the magnitude of frequency
change is proportional to the amplitude of the modulating signal voltage.
 Varactor diode modulator is used for automatic frequency control and
remote tuning.
 The drawback of varactor diode modulator is that since it uses a crystal,
the peak frequency deviation is limited to relatively small values. Thus
they are used mostly for low index applications such as two way mobile
radio. Also since they are a two terminal device, the applications are quite
limited.

The capacitance of a frequency determining network of an oscillator generating a sine

wave of 10MHZ is 25 pf. Determine the required change in capacitance to cause a
frequency generation of 75 khz.
Solution.
ðf /fo = ðC/2C
ðC = 2C x ðf /fo
(0.375)

For silicon diodes C is between 150 -200pf when 1v is applied and decreasing to about
50pf with 10v applied.

In the typical varactor circuit, zener diode is used to stabilize the d,c supply so that the
mean oscillator frequency is not altered by the supply voltage fluctuation . The varactor
capacitance is varied by the modulating voltage Vm and the oscillator uses collector
emitter feedback.

5.2: INDIRECT FREQUENCY MODULATION

Direct frequency modulation has one disadvantage i.e. Inductor /capacitor must be used
hence inherent frequency instability of the unmodulated frequency is not enough.
Two possible solutions:
i) automatic frequency control (AFC) is applied at the transmitter
ii) Use of a crystal oscillator: The frequency of the crystal oscillator cannot be
varied therefore an indirect frequency modulation is employed.

5.2.1 PHASE MODULATOR

Schematic block diagram of a phase modulator.

Mod.
signal
Integrator Phase
Modulator Crystal
Oscillator
fm
wave

Phase deviation of FM signal is proportional to the amplitude of the modulating signal

and inversely proportional to modulating frequency

The phase deviation of a phase modulated signal is proportional to the modulating signal
voltage only.
The modulating signal is first integrated and used to phase modulate the carrier wave.
5.2.3 ARMSTRONG PHASE MODULATOR.

Armstrong Schematic block diagram of a phase modulator.

Mod
. Bal.
sign Mod.
al

Adde
90 r
Phase
Phase Modula
Shift ted
cct O/p.

Crystal
Osc.
The output of a balanced modulator contains the upper and lower sidebands produced by
modulating the 90 phase shifted carrier with the modulating signal.
The ssbsc amplitude modulated signal combines with zero –phase shifted carrier in order
to produce a phase modulated signal.
NOTE : if the modulating signal is integrated before reaching the balanced modulator, fm
signal is produced.

5.2.3 ALTERNATIVE PHASE MODULATOR.

incomplete

Voltage
controlled
Messag capacitorP
e. re-Amp

Crstal
Osc. RF
AmP

In this type of the collector impedance is varied by the modulating signal.

When the modulating voltage is zero the collector tuned circuit C1L1 is resonant at the
crystal oscillator frequency, with the modulating signal applied the effective capacitance
of the tuned circuit is varied and the circuit detuned above and below the resonance.
This leads to the phase of the output voltage to alternately lag or lead the phase of the
unmodulated output voltage. Hence the output voltage is phase modulated.

LIMITATION OF PHASE MODULATOR

1. Deviation is small which requires multiplication stages.
2. It has undesirable amount of AM which requires other circuits to remove it.
Advantages
The carrier is very stable because of the use of a crystal oscillator.
6.0 Demodulators
6.1 ; AM DEMODULATORS
In general, the output of a mixer contains the sum and difference of the two input
frequencies . If we put an AM signal into a non-linear device and mix the carrier and the
two sidebands, we get the following outputs:
1. The carrier
2. The upper sideband
3. The lower sideband
4. The sum of the upper sideband and lower sideband
5. The sum of the carrier and upper sideband
6. The sum of the carrier and lower sideband
7. The difference of the upper and lower sidebands
8. The difference of the carrier and the lower sideband (the original modulating signal)
9. The difference of the upper sideband and the carrier (the original modulating signal)

Of the 9 output signals, 2 are the original modulating signal (audio), while the others are
RF signals of much higher frequency. By filtering the output of the non-linear device
through a low pass filter, only the modulating (audio) signals will pass through to the
next stage. The diagram below shows the input and output signals from a non-linear
device.

Demodulation is the process of extracting (recovering) the information from the

modulated output. Demodulators can be different depending on whether the signal is a
digital or analogue one.
Linear modulators are used in both AM and FM to minimize signal distortion.
To recover the useful sideband information from an AM wave a diode demodulator
(detector) is used It has non linear characteristics but displays linear characteristics when
you analyze the I/V characteristics..

LINEAR DEMODULATION OF AM SIGNALS

I1 D51N1183 C61u
P4 5k
M9
R4 1 k
C4 1 u

C5 1 u

N1 N2 V1
audio
output
Operation:
The capacitor C1 is chosen so that the RC time constant is long with respect to a cycle of
the carrier frequency, but short with respect to a cycle of modulation frequency. The
capacitor charges to a peak value of the input signal on the positive half cycle of the
radio –frequency wave, a small current pulse passing through the diode . The capacitor
discharges through R in the negative half-cycle, but with large RC time constant this
discharge covers a number of carrier cycles and Vo charges only at the modulation
frequency from the d.c component (blocks the d.c signal)

ANALYSIS
If the CR time constant is long compared with the period of modulation, the voltage
across the capacitor will not decrease sufficiently rapidly to follow the modulation wave
form . The capacitor voltage is then greater than the peak value of the carrier and the
diode does not conduct even on the positive half cycles.
This condition causes amplitude distortion of the output voltage. The effect occurs only
when the carrier voltage is decreasing and is mostly pronounced at the highest
modulation frequencies where the rate of change of voltage is greatest.
For satisfactory operation this rate of discharge must be at least equal to the rate of
decrease of the voltage

R1C1 < √1-m2

mωm
where m = modulating index 0<m<1 and ωm is modulating frequency (2πfm)

For m = 1
Vm = Vc the detected signal will be distorted at the receiver.
Diode detector efficiency is the ratio of output voltage across the load to the peak voltage
applied. = Output voltage across the load
Peak voltage applied.
Advantages
1. simple in construction
2. less costly
3. it is linear.
Drawbacks of the diode detector:
 1. A diode detector has no gain - in fact losses through a diode detector can be 6 dB
or more, requiring more amplifier stages ahead of the diode.
2. A diode detector is so non-linear that additional distortion is introduced into the
recovered signal.
3. The requirement for a low pass filter at the output limits the diode detector's
ability to handle wide bandwidth waveforms.
APPLICATION
AM - radio receiver
- Tv receiver.

To address these drawbacks, the synchronous detector was developed. The

synchronous detector is a specially designed mixer whose inputs are the AM signal
and a locally generated signal of the same frequency and phase as the carrier signal.
The outputs of this mixer are: generated signal of the same frequency and phase as
the carrier signal. The outputs of this mixer are:
1. The difference of the carrier signal and the local signal = 0 Hz
2. The difference of the upper sideband and the locally generated signal = the
original audio signal
3. The difference of the locally generated signal and the lower sideband = the
original audio signal
4. The sum of the locally generated carrier and the AM signal = an AM signal at
twice the frequency of the input AM signal.

The additional AM signal generated in the synchronous detector is at a much higher

frequency than the original carrier and can be filtered out quite easily. The remaining
outputs are the audio signals that were present in the sidebands of the original signals.

SYNCHRONOUS DETECTOR

The synchronous detector can provide gain, and can also demodulate wideband signals.
Distortion levels of less than 1% can be realized through careful design. While this
detector cures most of the drawbacks of the diode detector, it requires significantly more
complex circuitry and is generally used only where wide bandwidth is required. For most
other applications, the diode detector is used. The diagram below shows a basic
synchronous detector and the input and output signals.

Analysis :-
Some high performance receivers use a circuit known as a
synchronous detector. The IF signal is applied to one input
of a mixer and a local oscillator signal whose frequency and
phase are identical to the IF carrier is applied to the
other. The mixer has several outputs, including the signals
whose frequency is the difference between the sideband
frequencies and the carrier frequency. This is the original
audio signal. The mixer's output is passed through a low-
pass filter, which removes all mixer products except for the
audio signals. The cost and complexity of the synchronous
detector limit its use to military communications gear and
high end shortwave receivers.

6.2.0 FM DEMODULATORS
Frequency modulation is widely used in radio communications and broadcasting,
particularly on frequencies above 30 MHz. It offers many advantages, particularly in
mobile radio applications where its resistance to fading and interference is a great
advantage. It is also widely used for broadcasting on VHF frequencies where it is able to
provide a medium for high quality audio transmissions.

In view of its widespread use receivers need to be able to demodulate these

transmissions. There is a wide variety of different techniques and circuits that can be used
including the Foster-Seeley, and ratio detectors using discreet components, and where
integrated circuits are used the phase locked loop and quadrature detectors are more
widely used.
Each circuit type has its own advantages and disadvantages, some being used when
receivers use discrete components, and others now that ICs are widely used.

6.1 SLOPE DETECTOR

The very simplest form of FM demodulation is known as slope detection or demodulator.
It simply uses a tuned circuit that is tuned to a frequency slightly offset from the carrier
of the signal. As the frequency of the signal varies up and down in frequency according
to its modulation, so the signal moves up and down the slope of the tuned circuit. This
causes the amplitude of the signal to vary in line with the frequency variations. In fact at
this point the signal has both frequency and amplitude variations. The final stage in the
process is to demodulate the amplitude modulation and this can be achieved using a
simple diode circuit. One of the most obvious disadvantages of this simple approach is
the fact that both amplitude and frequency variations in the incoming signal appear at the
output. However the amplitude variations can be removed by placing a limiter before the
detector. Additionally the circuit is not particularly efficient as it operates down the slope
of the tuned circuit. It is also unlikely to be particularly linear, especially if it is operated
close to the resonant point to minimise the signal loss.
6.2 :Ratio and Foster-Seeley detectors
When circuits employing discrete components were more widely sued, the Ratio and
Foster-Seeley detectors were widely used. Of these the ratio detector was the most
popular as it offers a better level of amplitude modulation rejection. This enables it to
provide a greater level of noise immunity as most noise is amplitude noise, and it also
enables the circuit to operate satisfactorily with lower levels of limiting in the preceding
IF stages of the receiver.
The operation of the ratio detector centres a round a frequency sensitive phase shift
network with a transformer and the diodes that are effectively in series with one another.
When a steady carrier is applied to the circuit the diodes act to produce a steady voltage
across the resistors R1 and R2, and the capacitor C3 charges up as a result.

The transformer enables the circuit to detect changes in the frequency of the incoming
signal. It has three windings. The primary and secondary act in the normal way to
produce a signal at the output. The third winding is un-tuned and the coupling between
the primary and the third winding is very tight, and this means that the phasing between
signals in these two windings is the same.
The primary and secondary windings are tuned and lightly coupled. This means that there
is a phase difference of 90 degrees between the signals in these windings at the centre
frequency. If the signal moves away from the centre frequency the phase difference will
change. In turn the phase difference between the secondary and third windings also
varies. When this occurs the voltage will subtract from one side of the secondary and add
to the other causing an imbalance across the resistors R1 and R2. As a result this causes a
current to flow in the third winding and the modulation to appear at the output.

The capacitors C1 and C2 filter any remaining RF signal which may appear across the
resistors. The capacitor C4 and R3 also act as filters ensuring no RF reaches the audio
section of the receiver.

The ratio detector

LIMITING ACTION

This is achieved by the use of a capacitor C3 (10-25UF) in combination of R1 and R2

which gives a time constant of around 0.1 sec.

If the amplitude of the input signal increases the current through the diode chareges the
capacitorC3 ,this reduces the load impedance and increases the damping of the IF
transformer which reduces the gain.
If the amplitude reduces the diode current falls but the load voltage remains constant at
first because of the charge on the capacitor. The diode load impedance increases
reducing the damping effect and the gain increases. In the same way the input amplitude
variations of the signal as those that may be caused by noise and interference are
removed so that the output depends on frequency deviation entirely and not any
accidental AM changes.

ADVANTAGES OF RATIO DETECTOR

 Gives an excellent noise free output

 It has an inbuilt /self limiting action therefore it does not require separate
amplitude limiter.
  Fewer components

 Since no limiter is required , small signal AM rejection is considerably improved

and hence the input required in ratio detector for Noise –free operation is
considerably smaller than that in foster seeley discriminator

6.3 : FOSTER SEELEY DISCRIMINATOR

The Foster Seeley detector has many similarities to the ratio detector. The circuit
topology looks very similar, having a transformer and a pair of diodes, but there is no
third winding and instead a choke is used.

The Foster-Seeley detector

Like the ratio detector, the Foster-Seeley circuit operates using a phase difference
between signals. To obtain the different phased signals a connection is made to the
primary side of the transformer using a capacitor, and this is taken to the centre tap of the
transformer. This gives a signal that is 90 degrees out of phase.

When an un-modulated carrier is applied at the centre frequency, both diodes conduct, to
produce equal and opposite voltages across their respective load resistors. These voltages
cancel each one another out at the output so that no voltage is present. As the carrier
moves off to one side of the centre frequency the balance condition is destroyed, and one
diode conducts more than the other. This results in the voltage across one of the resistors
being larger than the other, and a resulting voltage at the output corresponding to the
modulation on the incoming signal.

The choke is required in the circuit to ensure that no RF signals appear at the output. The
capacitors C1 and C2 provide a similar filtering function.
ANALYSIS.

The phase diagram shows that at the centre frequency (~ 10.775M) the resonant
secondary becomes inductive and voltage E1 leads E3 by an increased phase angle (~120
º instead of 90º )E2 representing the below centre frequency looks capacitive and voltages
E2 decreases in phase compared to E3 (~ 60). It follows that E1 and E2 are always 180 º
out of phase .Note that the amplitude of E1 ,E2 and E3 all remain constant, as expected of
an fm wave, but that the phase related vector sum of E1 and E3 become larger while the
vector sum of E2 and E3 become smaller. With a larger A.C voltage applied to D1 the D.C
output voltage ER1 decrease to say -1.5V .Thus the sum of the output voltage is now
+1Vdc. The opposite to the above will generate a voltage of -1V dc. The phase
relationship are shown in diagrams below.

Foster seeley discriminator

E1

ER1 E1 b E1
ER1 ER1
E3
E3
E3
ER2
ER2

ER2
E2
a E2
E2
b c
Linear separation

+Ve

Frequency
fo

-ve

Response characteristics

Both the ratio and Foster-Seeley detectors are expensive to manufacture. Wound
components like coils are not easy to produce to the required specification and therefore
they are comparatively costly. Accordingly these circuits are rarely used in modern
equipment.
Advantages of foster seeley

 It is easy to align since the two tuned circuits are tuned to the same frequency IF
(10.7Mhz)
 They have a better linearity since the circuit rely on phase rather than frequency..

Disadvantages

 The output voltage varies as the amplitude of the input signal giving rise to
undesirable AM
 It must an amplitude limiter to remove the AM. Usually the final IF acts also as a
limiter.

Application of forster seeley

-High quality fm receivers
-Satelite station receivers.

6.4: Quadrature detector

Another form of FM detector or demodulator that can be these days is called the
quadrature detector. It lends itself to use with integrated circuits and as a result it is in
widespread use. It has the advantage over the ratio and Foster-Seeley detectors that it
only requires a simple tuned circuit.

For the quadrature detector, the signal is split into two components. One passes through a
network that provides a basic 90 degree phase shift, plus an element of phase shift
dependent upon the deviation and into one port of a mixer. The other is passed straight
into another port of the mixer. The output from the mixer is proportional to the phase
difference between the two signals, i.e. it acts as a phase detector and produces a voltage
output that is proportional to the phase difference and hence to the level of deviation on
the signal.

The detector is able to operate with relatively low input levels, typically down to levels of
around 100 micro volts and it is very easy to set up requiring only the phase shift network
to be tuned to the centre frequency of the expected signal. It also provides good linearity
enabling very low levels of distortion to be achieved.
Quadrature FM Detectors

Quadrature FM detectors use a high-reactance capacitor (C2) to produce two signals with
a 90 degree phase difference. The phase-shifted signal is then applied to an LC-tuned
resonant at the carrier frequency (L1 and C3). Frequency changes will then produce an
additional leading or lagging phase shift into the mixer.
If the frequency is lower than 10.7Mhz then phase angle is positive and if the frequency
is higher than 10.7Mhz the phase angle is negative. If the frequency changes the phase
will also vary and the output voltage (audio signal) to.
NOTE: a multiplication of two periodic signals with the same frequency produces a DC
voltage that is directly proportional to the signal phase difference.

For small phase-shift (narrow band FM), the output will be reasonably linear.

6.5 : Phase locked loop (PLL)

Another popular form of FM demodulator comes in the form of a phase locked loop. Like
the quadrature detector, phase locked loops does not need to use a coil, and therefore they
make a very cost effective form of demodulator.

The way in which they operate is very simple. The loop consists of a phase detector into
which the incoming signal is passed, along with the output from the voltage controlled
oscillator (VCO) contained within the phase locked loop. The VCO is a sine or square
wave oscillator having a free running frequency that can be determined by an external RC
time constant. The output from the phase detector is passed into a loop filter and then
used as the control voltage for the VCO.

Phase locked loop (PLL) FM demodulator

With no modulation applied and the carrier in the centre position of the pass-band (IF
signal equal to VCO o/p) the voltage on the tune line to the VCO is set to the mid
position i.e. phase detector o/p = Vcc/2. It is passed through the Low pass filter to remove
10.7 MHz component of IF carrier signal then use it as DC control voltage to stabilize the
VCO freq. The cut off frequency of the low –pass filter is selected so that the highest
message frequency of the system is reduced by only 3db.

However if the carrier deviates in frequency, the loop will try to keep the loop in lock.
For this to happen, the VCO frequency must follow the incoming signal, and for this to
occur the tune line voltage must vary. When the carrier is below (-ve)or above (+ve)the
IF freq. i.e. lower than or higher than the VCO point the comparator o/p drops/increases
below /above the mid point to lower/increase the VCO frequency to match the new
carrier i/p frequency . Monitoring the tune line shows that the variations in voltage
correspond to the modulation applied to the signal. By amplifying the variations in
voltage on the tune line it is possible to generate the demodulated signal.

The free running frequency of the VCO is defined as the oscillating frequency that results
when no signal is applied to the phase detector. Given by fo = 1/T = 1/ Ro Co(Hz)where
Co = timing capacitor and Ro =timing resistor
Precaution: some IC have some internal wiring capacitance that will slightly affect the
calculated frequency. The internal capacitance has its greatest effect when the VCO
frequency is very high (becomes high) therefore the equation changes to
f = I / Ro(Co+ Ci) where Ci is the internal capacitance dependent on type of Ic.
e.g. Motorola 4406 PLL as 32PF so that fo =1/ Ro(Co+32PF)

Other PLL ccts have fixed resistors inbuilt such that it’s only the capacitance to be
selected. The fixed resistor and the internal capacitance are then used to select the Co.

In FM radio receiver a value of 10.7Pf would be needed for the VCO to oscillate at
10.7Mhz. Some manufacturers only provide the graph of capacitance vs frequency in
place of equations.
The frequency will be most stable for large values of C and R. The total capacitance is
given by Ct = i /f √4/fo

For 10.7Mhz Ct =1/10.7x106 √4/10.7x106 = 57.14PF subtract it from the internal

capacitance for a value of 25.14PF ( ~20PF
Ro
=1/Ct x fo = Ro 1/52pf x 10.7Mhz =1797Ω -- > 1800Ω
(Ct 32PF internal + 20PF =52PF) using the values of 1800 Ω and 52Pf results in a
frequency of 10.6Mhz close enough for the VCO to synchronize it with 10.7Mhz

A low pass filter needed to filter out IF(10.7MHz) and pass 15KHz message signal can be
a combination of values however the R.C ratio is achieved when the filter capacitance is
cf = (i/ fc)2 (farads) where fc is the highest signal frequency.

For cut off frequency of 15KHZ, the capacitance value is Cf = 1/15x103 = 0.0044μF
(~0.0047 μF)
For a -3db response Rf = Xc at 15Khz so that Rf= 1/ 2πfsCf = 2257Ω ~ 2200Ω

When the VCO self adjusts to be identical to that of the input signal the two signals are
said to be locked (synchronized or coincident). If there is a change in the frequency of the
input signal the VCO will self adjust to be identical to the new frequency .
The lock range is defined as the range of frequencies in the vicinity of the VCO free
running frequency over which the VCO will once locked remain synchronized to the
input signal frequency. Sometimes called the tracking bandwidth. the lock range is
dependant on the value of the VCO timing resistor, the filter resistor and the supply
voltage.

Lock range = + 2πfo(Ro/Rf) where fo = free running vco frequency, vcc =total supply
VCC Ro = vco timing resistor, Rf = filter resistor

The capture range is always narrower BW than the lock range and is called the
acquisition range once the VCO loses synchronization with the input signal frequency ,
the capture range is a measure of how close to the VCO free running frequency the input
signal frequency must come for the VCO to synchronize with it. An equation to
approximate the capture range is

Capture range = + ½π√ (2πfL/RfCf) where fL= lock freq., Rf =filter resistance
Cf=filter capacitance

It is found that the linearity of this type of detector is governed by the voltage to
frequency characteristic of the VCO. As it normally only swings over a small portion of
its bandwidth, and the characteristic can be made relatively linear, the distortion levels
from phase locked loop demodulators are normally very low.

Example.
Find the lock range and capture range for a PLL having cf= 0.004PF, Rf =2200Ω, fo
10.7Mhz Vcc =12V , Ro= 1800Ω
Sol
Lock range = + fL = + 2x10.7x106x1800/2200 = + 4.584MHZ
12
Capture range = + fc = + ½π√ (2πx4.584x106/2200x0.0047x106) = + 265.6Khz

The equation for fL and fc are reasonably reliable for very high levels of signal input
voltages. However as signal input voltage gets smaller the input pre-amplifier may not be
driven into saturation and both the lock range and & capture range will become narrower.
This effect is shown below.
 Input signal mV
Lock range

Capture
range

fo +1/2fo 2fo
-1/2fo

Lock range and capture range for the 4046PLL.

The equation for Cf, Ro fl and fc are only used as a starting point with understanding that
alteration of some of them will be done during test. They are to assist the reader in value
selection and to give a feel of the parameters that each component may affect. The
overall circuit for 4046PLL fm detector is shown.
Advantages.:- It is chip circuitry, small in size and few component make it preferred to
others for commercial purposes
It does not need any alignment, it will self adjust within reasonable limits

7.0 RADIO TRANSMITTERS

RADIO TRANSMITTERS

A transmitter is an electronic system that will convert a message signal into a form that
may be sent via an antenna system into the surrounding atmosphere.

A Transmitter must be able to :

i) Produce a carrier signal that will distinguish it from all other local
transmitters.
ii) Code (mix) the carrier signal with the message signal before it is sent to the
receiver.
iii) Supply enough power or energy (Amplify) to the coded carrier so that it may
travel the distance between the transmitter and the receiver.
The relation ship between the three is shown in fig 7.1
These requirements apply to all transmitters regardless of their power ratings.
The purpose of a transmitter is to transmit information from one point to another .The
transmission could be either be
1. Unidirectional –Sound and television broadcasting
2. Bi directional –Most radio telephony systems.
At the transmitting end the signal modulates a suitable carrier frequency to translate the
signal to the allocated part of the frequency spectrum. The modulated carrier is then
amplified to a power level necessary to drive the transmitter.
In the UHF and VHF frequency bands both amplitude and frequency modulation are
employed. Sound broadcast transmitter use dsb AM, Radio telephony systems use ssb or
isb High frequency transmitters should be capable of changing frequency rapidly as the
ionosphere conditions changes to maintain a reliable service.
There are two types of transmitters
1) AM 2) FM

7.1: AM TRANSMITTERS.

The transmitter consists of three sections The carrier frequency is generated by a high
stability crystal oscillator or a frequency synthesizer then amplified and may be
frequency multiplied before it is applied to the aerial feeder.:-
i) the modulation section: where the modulation process takes place.
ii) The exciter section : it is this group of circuits that maintains the quality of
the stations carrier frequency.
iii) The power section : sets the level energy to be launched by the system without
affecting the signal frequency.

BASIC BLOCK DIAGRAM OF AM TRANSMITTER.

7.1 AM TRANSMITTERS
There are two categories according to where the modulation process takes
place in the system ;
i) low level modulation transmitters
ii) High level modulation transmitters

7.1.1 LOW LEVEL MODULATION TRANSMITTERS

In this case the message signal controls the amplitude of the carrier before the
final power amplifier .More stages of amplification are then provided after the
modulation process fig 7.2 These however must be linear class A since the non
linear characteristic of the class C amplifiers will distort the modulation
envelope
The buffer amplifier serves two purposes
1) provides impedance matching
2) isolates the oscillator from variations of the load
A

The carrier wave is modulated at low power level and then amplified by one or more
linear class B amplifiers to the required power level. Class C amplifiers cannot be
employed because they would introduce excessive distortion to the modulated wave.
Hence low level transmitter has lower efficiency due to class B amplifiers.
Modern low-level transmitters use class C amplifiers with envelope negative feedback to
reduce distortion.

Advantages of low level transmitters

 Easier to design since large a.f modulating power is not required.
 A small amount of power is required to fully modulate the carrier.
 It is simple , small and compact.

Disadvantages
 Low efficiency due to class A &B (not C)
 Does not benefit from frequency multiplication since this cannot be done after
modulation process.
 stages after the modulation process must have larger Band width to
enable transmitting of the modulation products (sidebands)
 The use of low efficiency amplifiers means more power is dissipated in the
active devices .other methods must be used to dissipate the extra heat
which subsequently increases cost
 It cannot benefit from the high efficiency provided by class C amplifiers
7.1.2: LOW LEVEL S.S.B/i.S.B TRANSMITTER

A.F Main
signal Drive transmitter
unit
Aerial feeder

Most ssb and isb transmitters employ low level operation where modulation process is
carried out in a separate drive unit. The modulating signal is converted into either ssb or
isb waveform in the drive unit transmitter. In the main transmitter the ssb /isb is amplified
to the required power level and frequency translated to appropriate part of the frequency
spectrum.
SCHEMATIC BLOCK DIAGRAM OF A DRIVE UNIT OF AN ISB
TRANSMITTER

Hybrid
.coil.
Bal
.Mod. 100Khz
Mes
sage
.
Osc.
Attenua
tor

Mod. . IF Amp.
Bal.Mod

Crystal
osc

The audio signal is applied to a balanced modulator together with 100khz carrier signal ,
the upper and lower sidebands are selected by channel filters F1and F2. The output of
F1&F2 are combined in the hybrid coil and then passed through a 100khz top filter. This
filter removes the carrier leak that may be present in the outputs. If the carrier signal is
required at the receiver a pilot carrier is re inserted into the composite signal. The
function of a pilot carrier is to operate the automatic gain control (AGC) and automatic
frequency control (AFC) circuitry in the receiver.

DRIVE UNIT OF AN SSB

Block diagram of the drive unit for ssbsc
 Bal.mod. Mixer IF Amp
AF Amp.
0-3khz
97-100khz

Crystal osc
100Khz Cryst.osc
3Mhz

 Used in maritime mobile systems.

 A pilot carrier version of the unit is also possible ,added in the same
way as in the isb transmitter.

7.1.3; SELF TUNING TRANSMITTER USING WIDEBAND AMPLIFIER.

 Does not require tuning
 Wideband amplifier operates over the entire frequency band of the transmitter
 The drive unit employed for this transmitter must be able to produce isb or ssb
signal at the required frequency.

Wideban
From drive d Amp Class B tuned earthed
unit grid power amp.
4-27.5Mhz power Amp.

Automatic
tuning /loading
control cctry
NOTE the transmitter frequency is determined by the frequency synthesizer. When it is
required to change ,the frequency synthesizer is set to generate a frequency such that after
mixing with the i.s.b /ssb signal produces a signal at the new wanted frequency. Typical
power output for a self tuning h.f transmitter is 20Kw.

HIGH LEVEL MODULATION TRANSMITTERS

The message signal is amplified and then fed in series with the DC power supply
voltage to the final RF power amplifier where the actual modulation process
takes place The modulating signal is amplified by class A a.f amplifier and then by
class B amplifier to the power level necessary to fully modulate the carrier. The output of
class B amplifier is applied to the circuit of the final class C stage and modulates the
amplified carrier wave.
The frequency stability depends on the stability of the crystal oscillator . It can be
improved by operating the crystal at its fundamental frequency and use the appropriate
frequency multiplication to obtain the required frequency.
It could also be improved by use of a crystal oscillator of higher frequency than the
required carrier frequency and then use frequency deviation

THE CARRIER OSCILATOR

Provides a sinusoidal frequency in the accuracy of 20ppm (parts per million )The
required stability is achieved by use of cryastal oscillators

BUFFER AMPLIFIER
Same as for low level transmitters

FREQUENCY MULTIPLIERS
Provides multiples of the frequency ,typical are doublers ,triplers ,quad ruplers

DRIVER AMPLIFIER
Conditions the signal to make it suitable for feeding to the final RF amplifier
MESSAGE SECTION

PREAMPLIFIERS
Amplifies the signals from the microphone to ensure system noise does not affect
the quality of the information

VOLTAGE AMPLIFIER
Provide enough voltage amplification to drive the modulator
MODULATOR
It’s the final stage of the amplification of the message .Its usually (class B power
amp)
POWER SECTION
MODULATED RF POWER AMPLIFIER
This is where actual modulation takes place .Class C is used to provide high
effeciency
MATCHING NETWORKS
Are used to couple the output to the antenna .They transform the impedance of
the feeder into the optimum load for the output device

ADVANTAGES
High efficiency class C tuned amplifiers could be used through out the rf section.
DISADVANTAGES
The modulating signal must be amplified to a high level if it is to adequately modulate
the carrier.
The use of high power class B a.f amplifier is expensive due to the output transformer
requirements.
USES
1). Dsb Am sound broadcast
2). Vhf / Uhf mobile transmitters.
N/B majority of dsb AM transmitters use high-level method because of greater
efficiency.

8.0 FM TRANSMITTERS
FM TRANSMITTERS:- are classified into three ; namely:- 1) Direct (2).Indirect and
(3). Stereo.
The major factor is to achieve adequate frequency deviation while maintaining high
frequency stability
Crystal oscillators can be used for this purpose since its frequency can be pulled by a
small amount in order to achieve deviation but a high frequency multiplication factor is
necessary

DIRECT FM TRANSMITTERS
Direct frequency modulation is limited to narrow band frequency modulation(fm),which
employs small deviation.See fig 8.1
The message signal varies the reactance of the modulator which is connected in parallel
with the frequency determining network(the tank circuit) of the oscillator which then
varies the frequency deviations of the carrier oscillator in sympathy with the modulating
signal voltage thus achieving frequency modulation.
The functions of the buffer amplifier ,frequency multiplier ,power output section,
matching network is similar to AM transmitters

The oscillator alone does not meet the frequency stability regulations.Class C produces
harmonics of the input signal and provided the harmonic tuned output circuit has enough
 band to accept sidebands, the high harmonic of the input can be selected and the output
frequency fout =nfi = n.fc+nf.m(t) This shows that the deviation is multiplied by the
harmonic number n.
When the signal is up converted by mixing with the oscillator frequency fo the final
frequency is given by fout = fo+fi =fo+fc+f.m(t)
The carrier frequency is raised to (fo+ fc) and modulation is n altered. Shown in fig. b.
# Increase in deviation is achieved without increasing of the carrier frequency.
# The input frequency fi is multiplied up to nfi
# This is applied to the down converter along with the oscillator frequency fo= (n-1)fc
and the resulting output frequency
fout = nfi-fo = fc+nf.m(t)
The carrier is converted back to its original frequency and deviation multiplied n times.
For a better stability an AFC circuit is employed as shown.

Mod
.Audio Class C
signal Reactance LC Multipli power
Mod. Osc. er Amp

Cryst
V.ery Discrim Mixer Osc.
LPF inator

A sample of the final output signal is mixed with the signal from the crystal oscillator. If
the IF produced contains the difference frequencies between the carrier and the final
oscillator a discriminator circuit generates a voltage which is proportional to the
difference. It also contains the modulation signal and a LPF is used to remove this
leaving a varying d,c signal level which is proportional to the difference between the
carrier frequency and the oscillator .
This is added to the modulating Audio signal and applied to the reactance modulator in a
manner so as to correct any drift in the main modulator frequency.
The gain of the feedback loop is determined by the frequency multiplication constant,
the modulator and the discriminator gain.
N/B Care must be taken to ensure that the feedback loop is stable to avoid oscillation
The signal is then fed to a class C power amplifier which drives the aerial.

8.1.1: BLOCK DIAGRAM OF FM TRANSMITTER EMPLOYING A

VARACTOR MODULATOR
 AF Varacto L.C Freq. Power
stages r Mod Mult Amp.
Osc

Cryst
Osc. AFC cct
mod
2

Audio signal is amplified in the AF stages and drives the varactor modulator.
The varactor modulator varies the frequency of an LC oscillator whose centre frequency is
stabilized by a crystal control via AFC loop.
The initial carrier frequency is multiplied several times to bring it up into the VHF band by means
of the frequency multipliers.
The output drives class C RF power amplifiers with high efficiency to give an FM output of a few
kilowatts.

An FM transmitter has a carrier frequency of 3.5 Mhz and a deviation of +1.6Khz when a
3.6Vpp message signal is applied . The frequency multiplier section has 3 tripplers
calculate :
a) The carrier frequency and deviation at the antenna.
b) %modulation
c) Peak voltage of the message signal for 100% modulation.
solution
a)
Section output Carrier frequency fc Frequency deviation Δf
Carrier oscillator 3.5 MHz ± 1.6 KHz
Multiplier 3x3x3=x27 x27
Total at antenna 3.5x27=94.5MHz ± 1.6 KHz x27=43.2 KHz
b) % modulation= x100 =57.6%
a) 57.6% is caused by 3.6 Vpp
100% is caused by x3.6
=6.25 V peak to peak

Exercise 8.1
A carrier oscillator is producing 5.05 MHz and frequency deviation of ±3.125 KHz
when a message signal of 2.85 peak to peak is applied
The multiplier section comprises one doubler and two triplers
Determine ;
a) radiated carrier frequency and deviation
b) the percentage modulation if the rated system deviation is ±75KHZ
c) the message voltage needed to cause 100% modulation
solutions (a) 90.9 MHZ,56.25KHz b) 75% c) 3.8Vpp
 Problems of Direct FM
2) The L and C components are affected by temperature which affects
frequency stability
3) Automatic frequency control (AFC) is needed to overcome problem 1
which adds to complexity and cost
The above problems are overcome in the indirect FM transmitters
8.2 INDIRECT FM TRANSMITTERS
INDIRECT FREQUENCY MODULATION
Direct frequency modulation has one disadvantage i.e. Inductor /capacitor must be used
hence inherent frequency instability of the unmodulated frequency is not enough.
Two possible solutions:
iii) automatic frequency control (AFC) is applied at the transmitter
iv) Use of a crystal oscillator: The frequency of the crystal oscillator cannot be
varied therefore an indirect frequency modulation is employed.
CALCULATIONS table 8.2

Section output Carrier frequency Frequency deviation

Phase modulator Fc ±Δf
Multiplier 1 fcxN1 ±ΔfxN1
Mixer Fo2-N1(fc) ±ΔfxN1
Multiplier 2 N2(Fo2-N1(fc)) ±ΔfxN1xN2
NB
1) The system is called Armstrong FM transmitter after its inventor
2) The effect of multiplication is to multiply both carrier frequency and
deviation while the mixing process converts the carrier frequency up or
down but the frequency deviation hence % modulation is not affected
Example 8.2
An Armstrong FM transmitter consist of a carrier of frequency 400 KHz and deviation
of 15 HZ. The Transmitter has the following set of multipliers
1st set of multiplier are four triplers and the 2nd set consist of 6 doublers
The local oscillator in the mixer produces 34 MHz
,Calculate the carrier frequency and deviation at the antenna
solution
N1= 3x3x3x3=81, N2=2x2x2x2x2x2=64
fc= N2(Fo2-N1(fc))= 64 (34 MHz-(81x400 KHz)=64x(34MHz-32.4MHz)=102.4 MHz
Δf=N1xN2x(±Δf)=81x64x(±15Hz)=77760 HZ=77.76KHz
EXERCISE 8.2
1) The output of the phase modulator consist of carrier frequency of 400kHz and deviation of
±14.468 Hz.The transmitter is provided by a first set of four triplers before the mixer and
another set of six doublers after the mixer .The local oscillator provides 33.8078 MHz
calculate ;
a) the carrier frequency and deviation at the antenna

ARMSTRONG PHASE MODULATOR:-

The modulating signal is first integrated and used to phase modulate the carrier wave.
This is the most commonly used method of FM generation .It uses a stable crystal
oscillator to generate the carrier frequency which is then mixed with the message signal
in a phase modulator to produce narrow band FM. Several multiplier and mixer stages are
used to increase the carrier frequency and deviation to obtain wideband FM see fig 8.2

The signal is integrated prior to applying to the modulator

ARMSTRONG PHASE MODULATOR:-

The output of a balanced modulator contains the upper and lower sidebands produced by
modulating the 90 phase shifted carrier with the modulating signal.
The ssbsc amplitude modulated signal combines with zero –phase shifted carrier in order
to produce a phase modulated signal.
NOTE : if the modulating signal is integrated before reaching the balanced modulator, fm
signal is produced. Analysis is done on the Armstrong type of the indirect fm.
 90Pha
se
shift Phase Freq.
Crystal Mod. Freq.ch Power
Multi Freq.M Amp.
Osc. plier anger
ultiplier
Mod.
DSBS Amp
C mod
Adde
r
Crst.
Mod.Osc
Amp
Mod. Integrato
Amp r
Audio
In

EXCITER SECTION
1. Carrier oscillator: is used to generate a stable sine wave signal at the rest frequency. It
must be able to change the frequency when fully modulated with no change measurable
in amplitude.
-Signal is low approximately 100 KHz due to this more multiplication stages to follow
2. Buffer amplifier acts as a constant high impedance load on the oscillator to help stabilize
the oscillator frequency.
Modulator: (reactance or phase mod.) acts to change the carrier frequency by applying of
the message signal. The message signal is first integrated before its fed to the modulator.
Its output (mod) is reduced in amplitude it is small compared to the oscillator output. 8.3

STEREO FM MULTIPLEX TRANSMITTER

STEREO FM TRANSMITTER(see hand written handout)
The word stereo comes from the greek word meaning “Three dimension” In modern
stereo the three dimensional effects is a accomplished by a two source sound system at a
distance from the listener .The receiver must be equipped to separate a two source signal
and the transmitter must be equipped to generate a two source program. Generation of the
stereo signals is part of the audio (message) circuitry and is developed before the
modulator at the transmitter.

Stereo FM became commercially available in 1961 several years after mono

aural transmission .One requirement of the FM broadcasting is that it should
be compatible with mono aural system that is it can be received by mono
receivers and give satisfactory reproduction. To achieve this some coding
system is used where the left (L) and right (R) signals are coded in a
matrixing circuit fig 8.3 to give sum and difference signals

L Mic L Mic 0-15Khz Linear

Amp Amp filter Adder

Bal.
Balance Mod.
Linear
Adder

L Mic
Freq. Amp
doubl
R Mic er
Amp R
inverter

67Khz
Reactan SCA
ce Mod Subcarri
Amp er osc.

Fig 8.3 fig 8.4

The sum signal represent the mono signal and is used to modulate the FM
carrier directly .The difference signal amplitude modulates a sub carrier at
38 KHz .The sub carrier is then suppressed see fig 8.4.The two signals
combine to frequency modulate the main carrier,
To facilitate demodulation at the receiver ,the sub carrier frequency must be
present at the receiver in the correct phase and frequency as the one
suppressed at the transmitter .This is achieved by sending a pilot carrier
tone at 19KHz together with the signal .The pilot is kept low in order not to
take excessive power from the sum and difference signals.. The reason why
the 19KHz is sent instead of the 38KHz is because the 19KHz is separated
by about 4KHz which enables it to be easily filtered at the receiver . A
typical block diagram of stereo FM transmitter is shown in fig 8.5.
The 19 KHz from the crystal oscillator is fed directly to the FM modulator
and to the frequency doubler to obtain the 38 KHz ,which is fed to the
balanced modulator to obtain the sum and difference signal with sub
carrier suppressed

Fig 8.5

FM STEREO RECEIVER
See Fig 11

Fig 11
The matrix circuit consists of an adder and a subtractor. The output of the
Adder is the left channel since (L+R)+(L-R)=2L.
The output of the sub tractor is the right channel since (L+R)-(L-R) =2R.
The separated R and L audio are then fed to individual (identical) amplifiers to drive
separate set of speakers.

INTRODUCTION TO RADIO RECEIVERS

RADIO RECEIVERS

Introduction
A radio receiver is an apparatus / system designed to intercept a radio wave, remove the
information carried by that radio wave and then present that information in the proper
format.
Radio receivers perform the following functions;

1) select the desired signal and reject all the others

 2) amplify the desired signal
3) extract the message signal from the modulated signal
4) amplify the message signal to a suitable level to drive the loudspeaker

Terminologies

1) signal to noise ratio (SNR)-is the ratio of signal power to noise power at a given
point in a system .SNR(dB)=10 log SNR. The larger the SNR the less the signal is
corrupted by the noise

2) Sensitivity –is the minimum input RF voltage that will produce a specified signal to
noise ratio at the detector output .Sensitivity therefore indicates the ability of a receiver
to amplify weak signals . Sensitivity values range from ~ 1mV for a 10 dB SNR for an
inexpensive AM radio to < 100 nV for a 10 dB SNR for specialized high performance
receivers.
Since sensitivity it is quoted with reference to a SNR, the noise floor of the receiver is an
important factor. The receiver's noise floor is the noise that exists at the output of the
receiver when there is no input. A sensitive receiver must have an extremely low noise
floor,
3) Selectivity is the ability of a receiver to accept the desired signals and reject all
closely adjacent unwanted signals. Selectivity measures the ability of the receiver to
discriminate between the desired signal and other undesired signals on nearby
frequencies. Selectivity is generally measured in terms of bandwidth. If two signals are
separated by a frequency greater than the quoted selectivity, it is possible to receive one
without interference from the other.
4) front end –these are the circuits that process the RF signal (RF amp, local oscillator,
Mixer). The output of the front end is the intermediate frequency (IF).
5) dynamic range is the range of input levels that the receiver can operate .In other word,
dynamic range is the ability of a receiver to receive strong and weak signals
simultaneously without changing of RF gain
6)blocking -is the condition in which the gain of a radio receiver is reduced when a large
amplitude unwanted signal either overloads a stage or excessively operates the
automatic gain control(AGC) system
7) Heterodyne –is the process of beating (mixing) two frequencies to produce sum and
difference signals
8) double spotting –A situation whereby one station appears to be received for two
different settings of the dial .The second signal is of a reduced amplitude
9) ganging –oscillator pulling –a situation whereby the oscillator frequency is close to
the signal frequency as a result the IF output is zero and hence detector output is zero.

There are several parameters used to judge the performance of a receiver. The two most
important are sensitivity and selectivity, so we analyze several systems to see how they
compare in terms of sensitivity and selectivity.

Types of receivers
1) Communication receiver
 2) broadcast receivers
Communication receiver
Used for point to point communication for example walkie -talkie

BROADCASTING RECEIVERS

1. L-C TANK CIRCUIT (CRYSTAL SET)

The earliest receivers, known as crystal sets, figure below consisted of a tuning circuit,
typically an LC tank circuit with either L or C variable, which was used to select the
desired reception frequency. Fo = 1/2л√LC

The output of the tuner went directly to a detector, the detector was a Schottky diode
formed by placing a thin metal wire in contact with a crystal of a semi-conducting
mineral such as galena. (hence the name crystal set). The output of the diode went to a
pair of high impedance headphones ( Z > 1000 ohms). This receiver was very simple and
required no external power, but it suffered from serious drawbacks:

1. There was no amplification of the signal, which seriously limited the sensitivity. In
order for a signal to be heard, it had to be powerful enough to drive the headphones.

2. The selectivity of the receiver was very broad because only one tuned circuit was used
and that tuned circuit was loaded down by the headphones.

The Broadcast receivers are used for entertainment .They are currently further
classified into;
1) tuned radio frequency (TRF)
2) super heterodyne (superhet)

2. TUNED RADIO FREQUENCY RECEIVERS

These were popular up to mid 1930s.. To improve the performance of the basic receiver
several stages of RF amplification were added between the antenna and the detector The
TRF were simply a chain of RF amplifiers each tuned to the same frequency and
followed by a detector fig 1
 or

A block diagram of a TRF receiver

The receiving antenna converts radio waves into radio frequency signals.
RF Amp . amplifies the RF signal and also selects the signal at the required station
(channel i.e. use of Tuned cct)
AM detector : detects(extracts the intelligence(modulating)signal from the AM
signal

Figure 1 - TRF three variable capacitors ganged to track together.

The Limitations of TRF:-
(a) all r.f. stages had to track one another and this is quite difficult to achieve technically.
(b) Due to various tuned cct (rf stage) it makes the receiver bulky.
(c) because of design considerations, the received bandwidth increases with frequency,
therefore poor selectivity particularly at high frequencies. An example - if the circuit
design Q(q factor) was 55 at 550 Khz to 1650Khz the received bandwidth would be 550 /
55 or 10 Khz and that was largely satisfactory. However at the other end of the a.m. band
1650 Khz, the received bandwidth was still 1650 / 55 or 30 Khz.
(d) the shape factor could only be quite poor. A common error of belief with r.f. filters of
this type is that the filter receives one signal and one signal only, leading to poor
sensitivity i.e has poor ability to respond to weak signals
(e)Poor frequency response : Selectivity and gain of tuned circuits varies with the
frequency such that performance (amplification) is not consistent or uniform on different
bands.

However, the multiple stages of RF amplification brought some new problems:

1. The gain of the amplifiers generally decreased as the frequency increased, thus the
sensitivity of a TRF receiver varied greatly across its tuning range.

2. Designing the tuning circuits for TRF receivers was mechanically hard. Each stage of
amplification had a tuned circuit, all of which had to track; that is all tuned circuits had to
be tuned to the same frequency at the same time. If the dial were set to 600 KHz, all
amplifiers must be tuned to 600 KHz.

3. The selectivity of a TRF receiver was not constant. As the frequency increased, the
selectivity became broader. This happened because the tuning circuits used in a TRF
receiver had a fixed inductor and a variable capacitor. The Q of this circuit, which
determines the bandwidth, is constant as C is varied. When a parallel LC circuit has a
constant Q, its selectivity (bandwidth)is determined by its resonant frequency. As the
resonant frequency increases, so does the bandwidth.
The selectivity problem was particularly troublesome for TRF receivers.

THE SUPERHETERODYNE:
THE AM SUPER-HETERODYNE RECEIVER

The term super heterodyne is a contraction of supersonic heterodyne or the production

of beat frequencies above the range of hearing .It was developed by major Edwin Arm
strong in the first world war. Heterodyne is an electrical engineering term relating to the
non-linear mixing of signals using the mixer . .It is still popular up to date .

The super heterodyne receiver functions by mixing the incoming signal from the antenna
with another RF carrier generated by the local oscillator (LO). The output of the mixer is
the difference of the LO signal and the incoming signal i.e. fs, fo, fo+fs (heterodyning). A
filter is used to reject all other frequencies except (fo-fs) a process known as down
conversion .This difference signal is called the intermediate frequency (IF) signal which
is maintained at a constant but since it is above human hearing range the process is called
super heterodyning(normally 455Khz-470Khz.) with 455Khz most commonly used.. The
IF signal is amplified by one or more IF amplifiers overcoming the variable sensitivity
and selectivity problems of the TRF (most of the gain, sensitivity and bandwidth
requirements of the receiver are provided in the IF stages). A detector is used after the
final IF amplifier to recover the original audio signal, which is then amplified by the
audio amplifier portion of the receiver and sent to the speaker or other output device

OR

Block Schematic Diagram of Am Superheterodyne Receiver.

Antenna
Intercepts the radio wave (RF energy) and converts it into an electrical signal.The
induced voltage ranges from a few tenths of uV to several thousand uV .This signal
strength depends on
1) distance from transmitter
2) power of transmitter

RF tuner
Its an LC tuning circuit that selects the desired signal from all the signals picked by the
antenna
RF amplifier

In most cases the signal strength at the receiver is quite large and many cheap AM
receivers do not incorporate an RF amplifier stage RF stages. Main function

 Provide enough selectivity, i.e. prevents some interference signal likely to be

troublesome in the if stages e.g. images. Image = LO + RF Input = 2fi+fs
 Couples the aerial

 provides gain to the selected RF signal thus improving signal to noise ratio
  provides isolation between the RF and oscillator port hence prevent re-radiation
of the local oscillator frequency through the antenna .

Mixer
Heterodynes the RF signal frequency (f ) with the local oscillator (f ) to produce the
Intermediate frequency (IF).Note that the shape of the modulated envelope does not
change when converted to IF. i.e. the message remains the same during conversion
The mixer can be any non linear device, such as a simple a diode ( frequencies up to 10
GHz though a diode mixer provides no gain) or transistors although their use above 500
MHz is limited by their internal parasitic capacitances. It is possible to use the same
transistor for both. The transistor oscillator is biased to operate in a non-linear mode so
that it can function as both a mixer and an oscillator. This type of circuit is known as an
autodyne mixer or self-excited mixer.

One problem with the autodyne mixer is that of "pulling". If the input frequency is too
close to the LO frequency, the LO frequency will be "pulled" to the input frequency and
there will be no IF output. This problem limits the use of the autodyne mixer to relatively
low frequencies where the RF and LO frequencies are well separated. There are
integrated circuits designed specifically for mixer applications.

The mixer output is fed to a filter that selects the desired IF frequency. When the IF is
below 2 MHz the filter is usually made from a resonant RF transformer. At higher
frequencies, either an RF transformer or some type of crystal filter or ceramic resonator
may be used. The choice depends on the required bandwidth. The bandwidth of
transformers is limited by their Q. For wideband modes such as broadcast FM, RF
transformers provide sufficient selectivity.

IF amplifiers
The IF is the difference between the wanted frequency and the local oscillator frequency.
These are tuned RF amplifiers that select the IF signal only. The IF section may have up
to three separate amplifier stages all tuned to the same frequency .The IF strip contribute
70% of the total gain of the receiver .That is the IF strip provides gain and selectivity
Detector
Extracts the message signal from the modulated signal. The message signal is fed to the
audio amplifiers .A DC signal is also produced which may be used to provide automatic
gain control(AGC). In most AM receivers the detector is a diode, The RF signal is
rectified and put through a low pass filter, which leaves only the audio that was originally
modulated onto the AM carrier. Or a synchronous detector.
Audio amplifiers
Amplify the message signal from the detector and feeds to the loud speaker to drive it.
Loud speaker
Converts the message signal into sound
Automatic gain control
The AGC is a DC signal derived from the Detector and is fed to the RF amplifier and the
first IF amplifier to modify the gains of the amplifiers relative to the signal strength at the
antenna .Without AGC the output signal will be continuously varying with Rf signal at
the antenna and the operator would be required to constantly adjust the volume control!!

Advantages

 High sensitivity: responds to weak signals due to Amplification stages

 High selectivity: Numerous IF coils which rejects unwanted signals

 Good frequency response: Constant gain for wider range of receiver signals, due
to IF stages which offers constant gain.

 High signal to Noise Ratio Signal Amplitude /Noise Amplitude.

 Can cope with fading due to AGC.

The superheterodyne overcomes the variable sensitivity and selectivity problems of the
TRF, by doing most of the amplification at the intermediate frequency, where the gain
and selectivity can be carefully controlled. However, the super heterodyne had some
drawbacks:

(i) the LO signal must always differ from the input signal by exactly the
IF frequency, regardless of what input frequency is selected. This is
known as "tracking"
(ii) there are two different frequencies that can mix with the LO signal to
produce the IF signal. One of those frequencies is our input signal
frequency; the other is known as the "image frequency". The image,
input, IF and LO frequencies are related as follows:
IF = LO - Input IF = Image - LO Image = Input + 2*IF.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE CHOICE OF IF FOR A RECEIVER

The lower the frequency of IF the smaller the bandwidth ,But if the one IF is used the
image (freq) interference results.
1) adjacent channel rejection- A high IF increases bandwidth which reduces
selectivity resulting in poor adjacent channel rejection.
2) Image frequency rejection :- frequencies near the signal frequency which is
picked and amplified together with the required signal. A high IF improves
image channel rejection
3) Tracking -A high value of IF increases tracking problems
4) Oscillator pulling A low IF increases the chance of oscillator pulling
5) Tuning range of receiver A low IF may fall within the tuning range of the
receiver may cause instability which may give rise to heterodyne whistles which
makes it impossible to tune to the frequency band
TYPICAL IF FOR SEVERAL APPLICATION

application Freq range IF used

1 MW 530 KHZ-1600KHz 455KHz,465KHz,470KHz
2 FM 88-108 MHz 10.7 MHz
3 SSB 2-30 MHz 45 MHz,1.6-2.3 MHz
4 TV vhf 54 to223 MHz 36 MHz
uhf 470 to 940MHz 46 MHz
5 Microwave 1-10GHz 30,40, 60,70 MHz
and radar

Image channel frequency (fim) must be prevented from reaching the mixer since it
would produce a signal appearing as a cross talk or wee-saw which must be rejected and
be removed at the RF stages. The Image channel rejection ratio in dbs is defined as the
ratio of the voltage of the wanted signal and image signal frequency necessary at the
receiver input terminals to produce the same audio output.

Or image rejection ratio in dbs = 1+2ðfo x104 /fo2 but ðfo =fim –fo

fim -fo = fi or fi +fo =fim

fim – (fi+fs) =fi

; . fim = 2fi+fs

fim= fi+(fi+fs) = 2fi +fs image signal is separated from the wanted signal by twice the
intermediate frequency. If allowed to reach the mixer it will produce an interference
signal which cannot be eliminated by selectivity of the IF

ADJACENT CHANNEL SELECTIVITY

The spacing of the carrier frequencies is limited by the available frequency spectrum.
The allocation of frequencies is done by International frequency for Radio Broadcasting
(IFRB) and International Telecommunication Union(ITU)
The band use is 525Khz -625Khz and the bandwidth is 9Khz.

Adjacent Channel Selectivity ratio in dbs is the ratio in dbs of input voltages at the
wanted and adjacent channel signal frequency necessary to produce the same output
power.

Local oscillator radiation: may radiate through the antenna in that the signal from the
local oscillator may go back to the antenna. This is eliminated by screening (both LO
&Rf in a metal box for this reason) and also using RF amp. In the front ended circuit.

IF BREAKTHROUGH. At the IF stage we must use the IF traps to prevent any signals
to enter to the mixer(to stop noise). There are two types of IF traps:- parallel and series IF
traps.
Parallel cicuit give dynamic impedance at resonance hence blocks if from reaching the
mixer.
Series cct has alow dynamic impedance h ence if passed to ground
CO -Channel Interference. Due to the geographical position of adjacent signals
because of two stations operating in the same frequency. Stations must operate at
different frequencies in different geographical positions to prevent this interference
(another signal at the same frequency appears at the receiver )

AM RADIO RECEIVER CIRCUITS

SUPERHETERODYNE RECEIVER SUBSYSTEMS

The receiver is divided into three major parts

1. The high frequency (Tuner section) or front end
2. The Intermediate section (IF section)
3. The low frequency section (Audio section)

THE "FRONT END"

The stages that select and convert the RF input to the IF are known collectively as the
"Front End" of a superheterodyne receiver. The front end includes the following stages:

1. RF amplifier
2. Mixer
3. Local oscillator

The complexity of the system depends on the intended service areas and the cost versus
sensitivity trade off of the manufacturer. A modified front end is shown below where the
RF amp has been omitted .The frequency selecting circuits of the RF amp have been
replaced with a pre-selector. The primary disadvantages of removing the RF amplifier
are

i) loss of sensitivity
ii) poor signal to noise ratio

iii) reduced selectivity

iv) Increased signal radiation from the oscillator to the antenna.

For the last disadvantage the signal from the oscillator is connected to the emitter of the
mixer and can be fed through the base of the antenna coil and the transmitted into the
atmosphere. This will cause interference to nearby receivers.

The diagram above shows the block diagram for a typical AM superheterodyne receiver.
An RF amplifier is generally not used; AM signals are generally strong enough to provide
good reception without the additional amplification before the mixer. Note that both the
mixer and the IF gain are controlled by the AGC. This is necessary because it is not
possible to get good AGC action by controlling only the gain of the IF stage. Controlling
the mixer gain also prevents strong local signals from overloading the mixer.

A tremendous amount of gain is required to boost a signal from the microwatt level at the
antenna to the watt level at the output of the receiver. Consider an AM receiver whose
sensitivity is 10 µV for a 10 dB SNR into a 50 ohm input impedance and whose output
power is 1 W into 8 ohm load. How much gain is needed to accomplish this?

The input power and output powers expressed in dB are:

The required receiver gain is 30 - (-87) = 117 dB.

The figure below shows a typical division of gain between the various stages of the
receiver.
Notice that most of the gain comes from the IF stages. There are two reasons for this:

1. It is much easier to design a high gain amplifier to work at just one frequency,
over a narrow bandwidth.
2. Too much gain in the RF stages can cause the mixer to be overloaded by strong
signals.

The second consideration brings us to a third measure of receiver performance known as

dynamic range. Dynamic range measures the difference between the sensitivity (the
faintest signal that can be received) and the largest signal that can be received without
being distorted. Dynamic range is measured in dB and it varies from 70 dB to over 100
dB. High dynamic range is good; the receiver can respond to signals over a wide range of
input level without causing distortion in the output. As signal levels change due to
varying propagation and the AGC adjusts the gain to maintain constant output, the
distortion levels in the output will not change as a result of overload.

THE LOCAL OSCILLATOR

The sine wave oscillator is the typical local oscillator in AM radio receivers. It could be a
colpitts, Hartley oscillator or Armstrong circuits with the last being very common. Since
its easier to vary the capacitance than to vary the inductance while tunning.

HARTLEY OSCILLATOR CIRCUIT. (refer to class work)

It is a common base (base of a.c ground through c1) The input signal is capacitively
coupled to the emitter. The collector signal is transformed with zero phase change to the
secondary of the output transformerTX1 where a portion of the secondary is capacitively
coupled back to the emitter through C2. The in phase feedback plus the gain results in
sustained oscillations that will have the maximum peak to peak at the collector equal to
Vcc TX1 is also capcitively coupled via C3 to the mixer. The D.C. biasing is standard
base bias configuration with Vbe = 0.7V and a gain of 150.The loop produces the
following results which are class A IE=1.3mA,Vb=7.95,,Ve=7.25V, Vc = 12.0V and Vbe
= 0.7V. However when the circuit is constructed and voltages verified the values are
found to be IE=1.16mA,Vb=2.5V,,Ve=6.5V, Vc = 12.0V and Vbe = -3.7V they show a
low base voltage as compared to the emitter voltage which is a class C operation.

CHOICE OF OSCILLATOR FREQUENCY & IF FREQUENCY

Oscillator frequency can be higher than the signal frequency fo > fs or less than the signal
frequency fo< fs
If IF = 465Hz , and a tunable signal of fs =525Khz to1605Khz (mf), then fos =
(525+465) to (1605+465) = 990Khz to 2070Khz tunable oscillator frequency.

Frequency ratio fomax/fomin = {2070K/990K}2 = 2.9012

= 4.372:1
Tunning capacitor range = Cmax = (fmax ) 2 = 4.3721
Cmin ( fmin)
This ration can be obtained practically.
For fo<fs

fo =(525-465) to(1605-465) = 60Khz -1140Khz

fomax/fomin = 1140/60 = 19.1

Cmax 2
Cmin = 19.12 = 361:1 This cannot be practically obtained.

The value of the local oscillator is chosen to be higher than the signal frequency because
of the large ratio if it is made practically. Hence fo< fs chosen.

IMAGE FREQUENCY (IMAGE CHANNEL INTERFERENCE)

IF Is chosen to be laser than the lowest signal frequency to be converted, although in

some cases up conversion may be used. Choice of IF is a compromise
The lower the IF the easier it is to obtain the required adjacent selectivity.
The higher the IF the easier it is to reject the image signals.
fi = fim –fo but fo =fs+fi >> fi = fim –(fs+fi)

fim = fs+2fi. Example If fs = 525Khzand fi 465 then 2fi =2x465 =930Khz

fim 525+930 =1455Khz

fi 1455-990= 465Khz

If fi is too high and falls within the signal range then direct feed through may occur. .fim
should not be allowed to reach the IF .for it causes interference whistling.
Image rejection ratio /image response ratio is the ratio in decibels of the voltage at the
wanted signal and image signal frequency . the ratio of vs/vin necessary at the receiver
input terminals to produce the same audio output. = 20log Vs/Vin db

GANGING AND TRACKING

Ganging is the connecting of two or more capacitors together or mounting of capacitors

on a common spindle. they are used to tune simultaneously or switched in /out where
electronic tuning is used. This is done because the LO and Rf amplifier frequencies are
different.so used to select different stations.(they however do not cause instability.)

Tracking.Is the ability of the receiver to maintain a consant frequency difference between
oscillator frequency and signal frequency.

It is difficult to arrange tracking of the receiver .This can be approached by use of

padder(series) and trimmer (parallel) capacitors or both.

fi

fo

fs
Rotation of tuning capacitor.

A superhet receiver employs ganged capacitors in its local aerial and local oscillator
circuits with an additional parallel capacitor in the local osc. Cct As the capacitance in the
signal cct varies from 80Pf to 320 Pf the receiver is tuned from 1200KHz to 600KHz. If
the local oscillator capacitance variation is from 160PF to 400PF and the IF is 433KHz
what is .
(i) the frequency to which the receiver is tuned when the signal capacitance is 200PF
(ii) the local oscillator frequency when the local oscillator capacitance is 280PF

(iii) tracking error when the capacitance is in the mid-point of its range.

Sol.
CONTROLLING THE GAIN OF THE RECEIVER - AUTOMATIC GAIN
CONTROL (AGC)

The strength of the RF input signal varies greatly over time. AM fades(30 dB)due
propagation changes.
To provide control of gain, an automatic gain control (AGC) circuit is used .to vary the
gain of the receiver such that when the received signal is too weak the detector signal is
increased and if it is too strong it is reduced to a constant level. The AGC gets its input
from the detector. The detected signal is put through a long time constant low pass filter.
All audio variations in the detected signal are removed and only the slow variations in
signal strength due to fading remain. This slowly varying voltage is used to vary the bias
on the IF amplifier stages, reducing or increasing the gain as necessary to maintain a
constant audio level at the output of the receiver.
TYPES OF AGC USED IN RADIO RECEIVERS

1) simple
2) delayed

Simple AGC
The AGC voltage derived from the detector is filtered and fed directly to the controlled
stages (RF amplifier and 1st IF amplifier ).
As soon as the received signal exceeds the background noise level the AGC signal will
increase proportionally to the applied signal and the receiver becomes less sensitive. A
control voltage is developed and the gain of the receiver reduced immediately a carrier
voltage is present at the output of the IF amplifier.

Delayed AGC

The AGC voltage is delayed until the carrier level at the output of the detector is
greater than the predetermined value .Usually that at which the full power output of the
audio amplifier can be obtained. A different AGC diode D2 is provided as shown in fig
7

Fig 7
Operation
 D1 acts as the normal detector diode with a load resistor R .The AGC diode D is

provided with a positive bias at its cathode through the potential divider and
it will not conduct until the signal voltage appearing at its anode is greater than the
bias voltage .When D conducts ,the AGC voltage is developed across R and is fed
to the controlled stages via the filter network
R C
AGC CHARACTERISTICS
Detected o/p voltage

Delayed AGC
No AGC

Desired o/p
Simple AGC AGC

Receiver o/p voltage (μv)

PRE-EMPHASIS & DE-EMPHASIS NETWORKS

Pre-emphasis
The higher frequencies in an audio signal generally have lower amplitude than the lower
frequencies .This lowers the modulation index for higher frequencies and further
degrades the signal to noise ratio. To compensate for this ,the higher modulating
frequencies are artificially boosted before modulation at the transmitter .This process is
called pre-emphasis and improves the signal to noise ratio. Typical pre-emphasis
network is shown in fig 8 a and fig 8 b
The cut off frequency is give
fig8a

The cut off frequency for fig 1a is given by f = and for fig 1b f = where

RC and are the time constants respectively

.The value of the time constants are 50µS in Europe ,75 µS in USA. some countries use
25 µS. The gain vs frequency response is shown in fig 9

The variation of gain vs frequency may be expressed by ;

Av(dB)=20log( )

Example1
Determine the cut off frequency for a pre-emphasis circuit having a time constant of 75
µS
Solution
f = = =2122Hz
Example2
Determine the increase in gain at frequency f=2fc
Solution
Av(dB)=20log( ) =20log =6dB

Exercise 1
1) Determine cut off frequency for a pre-emphasis circuit having a time constant of 75
µS
Solution (3183 Hz)
2) Determine the frequency at which the gain has increased to 17dB
Solution (15KHz)

DE-EMPHASIS
At the receiver the higher frequencies of the modulated signals are attenuated .De –
emphasis process also operate on the noise produced at the output of the detector as well
as the audio signals ,the overall effect being a reduction in noise power. A typical
network is shown in fig 3a and de-emphasis curve is shown in fig 3b.

The time constant of the pre-emphasis and de-emphasis networks are equal to ensure that
the component frequencies are restored to their original amplitudes they were at the
transmitter
The de-emphasis curve is expressed by
Av=-20log( )
Example 3
Determine the loss in dB for the de-emphasis circuit at 12732 Hz if the cut off frequency
is 3183 Hz
solution
Av=-20log( )=20log( )=-12 dB

FM RECEIVERS

FM RECEIVERS
In order to be able to receive FM a receiver must be sensitive to the frequency variations
of the incoming signals. As already mentioned these may be wide or narrow band.
However the set is made insensitive to the amplitude variations. This is achieved by
having a high gain IF amplifier. Here the signals are amplified to such a degree that the
amplifier runs into limiting. In this way any amplitude variations are removed.
In order to be able to convert the frequency variations into voltage variations, the
demodulator must be frequency dependent. The ideal response is a perfectly linear
voltage to frequency characteristic. Here it can be seen that the centre frequency is in the
middle of the response curve and this is where the un-modulated carrier would be located
when the receiver is correctly tuned into the signal. In other words there would be no
offset DC voltage present.

The ideal response is not achievable because all systems have a finite bandwidth and as a
result a response curve known as an "S" curve is obtained. Outside the bandwidth of the
system, the response falls, as would be expected. It can be seen that the frequency
variations of the signal are converted into voltage variations which can be amplified by
an audio amplifier before being passed into headphones, a loudspeaker, or passed into
other electronic circuitry for the appropriate processing.

Characteristic "S" curve of an FM demodulator

To enable the best detection to take place the signal should be centred about the middle of
the curve. If it moves off too far then the characteristic becomes less linear and higher
levels of distortion result. Often the linear region is designed to extend well beyond the
bandwidth of a signal so that this does not occur. In this way the optimum linearity is
achieved. Typically the bandwidth of a circuit for receiving VHF FM broadcasts may be
about 1 MHz whereas the signal is only 200 kHz wide.

The FM receiver is similar to AM receiver in many aspects like it is a super heterodyne receiver.
The frequency of the received signal is translated to a different but fixed frequency called IF
(10.7MH) see fig
NOTE: things to note in this receiver are, detector, IF chosen to put the image frequency outside
the broadcasting band.
 88-108MHz

10.7MHz

Fig 10
1. Aerial: - Commercial FM transmission are radiated as horizontally polarized signals.
This is why the antenna is shown in a horizontal position in the block diagram .It
converts fm radio waves to FM signal. (88-108Mhz). This signals travel I a line of sight
path ,which limit the distance on earth over which the signal can be received. This
increases the need for RF amplifiers.
2. RF Amplifier:- Detects the signal of the required (tuned) channel.
-Amplifies the selected signal when it is relatively noise free.
- Isolates the antenna from the local oscillator
It should have low noie and high gain (Cascode amplifier used)
Characteristics of a cascade amplifier
 High input and output impedances
 Improve the high frequency response of the amplifier hence large bandwith
 Acts as a low noise free element amplifier.
3. Mixer:- Converts the received signal frequency to an IF frequency
Its output contains two input signals frequencies, sum and difference
frequencies.
4. Local Oscillator:- It supplies the sine wave signal to be used at the mixer to reduce the
carrier frequency to IF carrier frequency (Heterodyning). At these frequency the local
oscillator may operate at higher or lower than the incoming signal frequency.Two
limitations are placed on this type of Oscillator:
 They must be spectrally pure i.e. low in distortion and free of
harmonics. This condition helps determine the receiver quality and
easy of alignment.
 The oscillator must be frequency stable . it should not drift off
frequency due to changes in temperature or aging of component parts.

IF amplifiers (10.7Mhz) ;- They are multi stages tuned amplifiers using IF coils The
amplified IF signal are tuned at 10.7Mhz (fo-fs)
 Selects the difference frequency
 Introduce again equivalent to a bout 66% of the total system gain
 Aids in the selectivity process.
Characteristics:-
 Wide bandwidth
 A sharp cutoff frequency response curve
  High gain with stability
4. The amplitude limiter :- clips the excessive amplitude changes such as large
noise spikes .In order to be able to receive FM a receiver must be sensitive to the
frequency variations of the incoming signals ( wide or narrow band). However the
set is made insensitive to the amplitude variations. This is achieved by having a
high gain IF amplifier. Here the signals are amplified to such a degree that the
amplifier runs into limiting. In this way any amplitude variations are removed.
5. FM detector could be either adescriminator, ratio detector or PLL .It discriminates
to extract (detect) audio signal from the fm signal.
6. De-emphasis:- Reduces the level of the high frequency components of the audio
signal which had been raised at the transmitter by the pre- emphasis circuit.
7. AGC same as in the AM but with a variation of delayed AGC,. This is a level
delay and not a time delay.
8. AFC Automatic frequency control:- Circuit which automatically maintains the
frequency of the received signal frequency incase of shifting due to inteferance in
the transmission media.It ‘s usually increased at the local oscillator block.

To enable the best detection to take place the signal should be centred about the middle of
the curve. If it moves off too far then the characteristic becomes less linear and higher
levels of distortion result. Often the linear region is designed to extend well beyond the
bandwidth of a signal so that this does not occur. In this way the optimum linearity is
achieved. Typically the bandwidth of a circuit for receiving VHF FM broadcasts may be
about 1 MHz whereas the signal is only 200 kHz wide.

Rf Amp,
IF Amp . Audio
L Osc
Amp.
FM
detector

Modern Fm receivers like modern AM receivers are based on Integrated circuits mostly
two.IC1 called IF IC and IC2 called Audio IC
 Portable AM/FM
IF stages

AM/FM Audio
IF stages
Amp.

Portable AM/FM receivers may combine AM and FM IF IC as shown above.

NOISE & INTERFERENCE IN FM SYSTEMS
Noise and interference are both unwanted signals which mix with the wanted signal and
impede the proper reception of the wanted signal. Noise
is unwanted signal without information content .Interference signal may be carrying
information but as far as the system is concerned ,this is unwnted signal for example
signals from neighbouring station

COMPARISONOF NOISE PERFORMANCE OF FM &AM RECEIVERS

The AM noise power density is shown in fig 12a .It can be noted that the output noise
voltage is independent of the noise frequency .The noise distribution is therefore a
rectangle

Fig 12 a fig 12 b

For Fm the output voltage is proportional to the frequency .The noise distribution is thus
triangular. Fig12b
Analysis
Let noise voltage be normalized to Vn=1V
,therefore y=

AM noise power = =f

FM noise power=
 =

In case of FM broadcasting deviation ratio ß=5 so that the ratio of Am to FM noise

power is 75 =10 log 75=19dB

TYPES OF INTERFERENCE IN FM
1) adjacent channel interference
2) co-channel interference
3) image channel interference
4) Intermodulation interference

Adjacent channel interference

This occurs between two or more FM stations that have been allocated adjacent carrier
frequencies .It is minimized by providing guard bands of about 20 KHz in the 200KHz
bandwidth
Co channel interference
Occurs due to two channels operating at the same or nearly the same carrier
frequency .In AM receivers, the stronger signal predominates ,however the interference
signal is heard at the back ground as a faint signal
In FM systems the amplitude limiter passes the stronger signal and eliminates the weaker
thus the interference signal will not be heard until its signal is equal to that of the
wanted signal then the receiver fluctuates between the two channels alternatively
locking on to either of the two due to fading .When the interference signal becomes
larger than the desired signal then the co-channel predominates .This phenomenon is
called capture effect. Co- channel interference is common in mobile communication
Inter-modulation distortion
It’s the mixing of different signals in a non linear device such as a overloaded receiver
tuner. If two unwanted signals separated by IF frequency appear at the RF amplifier or
mixer ,they will produce an interfering signal that will pass through the IF section and to
the loudspeaker. Intermodulation interference is reduced by
1) linear operation of the RF stage
2) increasing the selectivity of the RF stage
This occurs in a crowded system of FM communications channel for examples in cities
COMMUNICATION RADIO RECEIVERS
Like the domestic receiver ,a communication receiver is also a super-heterodyne receiver
but has few modifications and added features see fig 13
Fig

1. Antenna Tunes in the range in the HF band 1-30 MHZ

2. Antenna coupling network provides impedance matching between antenna and RF
amplifier
3. 1st Mixer –produces the 1st IF 4.5 MHz
NB
Double conversion means the signal is processed by TWO mixers to produce Two
Ifs .The 1st IF is higher and provides greater image channel suppression

Explanations:- frequency synthesizer is an electronic system for generating any

of a range of frequencies from a single fixed timebase or oscillator.
Or: A circuit to generate a stable and precise RF output on any one of a number
of preset (or programmable) frequencies.

References
1) Kennedy, Electronic Communication
2) Killen , Modern Electronic Communication techniques
3) D,C green Radio systems technology
4) R, Schoenbeck Electronic Communication 1990
5) F,R connor Modulation
6) Coolen and Roody Electronic Communication 1982

Questions
1. a) state any TWO advantages of a single sideband AM over double sideband AM
b) Draw the block diagram of the drive unit of the independent Sideband
transmitter
c) Explain why single sideband transmission is commonly used for multi-
channel telephony and point to point radio circuits.
d) Why is it essential to transmit the suppressed carrier
2. a) State the factors determining the choice of the components values of a diode
detector.
 b) With the aid of a circuit diagram explain the operation of a semiconductor
diode detector
3. a) Explain why the vestigial sideband transmission is preferred to double sideband
transmission in communication systems.
b) Draw a transistorized balanced modulator and show that the outputs contain the
modulating frequency, the upper and lower sideband.
4. a) Define the term modulation depth as applied to AM wave.
An amplitude modulated voltage is represented by the expression
state :
I) The modulation depth
II) Modulation frequency
III)The period of the carrier

b) Expand the expression and calculate the RMS voltage of the lower side
frequency component.
c) The modulated wave is applied across a resistance of 1K calculate the power
dissipated.
(10marks)
5. Define the following terms as related to AM receivers.
i. Tracking
ii. Adjacent channel interferences
iii. Selectivity
iv. Sensitivity.
(4marks)
b) Draw a well labeled block diagram of a super heterodyne receiver and explain
the functions of any Three blocks.
6. With the aid of a circuit diagram of a semiconductor diode detector explain the
operation of a simple automatic gain control (A.G.C)

RADIO PROPAGATION
The way in which radio signals travel or propagate it is prime importance to anyone
associated with radio communications, be it cellular telecommunications, HF radio
communications, two way radio communications, maritime or general mobile
communications and much more. From radio communications users of the short wave or
HF bands through to those using the VHF and UHF bands. Radiowave propagation is
also of great importance to those using satellites, whether for TV reception, GPS or for
any other purpose. Although satellites use frequencies well above the limits normally
though to be affected by the atmosphere, there are still radio signal propagation effects
that are noticed. Additionally radiowave propagation is very important to those planning
radio communications networks, from cellular telecommunications or PMR networks,
through to those using WiFi and other wireless technologies including Bluetooth, Zigbee,
and Wimax.
Radio signal propagation basics

Radiowave propagation changes with frequency, and also with a number of other aspects.
Whatever the frequency, radio waves are a form of electromagnetic wave and obey the
basic laws that govern this type of wave. In order to understand how radio waves
propagate it is necessary to look at the basic properties of electromagnetic waves and also
the medium in which they travel, i.e. the atmosphere.
Electromagnetic waves and the electromagnetic spectrum
Reflection, refraction and diffraction of radio signals
Polarisation of electromagnetic waves - and their importance in radio wave propagation
Areas of the atmosphere that affect radio signals
An overview of the different types of radio propagation

Ground Wave

The ground wave is an important form of radio signal propagation. It is used by radio
communications and broadcast stations on frequencies below about 2 MHz and enables
them to provide local coverage.
Ground wave radio signal propagation

Ionospheric radiowave propagation - types of propagation and basic

principles

Signals in the LF, MF and HF portions of the radio spectrum can travel over great
distances using ionospheric propagation:
The Ionosphere
Ionospheric propagation

Ionospheric propagation - predictions, disturbances, etc

Ionospheric propagation is subject to many changes. Understanding the effects that may
arise and predicting conditions is of great importnace to those using ionospheric
propagation.
Sudden ionospheric disturbance, SID
Ionospheric radio signal absorption
Critical frequency, MUF and LUF
Sporadic E
Transequatorial propagation
Near Vertical Incidence Skywave, NVIS, propagation

The Sun
The Sun has an enormous effect on ionospheric radiowave propagation and radio
communications in general. The energy the Sun generates creates the ionisation that
enables radio communications signals to be refracted by the ionosphere. As a result an
understanding of its structure and nature helps provide a wider understanding of
ionospheric propagation.
How the sun affects radio signal propagation

Line of sight radio communications

It might be thought that most radio communications links at VHF and above follow a line
of sight path. This is not strictly true and it is found that even under normal conditions
radio signals are able to travel or propagate over distances that are greater than the line of
sight.

The reason for the increase in distance travelled by the radio signals is that they are
refracted by small changes that exist in the Earth's atmosphere close to the ground. It is
found that the refractive index of the air close to the ground is very slightly higher than
that higher up. As a result the radio signals are bent towards the area of higher refractive
index, which is closer to the ground. It thereby extends the range of the radio signals.

The refractive index of the atmosphere varies according to a variety of factors.

Temperature, atmospheric pressure and water vapour pressure all influence the value.
Even small changes in these variables can make a significant difference because radio
signals can be refracted over whole of the signal path and this may extend for many
kilometres.

N units
It is found that the average value for the refractive index of air at ground level is around 1.0003, but it can
easily vary from 1.00027 to 1.00035. In view of the very small changes that are seen, a system has been
introduced that enables the small changes to be noted more easily. Units called "N" units are often used.
These N-units are obtained by subtracting 1 from the refractive index and multiply the remainder by a
million. In this way more manageable numbers are obtained.

N = (mu-1) x 10^6

Where mu is the refractive index

It is found that as a very rough guide under normal conditions in a temperature zone, the
refractive index of the air falls by about 0.0004 for every kilometre increase in height, i.e.
400 N units / km. This causes the radio signals to tend to follow the earth's curvature and
travel beyond the geometric horizon. The actual values extend the radio horizon by about
a third. This factor is often used in most radio communications coverage calculations for
applications such as broadcast radio transmitters, and other two way radio
communications users such as mobile radio communications, cellular
telecommunications and the like.

Enhanced conditions

Under certain conditions the radio propagation conditions provided by the troposphere
are such that signals travel over even greater distances. This form of "lift" in conditions is
less pronounced on the lower portions of the VHF spectrum, but is more apparent on
some of the higher frequencies. Under some conditions radio signals may be heard over
distances of 2000 or more kilometres with distances of 3000 kilometres being possible on
rare occasions. This can give rise to significant levels of interference for periods of time.

These extended distances result from much greater changes in the values of refractive
index over the signal path. This enables the signal to achieve a greater degree of bending
and as a result follow the curvature of the Earth over greater distances.

Under some circumstances the change in refractive index may be sufficiently high to
bend the signals back to the Earth's surface at which point they are reflected upwards
again by the Earth's surface. In this way the signals may travel around the curvature of
the Earth, being reflected by its surface. This is one form of "tropospheric duct" that can
occur.

It is also possible for tropospheric ducts to occur above the Earth's surface. These
elevated tropospheric ducts occur when a mass of air with a high refractive index has a
mass of air with a lower refractive index underneath and above it as a result of the
movement of air that can occur under some conditions. When these conditions occur the
signals may be confined within the elevated area of air with the high refractive index and
they cannot escape and return to earth. As a result they may travel for several hundred
miles, and receive comparatively low levels of attenuation. They may also not audible to
stations underneath the duct and in this way create a skip or dead zone similar to that
experienced with HF ionospheric propagation.

Mechanism behind tropospheric propagation

Tropospheric propagation effects occur comparatively close to the surface of the Earth.
The radio signals are affected by the region that is below an altitude of about 2
kilometres. As these regions are those that are greatly affected by the weather, there is a
strong link between weather conditions and radio propagation conditions and coverage.

Under normal conditions a there is a steady gradient of the refractive index with height,
the air being closest to the Earth's surface having the highest refractive index. This is
caused by several factors. Air having a higher density and that containing a higher
concentration of water vapour both lead to an increase in refractive index. As the air
closest to the Earth's surface is both more dense (as a result of the pressure exerted by the
gases above it) and has a higher concentration of water vapour than that higher up mean
that the refractive index of the air closest to the earth's surface is the highest.

Normally the temperature of the air closest to the Earth's surface is higher than that at a
greater altitude. This effect tends to reduce the air density gradient (and hence the
refractive index gradient) as air with a higher temperature is less dense.

However, under some circumstances, what is termed a temperature inversion occurs. This
happens when the hot air close to the earth rises allowing colder denser air to come in
close to the Earth. When this occurs it gives rise to a greater change in refractive index
with height and this results in a more significant change in refractive index.

Temperature inversions can arise in a number of ways. One of the most dramatic occurs
when an area of high pressure is present. A high pressure area means that stable weather
conditions will be present, and during the summer they are associated with warm
weather. The conditions mean that air close to the ground heats up and rises. As this
happens colder air flows in underneath it causing the temperature inversion. Additionally
it is found that the greatest improvements tend to occur as the high-pressure area is
moving away and the pressure is just starting to fall.

A temperature inversion may also occur during the passage of a cold front. A cold front
occurs when an area of cold air meets an area of warm air. Under these conditions the
warm air rises above the cold air creating a temperature inversion. Cold fronts tend to
move relatively quickly and as a result the improvement in propagation conditions tends
to be short lived.

Fading

When signals are propagated over extended distances as a result of enhanced tropospheric
propagation conditions, the signals are normally subject to slow deep fading. This is
caused by the fact that the signals are received via a number of different paths. As the
winds in the atmosphere move the air around it means that the different paths will change
over a period of time. Accordingly the signals appearing at the receiver will fall in and
out of phase with each other as a result of the different and changing path lengths, and as
a result the strength of the overall received signal will change.

Summary

Any terrestrial signals received at VHF and above will be subject to the prevailing
propagation conditions caused by the troposphere. Under normal conditions it should be
expected that signals will be able to be received beyond the normal line of sight distance.
However under some circumstances these distances will be considerably increased and
significant levels of interference may be experienced.

Ionospheric propagation - predictions, disturbances, etc

Ionospheric propagation is subject to many changes. Understanding the effects that may
arise and predicting conditions is of great importnace to those using ionospheric
propagation.
Sudden ionospheric disturbance, SID
Radio propagation prediction using solar indices
Radio propagation prediction software

Radiowave propagation in the troposphere

For frequencies at VHF and above different modes of propagation prevail. Although
some ionospheric modes may be experienced, the main effects are caused by changes in
the troposphere.
Tropospheric propagation
Troposcatter

Special forms of radiowave propagation

There is a variety of specialised forms of radio signal propagation that can be used to
good effect for specialised applications. These include such forms of propagation as
meteor scatter, troposcatter, "Moon bounce" and others.
Meteor scatter or meteor burst communications
- a summary, overview or tutorial covering the basics of Meteor Scatter or Meteor Burst
Communications, a form of radio signal propagation often used at VHF.
Meteor scatter or meteor burst communications use a form of radio communications
system that is dependent on radio signals being scattered or reflected by meteor trails.
Meteor scatter communications is a specialized form of propagation that can be
successfully used for radio communications over paths that extend up to 15000 or 2000
km.

Meteor scatter or meteor burst communications are used for a number of applications on
frequencies normally between about 40 and 150 MHz. They are used professionally for a
number of data transfer applications, particularly when transferring data from remote
unmanned sites to a base using a radio communications link. Nowadays using computer
controlled systems, this form of radio communications can offer an effective alternative
to other means, and especially where satellites may need to be used because of the cost.
In other applications, radio hams use meteor scatter as a form of long distance VHF radio
signal propagation.

Basics

Meteor scatter or meteor burst radio communications relies on the fact that meteors
continually enter the Earth's atmosphere. As they do so they burn up leaving a trail of
ionisation behind them. These trails which typically occur at altitudes between about 85
and 120 km can be used to "reflect" radio signals. In view of the fact that the ionisation
trails left by the meteors are small, only minute amounts of the signal are reflected and
this means that high powers coupled with sensitive receivers are often necessary.

Meteor scatter propagation uses the fact that vast numbers of meteors enter the Earth's
atmosphere. It is estimated that around 10^12 meteors enter the atmosphere each day and
these have a total weight of around 10^6 grams.

Fortunately for everyone living below, the vast majority of these meteors are small, and
are typically only the size of a grain of sand. It is found that the number of meteors
entering the atmosphere is inversely proportional to their size. For a ten fold reduction in
size, there is a ten fold increase in the number entering the atmosphere over a given
period of time. From this it can be seen that very few large ones enter the atmosphere.
Although most are burnt up in the upper atmosphere, there are a very few that are
sufficiently large to survive entering the atmosphere and reach the earth.

Meteor categories

It is possible to split the meteors entering the atmosphere into two categories. One
category is those that are associated with meteor showers at particular times of the year.
The other is the meteors that enter the atmosphere all the time that are known as sporadic
meteors.
  Meteor showers: It found that at specific times during the year, the number of meteors entering
the atmosphere rises significantly as a result of meteor showers. They occur as the Earth's path
passes through debris in its orbit around the Sun. Often these have been traced back to the
passage of a comet. For some of the larger showers, the number of visible trails rise significantly
allowing the casual observer to see a worth while of trails in an evening. Of the meteor showers,
the Perseids shower in August is probably the best.

Shower meteors are characterised by what is termed their radiant. This is the point in the sky from
which they appear to originate. The radiant is usually identified by the name of the constellation or
major star in the area of the sky from which they appear to come, and this name is usually given to
the shower itself. Apart from the main showers, there are hundreds and possibly thousands of
smaller showers that have been recorded, often by amateur observers.</LI

 Sporadic Meteors: The greatest number of meteors entering the atmosphere arises from sporadic
meteors. These are the space debris that exists within the universe and in our solar system. The
majority of this debris arises from the vast amounts of material that is thrown out by the Sun into
the universe. Unlike the shower meteors they enter in all directions and they do not have a radiant.

Changes over the day

It is found that after meteor showers have been discounted, the density of space debris in
the solar system is broadly constant, although there are some variations as described later.
Despite this the rate at which meteors enter the atmosphere changes considerably over the
course of a day. This results from effects associated with the rotation of the Earth. This
occurs because the meteors are "swept up" as the Earth's atmosphere rotates into the
sunrise, where the atmosphere forms the leading edge as the Earth moves round the Sun.
and falls away as it rotates into the sunset. Similarly it falls away at sunset where the
atmosphere forms the trailing edge. The same effect can be seen as an automobile is
driven in rain, and the rain drops hit the front windscreen but very few hit the rear
window.

This effect means that the minimum number of sporadic meteors enter the atmosphere at
around 6pm, and the maximum number at around 6 am. Also, the ratio between the
maximum and minimum is around 4:1, but the exact figure is dependent upon a number
of factors including the latitude at which the measurement is taken being a maximum at
the equator and a minimum at the poles.

There are other factors that affect the numbers of meteors entering the atmosphere. One is
the season and there are two reasons to which this can be attributed:

 The first is that the density of space debris around the Earth's orbit is not uniform. The density is
higher in the areas of the orbit that the earth passes through in June, July and August.
 The other reason is related to declination of the Earth's axis. There is a 22.5 degree tilt of the polar
axis relative to the sun that gives rise to the different seasons, and as well as the seasonal variation
in meteor rate. Those areas at right angles to the direction of travel will receive the most meteors,
whereas those at a greater angle receive less.

These two effects have combine differently dependent upon the hemisphere. The
maximum to minimum variation is accentuated in the northern hemisphere where the two
effects add together. However it is minimised in the southern hemisphere where the two
effects tend to cancel each other.

It is also found that the number of meteors entering the atmosphere changes with the
sunspot cycle. The number of meteors rises to a peak around the trough of the sunspot
cycle.

Meteor Trails

The meteor trails used by meteor scatter radio signal propagation form as the meteors
enter the Earth's atmosphere. As the atmosphere becomes more dense, the meteors burn
up as the friction from the rises. The meteors enter the atmosphere at speeds anywhere
between about 10 and 80 kilometres a second and they normally burn up and form trails
at altitudes ranging between 85 and 120 kilometres, dependent upon factors including the
size, speed and angle of entry.

As the meteor enters the more dense areas of the atmosphere and heat starts to be
generated as a result of the friction from the air, the meteor heats up to such a degree that
the atoms vaporise, leaving a trail of positive ions and negative electrons. The trail that is
formed is a very long thin parabola with the meteor at its head. Typically the trails are
only a few metres wide, but they may be over 25 km long.

The level of ionisation in the meteor trail is very high. It is much higher than the level of
ionisation generated by the Sun in the ionosphere. As a result the frequencies that can be
affected are much higher than those normally experienced in the ionosphere. Often
frequencies up to about 150 MHz can be reflected by these trails.

Meteor trails can be categorised into two categories according to the density of electrons.
One type is termed "over dense", and the other "under dense". The point at which they
change from one type to another is taken to be an electron density of 1 x 10^14 electrons
per cubic meter. This actually corresponds to a critical frequency of 90 MHz. While the
electron density is used to define the type of ionisation trail, it is actually the way in
which a trail reacts that is of real importance.

The meteors that create the under dense trails are normally very small, often the size of a
grain of sand. Those that generate the over dense trails are usually larger. Typically
meteors have to have a mass larger than about 10^-3 grams with a radius of around 0.004
metres to create an over dense trail.

 Over dense trails: These trails provide relatively "strong" reflections. Having a high electron
density, signals do not completely enter over dense trails and they are "reflected". These reflections
have a slow rise to the peak strength and a slow decay. Their overall duration is generally a few
seconds, but during the period of the reflection the signal undergoes multi-path related effects that
affect their performance for the very high data rate transmissions normally used for professional
applications. They are less common than under dense traisl as they result from larger sized
meteors.
  Under dense trails: These meteor trails are ones that act in a very much different way to the over
dense trails. Having a lower electron density, the signal penetrates the trail and it is scattered rather
than being refracting it. In this way some of the signal is returned to earth. Again the portion of the
signal that is returned to earth is very small and very efficient radio systems are required to be able
to make use of them. The reflected signal typically rises to a peak strength in a few hundred
microseconds and then decays. This may take between a few hundred milliseconds to as long as a
few seconds. This decay is attributed to the spreading and diffusion of the trail's electrons.

Of the two types of meteor ionisation trail, it is normally the under dense ones are
normally used for commercial communications. Over-dense ones are used for ham radio
operations. The reason for different types being used is that the requirements for the two
types of communications are somewhat different.

Frequencies

In common with other types of radio signal propagation, meteor scatter is frequency
dependent. Reflected power levels as well as the burst duration are both affected by the
frequency used. The levels of power returned reduce significantly with increasing
frequency, as does the effective duration of the trail. As a result the maximum limit for
meteor scatter operation is generally around 150 MHz, although some very dense trails
have been known to affect frequencies as high as 500 MHz.

For the commercial systems that use the under dense trails the maximum frequency is
somewhat lower, and the communications are often limited to a maximum frequency of
about 50 MHz. Typically most operation takes place between about 40 and 50 MHz,
although operation on lower frequencies would be possible. Below 30 MHz interference
levels rise as a result of the increased number of signals resulting from ionospheric
propagation.

Doppler shift

When using meteor scatter or meteor burst communications it is found that the signals
that are received are subject to a Doppler shift. This arises because the point where the
signal is reflected changes as the meteor moves forwards and new ionisation is created,
and the trail behind it diffuses. This can give a shift in frequency of as much as 2 kHz on
the higher frequency bands although it is correspondingly lower for the lower frequency
bands.

Signal paths

Meteor scatter or meteor burst communication is able to support communication up to

distances of around 2000 km. There is also a minimum distance that exists. This arises
because the meteor trails are only able to reflect signals over small angle. Shorter
distances required the signals to leave the transmitter antenna at a higher angle and
therefore a much higher angle of reflection is needed. This factor limits the minimum
range to about 500 km. The optimum distance is around 1000 km.

Meteor scatter summary

Meteor scatter or meteor burst communications is an interesting form of radio

communications that can be used for medium data rate signals at the low end of the VHF
spectrum. It is used occasionally for commercial data applications where real time
communications are not required. A link is set up that looks for signal propagation via a
meteor trail and when one is available the data is transmitted using this. The link remains
dormant until the next one is detected. These links use the under dense trails. For ham
radio applications most operation takes place during the periods of meteor showers.
When signals can be heard, high speed Morse is normally used to transmit the required
information.