Communication 1
Instructor: Dr. Eng. Mohammed Hassan
Saad
Note
Data can be analog or digital.
Analog data are continuous and take
continuous values.
Digital data have discrete states and
take discrete values.
Note
Signals can be analog or digital.
Analog signals can have an infinite
number of values in a range; digital
signals can have only a limited
number of values.
Comparison of analog and digital signals
Note
A single-frequency sine wave is not
useful in data communications;
we need to send a composite signal, a
signal made of many simple sine waves.
Note
According to Fourier analysis, any
composite signal is a combination of
simple sine waves with different
frequencies, amplitudes, and phases.
Note
The bandwidth of a composite signal is
the difference between the
highest and the lowest frequencies
contained in that signal.
The bandwidth of periodic and nonperiodic composite signals
TRANSMISSION IMPAIRMENT
Signals travel through transmission media, which are not perfect. The imperfection causes
signal impairment. This means that the signal at the beginning of the medium is not the
same as the signal at the end of the medium. What is sent is not what is received. Three
causes of impairment are attenuation, distortion, and noise.
Topics discussed in this section:
Attenuation
Distortion
Noise
Attenuation
Suppose a signal travels through a transmission medium
and its power is reduced to one-half. This means that P2
is (1/2)P1. In this case, the attenuation (loss of power)
can be calculated as
A loss of 3 dB (–3 dB) is equivalent to losing one-half
the power.
A signal travels through an amplifier, and its power is
increased 10 times. This means that P2 = 10P1 . In this
case, the amplification (gain of power) can be calculated
as
Sometimes the decibel is used to measure signal power
in milliwatts. In this case, it is referred to as dBm and is
calculated as dBm = 10 log10 Pm , where Pm is the power
in milliwatts. Calculate the power of a signal with dBm =
−30.
Solution
We can calculate the power in the signal as
The loss in a cable is usually defined in decibels per
kilometer (dB/km). If the signal at the beginning of a
cable with −0.3 dB/km has a power of 2 mW, what is the
power of the signal at 5 km?
Solution
The loss in the cable in decibels is 5 × (−0.3) = −1.5 dB.
We can calculate the power as
Distortion
Noise
The power of a signal is 10 mW and the power of the
noise is 1 μW; what are the values of SNR and SNRdB ?
Solution
The values of SNR and SNRdB can be calculated as
follows:
The values of SNR and SNRdB for a noiseless channel
are
We can never achieve this ratio in real life; it is an ideal.
Two cases of SNR: a high SNR and a low SNR
Introduction
Modulation is the process of combining the low-frequency signal with a very high-
frequency radio wave called carrier wave (CW). The resultant wave is called modulated
carrier wave. This job is done at the transmitting station.
Demodulation is the process of separating or recovering the signal from the modulated
carrier wave. It is just the opposite of modulation and is performed at the receiving end.
What is a Carrier Wave?
It is a high-frequency undamped radio wave produced by
radio-frequency oscillators
They are inaudible i.e. by themselves they cannot produce any
sound in the loudspeaker of a receiver. As their name shows,
their job is to carry the signal (audio or video) from
transmitting station to the receiving station. The resultant wave
is called modulated carrier wave.
Why do we need Modulation/Demodulaion
Why Carrier?
1. Effective radiation of EM waves requires antenna dimensions
comparable with the wavelength:
– Antenna for 3 kHz would be ~100 km long
– Antenna for 3 GHz carrier is 10 cm long
Antenna is a radiation element and to get efficient radiation, length of
the antenna start from 0.1 λ and more.
For base band signal, frequency range is (300 to 3400 HZ) for voice
signal.
Wavelength is in range (C/f) = (113 to 1000 Km), result in unpractical
antenna size.
2. Base band signal that contain lower power is unpractical as it will
fade very quickly between Tx and Rx.
3. Using carrier increase SNR.
Modulation
It is the process of combining an audio frequency (AF) signal with a radio
frequency (RF) carrier wave. The AF signal is also called a modulating
wave and the resultant wave produced is called modulated wave.
Type of Modulation
1. Amplitude Modulation (AM)
Here, the information or AF signal changes the amplitude of the carrier wave
without changing its frequency or phase.
2. Frequency Modulation (FM)
In this case, the information signal changes the frequency of the carrier wave
without changing its amplitude or phase.
3. Phase Modulation (PM)
Here, the information signal changes the phase of the carrier wave without
changing its other two parameters.
Amplitude Modulation
In this case, the amplitude of the carrier wave
is varied in proportion to the instantaneous
amplitude of the information signal or AF
signal. Obviously, the amplitude (and hence the
intensity) of the carrier wave is changed but not
its frequency.
Amplitude Modulation
Percent Modulation
It indicates the degree to which the AF signal modulates the carrier wave
The ratio B/A expressed as a fraction is called modulation index (MI)
0 = no modulation 1 =100% modulation
Amplitude Modulation
Amplitude Modulation
Modulation may also be defined in terms of the
values referred to the modulated carrier wave.
AM waveform with different m
m <1 m = 1 m > 1
AM Signal Waveform
100% Modulation in AM
If the modulation index equals to unity (i.e. μ=1) then the amplitude of the
modulated signal falls to zero at certain points. However, the envelop is
still the same shape as the baseband signal.
Over modulation in AM
If the modulation index exceeds unity (i.e. μ>1 or μ>100%) then the
envelope of the modulated signal is no longer the same shape as the
baseband signal
Overmodulation
• When an excessive intelligent signal overdrives an AM modulator
producing percentage modulation exceeding 100 percent.
• Overmodulation produces sideband splatter. Distortion resulting in an
over modulated AM transmission creating excessive bandwidths.
A modulated carrier wave has maximum and minimum amplitudes of
750 mV and 250 mV. Calculate the value of percentage modulation.
A sinusoidal message of frequency 2 KHz and amplitude 3 volts,
amplitude modulates a carrier of frequency 800 KHz and amplitude 2
volts.
a) Write down the expression of AM signal.
b) Sketch the AM signal in time domain and frequency domain
assuming a modulation index of 0.3.
