COMMUNICATIONS
In a communications system, the sender (origin) is sending a sound signal. This signal is converted into a
radio signal to be transmitted over long distances
These sound signals are carried in the air by means of waves called “carrier waves”
The carrier wave is said to be modulated when it is carrying a signal
Modulation: The variation of the amplitude or the frequency of the wave
Amplitude Modulation
The amplitude of the carrier wave varies according to the value of the displacement of the signal at any
instant
The amplitude of the amplitude modulated wave = amplitude of the carrier wave + displacement of
signal
Amplitude of the signal must be less than half the amplitude of the carrier wave, otherwise the
modulated wave will appear symmetrical
Frequency of carrier wave does not change even if the frequency of the signal changes
For a modulated wave:
- The frequency will be constant
- The amplitude is in phase with, and proportional to the signal’s amplitude
Frequency Modulation
The frequency of the modulated wave varies according to the amplitude of the signal
Amplitude of the modulated wave remains constant and equal to the carrier wave’s amplitude
The frequency increases when the signal’s amplitude is positive and decreases when the signal’s
amplitude is negative.
Frequency Deviation of Frequency Modulated Waves
Frequency Deviation is often given a value, such as 25kHzV-1. This means that for every 1V change in
signal amplitude, the carrier wave frequency changes by 25kHz.
If a carrier wave has a frequency of 300Hz and a signal wave has an amplitude of 2V, then:
The frequency modulated carrier wave has a maximum frequency change of 2x25kHz = 50kHz
The highest frequency is (300+50) kHz and the lowest frequency is (300-50) kHz
Sidebands and Bandwidth
Bandwidth: The range of frequencies that a signal occupies
Amplitude modulation of a carrier wave using a signal of a SINGLE frequency will cause the modulated
wave to have two more frequencies (sidebands).
Which are: fcarrier wave + fmodulated wave and fcarrier wave - fmodulated wave
FREQUENCY MODULATED WAVE AMPLITUDE MODULATED WAVE
Less electrical interference and noise Greater area covered by transmitter
Greater bandwidth and hence better quality due Smaller bandwidth and hence more stations can
to larger capacity for information be used
Expensive equipment Cheaper radio sets
Analogue and Digital Signals
Analogue quantities can have an infinite number of values within limits
A digital signal is only 1 or 0. A voltage below 0.3V is detected as 0 and a voltage above 1.5V is detected
as 1.
ADVANTAGES OF DIGITAL TRANSMISSION
Digital signals can deal with noise when transmitted over long distances. It is correct by amplifying the
signal and regenerating it.
Digital signals are more compatible with modern technology and can be stored easily
Digital electronic systems are more reliable and easier to design/build
Has built in safeguards – if there is an error in reception of the signal, it can be noticed and parts of
the signal can be sent again
Analogue to Digital Conversion
Binary and Decimal System
In decimal systems, each ‘digit’ increase means an increase in 10, as decimal system has base 10.
When we reach number 9 (the maximum number in the decimal system), eg: 009, it is reset back to 1 by
adding a 10. So, 009 becomes 010. Now the ones place can increase in number again.
Likewise, the binary system has a base of 2 instead of the base of 10 in the decimal system. Each
increase in the number of digits in a number has a value of 2n where n is the number of the place of the
digit. Binary numbers have only two numbers to use.
Each digit in a binary system is called a bit, and numbers can be referred to as 4-bit numbers, 8-bit
numbers, etc.
The left most bit is called the most significant bit.
Sampling
Sampling is the measurement of the analogue signal at regular time intervals.
The sampled value of the signal is used to produce a binary number equal to that value.
The nearest whole number to the sampled value is taken e.g. 2 instead of 1.5 and 5 instead of 4.8
A digital to analogue converter then uses these binary numbers to reproduce the signal. The reproduced
signal looks like straight rectangles instead of a smooth wave
Sampling can be improved by:
- Increasing the accuracy of which the sampler detects the analogue signals. Eg. Detecting 8.25 as
8.3, instead of rounding the whole thing to an 8. This is a 0.1V accuracy, compared to the 1V
accuracy. If the accuracy is improved, the number of bits have to increase
- Increasing the rate of sampling, so more signal values can be taken and the output is more
accurate. The maximum sampling rate required is twice the highest frequency present in the
signal
Crosstalk and Attenuation
Crosslinking: When signals transmitted from one circuit or channel interferes with another circuit or
channel
Attenuation: Decrease in the power of a signal the further that it travels
SIGNAL CAUSE OF ATTENUATION
- Voltage drop at end of resistant wire
Electrical Signal
- Energy transferred to heat
- Spreading in air decreases the intensity
Radio wave - Absorption of energy through the
material it travels
- In optic fibers, scattered or absorbed by
Light
structural irregularities
Attenuation can be expressed as a ratio of power loss or gain- Pout:Pin
The ratio value is very high, so the log10 of it is taken and multiplied with 10. The value is then in
decibels: 10log10(Pout/Pin)
The signal to noise ratio is expressed as 10log(Signal Power/Noise power)
Attenuation can be overcome in transmission by:
- Repeaters amplifying the signal and noise by the same amount, thus keeping the signal to noise
power ratio constant
- Regenerating the signal every time it is amplified
Comparison of different channels
Wire Pairs
They are thin copper wires covered by an insulating material
They in pairs, close together to each other or twisted around each other to reduce interference from
other wire pairs.
The twisting helps as follows:
- A signal transmitted in the cable is in the form of current
- A flowing current generates and electromagnetic field
- An electromagnetic field is a form of interference, and it can inflict noise in surrounding cables
- Therefore, one wire pair can induce cross talk in another wire pair
- When the wires are twisted together, since they would carry an equal amount of current in
opposite directions, the electromagnetic fields generated cancel each other out
The bandwidth of wire pairs is low because:
- The changing current produces electromagnetic fields
- Accelerating charged particles produce electromagnetic waves, so it radiates electromagnetic
waves and spends energy doing so, thus the energy of the signal is lost
- The higher the frequency, the more electromagnetic waves are produced, so the frequencies
(and hence bandwidth) is kept low
Wire pairs close to each other can still cause cross talk
Wire pairs are easily tapped, connections made to it can allow someone to access its data, therefore its
security is low
Coaxial Cables
A coaxial cable consists of a single copper core surrounded by an insulator. Then this insulator is
surrounded by a copper braid, called a second conductor. The copper braid is covered by an insulator as
well.
The second conductor is grounded, so any additional current caused by interference is put to the ground
and therefore it does not affect the inner copper core.
Coaxial cables also prevent any emissions of electromagnetic waves (ideally)
WIRE PAIRS COAXIAL CABLES
Cheap and convenient Expensive
Strongly attenuate signals Less attenuating
Low bandwidth High bandwidth
Picks up noise/interference Less noise/interference
Crosstalk Less crosstalk
Low security More secure
Radio Waves
Surface Waves
They travel close to the Earth’s surface
They have frequencies of up to 3MHz and hence have long wavelengths (>100m). (Frequency and
wavelength are inversely related)
Long wavelengths mean that they can diffract around the Earth easily
They have a range of up to 1000km
Sky waves
They above 3MHz in frequency and have a wavelengths between 10m-100m
They are diffracted less, and travel in almost straight lines
Surface waves at this frequency can travel for a short distance, about 100km
Sky waves in the correct frequency range (3-30MHz) can be totally internally reflected off of the
ionosphere. Multiple reflections from the ionosphere, to the Earth, and back to the ionosphere is how
sky waves travel long distances around the world.
The density of the ionosphere is constantly changing, so sky wave reflection is not reliable
They travel best at night, when the frequencies reflected by the ionosphere do not get absorbed by
other regions in the atmosphere
Space waves
They are sky waves with a high enough frequency to pass through the ionosphere (>30MHz) and
wavelength (<10m)
These frequencies can be transmitted to satellites in orbit as space waves, and the satellite can send the
wave back to the ground
They have a small wavelength, so there is much less diffraction. Meaning, they can be aimed accurately
at satellites and receiving stations
Microwaves
Frequencies above 1GHz are generally described as microwaves
In some cases, aerial dishes are used to directly transmit radio waves at the receiver. This reduces loss of
strength of the signal
Since a higher frequency increases the available bandwidth, microwaves have a high bandwidth
These waves are travel in line of sight, and use satellites or microwave links
They don’t diffract much, so they are narrow beams, which are more secure
Satellites
In satellite communications, a signal transmitted from the Earth is the uplink, and a signal transmitted
from the satellite is called a downlink
The uplink frequency is always higher than the downlink frequency, because:
- Transmitting waves to satellites needs a very high frequency to pass through the ionosphere
- Earth can have better power stations than a satellite can have, so it can send high frequency
waves
- A satellite sends a lower frequency signal, because it does not have as much power as Earth
stations and lower frequency means less attenuation
- Satellites don’t face the problem of waves reflecting off the ionosphere
- Earth can have sensitive receivers, so detecting a small signal is not a problem
- The second main reason is to avoid the higher power uplink signal from overpowering the lower
power downlink signal
- This is because the downlink signal faces attenuation. It is the same for other way around for
satellite, where the signal it receives has been attenuated.
Advantages of satellites over sky waves
Concentration of ions in the ionosphere is always changing, sky wave reflection is not always possible
Satellite boosts returning signal, the signal is stronger than if it was reflected
Satellite communications have higher frequencies and a higher bandwidth, so it can carry more
information per second
Only a few frequencies are available for short wave and medium wave bands. More frequencies are
available for satellites
Types of satellites
GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITES POLAR SATELLITES
Delayed communication because it is higher Smaller delay times, its closer to Earth
above the Earth
Satellite always at the same point, dishes remain Satellite moves so the dishes need to be moved
stationary
Can receive or transmit signal at any time Need to wait until the satellite is overheard to
send a signal to it
Cannot receive or transmit to regions near poles Can transmit to and receive from polar regions
Optic Fibers
They are made of incredibly thin glass fibers and information is carried in the form of light or infrared
waves
These waves travel by totally internally reflecting off of the fibre walls
Electrical signals are sent to a laser or an LED, which causes them to emit pulses of light or infrared
For fiber optics with glass fibers, we use light in the infrared region which has wavelengths longer than
visible light, typically around 850, 1300 and 1550 nm. Because the attenuation of the fiber is much less
at those wavelengths
It has a very high frequency of 2x108MHz
Fiber optic cables have a very high bandwidth; thus, they can carry an enormous amount of information
at once
Fiber optics replaced satellite for long distance transmission, because:
- Delay between communications is less, because signals travel a shorter distance than if it travels
up to a satellite and back down to Earth
An optic fiber compared to regular metal cables:
- Less signal attenuation, hence greater distance between repeaters
- No crosstalk or electrical interference
- Weighs less, so it is easier to handle
- Cheaper than same length of copper wire
- More secure as its difficult to tap
- No sparks are produced, so it can be used in flammable situations
- Immune to lightning and nearby power lines
