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Lecture 2: Modern Communications Systems: John M Pauly

This document summarizes key concepts from a lecture on modern communication systems: - Analog and digital signals were discussed, along with their representation and transmission through communication system blocks. - Performance metrics for analog systems focus on signal fidelity while digital systems consider data rate and bit error probability. - Shannon's capacity theorem establishes theoretical maximum data rates based on signal-to-noise ratio. - Real systems operate below the theoretical maximum using techniques like error correction coding and modulation schemes tailored to specific channel characteristics. - Upcoming topics will review signals and signal spaces, including Fourier analysis concepts. An RTL SDR lab is also planned to demonstrate real-world digital communication.

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Dhiraj Prakash
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77 views

Lecture 2: Modern Communications Systems: John M Pauly

This document summarizes key concepts from a lecture on modern communication systems: - Analog and digital signals were discussed, along with their representation and transmission through communication system blocks. - Performance metrics for analog systems focus on signal fidelity while digital systems consider data rate and bit error probability. - Shannon's capacity theorem establishes theoretical maximum data rates based on signal-to-noise ratio. - Real systems operate below the theoretical maximum using techniques like error correction coding and modulation schemes tailored to specific channel characteristics. - Upcoming topics will review signals and signal spaces, including Fourier analysis concepts. An RTL SDR lab is also planned to demonstrate real-world digital communication.

Uploaded by

Dhiraj Prakash
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lecture 2: Modern Communications Systems

John M Pauly

September 19, 2021


Communication Systems Overview
L&D Chapter 1
I Information representation

I Communication system block diagrams

I Analog versus digital systems

I Performance metrics

I Data rate limits

Next week: signals and signal space (L&D chapter 2)

Based on Notes from John Gill


Types of Information
I Major classification of data: analog vs. digital
I Analog signals
I speech (but words are discrete)
I music (closer to a continuous signal)
I temperature readings, barometric pressure, wind speed
I images stored on film
I Analog signals can be represented (approximately) using bits
I digitized images (can be compressed using JPEG)
I digitized video (can be compressed to MPEG)

I Bits: text, computer data


I Analog signals can be converted into bits by quantizing/digitizing

The word “bit” was coined in the late 1940s by John Tukey
Analog Messages
I Early analog communication
I telephone (1876)
I phonograph (1877)
I film soundtrack (1923, Lee De Forest, Joseph Tykociński-Tykociner)

I Key to analog communication is the amplifier (1908, Lee De Forest,


triode vacuum tube)
I Broadcast radio (AM, FM) is still analog
I Broadcast television was analog until 2009
Digital Messages
I Early long-distance communication was digital
I semaphores, white flag, smoke signals, bugle calls, telegraph
I Teletypewriters (stock quotations)
I Baudot (1874) created 5-unit code for alphabet. Today baud is a unit
meaning one symbol per second.
I Working teleprinters were in service by 1924 at 65 words per minute
I Fax machines: Group 3 (voice lines) and Group 4 (ISDN)
I In 1990s the accounted for majority of transPacific telephone use. Sadly,
fax machines are still in use.
I First fax machine was Alexander Bain 1843 device required conductive ink
I Pantelegraph (Caselli, 1865) set up telefax between Paris and Lyon
I Ethernet, Internet

There is no name for the unit bit/second. I have proposed claude.


Communication System Block Diagram (Basic)

I Source encoder converts message into message signal (bits)


I Transmitter converts message signal into format appropriate for channel
transmission (analog/digital signal)
I Channel conveys signal but may introduce attenuation, distortion, noise,
interference
I Receiver decodes received signal back to message signal
I Source decoder decodes message signal back into original message
Communication System Block Diagram (Advanced)

Source Channel
Source Encrypt Modulator
Encoder Encoder

Channel Noise

Source Channel
Sink Decrypt Demodulator
Decoder Decoder

I Source encoder compresses message to remove redundancy


I Encryption protects against eavesdroppers and false messages
I Channel encoder adds redundancy for error protection
I Modulator converts digital inputs to signals suitable for physical channel
Examples of Communication Channels
I Communication systems convert information into a format appropriate
for the transmission medium
I Some channels convey electromagnetic waves (signals).
I Radio (20 KHz to 20+ GHz)
I Optical fiber (200 THz or 1550 nm)
I Laser line-of-sight (e.g., from Mars)
I Other channels use sound, smell, pressure, chemical reactions
I smell: ants
I chemical reactions: neuron dendrites
I dance: bees
I Analog communication systems convert (modulate) analog signals into
modulated (analog) signals
I Digital communication systems convert information in the form of bits
into binary/digital signals
Physical Channels
I Physical channels have constraints on what kinds of signals can be
transmitted
I Radio uses E&M waves at various frequencies
I Submarine communication at about 20 KHz
I Cordless telephones: 45 MHz, 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 5.8 GHz, 1.9 GHz
I Wired links may require DC balanced codes to prevent voltage build up
I Fiber optic channels use 4B5B modulation to accommodate time-varying
attenuation
I CD and DVD media require minimum spot size but position can be more
precise
I The process of creating a signal suitable for transmission is called
modulation (modulate from Latin to regulate)
AM and FM Modulation
(a) Carrier

(b) Signal

(c) Amplitude modulated

(d) Frequency modulated


Analog vs. Digital Systems

I Analog signals
Values varies continously

I Digital signals
Value limited to a finite set
Digital systems are more robust

I Binary signals
Have 2 possible values
Used to represent bit values
Bit time T needed to send 1 bit
Data rate R = 1/T bits per
second
Sampling and Quantization, I
To transmit analog signals over a digital communication link, we must
discretize both time and values.

2mp
Quantization spacing is ; sampling interval is T , not shown in figure.
L
Sampling and Quantization, II
I Usually sample times are uniformly spaced (although, this is not always
true). Higher frequency content requires faster sampling. (Soprano must
be sampled twice as fast as a tenor.)
0.2

0.1

−0.1

−0.2
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9

I Quantization levels can be uniformly spaced, but nonuniform


(logarithmic) spacing is often used for voice.
Digital Transmission and Regeneration
Simplest digital communication is binary amplitude-shift keying (ASK)

(a) binary signal input to channel; (b) signal altered by channel;


(c) signal + noise; (d) signal after detection by receiver
Channel Errors
If there is too much channel distortion or noise, receiver may make a
mistake, and the regenerated signal will be incorrect. Channel coding is
needed to detect and correct the message.
2

0
A

−1

−2
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

0
B

−2

−4
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

0
C

−1

−2
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
t
Pulse Code Modulation (PCM)

To communicate sampled values,


we send a sequence of bits that
represent the quantized value.
For 16 quantization levels, 4 bits
suffice.
PCM can use binary
representation of value.
The PSTN uses companded PCM
(similar to floating point)
Performance Metrics
I Analog communication systems
I Metric is fidelity, closeness to original signal
I We want m̂(t) ≈ m(t)
I A common measure of infidelity is energy of difference signal:
Z T
|m̂(t) − m(t)|2 dt
0

I Digital communication systems


I Metrics are data rate R in bits/sec and probability of bit error
Pe = P{b̂ 6= b}
I Without noise, never make bit errors
I With noise, Pe depends on signal and noise power, data rate, and
channel characteristics.
Data Rate Limits
I Data rate R is limited by signal power, noise power, distortion
I Without distortion or noise, we could transmit at R = ∞ and error
probably Pe = 0
I The Shannon capacity is the maximum possible data rate for a system
with noise and distortion
I This maximum rate can be approached with bit probability close to 0
I For additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channels,

C = B log2 (1 + SNR)

I The theoretical result does not tell how to design real systems

I Shannon obtained C = 32 Kbps for telephone channels


I Get higher rates with modems/DSL (use much more bandwidth)
I Nowhere near capacity in wireless systems
Next
RTL SDR Lab Friday
I We will give you your RTL SDR’s
I Bring your laptops, and headphones
I We’ll get you up and running!
Next week
I (Very brief) review of EE102A
I Fourier series and Fourier transforms in 2πf
I Vector space perspective of signal processing
I L&D Chapter 2 (skim this, most of this should look very familiar)

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