Communication Engineering

UNIT.I
MODULATION
In the modulation process, some characteristic of a high-frequency carrier signal
(bandpass), is changed according to the instantaneous amplitude of the information (baseband)
signal

Need for modulation –

1. To improve the quality of reception

2. To increase the range of communication
3. To reduce the antenna height.
4. For multiplexing and demultiplexing
5. To reduce noise/interference.
6. For narrow banding of signal:- since, usually for range 50Hz-10 kHz we require antenna
having the ratio of highest to lowest frequency/ wavelength is 200, which is practically
impossible. Modulation converts a wideband signal into a narrow-band signal whose ratio
between highest frequency to lowest frequency is approximately one and single antenna
will be sufficient to transmit the signal.

Basic Modulation Types

 Amplitude Modulation: changes the amplitude.
 Frequency Modulation: changes the frequency.
 Phase Modulation: changes the phase

Amplitude Modulation: The amplitude of high-carrier signal is varied according to the

instantaneous amplitude of the modulating message signal m(t).

Frequency Modulation: The frequency of high-carrier signal is varied according to the

instantaneous amplitude of the modulating message signal m(t).

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Phase modulation: The phase of high-carrier signal is varied according to the instantaneous
amplitude of the modulating message signal m(t).

AMPLITUDE MODULATION:-

using: cos A cos B=1 2 [ cos ( A−B )+cos ( A +B ) ]

where k is called modulation index

Modulation index k is a measure of the extent to which a carrier voltage is varied by the
modulating signal. When k=0 no modulation, when k=1 100% modulation, when k>1 over
modulation

Side bands
In frequency domain the AM waveform are
1.the lower-side frequency/band (f - f ) with amplitude of A/2,
c m
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2.the carrier frequency( fc) with amplitude of A

3.the upper-side frequency/band (f + f ).with amplitude of A/2
c m

Frequency spectrum of AM

The frequency modulation can be defined as; the frequency of the carrier signal is varied
proportional to (in accordance with) the Amplitude of the input modulating signal. The input is a
single tone sine wave. The carrier and the FM waveforms also are shown in the following figure

The frequency of a carrier (fc) will increase as the amplitude of modulating (input) signal
increases. The carrier frequency will be maximum (fc max) when the input signal is at its peak.
The carrier deviates maximum from its normal value. The frequency of a carrier will decrease as
the amplitude of the modulating (input) signal decreases. The carrier frequency will be minimum
(fc min) when the input signal is at its lowest. The carrier deviates minimum from its normal
value. The frequency of the carrier will be at its normal value (free running) fc when the input
signal value is 0V. There is no deviation in the carrier. The figure shows the frequency of the FM
wave when the input is at its max, 0V and at its min.

Frequency Deviation:-
 The amount of change in the carrier frequency produced, by the amplitude of the input
modulating signal, is called frequency deviation.
 The Carrier frequency swings between fmax and fmin as the input varries in its amplitude.
 The difference between fmax and fc is known as frequency deviation. fd = fmax – fc
 Similarly, the difference between fc and fmin also is known as frequency deviation. fd = fc –
fmin
 It is denoted by Δf. Therefore Δf = fmax – fc = fc – fmin
 Therefore fd = fmax – fc = fc – fmin
 Frequency Modulation Equation
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 The FM equation include the following

 v = A sin [ wct + (Δf / fm) sin wmt ]
 = A sin [ wct + mf sin wmt ]
 A = Amplitude of the FM signal. Δf = Frequency deviation
 mf = Modulation Index of FM
 mf = ∆f/fm
 mf is called the modulation index of frequency modulation.
 wm = 2π fm wc = 2π fc

What is Modulation Index of Frequency Modulation?

 The modulation index of FM is defined as the ratio of the frequency deviation of the
carrier to the frequency of the modulating signal
 mf = Modulation Index of FM = ∆f/fm

Frequency spectrum of FM

Difference between AM and FM

The main difference between AM and FM include the following.

 Equation for FM: V= A sin [ wct +Δf / fm sin wmt ] = A sin [ wct + mf sin wmt ]
 Equation for AM = Vc ( 1 + m sin ωmt ) sin ωct where m is given by m = Vm / Vc
 In FM, the Modulation Index can have any value greater than 1 or less than one
 In AM, the Modulation Index will be between 0 and 1
 In FM, carrier amplitude is constant.
 Therefore transmitted power is constant.
 Transmitted power does not depend on the modulation index
 Transmitted power depends on the modulation index
 PTotal = Pc [ 1+ (m2/2) ]
 The number of significant sidebands in FM is large.
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 Only two sidebands in AM

 A bandwidth of FM depends on the modulation index of FM
 Bandwidth does not depend on the modulation index of AM. Always 2 sidebands. BW of AM
is 2 fm
 FM has better noise immunity.FM is rugged/robust against noise. The quality of FM will be
good even in the presence of noise.
 In AM, quality is affected seriously by noise
 The bandwidth required by FM is quite high.FM bandwidth = 2 [Δf + fm].
 The bandwidth required by AM is less (2 fm)
 Circuits for FM transmitter and receiver are very complex and very expensive.
 Circuits for AM transmitter and receiver are simple and less expensive

AM modulator circuit
The circuit is called a collector injection modulator because the modulating signal is injected into
the Collector side of the transistor circuit. The transistor configuration used in the circuit is a
common-emitter design. The transistor circuit receives its input via the Base-Emitter side of the
device and outputs the signal on the collector-emitter side, with the Emitter terminal being
common to both input and output circuits

The transistor Q1 appens to be a PNP transistor

The RF carrier wave is applied to the primary [L1] side of the input transformer [T1]. The
frequency of the carrier isn't relevant to the operation of the circuit, but would be selected as the
center frequency of the transmitted signal.

The secondary of the transformer couples the incoming RF into the Base of the transistor.
Resistors R1 and R2 form a DC voltage divider to bias the Base terminal. Resistor R3 is also a
DC bias resistor, for the Emitter circuit. Both R1 and R3 are bypassed by RF capacitors C1 and
C2. The transistor functions as an amplifier regardless of an applied modulating signal.

The supply voltage for the Collector [and Base circuit] is generated by Vcc. The Audio Frequency
Modulating signal [AF MOD] is applied to the collector circuit via transformer T3. The
transformer couples the AF signal in the circuit and isolates one circuit from the other. When an
audio signal is applied to the transformer circuit the resultant transformer secondary voltage adds
to or subtracts from the collector voltage. So the audio signal is added to the carrier signal.
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The output transformer T2 also functions as the tunable tank circuit, in combination of C4. In this
case, with the supply voltage applied through the transformer, it constitutes a series fed tank
circuit. The variable capacitor C4 is used to adjust the tuned circuit to resonance with the RF
carrier frequency.-

Base modulator

balanced modulator –
Principle of operation:
 The principle of operation of a balanced modulator states that if two signals at different
frequencies are passed through a “nonlinear resistance” then at the output we get an AM
signal with suppressed carrier.
 The device having a nonlinear resistance can be diode or a JFET or even a bipolar
transistor.
Types of balanced modulator:
The suppression of carrier can be done using the following balanced modulators:
1. Using the diode ring modulator or lattice modulator.
2. Using the FET balanced modulator.

Double sideband full carrier

In the process of Amplitude Modulation, the modulated wave consists of the carrier wave and
two sidebands. The modulated wave has the information only in the sidebands. Sideband is
nothing but a band of frequencies, containing power, which are the lower and higher frequencies
of the carrier frequency.

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The transmission of a signal, which contains a carrier along with two sidebands can be termed
as Double Sideband Full Carrier system or simply DSBFC. It is plotted as shown in the
following figure.

DSBSC-Double side band suppressed carrier

DSBFC transmission is inefficient. Because, two-thirds of the power is being wasted in the
carrier, which carries no information.
If this carrier is suppressed and the saved power is distributed to the two sidebands, then such a
process is called as Double Sideband Suppressed Carrier system or simply DSBSC. It is
plotted as shown in the following figure.

SSBSC

The DSBSC modulated signal has two sidebands. Since, the two sidebands carry the same
information, there is no need to transmit both sidebands. We can eliminate one sideband.
The process of suppressing one of the sidebands along with the carrier and transmitting a single
sideband is called as Single Sideband Suppressed Carrier system or simply SSBSC. It is
plotted as shown in the following figure.

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In the above figure, the carrier and the lower sideband are suppressed. Hence, the upper sideband
is used for transmission. Similarly, we can suppress the carrier and the upper sideband while
transmitting the lower sideband.
This SSBSC system, which transmits a single sideband has high power, as the power allotted for
both the carrier and the other sideband is utilized in transmitting this Single Sideband.

Bandwidth of SSBSC Wave

We know that the DSBSC modulated wave contains two sidebands and its bandwidth is 2fm2fm.
Since the SSBSC modulated wave contains only one sideband, its bandwidth is half of the
bandwidth of DSBSC modulated wave.
i.e., Bandwidth of SSBSC modulated wave =2fm/2=fm
Therefore, the bandwidth of SSBSC modulated wave is fm and it is equal to the frequency of the
modulating signal.

Vestigial Sideband

Both of the sidebands are not required for the transmission, as it is a waste. But a single band if
transmitted, leads to loss of information. Hence, this technique has evolved.
Vestigial Sideband Modulation or VSB Modulation is the process where a part of the signal
called as vestige is modulated, along with one sideband. A VSB signal can be plotted as shown
in the following figure.

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Communication Engineering

Along with the upper sideband, a part of the lower sideband is also being transmitted in this
technique. A guard band of very small width is laid on either side of VSB in order to avoid the
interferences. VSB modulation is mostly used in television transmissions.

Transmission Bandwidth

The transmission bandwidth of VSB modulated wave is represented as −

$$B=( f_{m}+ f_{v}) Hz$$
Where,
fm = Message bandwidth
fv = Width of the vestigial sideband

VSB Modulation − Advantages

Following are the advantages of VSB −

 Highly efficient.
 Reduction in bandwidth.
 Filter design is easy as high accuracy is not needed.
 The transmission of low frequency components is possible, without difficulty.
 Possesses good phase characteristics.

VSB Modulation − Disadvantages

Following are the disadvantages of VSB −

 Bandwidth when compared to SSB is greater.
 Demodulation is complex.

VSB Modulation − Application

The most prominent and standard application of VSB is for the transmission of television
signals. Also, this is the most convenient and efficient technique when bandwidth usage is
considered.

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Sampling
. The pulse modulation techniques deal with discrete signals. So, now let us see how to convert a
continuous time signal into a discrete one.
The process of converting continuous time signals into equivalent discrete time signals, can be
termed as Sampling. A certain instant of data is continually sampled in the sampling process.
The following figure shows a continuous-time signal x(t) and the corresponding sampled
signal xs(t). When x(t) is multiplied by a periodic impulse train, the sampled signal xs(t) is
obtained.

A sampling signal is a periodic train of pulses, having unit amplitude, sampled at equal intervals
of time Ts)Ts, which is called as sampling time. This data is transmitted at the time
instants Ts and the carrier signal is transmitted at the remaining time.

Sampling Rate

To discredited the signals, the gap between the samples should be fixed. That gap can be termed
as the sampling period Ts . Reciprocal of the sampling period is known as sampling
frequency or sampling rate fs.
Mathematically, we can write it as
fs=1/Ts
Where,
fs is the sampling frequency or the sampling rate
Ts is the sampling period

Sampling Theorem

The sampling rate should be such that the data in the message signal should neither be lost nor it
should get over-lapped. The sampling theorem states that, “a signal can be exactly reproduced
if it is sampled at the rate fs, which is greater than or equal to twice the maximum frequency of
the given signal W.”
Mathematically, we can write it as
fs≥2W

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fs≥2W
Where,
 fs is the sampling rate
 WW is the highest frequency of the given signal
If the sampling rate is equal to twice the maximum frequency of the given signal W, then it is
called as Nyquist rate.
The sampling theorem, which is also called as Nyquist theorem, delivers the theory of sufficient
sample rate in terms of bandwidth for the class of functions that are bandlimited.
For continuous-time signal x(t), which is band-limited in the frequency domain is represented as
shown in the following figure.

If the signal is sampled above Nyquist rate, then the original signal can be recovered. The
following figure explains a signal, if sampled at a higher rate than 2w in the frequency domain.

If the same signal is sampled at a rate less than 2w, then the sampled signal would look like the
following figure.

We can observe from the above pattern that there is over-lapping of information, which leads to
mixing up and loss of information. This unwanted phenomenon of over-lapping is called
as Aliasing.
Aliasing can be referred to as “the phenomenon of a high-frequency component in the spectrum
of a signal, taking on the identity of a low-frequency component in the spectrum of its sampled
version.”
Hence, the sampling rate of the signal is chosen to be as Nyquist rate. If the sampling rate is
equal to twice the highest frequency of the given signal W, then the sampled signal would look
like the following figure.

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In this case, the signal can be recovered without any loss. Hence, this is a good sampling rate.
Analog pulse modulation techniques.

 Pulse Amplitude Modulation

 Pulse Width Modulation
 Pulse Position Modulation

Pulse Amplitude Modulation

In Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM) technique, the amplitude of the pulse carrier varies,
which is proportional to the instantaneous amplitude of the message signal.
The pulse amplitude modulated signal will follow the amplitude of the original signal, as the
signal traces out the path of the whole wave. In natural PAM, a signal sampled at Nyquist rate
can be reconstructed, by passing it through an efficient Low Pass Filter (LPF) with exact cutoff
frequency.
The following figures explain the Pulse Amplitude Modulation.

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Though the PAM signal is passed through a LPF, it cannot recover the signal without distortion.
Hence, to avoid this noise, use flat-top sampling. The flat-top PAM signal is shown in the
following figure.

Flat-top sampling is the process in which, the sampled signal can be represented in pulses for
which the amplitude of the signal cannot be changed with respect to the analog signal, to be
sampled. The tops of amplitude remain flat. This process simplifies the circuit design.

Pulse Width Modulation

In Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) or Pulse Duration Modulation (PDM) or Pulse Time
Modulation (PTM) technique, the width or the duration or the time of the pulse carrier varies,
which is proportional to the instantaneous amplitude of the message signal.
The width of the pulse varies in this method, but the amplitude of the signal remains constant.
Amplitude limiters are used to make the amplitude of the signal constant. These circuits clip off
the amplitude to a desired level, and hence the noise is limited.
The following figure explains the types of Pulse Width Modulations.

There are three types of PWM.

 The leading edge of the pulse being constant, the trailing edge varies according to the
message signal. The waveform for this type of PWM is denoted as (a) in the above
figure.
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 The trailing edge of the pulse being constant, the leading edge varies according to the
message signal. The waveform for this type of PWM is denoted as (b) in the above
figure.
 The center of the pulse being constant, the leading edge and the trailing edge varies
according to the message signal. The waveform for this type of PWM is denoted as (c)
shown in the above figure.

Pulse Position Modulation

Pulse Position Modulation (PPM) is an analog modulation scheme in which, the amplitude and
the width of the pulses are kept constant, while the position of each pulse, with reference to the
position of a reference pulse varies according to the instantaneous sampled value of the message
signal.
The transmitter has to send synchronizing pulses (or simply sync pulses) to keep the transmitter
and the receiver in sync. These sync pulses help to maintain the position of the pulses. The
following figures explain the Pulse Position Modulation.

Pulse position modulation is done in accordance with the pulse width modulated signal. Each
trailing edge of the pulse width modulated signal becomes the starting point for pulses in PPM
signal. Hence, the position of these pulses is proportional to the width of the PWM pulses.

Advantage

As the amplitude and the width are constant, the power handled is also constant.

Disadvantage

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The synchronization between the transmitter and the receiver is a must.

Comparison between PAM, PWM, and PPM

The following table presents the comparison between three modulation techniques.

PAM PWM PPM

Amplitude is varied Width is varied Position is varied

Bandwidth depends on the Bandwidth depends on the rise Bandwidth depends on the
width of the pulse time of the pulse rise time of the pulse

Instantaneous transmitter Instantaneous transmitter Instantaneous transmitter

power varies with the power varies with the power remains constant with
amplitude of the pulses amplitude and the width of the the width of the pulses
pulses

System complexity is high System complexity is low System complexity is low

Noise interference is high Noise interference is low Noise interference is low

It is similar to amplitude It is similar to frequency It is similar to phase

modulation modulation modulation

pulse code modulation (PCM) – Pulse code modulation (PCM) is a technique of digitally
representing analog signals. It takes samples of the amplitude of the analog signal and changes it
to binary data. PCM technique is used by codecs in telephone networks to convert analog signals
in local loops to digital signals in the trunks, and reverse conversion at the receivers’ end.

Digital carrier modulation schemes

Amplitude Shift Keying

The amplitude of the resultant output depends upon the input data whether it should be a zero
level or a variation of positive and negative, depending upon the carrier frequency.
Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) is a type of Amplitude Modulation which represents the binary
data in the form of variations in the amplitude of a signal.

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Following is the diagram for ASK modulated waveform along with its input.

Any modulated signal has a high frequency carrier. The binary signal when ASK is modulated,
gives a zero value for LOW input and gives the carrier output for HIGH input.

Frequency Shift Keying

The frequency of the output signal will be either high or low, depending upon the input data
applied.
Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) is the digital modulation technique in which the frequency of
the carrier signal varies according to the discrete digital changes. FSK is a scheme of frequency
modulation.
Following is the diagram for FSK modulated waveform along with its input.

The output of a FSK modulated wave is high in frequency for a binary HIGH input and is low in
frequency for a binary LOW input. The binary 1s and 0s are called Mark and Space
frequencies.

Phase Shift Keying

The phase of the output signal gets shifted depending upon the input. These are mainly of two
types, namely BPSK and QPSK, according to the number of phase shifts. The other one is DPSK
which changes the phase according to the previous value.
Phase Shift Keying (PSK) is the digital modulation technique in which the phase of the carrier
signal is changed by varying the sine and cosine inputs at a particular time. PSK technique is
widely used for wireless LANs, bio-metric, contactless operations, along with RFID and
Bluetooth communications.
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PSK is of two types, depending upon the phases the signal gets shifted. They are −

Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK)

This is also called as 2-phase PSK (or) Phase Reversal Keying. In this technique, the sine wave
carrier takes two phase reversals such as 0° and 180°.
BPSK is basically a DSB-SC (Double Sideband Suppressed Carrier) modulation scheme, for
message being the digital information.
Following is the image of BPSK Modulated output wave along with its input.

Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK)

This is the phase shift keying technique, in which the sine wave carrier takes four phase reversals
such as 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°.
If this kind of techniques are further extended, PSK can be done by eight or sixteen values also,
depending upon the requirement. The following figure represents the QPSK waveform for two
bits input, which shows the modulated result for different instances of binary inputs.

QPSK is a variation of BPSK, and it is also a DSB-SC (Double Sideband Suppressed Carrier)
modulation scheme, which send two bits of digital information at a time, called as bigits.
Instead of the conversion of digital bits into a series of digital stream, it converts them into bit-
pairs. This decreases the data bit rate to half, which allows space for the other users.

Differential Phase Shift Keying (DPSK)

In DPSK (Differential Phase Shift Keying) the phase of the modulated signal is shifted relative
to the previous signal element. No reference signal is considered here. The signal phase follows
the high or low state of the previous element. This DPSK technique doesn’t need a reference
oscillator.
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The following figure represents the model waveform of DPSK.

It is seen from the above figure that, if the data bit is LOW i.e., 0, then the phase of the signal is
not reversed, but is continued as it was. If the data is HIGH i.e., 1, then the phase of the signal is
reversed, as with NRZI, invert on 1 (a form of differential encoding).
If we observe the above waveform, we can say that the HIGH state represents an M in the
modulating signal and the LOW state represents a W in the modulating signal.

MODULE IIIDEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICCS

GOVERNMENT POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE PALAKKAD
SERIES TEST-I
Communication Engineering (3041)
Duration:1Hrs Marks:25
Answer all questions
1. List the types of Polarizations? 2 CO1
2. Define the skip distance? 2 CO1
3. Explain the types of wave propagation? 5 CO2
4. Briefly explain the factors affecting ground wave propagations? 5 CO5
5. Define the antenna, directivity of antenna and radiation pattern of antennas? 5 CO2
6. Define the critical frequency, skip zone and virtual height with suitable diagram6 CO2

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICCS
GOVERNMENT POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE PALAKKAD
SERIES TEST-I
Communication Engineering (3041)
Duration:1Hrs Marks:25
Answer all questions

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1.List the types of Polarizations? 2 CO1

2.Define the skip distance? 2 CO1
3.Explain the types of wave propagation? 5 CO2
4.Briefly explain the factors affecting ground wave propagations? 5 CO5
5.Define the antenna, directivity of antenna and radiation pattern of antennas? 5 CO2
6.Define the critical frequency, skip zone and virtual height with suitable diagram6 CO2

GOVERNMENT POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE PALAKKAD

SERIES TEST-I
Communication Engineering (3041)
Duration:1Hrs Marks:25
Answer all questions
1.List the types of Polarizations? 2 CO1
2.Define the skip distance? 2 CO1
3.Explain the types of wave propagation? 5
CO2
4.Briefly explain the factors affecting ground wave propagations? 5 CO5
5.Define the antenna, directivity of antenna and radiation pattern of antennas? 5 CO2
6.Define the critical frequency, skip zone and virtual height with suitable diagram
6 CO2

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Prepared Verified Approved

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