EC3613 Communication Engineering I

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Faculty of Engineering
B.Sc. Eng. (Hons) – Year 03, Semester 01 2024

Lab 02 – Line Coding LO1, LO2

Objectives:

• To demonstrate the basic properties of line coding in digital transmission

Materials Needed:
1. TIMS telecommunications modelling system
2. TIMS modules required for this experiment
a. 1 Sequence Generator
b. 1 Line code encoder
c. 1 Sequence generator
d. 1 Baseband channel filters
e. Headphone amplifier and 3 kHz LPF (fixed)
f. Frequency and event counter (fixed)
g. Buffer Amplifiers (fixed)
h. Oscilloscope

Introduction:
In baseband digital transmission, line coding is commonly used to transform the binary source
digit stream into another coded signalling sequence, which possesses some favourable
properties matching the characteristics of the transmission channel and the associated
equipment. For example, accoupling is used to facilitate power feeding over the same
transmission lines. For a baseband signal to be conveyed over such a channel, it is necessary
to ensure that the signalling pulse sequence does not build up shortterm dc offsets that will
give rise to baseline wander, as a result of long runs of “1”s and “0”s. This requires that the
spectrum of the coded signalling sequence to fall off to zero at dc.
Two other major functions of a desirable line code are:
• Ensuring that the signalling sequence contains adequate timing information for clock
recovery at the receiver. This is achieved by making sure that transitions in the
signalling waveform occur frequently.
• Allowing error detection to be performed for line supervisory purpose.
This experiment will study the following five binary line codes:
• NRZL or polar NRZ (nonreturntozero) signalling format
- “1” : Positive pulse
- “0” : Negative pulse.

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 • BIPRZ or polar RZ signalling format
- “1” : Positive pulse in the first half of the bit period
- “0” : Negative pulse in the first half of the bit period.
• UNIRZ or unipolar RZ signalling format
- “1” : Pulse in the first half of the bit period
- “0” : No pulse.
• RZAMI or alternatemarkinversion RZ signalling format
- “1” : Pulse in the first half of the bit period, and alternating polarity
pulse to pulse
- “0” : No pulse.
• BIΦL or Manchester signalling format
- “1” : Transition from high to low in the middle of the bit period
- “0” : Transition from low to high in the middle of the bit period.

Figure 1 shows that the encoded waveforms of the five line codes for a given input binary data
sequence:

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Experimental Setup:
Part 1: Line Encoding

1. Take the sequence generator module and set its on-board dip switch SW2 to produce a
32-bit sequence, i.e., with S1 “on”, and S2 “on”. Then insert the module to the TIMS
system.
2. Connect the TIMS Sequence Generator and Line-Code Encoder modules as shown in
Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 Setup for observing the line-coded sequences.

Note:
The bit clock (B.CLK) output of the Line-Code Encoder, with a frequency equal to
M.CLK/4, is used to clock the Sequence Generator.
3. Adjust the Agilent MSOX2012A scope to display a short input data sequence to the
Line Code Encoder. Observe and record the NRZ-L coded output sequence. Note that
there is a half-bit delay between the input and output coded sequences.
4. Repeat step 3 for the other line codes, i.e., NRZ-M, UNI-RZ, BIP-RZ, RZ-AMI, and
BiΦ-L.

Part 2: Line Decoding

1. Modify the previous experimental setup to include the Line Code Decoder module, as
shown in Fig. 3.

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 2. Examine each code in turn from the encoder and decoder, confirming the
transformation from TTL is as expected. Try to determine what the law of each
transformation is without help from a Textbook or other reference.

(CH2 B)

Fig. 3 Setup for observing the decoded sequences.

Part 3:

1. Modify the previous experimental setup to include the Baseband Channel Filters (BCF)
module, as shown in Fig. 4.
2. Adjust the M.CLK frequency of the Line-Code Encoder to 12 kHz to provide a 3 kHz bit
clock (B.CLK). Set the Channel Select switch of the BCF to position “3”.
3. Apply the NRZ-L output of the Line-Code Encoder to the input of the BCF.
- Observe the output of the BCF in the form of eye pattern. If preferred, you may use the
BWD analog oscilloscope for viewing the eye pattern.
- For a steady display, use the B.CLK to externally trigger the scope. Adjust the time base
of the scope to yield a display of one or two eye openings.
- Comment on the observed eye pattern when the toggle switch of the BCF module is
switched between “DC” and “AC”.
- Record the eye openings associated with AC-coupled and DC-coupled modes.
3. Repeat step (3) for the other line codes, i.e., BIP-RZ, UNI-RZ, RZ-AMI, and BiΦ-L.
Comment on the effectiveness of each of these line codes in overcoming base-line
wander caused by AC-coupling.

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 12kHz from VCO

Fig.4 Setup for observing line coding eye patterns

Note:
• When a particular code has been set up, and the message successfully decoded without error,
the BUFFER should be included in the transmission path. patching it in or out it will introduce
a polarity change in the channel. If there is no change to the message output, then the code in
use is insensitive to polarity reversals.
• Note that the LINE-CODE DECODER requires, for successful decoding, an input signal of
amplitude near the TIMS ANALOG REFERENCE LEVEL (+2 volt pp). In normal applications,
this is assured since it will obtain its input from the DECISION MAKER.
• Resetting of the LINE-CODE ENCODER and the LINE-CODE DECODER after the master
clock is connected, or after any clock interruption, is strictly not necessary for all codes. But it
is easier to do it for all codes rather than remember for which codes it is essential.
For more details refer to the TIMS Advanced Modules User Manual.

Post-lab Questions
1. Why introduce the complications of line encoding in a digital transmission system?
2. Apart from the inevitable delay introduced by the analog filter, did you notice any other
delays in the system? You may need this information when debugging later
experiments.
3. An important function of many line encoders is the elimination of the DC component.
When is this desirable?

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Post-lab Report
Prepare a fully detailed report summarizing the experimental tasks conducted, including
observations, analysis, and conclusions about the two experiments. Answer the post-lab
questions.

- End of Lab 1