INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

23-203 -0405
Module II
Angle modulation: concept of instantaneous frequency- relationship between FM and PM- power and bandwidth – Carson’s rule.-
narrowband and wideband FM - FM generation –direct, indirect method-. FM demodulation –slope detection. Comparison of AM and FM.
Superheterodyne analog AM/FM receivers- Characteristics of receivers – sensitivity, selectivity, image frequency.

Angle modulation:
• A sine wave carrier can be modulated by varying its amplitude, frequency, or phase shift.

• The basic equation for a carrier wave is

where Vc = peak amplitude, f = frequency, and θ = phase angle

• Impressing an information signal on a carrier by changing its frequency produces Frequency Modulation (FM).
• Varying the amount of phase shift that a carrier experiences is known as phase modulation (PM).
• Varying the phase shift of a carrier also produces FM.
• FM and PM are collectively referred to as angle modulation.
• So in angle modulation, the frequency or phase of the carrier will be changed in accordance with the instantaneous amplitude of the
modulating signal.
• So the carrier wave can be represented by the equation ,
VcCos(θ) = Vc Cos (2πfct + ɸ)
where θ = 2πfct + ɸ ; ωc = 2πfc is the angular frequency (In a wave, "theta" (θ) represents the phase of the wave at a given point in time.
The phase angle "theta" is directly related to the angular frequency by the equation: θ = ωt + φ where ω is the angular frequency, "t"
is time and "φ" is the initial phase constant.)
Concept of instantaneous frequency(Basic principles of FM)
• In FM, the carrier amplitude remains constant and the carrier frequency is changed by the modulating signal.
• As the amplitude of the information signal varies, the carrier frequency shifts proportionately.
• As the modulating signal amplitude increases, the carrier frequency increases.
• If the amplitude of the modulating signal decreases, the carrier frequency decreases.
• The reverse relationship can also be implemented. A decreasing modulating signal increases the carrier frequency above its center
value, whereas an increasing modulating signal decreases the carrier frequency below its centre value.
• As the modulating signal amplitude varies, the carrier frequency varies above and below its normal centre, or resting, frequency with
no modulation.
• The amount of change in carrier frequency produced by the modulating signal is known as the frequency deviation f d.
• Maximum frequency deviation occurs at the maximum amplitude of the modulating signal.
• The frequency at maximum amplitude of the message signal = fc + fd
• The frequency at minimum amplitude of the message signal = fc − fd
• An FM signal is illustrated in Fig below.
• The modulating information signal is a low-frequency sine wave.
• As the sine wave goes positive, the frequency of the carrier increases proportionately.
• The highest frequency occurs at the peak amplitude of the modulating signal.
• As the modulating signal amplitude decreases, the carrier frequency decreases.
• When the modulating signal is at zero amplitude, the carrier is at its centre frequency point.
• When the modulating signal goes negative, the carrier frequency decreases.
• It continues to decrease until the peak of the negative half-cycle of the modulating sine wave is reached.
• Then as the modulating signal increases toward zero, the carrier frequency again increases. This phenomenon is illustrated in Fig.
where the carrier sine waves seem to be first compressed and then stretched by the modulating signal.
Q1. A transmitter operates on a frequency of 915 MHz. The maximum FM deviation is +12.5 kHz. What are the maximum and minimum
frequencies that occur during modulation?
Modulation Index of FM
• The ratio of the frequency deviation to the modulating frequency is known as the modulation index mf:
mf = fd/fm = ∆f/fm
where fd is the frequency deviation and fm is the modulating frequency

Q2. What is the deviation ratio of TV sound if the maximum deviation is 25 kHz and the maximum modulating frequency is 15 kHz?

Q3. What is the maximum modulating frequency that can be used to achieve a modulation index of 2.2 with a deviation of 7.48 kHz?
Mathematical Representation of frequency modulation

• Let vm be the instantaneous amplitude of the modulating signal and vc be the instantaneous amplitude of the carrier signal.
vm = Vm Cos 2πfmt
vc = Vc Cos (θ) = Vc Cos (2πfct + ɸ ) ; -------- (eqn A) (since in angle modulation either the frequency or phase of the carrier is
varied)

The deviation in carrier frequency is proportional to the amplitude of the modulating signal.
fd α vm
fd = kvm where k is the proportionality constant called the frequency conversion factor.
The instantaneous carrier frequency can be represented as
fi = fc + fd
fi = fc + kvm
= fc + k Vm Cos 2πfmt
Let ∆f = k Vm , the maximum frequency deviation.
So,
fi = fc + ∆f Cos 2πfmt

Multiplying both sides by 2π we get,

2π fi = 2π fc + 2π ∆f Cos 2πfmt
ωi = ωc + 2π ∆f Cos ωmt ---------- (eqn 1)
For waves , angular frequency can be defined as the rate of change of phase angle w.r.t time. So we can write ,
ωi = dθ/dt

dθ = ωi dt

∫ dθ = ∫ωi dt

θ = ∫ [ωc + 2π ∆f Cos ωmt ]dt ------- (from eqn 1)

 = ∫ωc dt + ∫2π ∆f Cos ωmt dt ∫dθ = θ
= ωc t + 2π ∆f ∫Cos ωmt dt
Sin(ωmt)
∫k. dt =k. ∫dt = kt
= ωc t + 2π ∆f ωm

= ωc t +
2π ∆f
Sinωmt
∫KCos(t)dt =
2πfm

= ωc t +
∆f
Sinωmt
k∫Cos(t)dt
fm

= ωc t + mf Sinωmt where mf is the modulation index for FM mf = ∆f/fm ∫Cos(t)dt = sin(t)

θ = ωc t + mf Sinωmt ---------------- (eqn 2)
Sin(kt)
∫Cos(kt)dt =
Hence the mathematical representation of the voltage (vltage equation ) of the Frequrncy modulated wave can be expressed as,
vfm = Vc Cos (θ) = Vc Cos (ωc t + mf Sinωmt ) 𝑘
vfm = Vc Cos (ωc t + mf Sinωmt ) ----- voltage equation of FM wave.

Bessel Functions

The FM equation vfm = Vc Cos (ωc t + mf Sinωmt)

Comparing with the equation below,
vc = Vc Cos (2πfct + ɸ ) -------- (eqn A)
the term mf Sinωmt represents the phase angle of the carrier.

• Here the equation expresses the phase angle in terms of the sine wave modulating signal. This equation is solved with a complex
mathematical process known as Bessel functions.
• Using Bessel functions, the FM wave is expressed as a composite of sine waves of different frequencies and amplitudes that, when
added, give an FM time-domain signal.
• The first term is the carrier with an amplitude given by a coefficient, J0.
• The next term represents a pair of upper and lower side frequencies equal to the sum and difference of the carrier and modulating signal
frequency.
• The amplitude of these side frequencies is J1.
• The next term is another pair of side frequencies equal to the carrier +2 times the modulating signal frequency.
• The other terms represent additional side frequencies spaced from one another by an amount equal to the modulating signal frequency.
• The amplitudes of the sidebands are determined by the Jn coefficients, which are, in turn, determined by the value of the modulation
index.
• These amplitude coefficients are computed by using the expression

• In practice, we refer the table giving the Bessel coefficients for a range of modulation indexes as shown in the figure below.
Power and bandwidth
The total bandwidth of an FM signal can be determined by knowing the modulation index and using Fig. 5-8.

The bandwidth can be determined with the simple formula

BW = 2fm N where N is the number of significant sidebands in the signal (obtained from the Bessel coefficients table), f m is the modulating
frequency.

Q4. The highest modulating frequency of a signal is 3 kHz and the maximum deviation is 6 kHz. Find the modulation index and also find
out the bandwidth of the FM signal.

mf = 6 kHz/3 kHz = 2
BW = 2fm N
BW = 2 x 3 kHz x 4 = 24 kHz

Carson’s rule
• Carson's Bandwidth Rule is used for the calculation of FM modulation bandwidth or occupancy for the FM signal
• Carson's Rule states that the bandwidth (BW) required for an angle-modulated signal can be approximated as twice the sum of the
highest modulating frequency (fm) and the maximum frequency deviation (fd). According to Carson's rule:
BW=2( fd + fm)
where, BW is the Bandwidth, fm is the highest modulating frequency
fd is the maximum frequency deviation

• This rule recognizes only the power in the most significant sidebands with amplitudes greater than 2 percent of the carrier (0.02 or
higher in Fig. above showing the Bessel Coefficients).
• Carson’s rule will always give a bandwidth lower than that calculated with the formula BW = 2fmN
• Carson's rule, in terms of modulation index can be written as,

BW = 2(fd + fm)
But mf = fd/fm
Therefore
BW = 2(mf fm+ fm)
or
BW = 2fm(mf + 1)
Special Cases of Carson's Bandwidth Rule
Case 1. fd << fm (NBFM)
Since mf = fd/fm
If fd << fm
=> mf << 1 (case for narrowband FM)

BW= 2fm(mf + 1)
Therefore for mf << 1
BW = 2fm (for narrowband FM)
Case 2. fd >> fm (WBFM)
Since mf = fd/fm
Therefore if fd >> fm
=> mf >> 1 (case for wideband FM)
BW = 2fm (mf + 1)
Therefore for mf >> 1
BW = 2fmmf
But fmmf = fd
Therefore
BW = 2fd (for wideband FM)

Narrowband FM and Wideband FM

• A narrowband FM signal, also called NBFM signal, is a type of FM signal whose modulation index is less than 1, i.e., mf < 1.

• Narrowband FM signals have a smaller frequency deviation from the frequency carrier signal.
• Also, this signal has a relatively narrow bandwidth that depends on the frequency of the modulating signal.

• The narrowband FM signals are mainly used in limited bandwidth communication systems and audio signal broadcasting.

• A wideband FM signal is a FM signal whose modulation index is greater than 1, i.e., mf > 1. It is also known as WBFM signal.
• Therefore, a wideband FM signal has a larger frequency deviation from the frequency of the carrier signal.
• It also has a wider bandwidth.
• Wideband FM signal are mainly used in FM radio broadcasting, radar systems, and some special types of communication systems.
Q5. What is the maximum bandwidth of an FM signal with a deviation of 30 kHz and a maximum modulating signal of 5 kHz as
determined by (a) Bessel coefficient table and (b) Carson’s rule?

Phase modulation

• Phase modulation is a system in which the amplitude of the modulated carrier is kept constant, while its phase and rate of phase
change are varied by the modulating signal.
• By the definition of phase modulation, the amount by which the carrier phase is varied from its unmodulated value, called the phase
deviation, is made proportional to the instantaneous amplitude of the modulating voltage.
• The rate at which this phase variation changes is equal to the modulating frequency.
• The situation is illustrated in Fig. 4.3, which shows the modulating voltage and the resulting phase modulated wave.
• The figure also shows the phase variation with time, which can be seen to be the phase shifted version of the variation with time of
the modulating voltage.
• The result of using that modulating voltage to produce FM is also shown for comparison.
• ln PM, all components of the modulating signal having the same amplitude will deviate the carrier phase by the same amount.
• Similarly, all components of the modulating signal of the same frequency, will deviate the carrier phase at the same rate per second,
no matter what their individual amplitudes.
• As in the case of FM; the amplitude of the phase modulated wave remains constant at all times.
• It can also be observed from the figure that, if only either FM or PM waves are given without reference message signal, then it is
not possible to distinguish between the two. This is the close proximity between the two forms of angle modulation.
Mathematical Representation of PM
• From Fig. 4.3, it is seen that the instantaneous phase ɸ of the phase modulated wave is given by

ɸi = ɸc+ kpVm cos ωmt -------- (eqn R)

where ɸc is unmodulated (or average) carrier phase, kp is proportionality constant called the phase sensitivity factor and kpVmcos
ωmt is the phase shifted version of instantaneous modulating voltage.

• The maximum deviation for the signal will occur when the cosine term has its maximum value,+1.
• The modulation index for PM, mp is defined as mp = p , where p is the maximum phase deviation.

The instantaneous amplitude of the PM signal will be given by

PM = Vc sinθ = Vc sin[ωct+ɸi] -------- eqn P (Refer eqn A)

Eqn R can be substituted into Equation P to give the instantaneous value of the PM voltage; therefore

PM = Vc sin(ωct + ɸc + kp Vm cos ωmt) -----eqn S

PM = Vc sin(ωct + ɸc + pcos ωmt), where p = kp Vm is the maximum phase deviation.

PM = Vc sin(ωct + ɸc + mpcos ωmt), since mp = p = kp Vm

• The modulation index of PM depends only on the modulating voltage and independent of the modulating frequency.

Relationship between FM and PM

• In phase modulation, the phase deviation is proportional to the amplitude of the modulating signal and therefore independent of its
frequency.
• In frequency modulation, the frequency deviation is proportional to the amplitude of the modulating voltage.
• The larger the frequency deviation, the larger the phase deviation.
• When the modulating frequency is changed the PM modulation index
will remain constant, whereas the FM modulation index will increase as modulation frequency is reduced and vice versa.
• Angle of carrier signal is combination of phase and frequency.
• A change in phase results in a change in the phase of the signal, and a change in phase results in a frequency change of the modulated
signal.
• There is a nonlinear relationship between the phase and frequency of the signal.

Phase Modulation of m(t) = Frequency Modulation of d/dt (m(t))

Frequency Modulation of m(t) = Phase Modulation of ∫ m(t)dt

• In frequency Modulation of signal , modulating signal m(t) is passed through integrator and then phase modulation is done in signal .

• In phase Modulation of signal , Modulating signal m(t) is passed through differentiator and then frequency modulation of signal is done.
FM generation

• The prime requirement of a frequency modulation system is a variable output frequency, with the variation proportional to the instantaneous
amplitude of the modulating voltage.
• The subsidiary requirements are that the unmodulated frequency should be constant, and the deviation independent of the modulating
frequency.

FM Generation Methods
• One method of FM generation is that, if either the capacitance or inductance of an LC oscillator tank is varied, frequency modulation of
some form will result.
• If this variation can be made directly proportional to the voltage supplied by the modulation circuits, true FM will be obtained.
• The capacitance (or inductance) of the variable element is changed with the modulating voltage, increasing (or decreasing) as the
modulating voltage increases positively, and going the other way when the modulation becomes negative.
• The larger the deviation of the modulating voltage from zero, the larger the reactance variation and therefore the frequency variation. When
the modulating voltage is zero, the variable reactance will have its average value.

Direct method

• Of the various methods of providing a voltage-variable reactance which can be connected across the tank circuit of an oscillator, the most
common are the reactance modulator and the varactor diode.

Basic Reactance Modulator

• Provided that certain simple conditions are met, the impedance z, as seen at the input terminals A – A of Figure 5-11, is almost entirely
reactive.

• The circuit shown is the basic circuit of a FET reactance modulator, which behaves as a three-terminal reactance that may be connected
across the tank circuit of the oscillator to be frequency-modulated.
• It can be made inductive or capacitive by a simple component change.
• The value of this reactance is proportional to the transconductance of the device, which can be made to depend on the gate bias and its
variations.
Theory of reactance modulators:

• In order to determine z, a voltage v is applied to the terminals A – A between which the impedance is to be measured, and the resulting
current i is calculated.
• The applied voltage is then divided by this current, giving the impedance seen when looking into the terminals.
• In order for this impedance to be a pure reactance (it is capacitive here), two requirements must be fulfilled.
• The first is that the bias network current ib must be negligible compared to the drain current.
• The impedance of the bias network must be large.
• The second requirement is that the drain-to-gate impedance (XC here) must be greater than the gate-to-source impedance (R in this case),
preferably by more than 5:1.

The following analysis may then be applied:

[i.e; that is using voltage divider rule.
vg = v (R/R+Xc ) = v (R/R-jXc) (in phasor form Xc=-jXc or 1/jωC and 1/j = -j)]

The FET drain current is

Therefore, the impedance seen at the terminals A-A is

If Xc >>
R in

Equation (5.17), the equation will reduce to

This impedance is quite clearly a capacitive reactance, which may be written as

 From Equation ( 5.19) it is seen that under such conditions the input impedance of the device at A-A is a pure reactance and is given by

The following should be noted from Equation (5-20):

1. This equivalent capacitance depends on the device transconductance and can therefore be varied with bias voltage.

2. The capacitance can be originally adjusted to any value, by varying the components R and C.

3. The gate-to-drain impedance must be much larger than the gate-to-source impedance. This is illustrated by Equation (5-17). If
XC/R had not been much greater than unity, z would have had a resistive component as well.

If R is not much less than XC, the input impedance will no longer be purely reactive.

The gate-to-drain impedance is, in practice, made five to ten times the gate-to-source impedance.

Let XC = nR (at the carrier frequency) in the capacitive RC reactance FET so far discussed. Then
Substituting Equation (5-21) into (5-20) gives

Thus Frequency is changed with the variation of Ceq which depends on transconductance gm which inturn depends on the applied
modulating voltate (across terminal AA)
Indirect method-
• Methods of generating FM that do not depend on varying the frequency of an oscillator is termed as the indirect method of FM
generation.
• A prior generation of phase modulation is involved in the indirect method.
• One such indirect method called the Armstrong Frequency Modulation system.
• The LC oscillators are not stable enough for the communication or broadcast purpose. Thus, the direct methods cannot be used for the
broadcast applications. The alternative method is to use the indirect method called as the Armstrong method of FM generation.
• A crystal oscillator can be used hence the frequency stability is very high and this method is widely used in practice.
• Figure.1 shows the block diagram of the Armstrong method.
• The Armstrong method uses the phase modulator to generate a frequency modulated wave.

Fig.1 : Armstrong Method for FM Generation

Working Principle
The working operation of this system can be divided into two parts as follows:

Part I: Generate a narrow band FM wave using a phase modulator.

Part II: Use the frequency multipliers and mixer to obtain the required values of frequency deviation, carrier and modulation index.

Part I: Generate a narrow band FM using Phase Modulator

• We can generate FM using a phase modulator.
• The modulating signal x(t) is passed through an integrator before applying it to the phase modulator as shown in figure 1.
• Let the narrow band FM wave produced at the output of the phase modulator be represented by s1(t) i.e.,

where Vc1 is the amplitude and f1 is the frequency of the carrier produced by the crystal oscillator.

• The phase angle Φ1(t) of s1(t) is related to x(t) as follows:

where k1 represents the frequency sensitivity of the modulator.

If Φ1(t) is very small then,

[sin(Φ1(t))≈0 would only be valid if Φ1(t)=0. For small but nonzero Φ1(t), sin(Φ1(t)) is very small but not exactly zero, and it is
approximately equal to Φ1(t). Therefore, for narrowband FM, where Φ1(t) is small, we approximate sin(Φ1(t))≈Φ1(t). ]

Hence, the approximate expression for s1(t) can be obtained as follows:

( using Cos (A+B) = Cos A CosB – Sin A Sin B )

After approximation, we get,

Substituting,

This equation represents a narrow band FM.

Thus, at the output of the phase modulator, we obtain a narrow band FM wave.
 Implementation of the Phase Modulator

Fig.2 : Phase Modulator Circuit

Working Principle
• The crystal oscillator produces a stable unmodulated carrier which is applied to the 90° phase shifter as well as the combining network
through a buffer.
• The 90° phase shifter produces a 90° phase shifted carrier. It is applied to the balanced modulator along with the modulating signal.
• Thus, the carrier used for modulation is 90° shifted with respect to the original carrier.
• At the output of the product modulator, we get DSB SC signal i.e., AM signal without carrier.
• This signal consists of only two sidebands with their resultant in phase with the 90° shifted carrier.
• The two sidebands and the original carrier without any phase shift are applied to a combining network (∑).
• At the output of the combining network, we get the resultant of vector addition of the carrier and two sidebands as shown in figure 2.
 Fig.2: Phasors explaining the generation of PM

• Now, as the modulation index is increased, the amplitude of sidebands will also increase.
• Hence, the amplitude of their resultant increases. This will increase the angle Φ made by the resultant with unmodulated carrier.
• The angle Φ decreases with reduction in modulation index as shown in figure 3.
• Thus, the resultant at the output of the combining network is phase modulated. Hence, the block diagram of figure.1 operates as a phase
modulator.

Fig.3 : Effect of modulation index on frequency f

 Part II: Use of Frequency Multipliers Mixer and Amplifier

• The FM signal produced at the output of phase modulator has a low carrier frequency and low modulation index.
• They are increased to an adequately high value with the help of frequency multipliers and mixer.

FM demodulation

• Any circuit that will convert a frequency variation in the carrier back to a proportional voltage variation can be used to demodulate or
detect FM signals.
• Circuits used to recover the original modulating signal from an FM transmission are called FM demodulators, detectors, or discriminators.

Slope detection.
• The circuit diagram of a simple slope detector is depicted in Fig. 22.52(a).
• The circuit uses two tuned circuits which are tuned to two different frequencies.
• First one is tuned to the incoming FM carrier frequency fc whereas the second (resonating circuit) is tuned to a frequency (fr) slightly
different from the carrier frequency fc. Thus, this portion of circuit which contains two tuned circuits tuned to different frequencies, is
called discriminator.
• This circuit converts FM signal into an AM signal as shown in the slope detector characteristic curve.
• The another portion of the circuit is envelope detector.
• The AM signal from the output of the discriminator is applied at the input of the envelope detector.
• At the output of the envelope detector, the original modulating signal is obtained.
 Superheterodyne Analog AM/FM receivers

Superheterodyne receivers convert all incoming signals to a lower frequency, known as the intermediate frequency (IF), at which a single
set of amplifiers and filters is used to provide a fixed level of sensitivity and selectivity.
Most of the gain and selectivity in a superheterodyne receiver are obtained in the IF amplifiers.
The key circuit is the mixer, which acts as a simple amplitude modulator to produce sum and difference frequencies.
The incoming signal is mixed with a local oscillator signal to produce this conversion.
Fig. 9-5 shows a general block diagram of a superhetrodyne receiver.

RF Amplifiers
• The antenna picks up the weak radio signal and feeds it to the RF amplifier, also called a low-noise amplifier (LNA). Normally it is a
wideband amplifier tunable from 540KHz to 1650KHz(Commercial AM band)
• Because RF amplifiers provide some initial gain and selectivity, they are sometimes referred to as preselectors.
The advantages of having an RF amplifier are:

• Improved sensitivity, because of the extra gain

• Improve image frequency rejection, because of the added tuned circuits
• Improve the S/N ratio.
• Spurious signals are more effectively rejected, minimizing unwanted signal generation in the mixer.
• Prevention of local oscillator re-radiation. (The local oscillator signal is relatively strong, and some of it can leak through and appear at
the input to the mixer. If the mixer input is connected directly to the antenna, some of the local oscillator signal radiates, possibly causing
interference to other nearby receivers. The RF amplifier between the mixer and the antenna isolates the two, significantly reducing any
local oscillator radiation.)
• Better coupling of receiver to the antenna.
• Both bipolar and field-effect transistors, made with silicon, GaAs, or SiGe, can be used as RF amplifiers.

Mixers and Local Oscillators

• The output of the RF amplifier is applied to the input of the mixer. The mixer also receives an input from a local oscillator or frequency
synthesizer.
• The mixer output is the input signal, the local oscillator signal, and the sum and difference frequencies of these signals.
• Usually a tuned circuit at the output of the mixer selects the difference frequency, or intermediate frequency (IF).
• The mixer may be a diode, a balanced modulator, or a transistor. MOSFETs and hot carrier diodes are preferred as mixers because of their
low-noise characteristics.
• The local oscillator is made tunable so that its frequency can be adjusted over a relatively wide range.
• As the local-oscillator frequency is changed, the mixer translates a wide range of input frequencies to the fixed IF.

IF Amplifiers
• The output of the mixer is an IF signal containing the same modulation that appeared on the input RF signal. This signal is amplified by
one or more IF amplifier stages, and most of the receiver gain is obtained in these stages.
• Crystal, ceramic, or SAW filters are used in most IF sections to obtain good selectivity. Some forms or receivers use DSP filters for
selectivity.

Demodulators
• The highly amplified IF signal is finally applied to the demodulator, or detector, which recovers the original modulating information.
• The demodulator may be a diode detector (for AM), a quadrature detector (for FM), or a product detector (for SSB).
 In modern digital superheterodyne radios, the IF signal is first digitized by an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and then sent to a digital
signal processor (DSP) where the demodulation is carried out by a programmed algorithm.
The recovered signal in digital form is then converted back to analog by a digital-to-analog converter (DAC).
The output of the demodulator or DAC is then usually fed to an audio amplifier with sufficient voltage and power gain to operate a speaker.
For nonvoice signals, the detector output may be sent elsewhere, to a TV, tablet, cell phone screen, computer, or some other device.

Automatic Gain Control

• The output of a demodulator is usually the original modulating signal, the amplitude of which is directly proportional to the amplitude of
the received signal.
• The recovered signal, which is usually ac, is rectified and filtered into a dc voltage by a circuit known as the automatic gain control (AGC)
circuit. This dc voltage is fed back to the IF amplifiers, and sometimes the RF amplifier, to control receiver gain.
AGC circuits help maintain a constant output voltage level over a wide range of RF input signal levels; they also help the receiver to
function over a wide range so that strong signals do not produce performance-degrading distortion.

Choice of Intermediate frequency:

• For Standard broadcast Am receivers (tuning from 54oKHz to 1650KHz ), the intermediate frequency chosen is usually 455kHz.
• FM receivers using the standard 88 to 108 MHz band have an IF which is almost always 10.7MHz.

Factors affecting the choice of Intermediate frequency are:

• If IF is too high, poor selectivity and poor adjacent channel rejection occurs.
• A high value of IF increases tracking difficulties.
• As the IF is lowered, image frequency rejection becomes poorer.
• A very low IF makes the selectivity too sharp, cutting off the sidebands. Also the frequency stability of the local oscillator will be affected.
• The IF should not all within the tuning range of the receiver which will lead to instability and whistling sound.
Characteristics of receivers:

Sensitivity
• Sensitivity of a receiver is its ability to identify and amplify weak signals at the receiver output.
• It is often defined in terms of voltage that must be applied to the input terminals of the receiver to produce a standard output power which
is measured at the output terminals.
• The higher value of receiver gain ensures smaller input signal necessary to produce the desired output power.Thus a receiver with good
sensitivity will detect minimum RF signal at the input and still produce utilizable demodulated signal.
• Sensitivity is also known as receiver threshold. It is expressed in microvolts or decibels.
• Sensitivity of the receiver mostly depends on the gain of IF amplifier. It can be improved by reducing the noise level and bandwidth of the
receiver.

Selectivity

• The selectivity of an AM receiver is defined as its ability to accept or select the desired band of frequency and reject all other unwanted
frequencies which can be interfering signals.
• Adjacent channel rejection of the receiver can be obtained from the selectivity parameter. Response of IF section, mixer and RF section
considerably contribute towards selectivity.
• The signal bandwidth should be narrow for better selectivity.

Image frequency.

• Image frequency is the problem of receiving two radio station simultaneously at the same point of the receiver dial.
• Image frequency is defined as the signal frequency plus twice the intermediate frequency.
Image frequency(fsi)=fs+2IF

• For example, suppose the receiver is tuned to pick up a signal on a frequency of 600 kHz. The local oscillator will be operating at a
frequency of 1,055 kHz. The received and local oscillator signals are mixed, or heterodyned, in the converter stage and one of the
frequencies resulting from this mixing action is the difference between the two signals, is 455 kHz, the IF frequency.
• However, if there is a station operating on a frequency of 1,510 kHz, and this signal passes through the rather broad tuned input circuit and
appears on the grid of the converter tube, it too will mix with the local oscillator and produce a frequency of 455 kHz (1,510 - 1,055 =
455). This signal will also be accepted by the I-F amplifier stage and passed on, thus both signals will be heard in the output of the receive
and is undesirable. So the image frequency should be rejected.
Comparison of AM and FM. (Assignment 1)
To begin with, frequency modulation bas the following advantages:
(i) The amplitude of the frequency modulated wave is constant. It is thus independent of the modulation depth, whereas in AM
modulation depth governs the transmitted power.
(ii) All the transmitted power in FM is useful whereas in AM most of it is in the transmitted carrier, which contains no useful
information.
(iii) FM receivers can be fitted with amplitude limiters to remove the amplitude variations caused by noise; this makes FM more
immune to noise than AM reception.
(iv) It is possible to reduce noise still further by increasing the deviation. This is a feature which AM does not have; since it is not
possible to exceed 100 percent modulation without causing severe distortion.
(v) Standard-frequency allocations provide a guard band between commercial FM stations, so that there is less adjacent channel
interference than AM.
(vi) FM broadcasts operate in the upper VHF and UHF frequency ranges, at which there is less noise than in the MF and HF ranges
occupied by AM broadcasts.
(vii) At the FM broadcast frequencies, the space wave is used for propagation, so that the radius of operation is limited to slightly
more than line of sight. It is thus possible to operate several independent transmitters on the same frequency with considerably
less interference than would be possible with AM.
(viii) The limitation of FM is a much wider bandwidth required, up to 10 times as that of AM.
(ix) FM transmitting and receiving equipment tends to be more complex, particularly for modulation and demodulation.
(x) Since reception is limited to line of sight, the area of reception for FM is much smaller than for AM.

**************** End of MOULE 2 ****************** (STUDY WELLL)

Prepared by:
REMYA JEEVAN
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN ECE