NETAJI SUBHASH ENGINEERING COLLEGE

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

ECE 2nd YEAR 4thSEM
ANALOG COMMUNICATION LABORATORY (EC 491)
AC/1/sep/2024
EXPERIMENT NO. 1
TITLE: Measurement of Modulation Index of an AM Signal
Lab Objective:
-Understanding AM modulation.
- Testing and studying the performance of AM modulator.
- The ability to draw the waveform of the output of the modulator
- Investigate the variation of Modulation Index (MI) of AM signal with the amplitude of the modulating
signal

Theory:
There are two broad classes of communication – baseband communication and carrier (Passband)
communication. Baseband communication requires no modulation whereas carrier communication
requires modulation.
Modulation is a process by which a parameter of a high frequency sinusoid is modified in accordance
with the message signal to be transmitted. Message signals, whose spectrum is positioned close to dc
(f=0)) also know as baseband signal or modulating signal. The high frequency sinusoid is known as the
carrier and the modified carrier signal due to modulation is called the modulated signal.
In Amplitude Modulation( AM), the instantaneous amplitude of the RF carrier signal is varied in
proportion to the modulating signal. Examples of baseband signals include speech signals whose
spectrum occupies the frequency band from 0 to 3.5 Khz and video signals whose spectrum occupies
the frequency band. 0 to 6 MHz The modulating signal may consist of many frequencies of various
amplitudes and phases, such as the signals making up speech pattern.
We can represent the carrier wave using trigonometric expression-
Vc(t)=Ec Cos(wct)
Where Ec=represents the peak value of the constant unmodulated carrier
Wc=is the frequency of the carrier sine wave;
For single tone modulation we can represent , the modulating signal –
Vm(t)=Em Cos(wmt)
Where wm<< wc
After modulation the amplitude of the modulated signal is given by-
E=Ec+Vm(t)

Therefore the modulated signal is –

VAM(t)=E Cos(wct)
= [Ec+Vm(t)]Cos(wct)
= [Ec+EmCos(wmt)] Cos(wct)
= Ec[1+m Cos(wmt)]] Cos(wct)
= Ec Cos(wct)+m Ec/2 [Cos(wc+wm)t+Cos(wc-wm)t

Where m=Em/Ec is known as the modulation index

Measurement of Modulation Index of an AM Signal 1/7

 Figure 1
Figure1 represent the modulating signal, carrier signal, modulated signal.
The envelope of the modulating wave has the same shape as the base band signal provided the
following two requirements are satisfied-
1. The carrier frequency fc must be much greater then the highest frequency components fm of
the message signal m (t) i.e. fc >> fm
2. The modulation index must be less than unity (m<1) if the modulation index is greater than unity, the
carrier wave becomes over modulated.
The modulation index can be determined by measuring the actual values of the modulation
voltage and the carrier voltage and computing the ratio. However, it is more common
to compute the modulation index from measurements taken on the composite modulated
wave itself. When the AM signal is displayed on an oscilloscope as shown in fig below ,the modulation
index is measured using the equation-
m=[Emax-Emin]/[Emax+Emin]

Measurement of Modulation Index of an AM Signal 2/7

Equipment Required:
SL No. Name of the Equipment Specifications Qnty.
1. Experimental Setup
2. Power Supply
3. Function Generator
4. Oscilloscope

Circuit diagram for AM Modulation and Demodulation:

Using Amplitude modulator kit: The circuit diagram is shown in fig1.

Fig. 1
Using Matlab Simulink:
Modulation:

Fig. 2
Measurement of Modulation Index of an AM Signal 3/7
Experimental Procedure:
Using modulator kit.
For Modulation
1. Connect the A.F Generator O/P to the CRO and observe the modulating signal.
2. Fix the amplitude and frequency of the modulating signal at slightly less than the maximum
value.
3. Connect the Carrier Oscillator O/P to the CRO and observe the carrier signal
4. Fix the amplitude and frequency of the carrier at slightly less than the maximum value.
5. Connect the A.M OUT as shown in fig1 to the C.R.O to observe the modulated O/P.
6. Measure the max(E max) and min(E min) amplitude of the modulated wave.
7. Calcute M.I=( E max- E min)/ (E max +E min )
8. Change the amplitude of the modulating signal and Calculate MI for at least five different
amplitude of modulating signal satisfying the condition
a) Under Modulation b) Critical Modulation. c) Over Modulation.
9. Record Observations as in Table-I.
Using Simulink:
For Modulation:
1. Connect the circuit blokes as Sown in fig. 2
2. Set the Oscilloscope as required.
3. Do the spectrum analyzer settings
4. Change the other block parameter as required.
5. RUN simulation to observe the o/p.

For Demodulation
6. For demodulation connect the circuit as Fig 3.
7. Change the block parameters as required.
8. Run Simulation.

OBSERVATION TABLE-
Amplitude of Carrier Signal (Ec) =1V
Frequency of CarrierSignal(fc) =10000Hz

Measurement of Modulation Index of an AM Signal 4/7

 Amp of Max. amp. of Min. amp. of (Emax-Emin)
modulating Modulated Signal(V) Modulated Signal(V) MI=
Signal(V) ( Emax ) ( Emin ) (Emax+Emin)

0.25 1.177 0.811 0.238

0.5 1.403 0.500 0.475

0.75 1.629 0.273 0.713

1 1.856 0.047 0.949

1.5 2.308 0.070 0.941

Screen Shots of modulating, carrier, modulated and demodulated waveforms

For under modulation i.e M.I<1.

Using Matlab code:

Measurement of Modulation Index of an AM Signal 5/7

Measurement of Modulation Index of an AM Signal 6/7
Measurement of Modulation Index of an AM Signal 7/7
 Work Sheet
EXPERIMENT NO.
Name of the student: ………………………………………………….

Roll No: ……………………………

Name of the Equipment Specifications Qnty.

1. Experimental Setup
2.Power Supply

Measurement of Modulation Index of an AM Signal 8/7

3.Function Generator
4. Oscilloscope
EXPERIMENTAN RESULTS:
Table-1
Data for measurement of M.I
Amplitude of Carrier Signal (Ec) =
Frequency of Carrier Signal(fc) =
Frequency of Modulating Signal(fm)=

Amp of Modulatio Max. Min. amp. of M.I=

modulating n Type amp. of Modulated ( E max- E min)/ (E max +E min )
signal Modulate Signal
d Signal ( E min )
( E max )

PERFORMANCE MARKS:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(SIGNATURE)
Preparation of LAB REPORT:

Furnish your lab report with

a) Experimental data sheet
b) 1ST graph showing the wave forms of modulating signal, carrier signal, modulated signal,
demodulated signal.
c) 2 graph showing the variation of MI with the amplitude of modulating signal
nd

d) Discussion.

Measurement of Modulation Index of an AM Signal 9/7