Principles of

Communication
Course Outline
1. Introduction to Communications Systems
2. Noise
3. Amplitude Modulation
4. Single-Sideband Techniques
5. Frequency Modulation
6. Radio Receivers
7. Radiation and Propagation of Waves
8. Pulse Modulation
9. Digital Modulation
10. Broadband Communication System
Principles of Communication LAB
1. Passive, Active Filters, Tuned Circuits
2. AM Transmitter
3. Frequency Modulation
4. Pulse Amplitude Modulation
5. Diode Detection
6. Time Division Multiplexing
7. Frequency Division Multiplexing
8. Suggested Project : superheterodyne
receiver
Introduction: Communication System
 Communication systems are designed to
transmit information from one place to
another.

 Communication systems Design concerns:

1. Selection of the information–bearing
waveform;
2. Bandwidth and power of the waveform;
3. Effect of system noise on the received
information;
4. Cost of the system.
RA 9292 Definition:
Communications
– refers to process of sending and/or
receiving information, data, signals and/or
messages between two or more points by
radio, cable, optical waveguide or other
devices and wired or wireless medium.
Evolution of Communication System:

Smoke Signal Tribal Drum Morse Code

Evolution of Communication System:

1837 – Samuel Morse invented the telegraph

system, the first to be commercially successful
communication system which uses electricity in
sending messages.
1866 – the use of telegraph cables that runs
under water.
1898 – twelve transatlantic cables in operation.
1876 – Alexander Graham Bell invented the
telephone, the first voice communication by
electrical means.
Importance of a radio in communication as a
medium;
1865 – James Clerk Maxwell constructed the
theoretical framework in radio communication.
1887 – Heinrich Rudolph Hertz verified the
theories of Maxwell.
1901 – Guglielmo Marconi accomplished the
first transatlantic communication via radio.
1906 – transmitters began to use specially
designed high frequency alternators to transmit
voice.
1920 – began the regular radio broadcasting.
The use of electronic system;

1904 – Sir John Ambrose Fleming invented

the diode tube.
1906 – Lee De Forest invented the triode for
amplification.
1947 – Brattain, Bardeen, and Shockley
invented the transistor.
1948 – transistor began to use for
amplification.
Two Broad Categories of
Communication System
1. Analog Communication System

2. Digital Communication System

Analog Communication System
An analog communication system transfers
information from an analog source to the sink.
Digital Communication System
A digital communication system transfers
information from a digital source to the sink.
Analog Information Source
An analog information source produces
messages that are defined on a continuous
form.
(e.g. microphone)
Digital Information Source
A digital information source produces a
finite set of possible messages. (e.g. typewriter)
Digital and Analog Communication Systems

 A digital waveform is defined as a function

of time that can have a discrete set of
amplitude values.

 An Analog waveform is a function that has a

continuous range of values.

x(t) x(t)

t t
Analog Digital
 Digital Communication
 Advantages
• Relatively inexpensive digital circuits may be used;
• Privacy is preserved by using data encryption;
• Data from voice, video, and data sources may be merged
and transmitted over a common digital transmission system;
• In long-distance systems, noise dose not accumulate from
repeater to repeater. Data regeneration is possible
• Errors in detected data may be small, even when there is a
large amount of noise on the received signal;
• Errors may often be corrected by the use of coding.

 Disadvantages
• Generally, more bandwidth is required than that for analog
systems;
• Synchronization is required.
Deterministic and Random Waveform
 A Deterministic waveform can be
modeled as a completely specified
function of time.

 A Random Waveform (or stochastic

waveform) cannot be modeled as a
completely specified function of time and
must be modeled probabilistically.
Basic Properties of the em signal;
• Wavelength is the distance A B
required to complete one cycle at a
particular frequency. (i.e the
distance from point A to B represents
one wavelength) v

f
where:
𝑣 = 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑥𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑕𝑡 𝑐
1
𝑣𝑓 = and k is dielectric constant of a certain medium
𝑘

• The frequency is the number of cycles (i.e. from A to

B) in a one-second period. It may be the number of
voltage polarity alternations or em field oscillations that
takes place in a span of time. cycle
1 Hz  1
second
• Amplitude is the maximum
displacement of a continuous wave.
Amplitude

Amplitude
A B
Time

• Phase is the location of the travelling wave at a fixed point

in time.
90o
here, when phase is at 900
180o 𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 = 𝐴𝑚𝑎𝑥 sin 𝜔𝑡 + 90
0o 360o

270o
Sample problems:

1. Calculate the wavelength in (a) free space,

(b) transmission line, with dielectric medium
constant of 1.5, corresponding to a frequency
of 27 MHz.
2. Express the positive cosine function
representation of the following signals ;
(a) 𝑣 𝑡 = 50 sin 𝜔𝑡 + 𝜋
(b) 𝑖 𝑡 = 10 1 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠 2 𝜔𝑡
 Bandwidth

• The span of frequencies within the spectrum

occupied by a signal for conveying information
(e.g. music uses 0 to 20 KHz --> BW = 20KHz)

Water

Bandwidth
(information)

• Sending information in a short amount of time

requires more bandwidth
Standard voice channel bandwidth;
f1 = 300Hz , f2 = 3400Hz
BW = 3400 Hz – 300 Hz
BW= 3.4 kHz

TV broadcasting channel bandwidth;

e.g. ABS-CBN operates at 54 MHz to 60 MHz
BW = 60 MHz – 54 MHz
BW = 6 MHz
 Decibels
- used in almost every part of electronic
communication system to express the ratio of
two power levels or voltage levels.
Definition:
- one tenth of a Bel
𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡
𝐵𝑒𝑙 = log( )
𝑃𝑖𝑛
𝐵𝑒𝑙 𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡
𝐷𝑒𝑐𝑖𝐵𝑒𝑙 = = log( )
10 𝑃𝑖𝑛
Example Problem;
1. Find the ratio between P2 and P1, in dB, if
(a) P1 = 2W and P2 = 3W; (b) P1 = 3W and P2 = 2W
dB Gain vs dB Loss

If Po is the output power of a device and Pi

is the input power then the Gain in dB is;
𝑃𝑜
𝐴𝑝 𝑑𝐵 = 10 log
𝑃𝑖
If Po is less than Pi then the negative gain
results to a Loss in the system.
Example:
1. An attenuator has a loss of 26 dB. If the
power of 2 W is applied to the attenuator,
find the output power.
Other dB notation
dBm – based on the reference 1mW of power
at the input.
𝑃𝑜
𝐴𝑝 𝑑𝐵𝑚 = 10 log
1𝑚𝑊
dBW – use 1W as reference input power
dBk – use 1kW as reference

Note :
dB+dBk = dBK
dB+dBm = dBm
dB+dBW = dBW
Example Problems:
1. Convert a power level of 5W to (a)dBm and
(b)dBk
2. If a signal with a power level of -12dBm were
applied to the system as shown, What is the
output level of the system?

in Ap Ap out
20dB 15dB
3. Convert 10 dBW to dBm and dBk.
dB in Current and Voltage Gains:

From power formula;

2
𝑉
𝑃 = 𝐼2 𝑅 =
𝑅
It follows that, voltage gain in dB is;
𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 2
𝐴𝑝 𝑑𝐵 = 10 log 𝑅
𝑉𝑖𝑛2
𝑅

𝑉𝑜
𝐴𝑣 𝑑𝐵 = 20log( )
𝑉𝑖
Similarly the current gain in dB is given by;

𝐼𝑜𝑢𝑡 2 𝑅
𝐴𝑝 𝑑𝐵 = 10 log
𝐼𝑖𝑛2 𝑅

𝐼𝑜
𝐴𝑖 𝑑𝐵 = 20 log
𝐼𝑖

Ex. A signal in cable tv system has an

amplitude of 3mV in 75 ohms. Calculate its
level in dBmV and dBm.
Parts of a Communication System
 All communication systems contain
three main sub systems:
 Transmitter
 Channel
 Receiver

Other parts of communication system:

 Information Input Source
 Output Destination/Sink
 Noise
 Receiver
Transmitter
 Block Diagram of A Communication System
TRANSMITTER:
 The signal-processing block is used for more efficient
transmission.
Examples:
 In an analog system, the signal processor may be
an analog low-pass filter to restrict the bandwidth of
m(t).
 In a hybrid system, the signal processor may be an
analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to produce
digital signals that represent samples of the analog
input signal.
 Block Diagram of A Communication System
TRANSMITTER:

 The transmitter carrier circuit converts the processed

base band signal into a frequency band that is
appropriate for the transmission medium of the
channel.
Example:
 An amplitude –modulated (AM) broadcasting
station with an assigned frequency of 850 kHz has a
carrier frequency fc=850kHz. The mapping of the
base band input information waveform m(t) into the
band pass signal s(t) is called modulation. It will be
shown that any band pass signal has the form
𝑠 𝑡 = 𝑅 𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑠ω𝑐 𝑡 + 𝜃𝑡 ω𝑐 = 2𝜋𝑓𝑐 𝑡
If R(t)=1 and θ(t) = 0, s(t) would be a pure sinusoid of
frequency f=fc with zero bandwidth.
 Block Diagram of A Communication System
Channel:
Channels represents the path in which signals
travel from transmitter to receiver. Very general
classification of channels are:

 Wire: Twisted-pair telephone line, coaxial

cable, waveguide, and fiber-optic
cables.
 Wireless: Air vacuum, and seawater.

In general, the channel medium

attenuates the signal so that the delivered
information deteriorated from that of the
source. The channel noise may arise
from natural electrical disturbances or from
artificial sources.
 Block Diagram of A Communication System
Receiver:
 The receiver takes the corrupted signal at the
channel output and converts it to be a base band
signal that can be handled by the receiver’s base
band processor.

 The base band processor cleans up this signal and

delivers an estimate of the source information to the
communication system output.

 In digital systems, the measure of signal deterioration

is usually taken to be the probability of bit error P(e) –
also called Bit Error Rate (BER) of the delivered data
m(t).

 In analog systems, the performance measure is

usually taken to be the Signal-to-noise Ratio (SNR) at
the receiver output.
 How to measure the effectiveness of a
communication system?
We can measure the “GOODNESS” of a communication system in
many ways:
How close is the estimate to the original signal m(t)?
 Better estimate = higher quality transmission
 Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) for analog m(t)
 Bit Error Rate (BER) for digital m(t)
How much power is required to transmit s(t)?
 Lower power = longer battery life, less interference
How much bandwidth B is required to transmit s(t)?
 Less B means more users can share the channel
 Exception: Spread Spectrum -- users use same B.
How much information is transmitted?
 In analog systems information is related to B of m(t).
 In digital systems information is expressed in bits/sec.
 Frequency Bands
 Regulations specify, modulation type, bandwidth,
power, type of information and etc. that a user
can transmit over designed frequency bands.

 Frequency assignments and technical standards

are set internationally by International
Telecommunication Union (ITU). Locally, these are
set by NTC.

 Each nation of ITU retains sovereignty over

spectral usage and standards adopted in its
territory.

 Each nation is expected to abide by the overall

frequency plan adopted by ITU.
Assignment:
1. Write the complete list of the VHF and UHF
television channel and its corresponding
operating frequencies.
2. Name the two basic type of spectrum
analyzer, and briefly describe how each
works.
3. What is the difference between the white and
pink noise?
4. Why is the noise power bandwidth greater
than the half power bandwidth of a system?
Noise
• Noise is any unwanted signal (random) that corrupts
and distort the desired signal
V Noise Added

t
• Effects of Noise:
• Noise can cause the user to misunderstand the original signal
• Noise can cause the receiving system to malfunction
• Noise can result in a less efficient system
General Types of Noise
1. External Noise – noise created and defined
within the property of the channel or medium.
a. Atmospheric Noise – also called “static”
because lightning is the principal source of this
noise.
b. Industrial noise – a man-made noise thru the
intervention of man and/or man’s machine
and equipment.
c. Space Noise – or extra-terrestrial noise comes
from the sun, stars, and other space bodies
which radiates energy.
2. Internal Noise – originates within the
communication equipment.
a. Thermal Noise – produced by random
motion of electrons in a conductor due
to heat.
𝑃𝑛 ∝ 𝐵𝑊 ∝ 𝑇

𝑃𝑛 = 𝑘𝑇𝐵𝑊
Where:
Pn - noise power, in Watts
T – temperature in Kelvin
k – Boltzmann’s constant, 1.38x10-23 J/K
 Noise calculation
Noise Voltage;
𝑣𝑛 = 4𝑘𝑇𝐵𝑊𝑅
Due to several sources;

𝑣𝑛 = 4𝑘𝑇𝐵𝑊 𝑅1 + 𝑅2 + ⋯ + 𝑅𝑥

𝑣𝑛 = √(𝑣𝑛1 + 𝑣𝑛2 + ⋯ + 𝑣𝑛𝑥 )

b. Shot Noise – due to random arrival of
electrons or random variations in current
flow in an active device.

𝐼𝑛 = 2𝑞𝐼𝑜 𝐵𝑊

Where:
In – rms noise current, in Ampere
Io – dc bias current , in Ampere
q – charge of an electron, 1.6x10-19 Coulomb
Exercises:

1. A diode noise generator is required to

produce 10 uV of noise in a receiver with an
input impedance of 75 ohms, and a noise
power bandwidth of 200kHz. What is the
current through the diode?
2. The circuit shows two resistors in series at
two different temperatures. Find the total
noise voltage and noise power produced
at the load, over a bandwidth of 100 kHz.
Signal-to-Noise Ratio

• The SNR is important in determining how well the

system will operate or how successfully the system
can recover a weak signal
dB

-10 dBm

Noise floor
-50 dBm

S 
f (MHz)

SNRdB  10 log    SdB  N dB

N
Where: S = signal power (in watts)
N = noise power (in watts)
Variations of SNR
Ratio of signal plus noise power to noise
power alone.
𝑆+𝑁
𝑁

S/N for FM receivers that included distortion

(SINAD).
𝑆+𝑁+𝐷
𝑁+𝐷
Sample Problem:

1. A receiver produces a noise power of

100 mW with no signal. The output level
increases to 10 W when a signal is
applied. Calculate the (S+N)/N in dB.

2. Determine the signal power of a receiver

with SNR = 28 dB. This receives an
equivalent noise power of 500 mW.
Noise Figure
Definition:
-a figure of merit which indicates how much a
component or series of stages degrades the signal to
noise ratio of a system.
𝑆
𝑁 𝑖𝑛
𝑁𝐹 =
𝑆
𝑁 𝑜𝑢𝑡
Where:
S/Nin - input signal to noise ratio
S/Nout – output signal to noise ratio

S/N in dB;
NF(dB) = S/Nin(dB) - S/Nout(dB)
Example:

1. The signal power at the input of the

degenerating circuit in a receiving section is
1500 uW and the noise power received is 5
uW. At the output these values are 100 mW
and 3700 uW, respectively. What is the NF
of the sytem, in dB?
Equivalent Noise Temperature:

𝑇𝑒𝑞
𝑁𝐹 = +1
290
Where:
NF - noise figure
Teq – equivalent noise temperature

Ex. An amplifier has an equivalent noise

temp. of (a)45K, (b)89oF. Calculate the dB
noise figure.
Information Capacity

• Information capacity is the rate at which data can be

transferred by a communications system

• Shannon’s Theory

 S 
C  B log 2 1  
 N
where C = Channel or info capacity (in bits per sec)
B= channel bandwidth (in Hertz)
S = signal power (in watts)
N = noise power (in watts)
 Information Measurement
Definition: Information Measure (Ij)
The information sent from a digital source (Ij) when the jth
massage is transmitted is given by:

where Pj is the probability of transmitting the jth message.

• Messages that are less likely to occur (smaller value for Pj)
provide more information (large value of Ij).
• The information measure depends on only the likelihood
of sending the message and does not depend on
possible interpretation of the content.
• For units of bits, the base 2 logarithm is used;
if natural logarithm is used, the units are “nats”;
if the base 10 logarithm is used, the units are “hartley”.
 Information Measurement
Definition: Average Information (H)
The average information measure of a digital source is,

where m is the number of possible different source messages.

The average information is also called Entropy.

Definition: Source Rate (R)

The source rate is defined as,

where H is the average information

T is the time required to send a message.
 Information Measurement
Ex. Find the information content of message that consists of
a digital word 12 digits long in which each digit may take on
one of four possible levels. The probability of sending any of
the four levels is assumed to be equal, and the level in any
digit does not depend on the values taken on by pervious
digits.
Answer:
Possible combinations of 12 digits ( # of possible messages) = 412

Because each level is equally likely,

all different words are equally likely.
Channel Capacity & Ideal Comm. Systems
For digital communication systems, the “Optimum System” may defined
as the system that minimize the probability of bit error at the system
output subject to constraints on the energy and channel bandwidth.

Q: Is it possible to invent a system with no error at the output even when

we have noise introduced into the channel?
Yes under certain assumptions !
According Shannon the probability of error would approach zero, if R<C

Where
R - Rate of information (bits/s) ; C - Channel capacity (bits/s)
B - Channel bandwidth in Hz ; S/N - the signal-to-noise power ratio

Note: Capacity is the maximum amount of information that a particular

channel can transmit. It is a theoretical upper limit. The limit can be
approached by using Error Correction
Channel Capacity & Ideal Comm. Systems

In analog systems, the OPTIMUM SYSTEM might be defined as the

one that achieves the Largest signal-to-noise ratio at the receiver
output, subject to design constraints such as channel bandwidth
and transmitted power.

Question:
Is it possible to design a system with infinite signal-to-noise ratio at
the output when noise is introduced by the channel?
Answer: No!

DIMENSIONALITY THEOREM for Digital Signalling:

 Nyquist showed that if a pulse represents one bit of data,
noninterfering pulses can be sent over a channel no faster than
2B pulses/s, where B is the channel bandwidth.
Modes of Transmission:

Simplex sending of information

in one direction only
e.g. broadcast radio/TV

sending of information
Half-duplex in either direction,
but in only one direction at a time
e.g. Two-way radio

Full-duplex sending of information

in both directions, simultaneously e.g. Public-Switched
Telephone Network (PSTN)
• Modulation is the process by which the
communications signal that contains the information
(e.g. voice, data) is combined with another signal (I.e.
carrier)

• The result is a signal at frequencies more

compatible with the application and in a desired part
of the spectrum.
FM Basics (Analog Modulation)

Carrier = A sin 2fc t

Info Signal = sin 2fm t
A
1

t
t

Note: f m << f c

FM signal = A sin (2fc t + m sin2 fm t )

t
Note: m = modulation index
= maximum carrier frequency
freq> fC freq< fC shift divided by the frequency of
freq= fC the modulating signal, fm
AM Basics (Analog Modulation)

Carrier = V c sin 2fc t

Vc
Info Signal = V msin 2f m t
Vm

t t

Note: Vm < V c

Note: f m << f c

Vc + Vm
envelope
Vc
AM Signal
Vc - Vm = (Vc + Vmsin 2 f mt) sin 2f c t

carrier freq, fc
Digital
Modulation

• FSK – Frequency Shift Keying

Binary States: Logic 0 (high), Logic 1(low)
• ASK – Amplitude Shift Keying
Binary States: Logic 0 (absence of the carrier)
• PSK – Phase Shift Keying
Binary States: Logic 0 (0º, -90º), Logic 1(180º, +90º)
 64

Multiplexing and Transmission

Media
 In this section:
 Multiplexing:
 combining several sessions on to one medium
 Properties of transmission media:
 Characteristicsof various transmission media
that impact their suitability for applicaitons.
 65

Multiplexing
 Multiplexing: combining several signals onto
one line.
 Demultiplexing: taking a multiplexed signal and
recovering its original components

 Frequency division multiplexing (FDM): using

different frequency ranges for different signals
 Wave division multiplexing (WDM): same as
FDM, but with optical signals.
 Time division multiplexing (TDM): each signal is
allocated to a periodic time slot.
 66

Frequency Division
Multiplexing
 Suppose that we have three phone signals that we want to
combine onto one line with higher bandwidth.
 Allocate 4 KHz of bandwidth to each signal, which includes
a “guard band” of unused frequency range to ensure
signals don’t overlap.
 Each signal originally uses the range 0.3 – 3.3 KHz.
 Transform each signal to a different frequency range:
 Signal 1: 20 – 24 KHz channel
 Use 20.5 KHz to 23.5 KHz, with 0.5 KHz of guard band on
each end.
 Signal 2: 24 – 28 KHz
 Signal 3: 28 – 32 KHz
 At receiver, filters are used to isolate each channel, and
then the frequency is transformed back to its original range.
 67

FDM
 68

FDM applications
 High capacity phone lines
 AM radio: 530 KHz to 1700 KHz, 10 KHz
bandwidth per station
 FM radio: 88 MHz to 108 MHz, 200 KHz
bandwidth per station
 TV broadcasts: 6 MHz bandwidth per TV
channel
 First generation cell phones: each user gets
two 30 KHz channels (sending, receiving).
 69

Wave Division Multiplexing

 Essentiallythe same as FDM, except the
signals are optical and prisms are used to
combine/split signals instead of electrical
components.
 Used to combine signals of different
frequencies (i.e. colours) onto one fibre-
optic cable.
 70

Time Division Multiplexing

(TDM)
 TDM is a digital method, as opposed to FDM which is analog.
 Each signal is split into fixed-size units of time, and units from
each signal are sent alternately.
 If signal represents bits, use a fixed size block of bits as the
unit.
 Suppose that we have 3 signals to combine, and the time unit is
1 ms. Cycle through the signals as follows:
 Send signal 1 for 1 ms.
 Send signal 2 for 1 ms.
 Send signal 3 for 1 ms.
 Each signal has its own time slot; if it has nothing to send, the
slot is left empty to preserve synchronization.
 71

TDM
TDM applications
72

 Digital Service lines: DS-n

 Implemented as telephone lines: T-n

Service Phone line Data rate # of voice

channels
(DS-0) standard 64 Kb/s 1
phone line
DS-1 T-1 1.544 Mb/s 24
DS-2 T-2 6.312 Mb/s 96
DS-3 T-3 44.736 Mb/s 672
DS-4 T-4 274.176 Mb/s 4032