ECE 5520: Digital Communication Systems (Spring 2020)

Instructor : Mingyue Ji
E-mail : mingyue.ji@utah.edu
Website : https://my.ece.utah.edu/~u6007330/ECE5520.html or Canvas
Office : MEB 3108
Class meetings : T, H, 3:40 PM – 5:00 PM in WEB L126
Office hours : H, 1:30 PM – 3:40 PM and anytime I am free
Credit hours : 3.0 units

Course Description: This course will cover the following topics: a brief review of signals and
systems, sampling theorem, and theory of probability and random processes; Single carrier mod-
ulation; Multicarrier modulation; performance analysis of digitally modulated signals; source and
channel coding; and other topics by interest.

Learning Objectives: The goal of this class is to present the basic theory related to transmission
of digital signals (information bits). The emphasis of the course is mostly on various modulation
techniques and their performance analysis. Limited exposure to source and channel coding is also
provided.

Prerequisites: ECE 3500, ECE 3530.

Grade Distribution:
Homework 10%
Quizzes 5%
Midterm Exam I 15%
Midterm Exam II 30%
Final Exam III 35%
Project 5%

Course Logistics:
The following section discusses the setup of this course. You should look here first for answers to
any general, course-related inquiries.

Teaching Assistants (TAs):

Adwait Deshpande Office hours: W/ 9:30am-11:30am Office: MEB 2231
email: adwait.p.deshpande@utah.edu
TA Policy: Your teaching assistants are a brilliant group of graduate students that are here to
help you learn the material and get your through assignments and exams. Feel free to ask them
questions. However, please respect their time constraints. They may not always be available to
answer questions the night before homework is due.

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Textbook and Materials:
Textbook: The instructor provides details notes for the class.
Other good textbook: ◦ Digital Communications: A Discrete Time Approach by Michael
Rice (easy)
◦ Digital Communications, 5th Edition, by John Proakis, and Masoud Salehi (very complex
an deep)
◦ Wireless Communications, by Andreas F. Molisch

Final Grades:
Guaranteed Grades: ≥90%: A 85–90%: A-
80–85%: B+ 75–80%: B 70–75%: B-
66–70%: C+ 63–66%: C 60–63%: C-
50–60%: D <50%: E
Curves: If necessary, the grading criteria may be curved to strictly improve (not worsen) the
class’s overall scores. Unless there are extreme circumstances, individual assignment / exam /
lab grades will not be curved.

Attendance and Participation:

Attendance: Attendance is strongly encouraged. Lectures will include regular homework help,
graded quizzes, and in-class discussions and so on.
Participation: While participation is not graded, it is an integral part of each class that can
help you learn the material.

Evaluation Methods and Criteria:

The following section discusses the policies for each of the graded assessments in this course. You
should look here first for answers to any general, course-related inquiries.

Homework (9 in total):
When: Assigned roughly once a week (see course schedule at the end of the syllabus).
What: A set of problems from the end of each chapter of the class notes.
Why: Homework is intended to guide you through course material and present you with ques-
tions that will require time to think about and complete (unlike quiz or exam questions). Home-
work assignments are not meant to be completed in a single day.
Grading: Homework is graded on a scale from 0 to 10.
Late policy: Late assignments will not be eligible for 5x points, where x is the number of
weekdays late, for up to 2 weekdays. For example, if you receive a 9 for an assignment and
submit the assignment 1 day late (assignment due on Wednesday, you submit on Thursday), the
final grade will be a 8 − 5 = 3. After 2 weekdays, the homework is assigned a 0.
Submission: Homework is due on canvas before midnight (11:59 PM) on the due date. Please
ensure that your submission is readable.

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Quizzes:
When: Regular 5 minute quizzes are given at the beginning of some classes. No date is specified
for quizzes.
What: Short analytical problems.
Why: (i) to encourage students keep themselves updated on the material covered in the class.
(ii) as a means of checking students attending the class on time
Grading: Quizzes are graded on a 10-point scale.
Makeup quizzes: There are no makeup quizzes. You miss a quiz, you have lost the grade for
that quiz.

Exams (3 in total):
When: There are two non-cumulative mid-term exam and one comprehensive final exam.
What: Mid-term 1 covers Chapters 2 to 4. Mid-term 2 covers Chapter 5. Final exam is com-
prehensive, covering all topics taught during the semester, except the introductory Chapters 1
through 4. For Chapter 5, prepare as in mid-term 2 (this will be 30% of the exam), for Chapter 6
(OFDM), questions will be along the end of the chapter problems and the conceptual questions
listed in the respective file (this will be 30% of the exam), for Chapters 7 and 10 questions will be
along the lines of those at the end of the chapters; both conceptual questions and problem-like
questions (this will be 40% of the exam).
Why: Exams are an opportunity to show what you know about digital communications.
Cheat sheets: For each of Mid-term exams, you are allowed to bring a cheat sheet. A cheat
sheet is an A4 size paper with hand written notes on both sides (no typed notes). For the final
exam, in addition to the guide sheet that you prepared for mid-terms, you are also allowed to
have another cheat sheet for Chapters 6, 7, and 10.
Grading: Exams are graded on a 100-percentage scale.
Makeup exams: There will be no makeup exams.

Project:
When: It will be assigned after mid-term 2.
What: Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM).
Why: Enhances students understanding of OFDM.
Submission: You will need to submit a project report.
Grading: The project report is graded on a 20-point percentage scale.
Late Policy: Late reports / deliverables will not be eligible for 4x points, where x is the number
of weekdays late, for up to 5 weekdays. For example, if you receive a 15 for an assignment and
submit the assignment 2 days late, the final grade will be a 15 − 8 = 7.

Teaching and Learning Methods / Course Policies:

The following section discusses the course’s non-graded activities and policies towards collaboration
and cheating. You should look here first for answers to any general, course-related inquiries.

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Course Structure:
Chapters 1 to 4 Communication history and course background
Chapters 5-6: Modulation Methods (single carrier and multicarrer)
Chapter 7: Performance Analysis
Chapter 10: Source Coding

Class Structure: (Based on your feedback, this structure may change as the course progresses)
Part 1, Random Quiz: see before.
Part 2, Practice/Review: Quick review of prior material so everyone starts lecture on the same
page. During this time, we may also solve a few practice problems.
Part 3, Discussion: We discuss questions and topics that link our prior knowledge to what will
learn each day. This part of class is intended highlight digital communication systems on a
conceptual level.
Part 4, Lecture: We learn the new material through a traditional lecture format.
Part 5, Survey: You are occasionally given an anonymous survey to provide feedback about the
progress of the course. This survey is intended to show me what topics you may not understand
and help me improve upon each throughout during the semester.

Surveys:
When: At the end of class (frequent at the start of the semester and less frequency later).
What: A few short questions about the course progress.
Why: The surveys are intended to let you shape the course by letting me know what you like
and what could be improved. Note that while I may not be able to follow-through with every
suggestion in a single semester, they will still help me to improve the course in subsequent years.

Modifying Syllabus by Class Vote:

When: If you and/or other students believe the course would be improved by a change in the
syllabus and I agree that it would be a reasonable change.
What: The proposed change will be put to an anonymous vote with the entire class. If the
majority of the class agrees to this change, it becomes part of the syllabus.
Why: In previous years, changes to the syllabus have been necessary do to unforeseen conse-
quences of certain policies. The class vote ensures the entire class agrees with the change.

Faculty and Student Responsibilities:

Student responsibilities: You are expected to maintain professional behavior in the classroom
setting, according to the Student Code, spelled out in the Student Handbook. Students have
specific rights in the classroom as detailed in Article III of the Code. The Code also specifies
proscribed conduct (Article XI) that involves cheating on tests, plagiarism, and/or collusion
(course details described in following section), as well as fraud, theft, etc. You should read the
Code carefully and know they are responsible for the content.
Faculty responsibilities: According to Faculty Rules and Regulations, it is my responsibility
to enforce responsible classroom behaviors, beginning with verbal warnings and progressing to
dismissal from class and a failing grade. You have the right to appeal such action to the Student
Behavior Committee.

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Collaboration:
Healthy collaboration: To solve homework assignments, healthy discussion and collaboration
amongst classmates is encouraged. Healthy collaboration includes:
◦ Discussing and explaining general course material
◦ Discussing assignments for better understanding
◦ Providing assistance for general programming and debugging issues
If another student contributes substantially to your understanding of a problem, you should cite
this student to let myself and the teaching assistants be aware of your similar interpretations of
a problem. You will not be judged negatively for citing another student.
Cheating and plagiarism: While collaboration is encouraged, you are expected to submit your
own work. Submitting work completed by another student is considered plagiarism and will
be dealt with according to university policy. In general, if you do not fully understand your
solution, the work is not your own. Examples of plagiarism or cheating include:
◦ Copying (or allowing someone to copy), even partially, an assignment solution or program
from the course
◦ Submitting material, particularly a program, using material taken from another source
without proper a citation
◦ Obtaining solutions to assignments or exams through inappropriate means
Additional information can be found in Section I.B of the Code of Student Rights and Respon-
sibilities found here: http://regulations.utah.edu/academics/6-400.php. Note that I may elect
to use a plagiarism detection service in this course, in which case you will be required to submit
your work to such a service as part of your assignment.
Consequences: If you are suspected of dishonest academic activity, I will invite you to discuss
it further in private. Academic dishonesty will likely result in a grade reduction, with severity
depending on the nature of the dishonest activity, and a letter to the department, college, and/or
university leadership. Repeat offences will be treated with significantly greater severity. Addi-
tional information can be found in Section V of the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities
found here: http://regulations.utah.edu/academics/6-400.php.

Americans with Disabilities Act Support:

Equal access services: The University of Utah seeks to provide equal access to its programs,
services and activities for people with disabilities. If you will need accommodations in the
class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the Center for Disability Services, 162 Union
Building, 581-5020 (V/TDD). CDS will work with you and the instructor to make arrangements
for accommodations.” (www.hr.utah.edu/oeo/ada/guide/faculty/)

Legal Note:
Note: The syllabus is not a binding legal contract. It may be modified by the instructor when
the student is given reasonable notice of the modification. See “Modifying Syllabus by Class
Vote” for additional information.

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Course Outline:
Chapters 1-4: Introduction and Background
Tue Jan 7 syllabus, chapters 1 and starts chapter 2
Thu Jan 9 Chapter 2
Tue Jan 14 HW 1, chapter 3
Thu Jan 16 chapter 3
Tue Jan 21 HW 2, start Chapter 4
Thu Jan 23 Chapter 4
Tue Jan 28 chapter 4
Thu Jan 30 HW 3
Tue Feb 4 mid-term 1
Chapters 5-6: Modulation Methods
Thu Feb 6 chapter 5
Tue Feb 11 chapter 5
Thu Feb 13 HW 4 chapter 5
Tue Feb 18 chapter 5
Thu Feb 20 HW 5, chapter 5
Tue Feb 25 chapter 5
Thu Feb 27 chapter 5
Tue Mar 3 HW 6, review
Thu Mar 5 mid-term 2
Tue Mar 10 Spring Break
Thu Mar 12 Spring Break
Tue Mar 17 chapter 6
Thu Mar 19 chapter 6
Chapter 7: Performance Analysis
Tue Mar 24 5 HW7, start chapter 7
Thu Mar 26 7 chapter 7
Tue Mar 31 chapter 3, OFDM project due
Tue Apr 2 HW 8
Tue Apr 7 chapter 10
Thu Apr 9 ECE Open House (no class)
Tue Apr 14 HW9
Thu Apr 16 TBD
Tue Apr 21 Review
Thu Apr 29 final exam (3:30pm – 5:30 pm)