Communications 1

Module 1
Introduction to Electronic
Communications Systems
• History of Electronic Communications
• Elements of Basic Communications System
• Classifications of Electronic Communications
• Electromagnetic Frequency Spectrum
 History of
Electronic Communications
• Communication is the process of exchanging
information.
• Main barriers are language and distance.
• 1837, Samuel FB Morse invented the telegraph (patented
in 1844)
• 1843, Alexander Bain invented facsimile
• 1864, James Clerk Maxwell proved the existence of
electromagnetic waves
• 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone
• 1877, Thomas Alva Edison invented phonograph
• 1887, Heinrich Hertz discovered radio waves
• 1901, Guglielmo Marconi performed the first trans-
Atlantic radio contact (from Cornwall, England to
Newfoundland, Canada
• 1906, Reginald Fessenden invented AM
• 1906, Lee de Forest invented triode vacuum tube
• 1918, Edwin Howard Armstrong develops the
superheterodyne radio receiver
• 1923, Vladimir Zworykin invented and demonstrated the
television
• 1933, Edwin H. Armstrong invented FM
• 1939, first use of two-way radio (walkie-talkies)
happened in United States
• 1948, invention of transistor by Bell laboratories
• 1957, Russia launched the world’s first satellite
(Sputnik 1)
• 1958, Jack Kilby (TI) and Robert Noyce (Fairchild)
invented the integrated circuits
• 1958, NASA launched United States’ first satellite
(Explorer 1)
• 1961, citizens band (CB) radio was first used in the
United States
• 1977, the first use of fiber-optic cable transpired in the
United States
• 1983, cellular telephone networks introduced in the US
• 1995, Global Positioning System was deployed in the
United States
 Image Source:
http://w1tp.com
Image Source:
www.keyword-suggestions.com
Examples of a telegraph
“WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT”

Image Source:
https://americanhistory.si.edu
/collections/search/object/nm
ah_713485
International Morse
Codes

Image Source:
https://morsecode.world/in
ternational/morse2.html
 Elements of Basic
Communications System
Basic components:

• Transmitter
• Channel or medium
• Receiver
A general model of all communication systems.
Transmitter
• The transmitter is a collection of electronic components
and circuits that converts the electrical signal into a signal
suitable for transmission over a given medium.

• Transmitters are made up of oscillators, amplifiers, tuned

circuits and filters, modulators, frequency mixers,
frequency synthesizers, and other circuits.
Communication Channel
• The communication channel is the medium by which the
electronic signal is sent from one place to another.
• Types of media:
• Electrical conductors
• Optical media
• Free space
• System-specific media (e.g., water is the medium for sonar).
Receivers
• A receiver is a collection of electronic components and
circuits that accepts the transmitted message and
converts it back into a form understandable by humans.

• Receivers contain amplifiers, oscillators, mixers, tuned

circuits and filters, and a demodulator or detector that
recovers the original intelligence signal.
Transceivers
• A transceiver is an electronic unit that incorporates
circuits that both send and receive signals.
• Examples are:
• Telephones
• Fax machines
• Handheld CB radios
• Cell phones
• Computer modems
Attenuation
• Signal attenuation, or degradation, exists in all media of
wireless transmission. It is proportional to the square of
the distance between the transmitter and receiver.
Noise
• Noise is random, undesirable electronic energy that enters
the communication system via the communicating
medium and interferes with the transmitted message.
Classifications of Electronic
Communications
Electronic communications are classified according
to:
1. One-way (simplex) or two-way (full duplex or half
duplex) transmissions
2. Analog or digital signals.
Simplex
• The simplest method of electronic communication is
referred to as simplex.
• This type of communication is one-way. Examples are:
• Radio
• TV broadcasting
• Remotely controlled vehicle
Full Duplex
• Most electronic communication is two-way and is referred
to as duplex.
• When people can talk and listen simultaneously, it is called
full duplex.
• Example: telephone
Half Duplex
• The form of two-way communication in which only one
party transmits at a time is known as half duplex.
Examples are:
• Police, military, etc. radio transmissions
• Citizen band (CB)
• Family radio
• Amateur radio
Analog Signals
• An analog signal is a smoothly and continuously varying
voltage or current. Examples are:
• Sine wave
• Voice
• Video (TV)
Analog signals (a) Sine wave “tone.” (b) Voice. (c) Video (TV) signal.
Digital Signals
• Digital signals change in steps or in discrete increments.
• Most digital signals use binary or two-state codes.
Examples are:
• Telegraph (Morse code)
• Continuous wave (CW) code
• Serial binary code (used in computers)
Digital signals (a) Telegraph (Morse code). (b) Continuous-wave (CW) code.
(c) Serial binary code.
Baseband Transmission
• Baseband information can be sent directly and
unmodified over the medium or can be used to modulate
a carrier for transmission over the medium.
• In telephone or intercom systems, the voice is placed on the
wires and transmitted.
• In some computer networks, the digital signals are applied
directly to coaxial or twisted-pair cables for transmission.
Broadband Transmission
• A carrier is a high frequency signal that is modulated by
audio, video, or data.
• A radio-frequency (RF) wave, or radio waves, is an
electromagnetic signal that is able to travel long distances
through space.
Broadband Transmission
• A broadband transmission takes place when a carrier
signal is modulated, amplified, and sent to the antenna for
transmission.
• The two most common methods of modulation are:
• Amplitude Modulation (AM)
• Frequency Modulation (FM)
• Another method is called phase modulation (PM), in
which the phase angle of the sine wave is varied.
Modulation at the transmitter.
Simplex
• AM and FM broadcasting
• Digital radio
• TV broadcasting
• Digital television (DTV)
• Cable television
• Facsimile
• Wireless remote control
Simplex
• Internet of Things (IoT)
• Navigation and direction-finding
• Telemetry
• Radio astronomy
• Surveillance
• Music services
• Internet radio and video
Duplex
• Telephones
• Two-way radio
• Radar
• Sonar
• Amateur radio
• Citizens radio
Duplex
• Family radio service
• The internet
• Wide-area networks (WANs)
• Metropolitan-area networks (MANs)
• Local area networks (LANs)
Electromagnetic Frequency
Spectrum
• Frequency is the number of cycles of a repetitive wave
that occur in a given period of time.
• A cycle consists of two voltage polarity reversals, current
reversals, or electromagnetic field oscillations.
• Frequency is measured in cycles per second (cps).
• The unit of frequency is the hertz (Hz).
• Wavelength is the distance occupied by one cycle of a
wave and is usually expressed in meters (m).
• The wavelength of a signal is represented by the Greek
letter lambda (λ).
Frequency and wavelength. (a) One cycle. (b) One wavelength.
Wavelength (λ) = speed of light (c)÷ frequency (f)

Speed of light = 3 × 108 meters/second

Therefore:
Where:
𝜆 = wavelength in
Trivia:
meters
Speed of light is
c = speed of light in
299,792,800 m/s
meters per second
f = frequency in hertz
• If the frequency is expressed in megahertz, the
formula can be simplified to
λ(m) = 300/f(MHz)

• Or in feet,
λ(ft) = 984/f(MHz)
Example # 1:
A signal travels a distance of 75 ft in the time it takes to
complete 1 cycle. What is its frequency?

ANS. f = 13.12 MHz

Example # 2:
Calculate the frequency of signals with wavelengths of 5
m and 8 cm? Express answers in MHz and GHz.

Answers:
For 5m: 60 MHz; 0.06 GHz
For 8 cm: 3,750 MHz; 3.75 GHz
The range of
electromagnetic
signals
 Image Source:
https://www.itu.int/dms_
pubrec/itu-r/rec/v/R-REC-
V.431-6-199304-S!!PDF-
E.pdf

Recommendation ITU-R V.431-6. Nomenclature of the frequency and wavelength bands

Recommendation ITU-R V.431-6. Nomenclature of the frequency and wavelength bands
Image Source:
https://www.itu.int/dms_
pubrec/itu-r/rec/v/R-REC-
V.431-6-199304-S!!PDF-
E.pdf
Frequency Ranges from 30 Hz to 300 GHz
Extremely Low Frequencies (ELF)
Voice Frequencies (VF)
Very Low Frequencies (VLF)
Low Frequencies (LF)
Medium Frequencies (MF)
30–300 Hz (ac power lines)
300–3000 Hz
3 – 30 kHz (include the higher end
of the human hearing range up to
about 20 kHz; submarine
communications)
30–300 kHz (aeronautical and
marine navigation; subcarriers)
300–3000 kHz (AM radio 535–1605
kHz; marine and amateur radio
communication)
High Frequencies (HF)
Very High Frequencies (VHF)
Ultra High Frequencies (UHF)
3–30 MHz (short waves; VOA,
BBC broadcasts; government and
military two-way communication;
amateur radio, CB)
30–300 MHz (FM radio
broadcasting (88–108 MHz),
television channels 2–13 (54 MHz
– 216 MHz))
300–3000 MHz (TV channels 14–
67, cellular phones, military
communication)
Super High Frequencies (SHF) 3–30 GHz (Satellite
communication, radar, wireless
LANs, microwave ovens)

Extremely High Frequencies (EHF) 30–300 GHz (Satellite

communication, computer data,
radar)
The electromagnetic spectrum.
Optical Spectrum
• The optical spectrum exists directly above the
millimeter wave region.
• Three types of light waves are:
• Infrared
• Visible spectrum
• Ultraviolet
Optical Spectrum: Infrared
• Infrared radiation is produced by any physical equipment
that generates heat, including our bodies.
• Infrared occupies approximately 0.1 millimeter (mm) and
700 nanometers (nm) or from 100 to 0.7 micrometer (μm)
Optical Spectrum: Infrared
• Infrared is used:
• In astronomy, to detect stars and other physical bodies in the
universe,
• For guidance in weapons systems
• In most new TV remote-control units
• In some of the newer wireless LANs and all fiber-optic
communication.
Optical Spectrum: The Visible Spectrum
• Just above the infrared region is the visible spectrum we
refer to as light.
• Red is low-frequency or long-wavelength light
• Violet is high-frequency or short-wavelength light.
Optical Spectrum: The Visible Spectrum
• Light waves’ very high frequency enables them to handle a
tremendous amount of information
• Light wavelengths are usually expressed in Angstroms (Å)
[1 Å = 10-10 m).
• It has a wavelength in the 0.8- to 0.4-μm range (800 to
400 nm).
Optical Spectrum: Ultraviolet
• Ultraviolet is not used for communication
• Its primary use is medical.
• It covers the range from about 0.4- to 0.004-μm range
(400 to 4 nm)
• Bandwidth (BW) is that portion of the electromagnetic
spectrum occupied by a signal. It is also the difference
between the upper and lower frequency limits of the
signal

• Channel bandwidth refers to the range of frequencies

required to transmit the desired information.
Example # 3:
A television channel signal occupies a 6-MHz bandwidth.
If the low frequency limit of channel 2 is 54 MHz, what is
the upper frequency limit?
Ans. 60 MHz
• Spectrum management is provided by agencies set up by
the United States and other countries to control spectrum
use.
• USA: Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and
the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA)
• Philippines: National Telecommunications Commission
(NTC)
• Standards are specifications and guidelines necessary to
ensure compatibility between transmitting and receiving
equipment.
• The ability of equipment to work compatibly from one
manufacturer to another is called interoperability
Below is the list of famous organizations that
maintain standards for a communication systems.
• American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
• Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA)
• European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
• International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
• Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
• Telecommunications Institute of America (TIA)
Principles of Electronic Communication Systems (4th
Edition)
By: Louis E. Frenzel Jr.

Electronic Communications Systems: Fundamentals

through Advanced (5th Ed.)
By: Wayne Tomasi