UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

SECOND SEMESTER EXAMINATIONS 2013/2014

FOURTH YEAR EXAMINATIONS FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR SCIENCE

IN ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING
FEE 422 TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTROACOUSTICS – B

Solutions
DATE: 16TH APRIL 2014 TIME: 2:00 – 4:00 P.M.

Question1
p  x
1
V 2 V  x  V  x  0 1
V
p ( x)  
 1 V  x  0  x V
V 2 V 0 V x
Figure Q1
(a) Number of levels: Q = 4
Step size:  = 2V/4 = V / 2 (3 marks)

(b) The quantizer characteristic is as shown:

Output

3V/4

 V /2

V/4

-V - V/2 V/2 V Input

- V/4 (4 marks)

- 3V/4

1
x 2 (V  x)dx = 22  V  V   V
V V

4 4 2

V x p( x)dx = 2 
2
(c) S = E {X2} =   (6 marks)
V2 0 V  3 4  6

FEE 422: Telecomm and Electro-Acoustics B: - Solutions - 2014 V. K. Oduol 2004 – Q-P.1
(d) The quantization error variance is
1 V /2 1 V
NQ  2 
V2 
0
( x  V / 4) 2 (V  x)dx  2 
V2 
V /2
( x  3V / 4) 2 (V  x)dx

which gives N Q  22  V   22  V   V
4 4 2
(4 marks)
V 192 V 192    48 
1 / 6
(e) (S/NQ) =
1 / 48 =8

which in decibels is [S/NQ]dB = 10 log10 8 = 9.0 dB (3 marks)

Question 2.
(a) (i) The maximum slope of signal must not exceed the slope of the stair-case
d 
approximation: That is s t   2 fV  (slope of stair-case approx)
dt max TS
2fV
which requires that 2fV  f S  , and finally fS  (6 marks)

(ii) V= 5 volts, f = 4kHz,  = 10mV = 0.010:
fS
 240005/0.010 = 12,566,371
Thus the minimum value of the sampling frequency is 12.566 MHz (3 marks)

(b)

(i) When the signal rises (or falls) very steeply, there is slope overload
distortion.
(ii) When the signal slope is nearly zero, there is quantizing noise (also
called granular noise) (6 marks)
(c) Referring to the above Figure, and Adaptive delta modulation system will:
 increase the step size when the signal slope has a large magnitude
(to overcome slope overload), and

 reduce the step size when the signal slope is small (to reduce granular
noise). (5 marks)

FEE 422: Telecomm and Electro-Acoustics B: - Solutions - 2014 V. K. Oduol 2004 – Q-P.2
Question 3.
(a) The regions of the SNR characteristic for PCM are illustrated below.

S 
  dB
 N out Transition
Region
50

48

46

44 Quantization Noise Limited

Region
42
36
40

38
Thermal Noise Limited
36 Region

34

32

30

 S 
20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28   dB
 N  in

Illustration is for N = 8 bits.

The preferred region is the quantization noise limited region, since in that region the
output SNR is independent of the input SNR.
(a) Number of bits per sample = N = 8.
(i) Nyquist Theorem:
⇒ Sampling rate > 2 × 6 MHz = 12×106 samples per second
Minimum Data rate = (samples per second) × (bits per sample)
= (12×106 ) × (8 bits/sample) = 96 Mbit/s
(6 marks)
2N
S 2
(ii). For PCM, 
Nq 1  4 Pe 2 2 N
S
, and this has a maximum of  2 2 N = 216 ,
Nq
which in dB, becomes S / N q dB = 2N log 10[2] = 6.02N

Therefore [SNR]dB= 10log10(216) = 2N log10[2] = 6.02x8 = 48.16 dB

(3 marks)
(c) DPCM better is than PCM when the sampling rate is so high that successive
differences of the samples are so close in values that theses differences can be
quantized and represented by much fewer bits than would be required for
straight PCM. (3 marks)
(d) Quantization of the differences between the incoming samples and their
predicted values yields better performance, since the raw differences may on
occasion be much larger than practically useful levels, thereby negating the
gains expected from DPCM. (4 marks)

FEE 422: Telecomm and Electro-Acoustics B: - Solutions - 2014 V. K. Oduol 2004 – Q-P.3
Question 4.
(a) The impulse response hMF(t) is a time-reversed shifted copy of p(t). For it to be
physically realizable, it must be zero for negative time.

s1(t) s1(-t)

1.0
time 1.0
reversed
0.5 0.5

0.0
0 t -a
a/4 a/2 3a/4 a -3a/4 -a/2 -a/4 0

(6 marks)
shited forward
hMF(t) = s1(a-t)
(delayed) by "a"
1.0

0.5

0.0 t
0 a/4 a/2 3a/4

(b) The best sampling time is determined by the amount of the time shift: T=a.
(4 marks)
(c) The matched filter maximizes the output SNR when the additive noise is white. That
is, the noise power spectral density Gn(f) must be a constant for all frequencies of
interest (e.g. Gn(f) = N0/2). (2 marks)

(d) The matched filter guarantees the maximum signal to noise ration when the noise
at its input is white (i.e it maximizes the signal-to-noise ratio in a white noise
environment) (2 marks)

(e) If the noise power spectral density Gn(f) does not conform to the requirement in (c),
we must incorporate whitening filter transfer function HW(f) [impulse response hW(t)]
prior to the matched filter, so that at the input to matched filter, the noise
component I white, and the signal component g(t) = hW(t)p(t).
Noise n(t) with Power
Spectral Density Gn ( f )
sample
at t=T

p(t) Whitening Filter

Matched V0(T)
+ HW ( f ) 
K
Filter
(6 marks)
Gn ( f )

hW (t )   H W ( f )e 2ft df Matched to the
convolution of

p(t) and hW(t)

i. Since the whitening filter must “flatten” the noise, we must have
K
HW ( f )  , where K is some constant (which could be set to unity).
Gn ( f )

FEE 422: Telecomm and Electro-Acoustics B: - Solutions - 2014 V. K. Oduol 2004 – Q-P.4
 ii. The signal component (and not the noise component) is g(t) = hW(t)p(t).
That is, g(t) is the convolution of the original pulse with the impulse response
of the whitening filter.
iii. At the input of the matched we now have white noise [not necessarily
Gaussian noise], and a signal component g(t). The impulse response hMF(t) of
the matched filter is now matched to g(t): hMF(t) = g(T-t).
All that remains at this point is to dteremine the value of T from the shape of g(t),
so as to make hMF(t) physically realizable.
Question 5.
(a) Acoustic processes are fast and small:
 They are considered to be fast because pressure waves propagate
through air without appreciable heat transfer taking place
– that is, acoustic processes are adiabatic. [1 mark]

 They are considered small because pressure fluctuations that create

audible sounds are extremely tiny when compared to atmospheric pressure.
[1 mark]
For example, a relatively loud 100 dB tone is equivalent to only 2 Pa of
fluctuating air pressure (compared to the atmospheric pressure, which is
101,325 Pa). Particle velocities are similarly small.
(b) The acoustic wave equation is derived by combining three principles:
1. The conservation of mass, which gives the continuity equation [2 marks]

2. The conservation of momentum, which gives the momentum equation (also

known as the force equation) [2 marks]

3. Equation of State (from The Ideal Gas Law), which gives the constitutive
relation [2 marks]

(c) Let p j  x, t   A cos k  x  ct  j = 1,2

LHS RHS
p j p j
 kA sin  k  x  ct    kcA sin  k  x  ct  
x t
2 p j 2 p j
 k 2 A cos  k  x  ct    k 2c 2 A cos  k  x  ct  
x 2
t 2

  k 2 p j  x, t    k 2 c 2 p j  x, t 
1  pj
2

 k 2 p j  x, t  (1 mark)
(1 mark) c t
2 2

Thus for j=1,2, the LHS = RHS, and so thee functions satisfy the wave equation
The one with –ve sign is for a wave travelling to the right (+ve x direction) (1 mark)
The one with +ve sign is for a wave travelling to the right (-ve x direction) (1 mark)

FEE 422: Telecomm and Electro-Acoustics B: - Solutions - 2014 V. K. Oduol 2004 – Q-P.5
(iii) p  x, t   A cos k  x  ct   A cos k  x  ct 
   
  A cos  kx  cos  kct   A sin  kx  sin  kct     A cos  kx  cos  kct   A sin  kx  sin  kct  
   
 2 A cos  kx  cos  kct   P0  kx  cos t 
where P0  kx   2 A cos  kx  and   kc
The resulting wave phenomenon is a standing wave pattern on the x-axis. Every point
on the axis undergoes a simple harmonic motion, except for some fixed points (called
nodes) where there is no motion. (2 marks)

(d) (i) f   c and /2L for the fundamental frequency, giving c  2 Lf .

 1.70 
T   c 2 =   2Lf 
    2  0.70  220   161 N
2 2
(2 marks)
 1000 
T 161
(ii) T  mg  m   = 16.4 kg . (2 marks)
g 9.81
(iii) The frequency of the sound wave is the same as the frequency of the vibrating
340
string. Hence, the wavelength of the sound wave is equal to = 1.54 m .
220
(2 marks)
This is different from the wavelength of the fundamental of the string (= 2L= 1.40
m) because of the different wave velocities in the string and in air.

Question 6


x  0  0.50 ms
1
Given m = 0.75kg, k = 400 Nm-1 x(0) = -0.04 m
2
1   1
(a) Initial Energy = KE  PE  m  x  0    k  x  0  
2

2   2
 0.09375  0.32000  0.41375 J [2 marks]

k 400 40
(b) x  t   A cos nt  n  :     23.094 rad/s
m 0.75 3
When t=0, x  0   A cos   0.04 m ;


x  0  0.50 ms    A sin   0.50 ms1

1

2
 0.50 
A  sin   cos    A      0.04 
2 2 2 2 2

  
0.75 0 . 5 0
 A  0.0016  0.04548 m A s i n A c o s 0 . 0
1600 
 0.50   0.50 3 
   tan 1      tan 1
   2.54 rads
 0.04   0.04  40  

FEE 422: Telecomm and Electro-Acoustics B: - Solutions - 2014 V. K. Oduol 2004 – Q-P.6
 Therefore x  t   0.04548cos  23.094t  2.54 [6 marks]

(b) (i) The equation of motion: x  t   Bent cos d t  d 

where n  k / m d  n 1   2  n2   2
Oscillation amplitude reduces to 1/e in 1 sec  en  e1  n  1
k 400 40
Since n     23.094 rad/s , found in part (a) , it follows that
m 0.75 3
1 1
 =   0.04330  d  n 1   2  n2   2
n 23.094
d  n 1   2  23.094  0.9991  23.072 rad/s

Rm
(ii)   Rm  2 km  2  0.04330  400  0.75 = 0.1500 Ns m-1
2 km
or (kg/s)
[3 marks]
Initial velocity = 0:   Ben n cos   d sin    0

n    1 1
 tan       =    0.04334
d  1  2



d 23.072
  tan 1  0.04334  =  0.04331 rads = - 2.48160 [3 marks]

(iii) Initial displacement: x  0   0.04 m  B cos   0.04

Initial velocity = 0:   Ben n cos   d sin    0
 n B cos   d B sin   0
 1 0.04  d B sin   0
0.04
 B sin    and from above B cos   0.04
d
2
 0.04 
 B sin   B cos        0.04 
2 2 2 2 2

 d 

2
 0.04 
2
 0.04 
 B      0.04        0.04 
2 2

 d   23.072 
1
 B  0.04  1  0.040038 m
 23.072 
2

. [4 marks]

FEE 422: Telecomm and Electro-Acoustics B: - Solutions - 2014 V. K. Oduol 2004 – Q-P.7