COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS(COMM-01630)

Dr. Uzma Nawaz 5/27/2020

Slides Credits: Dr. Uzma Nawaz

University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar
 Contents

• Communication System
• Analog Communication System
• Digital Communication System
• Advantages & Disadvantages of Analog and Digital
Communication
• Noise in Communication System
• SNR
• Communication Channels
• Channel BW (channel capacity) & Rate of Communication

Dr. Uzma Nawaz 5/27/2020

 Communication System

 Communication ~ To convey or transfer information from one point to

another.
~ A two-way process of imparting or exchanging
information from one entity to other.
Communication takes place through a system that involves a sender,
message and a recipient.

Transmitted Received Output

Signal signal signal
Input
information Transmitter Channel/Medium Receiver Destination

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Noise
 Cont..
 The main components of communication system are:
i. Transmitter
ii. Channel/Medium/Link
iii. Receiver
 The process starts with sender/communicator who has some
data/information (e.g. voice, text, audio/video) to communicate with
others.
 The input data/information sends over physical medium needs to be
converted into electromagnetic signal by an input transducer.

Data

Analog (e.g. Digital (e.g. file on

Human voice) a disk, document,
image)
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Cont..

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Cont..
 Transducer ~ converts non-electrical quantity into electrical quantity.
~ converts one form of energy into another form of energy.
The transducer after converting input into input signal is then feed to
transmitter.
i. Transmitter ~ modifies the signal to make it compatible with the channel
characteristics. It includes;
 Modulator
 ADC (Analog to digital converter)
 Encoder
ii. Channel ~ is a medium (e.g. wire, coaxial cable, waveguide, optical fiber
or radio link) that carries information from transmitter to receiver.
Channel can contain distortion in electromagnetic waves in the form of noise.
Channel can be:
i. Guided Medium i.e. wired
ii. Unguided Medium i.e. wireless
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Dr. Uzma Nawaz
Cont..
i. Guided Channel ~ When the signal is confined within the walls of medium
or channel, the signal can be guided by the channel direction. E.g.
telephone exchange have wires.
Wires used as a channel can be copper wires, twisted pair, coaxial cable,
optical fiber etc.
ii. Unguided/wireless channel ~ When the signal leaves the premises of
transmitter , then there is no control over the signal. The signal can travel in
any direction.
In wireless medium, the signal is in the form of electromagnetic waves. The
carrier of such signal is “antenna”.
 Antenna ~ acts as transducer for wireless signal that transmits and receives EM waves.
Current → EM waves (At Transmission side)
EM waves → current (At Receiving side)
e.g. radio link, optical fiber is wireless medium & is non-conducting.
o Mobile phones have patch antenna or micro strip patch antenna, which is cheap/low cost & can be easily
fabricated & are low profile antenna i.e. it can not been seen.
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Cont..
 Signals are received in multipath propagation i.e. multiple copies of same
signal are received.
Two main phenomenon occurs during multipath propagation;
i. Constructive interference (Signals are added up i.e. in phase)
ii. Destructive interference (Signals cancels each other i.e. out of phase)

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Cont..
 Some signals work on line of sight e.g. TV remote
 Line of sight ~ A direct path from transmitter to receiver
 Transmission Impairment: Signals travel through transmission medium
causes signal impairment. This means the signal at the beginning of the
medium is not the same as the signal at the end of the medium. Three
causes of impairment are attenuation, distortion and noise.

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Cont..
 Attenuation ~ reduction in amplitude of signal or loss of energy in the signal.
It depends on distance i.e. the amount of attenuation is directly
proportional to the distance the signal has to travel.
 When a signal, simple or composite, travels through a medium, losses some
of its energy in overcoming the resistance of the medium. That is why wire
carrying electrical signal gets warm.
 To compensate for this loss, amplifiers are used to amplify the signal.

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Cont..
 Distortion ~ means that the signal changes its shape or form.
 It can occur in composite signal made of different frequencies.
 Each signal component is has its own propagation speed through a
medium and therefore its own delay is arriving at the final destination.
Difference in delay may create a difference in phase.
 The shape of composite signal is therefore not the same.

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 Cont..
 Noise ~ is another cause of impairment. Several types of noise such as
thermal noise, induced noise, cross-talk, and impulse noise may corrupt the
signal.

o Cross talk ~ when one channel is being used by two persons i.e. two channels are closed enough that they
interfere with each other. To separate them, guard band is used. This interference is classified as noise.
o Lose connection also accounts to noise.
o Sunlight is also a noise (different types of waves are involved).
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Cont..
iii. Receiver ~ reprocess the received signal i.e. reverses the process done by the
transmitter on the signal.
It is also called destination. It removes the distortion & noise.
It consists of:
 Demodulator
 DAC (digital to analog converter)
 Decoder
The output transducer converts the electrical signal into its original form. The
destination is the unit to which the message is communicated.
Channel capacity/Max data rate ~ The max rate (bits/sec) at which data can be
transmitted over a given communication channel.
Two criterion are used for measuring channel capacity;
i. Nyquist criterion that’s is used for noiseless channel/medium.
𝑪 = 𝟐𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒈2𝑴;
B is channel bandwidth, M = 2m ; m= no. of bits/symbol, M= no. of signaling
values or symbols.
ii. Shannon's Criterion that is used for noisy channel/medium.
𝑪 = 𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟐 (𝟏 + 𝑺𝑵𝑹)
Dr. Uzma Nawaz 5/27/2020
 Analog Communication System

 An analog communication system is a communication system where the information signal sent from
point A to point B can only be described as an analog signal.
 An analog signal is any continuous time signal that change with time period.
 The sine wave is the representation of time-varying feature of analog signal.

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 Cont..
 An analog signal is one type of continuous time-varying signals, and are classified
into composite and simple signals.
 A simple type of analog signal is nothing but a sine wave, and that can’t be
decomposed, whereas
 A composite type analog signal can be decomposed into numerous sine waves.
 An analog signal can be defined by using amplitude, time period, frequency, &
phase.
Amplitude is the maximum value or peak value of the signal.
Frequency is the rate at which an analog signal is varying.
Phase is the signal position with respect to time.
 An analog signal is not resistant toward the noise, therefore; it faces distortion as
well as reduces the transmission quality. The analog signal value range cannot be
fixed.
 The best examples of the analog signal are video, human voice in the air, radio
transmission waves or TV transmission waves.

Dr. Uzma Nawaz 5/27/2020

 Digital Communication System

 Digital communication is a mode of communication where the information is encoded digital

signals and electronically transferred to the recipients.
 Digital signals are discrete or not continuous.
 A digital signal carries the data in the form of binary because it signifies in the bits.

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Cont..
 Digital signals can be decomposed into sine waves which are termed as
harmonics.
 Every digital signal has amplitude, frequency, & phase like the analog
signal.
 This signal can be defined by bit interval as well as bit rate. Here, bit interval
is the required time for transmitting a single bit, whereas the bit rate is bit
interval frequency.
 Digital signals are more resistant towards noise; therefore, it barely faces
some distortion.
 These waves are simple in transmitting as well as more dependable while
contrasted to analog waves.
 Digital signals include a limited variety of values which lies among 0-to-1.

Dr. Uzma Nawaz 5/27/2020

 Advantages & Disadvantages of
Analog & Digital Communication

The analog and Digital signal characteristics mainly include adaptability, continuity,
representation, data type, signal type, medium of transmission, type of values, security,
bandwidth, hardware, data storage, portability, data transmission, impedance, power
consumption, recording data, use, rate of data transmission, examples and applications.
 Adaptability: Analog signals are less adjustable for a range of use, whereas digital signals are
more adjustable for a range of use.
 Continuity: Analog signals use a continuous variety of amplitude values whereas digital signal
takes a limited set of distinct values at consistently spaced spots in the time.
 Type of Data: Analog signals are continuous in nature, whereas digital signals are discrete.
 Type of Waves: Analog signal wave type is sinusoidal, whereas a digital signal is a square
wave.

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Cont..
 Medium of Transmission: Analog signal medium of transmission is wire or
wireless, whereas a digital signal is a wire.
 Type of Values: Analog signal value type if positive as well as negative,
whereas a digital signal is positive.
 Security: The security of an analog signal is not encrypted, whereas a digital
signal is encrypted.
 Bandwidth: The analog signal bandwidth is low, whereas the digital signal is
high.
 Hardware: Analog signal hardware is not elastic, whereas digital is elastic in
execution.
 Data Storage: The data storage of an analog signal is in the wave signal
form, whereas digital signal stores the data in the binary bit form.
 Portability: Analog signals are portable similar to the thermometer and low
cost, whereas digital signals are portable similar to computers and
expensive.

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Cont..
 Data transmission: In analog, the signal can be deterioration due to noise
throughout transmission, whereas digital signal can be noise resistant
throughout transmission devoid of any deterioration.
 Impedance: The impedance of the analog signal is low, whereas the digital
signal is high.
 Power Consumption: Analog devices use more power, whereas digital
devices use less power.
 Data Transmission Rate: The data transmission rate in the analog signal is
slow, whereas in the digital signal it is faster.
 Applications: Analog signals can be utilized in analog devices exclusively,
thermometer, whereas digital signals are appropriate for digital electronic
devices like computers, PDA, cell phones etc.

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Cont..
Analog Communication
Advantages:
 Less tolerance for noise.
 Flexibility with bandwidth.
 Rectification of faulty components easy.
 Easy to manipulate using mathematical formations and calculation.
 Great lifespan.
 Ambient weather dependencies are low.
 Easy to handle not expensive, over sensitive routings.
 Less sensitive in the terms of electrical tolerance.
Disadvantages:
 Not easy to implement.
 Needed perfect receiver and Transmitter for specific communication scenario. If you move into a
new system and you want to change the analog signal you need to tune or change both reciver
and Transmitter.
 No security for transmission data.
 Can't be saved and transmit under urgency.

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Cont..
Digital Communication
Advantages:
 The digital communication systems are simpler and cheaper compared to analog
communication systems because of the advances made in the IC technologies.
 In digital communication, the speech, video and other data may be merged and transmitted
over a common channel using multiplexing.
 Using data encryption, only permitted receivers may be allowed to detect the transmitted data.
This property is of its most importance in military applications.
 Since the transmission is digital and the channel encoding is used, therefore the noise does not
accumulate from repeater to repeater in long distance communications.
 Since the transmitted signal is digital in nature, therefore, a large amount of noise interference
may be tolerated.
 Since in digital communication, channel coding is used, therefore, the errors may be detected
and corrected in the receivers.
 Digital communication is adaptive to other advanced branches of data processing such as
digital signal processing, image processing and data compression, etc.
Disadvantages:
 Due to analog to digital conversion, the data rate becomes high. therefore more transmission
bandwidth is required for digital communication.
 Digital communication needs synchronization in case of synchronous modulation.
Dr. Uzma Nawaz 5/27/2020
 Analog Signal vs Digital Signal
Analog Signal Digital Signal

An analog signal signifies a continuous signal that A digital signal signifies a discrete signal that carries
keeps changes with a time period. binary data and has discrete values.

Analog signals are continuous sine waves. Digital signals are square waves.

Analog signals describe the behavior of the wave with

Digital signals describe the behavior of the signal with
respect to amplitude, time period, & phase of the
respect to the rate of a bit as well as bit interval.
signal.

Analog signal range will not be set. Digital signal is limited as well as ranges from 0 to 1.

Analog signal is further horizontal toward distortion A digital signal has resistance in response toward the
during the response to noise. noise, therefore, it does not often face distortion.

An analog signal broadcasts the information in the A digital signal broadcasts the information in the form
signal form. of binary that is bits.

The example of a digital signal is the data

The example of an analog signal is the human voice.
transmission in a computer.
 Noise in Communication System

 In communication system, noise is an unwanted and undesired quantity in electrical signals.

 Noise is a summation of unwanted or disturbing energy arises from;
 Natural source: includes elements such as atmosphere, sun, and other galactic sources.
 Man-made sources: includes sources as spark-plug ignition noise, switching transients and other radiating
electromagnetic signals.
 Noise is ever present part of all systems and resulting degradation in the quality of transmitted and
received signal.
 In analog systems, noise deteriorates the quality of the received signal, e.g. the appearance of “snow” on the TV screen, or “static” sounds
during an audio transmission.
 In digital communication systems, noise degrades the throughput because it requires retransmission of data packets or extra coding to
recover the data in the presence of errors.

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 Cont..
Different types of noise are generated by different devices and different processes.
 Thermal noise: it’s a natural form of noise also called Johnson–Nyquist noise. It is unavoidable, and generated
by random thermal motion of charge carriers (usually electrons), inside an electrical conductor, which
happens regardless of any applied voltage. A communication system affected by thermal noise is often
modelled as an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel.
 Shot noise: Shot noise in electronic devices results from unavoidable random statistical fluctuations of
the electric current when the charge carriers (such as electrons) traverse a gap. If electrons flow across a
barrier (in diode), then they have discrete arrival times. Those discrete arrivals exhibit shot noise.
 Flicker noise: also known as 1/f noise, is a signal or process with a frequency spectrum that falls off steadily
into the higher frequencies, with a pink spectrum. It occurs in almost all electronic devices and results from a
variety of effects.
 Burst noise: also known as popcorn noise (for popping or crackling sounds), consists of sudden step-like
transitions between two or more discrete voltage or current levels, as high as several hundred microvolts, at
random and unpredictable times. Each shift in offset voltage or current lasts for several milliseconds to
seconds.
 Transit-time noise: If the time taken by the electrons to travel from emitter to collector in a transistor becomes
comparable to the period of the signal being amplified, that is, at frequencies above VHF and beyond, the
transit-time effect takes place and noise input impedance of the transistor decreases. From the frequency at
which this effect becomes significant, it increases with frequency and quickly dominates other sources of
noise.

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Cont..
While noise may be generated in the electronic circuit itself, additional noise energy can be coupled into a circuit
from the external environment, by inductive coupling or capacitive coupling, or through the antenna of a radio
receiver.
 Intermodulation Noise: Caused when signals of different frequency share the same medium.
 Crosstalk: Phenomenon in which a signal transmitted in one circuit or channel of a transmission systems
creates undesired interference onto a signal in another channel.
 Interference: Modification or disruption of a signal travelling along a medium.
 Atmospheric Noise: This noise is also called static noise and it is the natural source of disturbance caused
by lightning discharge in thunderstorm and the natural (electrical) disturbances occurring in nature.
 Industrial Noise: Sources such as automobiles, aircraft, ignition electric motors and switching gear,
High voltage wires and fluorescent lamps cause industrial noise. These noises are produced by the discharge
present in all these operations.
 Solar Noise: that originates from the Sun is called solar noise. Under normal conditions there is
constant radiation from the Sun due to its high temperature. Electrical disturbances such as corona
discharges, as well as sunspots can produce additional noise. The intensity of solar noise varies over time in
a solar cycle.
 Cosmic Noise: Distant stars generate noise called cosmic noise. While these stars are too far away to
individually affect terrestrial communications systems, their large number leads to appreciable collective
effects.

Dr. Uzma Nawaz 5/27/2020

 SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio)

 In communication systems, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), is a measure of signal strength relative to

background noise in signal.
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟
𝑆𝑁𝑅 =
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟
The ratio is usually measured in decibels (dB).
 If the incoming signal strength in microvolts is Vs, and the noise level, also in microvolts, is Vn, then the
signal-to-noise ratio, SNR in decibels is given by the formula: S/N = 20 log10(Vs/Vn).
 Ideally, Vs is greater than Vn, so a high signal-to-noise ratio is positive. This results in the signal being
clearly readable.
 If Vs is less than Vn, then SNR is negative, representing a low signal-to-noise ratio. In this type of situation,
reliable communication is generally not possible unless steps are taken to increase the signal level
and/or decrease the noise level at the destination (receiving) computer or terminal.

Dr. Uzma Nawaz 5/27/2020

 Communication Channels

 Communication channels provide pathways to convey information. A communication channel can be

either a physical transmission medium or a logical connection over a multiplexed medium. The physical
transmission medium refers to the material substance that can propagate energy waves, such as wires in
data communication. And the logical connection usually refers to the circuit switched connection or packet-
mode virtual circuit connection, such as a radio channel.
 There are two main kinds of communication channels i.e.
 Simplex
 Duplex
 Half Duplex
 Full Duplex

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Cont..
 Simplex: A simplex communication channel only sends information in one direction.
For example, a radio station usually sends signals to the audience but never receives
signals from them. The good part of simplex mode is that its entire bandwidth can be
used during the transmission.
 Half Duplex: In half duplex mode, data can be transmitted in both directions on a
signal carrier except not at the same time. At a certain point, it is actually a simplex
channel whose transmission direction can be switched. Walkie-talkie is a typical half
duplex device. An advantage of half-duplex is that the single track is cheaper than
the double tracks.
 Full Duplex: A full duplex communication channel is able to transmit data in both
directions on a signal carrier at the same time. It is constructed as a pair of simplex
links that allows bidirectional simultaneous transmission. using the full duplex mode
can greatly increase the efficiency of communication.
Unicast ~ has one transmitter & one receiver, e.g. walkie talkie, website.
Broadcast ~ has one transmitter & multi receiver, Wi-Fi, radio, mobile tower.
Multicast ~ one or more transmitter to a particular group of receivers, video conference.
Dr. Uzma Nawaz 5/27/2020
 Channel Bandwidth & Rate of
Communication

 The bandwidth B of a channel is the range of frequencies that it can transmit with reasonable accuracy and
precision.
 For example, if a channel can transmit a signal with proper accuracy having frequency ranging from 0 Hz to 5000 Hz,
the channel bandwidth is 5k Hz.
 The rate of information transmission is directly proportional to bandwidth B.
 If channel bandwidth B can transmit N pulses per second then to transmit KN pulses per second, channel bandwidth
should be KB.
 For example, consider the possibility of increasing the speed of information transmission by time compression of
signal. If the signal is compressed in time by factor of 2, it can be transmitted in half time, speed of transmission is
doubled. Transmitting this signal without distortion, channel bandwidth must also be doubled.
 The quality of information transmission is related to signal power i.e. increasing the signal power can reduce the
effect of channel noise resulting in accuracy of transmission.
 To maintain a given rate & accuracy of information transmission, signal power and channel bandwidth are
exchangeable i.e. reducing B to increase signal power and vice versa.
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 Cont..
 The two primary communication resources are Signal power & bandwidth B.
 The design of communication scheme having B and signal power depends on the
application. E.g. Telephone channel has limited bandwidth of 3kHz but transmitted power
is high, whereas space vehicles have infinite bandwidth but power is limited.
 SNR is proportional to signal power, SNR and bandwidth are exchangeable.
 If a given rate of information transmission requires a channel bandwidth B1 and signal-
noise-ratio SNR1, then it is possible to transmit the same information over a channel
bandwidth B2 and signal-noise ratio SNR2,
𝐵1
𝐵2
𝑆𝑁𝑅1 ≈ 𝑆𝑁𝑅2

 The limitation imposed on communication by channel bandwidth and SNR is highlighted

by Shannon’s equation,
𝐶 = 𝐵𝑙𝑜𝑔2 1 + 𝑆𝑁𝑅 𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑠/𝑠
𝐶 is rate of transmission/sec (also known as channel capacity)
 If there is no noise on the channel (N = 0), C = ∞ and communication would cease to be a
problem.
 Therefore, B and SNR are limiting the performance of transmission, but its possible to trade
off between these two parameters for accuracy in transmission.

Dr. Uzma Nawaz 5/27/2020

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