Saint Louis University

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

Department of Electronics Engineering

LABORATORY MANUAL

ECE 2231L EXPERIMENT NO. 2-1

AMPLITUDE MODULATION

I. EQUIPMENT/ MATERIALS NEEDED:

RF Generator Electronic VOM

AF Generator R1 200Ω, ½ W potentiometer
Oscilloscope

II. PROCEDURES:

Objective A. Identify the controls of a typical RF generator.

1.a.) Set the RF controls to the following operating positions:

CONTROL POSITION
Frequency Range B
RF Frequency Dial 500
Selector EXT MOD
RF Level High
Fine Tuner Max

1.b.) What is the output frequency and waveform of the RF Generator at these control
settings?
______________________________________________________________________
_____
___________________________________________________________________________

Objective B. Measure the output impedance of an RF Generator.

2.a.) Turn on the RF Generator by pressing the POWER control switch.

2.b.) Turn the RF Level control to HIGH for maximum output voltage.

2.c.) Measure the unloaded output voltage at the end of the test leads. Use the
oscilloscope to measure the peak-to-peak voltage of the undistorted waveform. Record
the effective (rms) value.

Ehigh max = __________________________ Vac

2.d.) Connect the test circuit shown if Figure 2-1.

ECE 2231L EXPERIMENT 2-1 1

 Saint Louis University
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
Department of Electronics Engineering

LABORATORY MANUAL

2.e.) Adjust R1 until the VOM indicates ½ the value of the unloaded rms voltage
recorded in (c).

2.f.) Reduce the output voltage to minimum and disconnect R1 from the test circuit. Do
not change the setting to R1.

Figure 2-1

2.g.) Measure the resistance of R1 using VOM.

R1 = __________________________ ohms

2.h.) The resistance of R1 represents the output impedance of the RF Generator.

Objective C. Measure the output attenuation of an RF Generator.

3.a.) Set the RF level to HIGH. Turn the Fine Tuner knob to maximum.

3.b.) Measure the unloaded output voltage at the end of the test leads. Use the VOM set
to the Vac function. Record the effective (rms) value.

E high max = ________________________ Vac

3.c.) Set the RF level to LOW.

3.d.) Measure the unloaded output voltage at the end of the test leads. Use the VOM set
to the Vac function. Record the effective (rms) value.

E low max = ________________________ Vac

ECE 2231L EXPERIMENT 2-1 2

 Saint Louis University
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
Department of Electronics Engineering

LABORATORY MANUAL

3.e.) Calculate the ratio of Ehigh max to Elow max

ratio = __________________________

3.f.) Calculate the Attenuation of the RF Generator

Attenuation = _____________________ dB

Objective D. Demonstrate internal and external amplitude modulation of an RF generator.

4.a.) Connect the oscilloscope to the RF Generator.

4.b.) Set the RF Generator to a frequency of 1MHz.

4.c.) Set RF Level to HIGH and adjust the Fine Tune Knob to MAX.

4.d.) Adjust the oscilloscope controls for a stable display. Describe the output waveform:
______________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

4.e.) Set the selector to INT MOD position. Describe the output waveform:
______________________________________________________________________
___
_________________________________________________________________________

4.f.) Measure and record the maximum vertical deflection between the upper and lower
peaks of the modulated waveform.

Maximumm deflection = __________________________ cm

4.g.) Measure and record the minimum vertical deflection between the upper and lower
valleys of the modulated waveform.

Minimum deflection = __________________________ cm

4.h.) Use the deflection measurements to calculate the Percent Modulation.

% Modulation =

ECE 2231L EXPERIMENT 2-1 3

 Saint Louis University
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
Department of Electronics Engineering

LABORATORY MANUAL

% Modulation = ___________________ %

5.a.) Connect the oscilloscope to the RF generator as in Procedure 4. Check that the RF
Generator is set to a frequency of 1MHz.

5.b.) Set the RF level to HIGH and adjust Fine Tune knob to MAX.

5.c.) Set the selector to EXT MOD position.

5.d.) Set the AF generator to 15KHz. Connect the probes of the AF Generator to the
input jacks of the RF Generator. Describe the output waveform:
______________________________________________________________________
______
____________________________________________________________________________

5.e.) Adjust the RF level from HIGH to LOW. Then adjust the Amplitude knob of the AF
Generator from MAX to MIN. Describe what happens.
RF level from HIGH to
LOW:___________________________________________

___________________________________________
AF Generator from MAX to MIN: ______________________________________

___________________________________________

ECE 2231L EXPERIMENT 2-1 4