KE37603 Communication

Systems
Lecture 1 The Communication Process: An Overview
 Outline
• Instructor information
• Course description and textbook
• What you will study from this course
➢ Coverage
➢ Homework, projects, and exams
• Background and Preview

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 Instructor Information
• Office location: Rm 42, Block A
• Email: cfliau@ums.edu.my
• Course website: ITEL

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 Course Description
This course focuses on the analysis and design of communication systems,
including both analogue and digital systems. We will cover modulation and
demodulation techniques, performance of modulation in noise, and application
of these techniques to current systems, including radio, TV, satellite, and
cellular systems. The analogue communication systems will be studied first.
Then the basic theories for the communications are briefly covered, such as
random process, estimation and detection, information theory, and error
correct coding. With these theories, current digital communication techniques
will be investigated.

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 Course Outcomes
CO1. An ability to explain the essentials of communication systems,
conceptually and mathematically
CO2. An ability to analyze the performance of communications techniques
CO3. An ability to utilize communications techniques to use for different
applications
 Textbooks and Software
• Recommended Textbooks:
• A. B. Carlson and P. B. Crilly 2009. Communication Systems: An Introduction to Signals and Noise in
Electronic Communications, 5th Edition. McGraw Hill.
• B.P. Lathi and Zhi Ding 2012. Modern Digital and Analog Communication Systems, 4th Edition.
Oxford University Press.
• Simon Haykin and Michael Moher 2010. Communication Systems, 5th Edition. John Wiley &
Sons.

• Required Software: MATLAB/Octave

 Tentative Outline
Section 1: Introduction and Background Section 3: Digital Communications
• Overview of the different modulation schemes and mediums • Sampling, and the basis for digital communications
that are used for communications
• Quantization, PCM, line coding, and reducing ISI
• Review of signals, and systems
• Digital carrier modulation, including PAM, ASK, FSK, PSK,
• Review the concept of probability QPSK, and QAM
• Finding your way around the RF spectrum • SNR and system performance
• Error Detection and Correction
Section 2: Analogue Communications
• Amplitude modulation schemes, including commercial AM
radio, SSB, and QAM
• Angle modulation schemes, such as commercial FM, as well
as PM, PSK, and FSK
• Pulse modulation, such as PAM, PWM, and PPM
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 Homework, Project, and Exam
⚫ Homework
− Assignments (10%)
− Quizzes
− Online Participation
− 2 Matlab-Based Assignments (10%)
⚫ Project
− 1 Term Project (10%)
⚫ Exams
− Two phase tests (30%) [Week 6 (24th April) and Week 12 (12th of June)]
− Final exam (40%)
 Introduction
• Communication systems convert information into a format appropriate for the
transmission medium A B
Engineering System

Social System

Genetic System
Classification of Communication
Systems
 Types of Information
• Major classification of data: analogue vs. • Analogue signals can be represented
digital (approximately) using bits
• Analogue signals • digitized images (can be compressed using
JPEG)
• speech (but words are discrete)
• digitized video (can be compressed to
• music (closer to a continuous signal) MPEG)
• temperature readings, barometric pressure, • Bits: text, computer data
wind speed
• The word “bit” was coined in the late 1940s
• images stored on film by John Tukey
• Analogue signals can be converted into
bits by quantizing/digitizing
 Analogue Messages
• Early analogue communication
• telephone (1876)
• phonograph (1877)
• film soundtrack (1923, Lee De Forest, Joseph Tykoci´nski-Tykociner)
• Key to analogue communication is the amplifier (1908, Lee De Forest, triode
vacuum tube)
• Broadcast radio (AM, FM) is still analogue
• Broadcast television was analogue until 2009
 Digital Messages
• Early long-distance communication was digital
• semaphores, white flag, smoke signals, bugle calls, telegraph
• Teletypewriters (stock quotations)
• Baudot (1874) created 5-unit code for alphabet. Today baud is a unit meaning one symbol per second.
• Working teleprinters were in service by 1924 at 65 words per minute
• Fax machines: Group 3 (voice lines) and Group 4 (ISDN)
• In 1990s the accounted for majority of transPacific telephone use.
• First fax machine was Alexander Bain 1843 device required conductive ink
• Pantelegraph (Caselli, 1865) set up telefax between Paris and Lyon
• Ethernet, Internet
 Analogue or Digital
• Common Misunderstanding: In modern communications context, any transmitted signals
are ANALOGUE. NO DIGITAL SIGNAL CAN BE TRANSMITTED. WHY?
• Advantages of digital communications:
• Data integrity. (Digital system more robust)
• Easy to apply encryption to digital data
• Better integration if all signals are in one form. Can integrate voice, video and digital data.
• Disadvantages of digital communications
• Due to ADC, data rate becomes high
• Needs synchronization

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 Communication Transmission Modes
• By mode we mean : The direction in which information is flowing
1. Simplex transmission
• a one-way communication system where information is transmitted from one device to another, but the
receiving device cannot send information back to the transmitting device.
2. Duplex transmission
• Also called Full duplex transmission
• a communication system that allows for two-way communication between two or more parties, where each
party can send and receive information simultaneously.
3. Half-duplex transmission
• a communication system that allows for two-way communication between two or more parties, but only one
party can transmit data at a time.
 Exercise 1
• Drone
• E-mail
• Ham Radio
• Internet Browser
Identify the transmission mode for each of the
• Keyboard
applications on the right hand panel.
• Paging
• Printer
• Telephone Call
• TV Broadcasting
• Walkie Talkie
• Whatsapp
• Zoom
Transmission Media

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 Wired (Wireline) Transmission
• The medium of transmission is a transmission line
• Advantages
• Path loss is usually modest.
• Signal energy is essentially confined and interference is often negligible.
• Path characteristics are usually stable and easy to compensate for.
• Capacity is unlimited in that bandwidth can always be reused by laying another line.
• Disadvantages
• Laying cables in the ground or constructing overhead lines is expensive.
• Extensive planning permission may be needed for underground cables and overhead wires.
• Broadcasting requires a physical connection for each subscriber.
• Mobile communications services cannot be provided.
• Networks cannot easily be added to, subtracted from, or otherwise reconfigured.

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 Wireless Transmission
• Transmitted through open space by electromagnetic waves by antenna
• Wireless underwater Communication may use water to carry acoustic signals
• Advantages:
• It is relatively cheap and quick to implement.
• Wayleaves and planning permission are often only needed for the erection of towers to support repeaters and terminal stations.
• It has an inherent broadcast and mobile communications potential.
• Communications networks can be quickly reconfigured
• Disadvantages:
• Path loss is generally large due to the tendency of the transmitted signal energy to spread out. The spreading of signal energy makes
interference between different systems a potentially serious problem.
• Capacity in a given locality is limited since bandwidth cannot be reused easily.
• The time varying nature of the channel results in unpredictable propagation of signals.

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Elements of a Communication
System
 Communication System Block Diagram (Basic)

• Input Transducer converts message into message signal (bits)

• Transmitter converts message signal into format appropriate for channel transmission (analogue/digital signal)
➢ This modification often involves modulation
• Channel conveys signal but may introduce attenuation, distortion, noise, interference
• Receiver decodes received signal back to message signal
• Output Transducer decodes message signal back into original message
 Transmitter for Digital Communication

• Converts electrical signal into a form suitable for transmission through the channel (physical medium)
• Need to do this because the transducer output signal cannot, in most cases, be transmitted directly (doesn’t
match the channel)
• Source encoder compresses message to remove redundancy
• Encryption protects against eavesdroppers and false messages
• Channel encoder adds redundancy for error protection
• Modulator converts digital inputs to signals suitable for physical channel
• Other functions: filtering, amplification, radiation
 • This is the physical medium between the transmitter and the
receiver
• The channel is central to operation of a communication system
➢ Linear (e.g., mobile radio) or nonlinear (e.g., satellite)
➢ Time invariant (e.g., fibre) or time varying (e.g., mobile radio)
Communication Channels • Some channels convey electromagnetic waves (signals).
• Radio (20 KHz to 20+ GHz)
• Optical fibre (200 THz or 1550 nm)
• Laser line-of-sight (e.g., from Mars)
• Other channels use sound, smell, pressure, chemical reactions
• Whatever the medium, the signal is corrupted by noise and
interference
• Examples: thermal noise, lightning discharge, automobile ignition
noise, interference from other users etc.
• Significant signal attenuation may be introduced (100-200dB)
• Other types of signal distortions (i.e., spectrum distortion)
 Channel Contamination

Contamination of a signal transmitting a 1101001 sequence: (a) original signal as it leaves the
transmitter, (b) effects of distortion, (c) effects of interference, (d) effects of noise.
 Signal Transmission
• Much of the attenuation, distortion, interference and noise is encountered at the channel (transmission medium)
• Attenuation can be compensated for by introducing amplifiers or signal repeaters at intermediate points along the multiple hop link.
• Distortion may be compensated by equalisers.
• Interference and noise can be minimised by using appropriate predetection signal processing (e.g. matched filters).
• Channel responses to different frequency and different time
• Satellite: almost flat over frequency, change slightly over time
• Cable or line: response very different over frequency, change slightly over time.
• Fiber: perfect
• Wireless: worst. Multipath reflection causes fluctuation in frequency response. Doppler shift causes fluctuation over time
• The nature and severity of transmission medium effects is one of the major influences on the design of transmitters, receivers and
repeaters

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Characteristics of Wireline Communication
Channels
• Signals are distorted in amplitude and phase. Some measures are
required to reduce the effect of distortions.
• Bandwidth of (up to)
• twisted pair: 10s kHz to 30 MHz
• coaxial cable: 10s GHz
• wave guide: 100s GHz
• optical fiber: 10-100 THz
Characteristics of Wireless Communication
Channels
• Strong signal attenuation (up to 100-200 dB). Hence, high Tx
power is required
• Susceptible to external interference
 Exercise 2
Submarines use very low frequency radio waves (3 – 30 KHz) for
communication when submerged.
(a) Why is it so?
(b) What are the implications of using very low frequency radio waves for
submarine communication?
 Receiver for Digital Communication

• Main function: to recover the message from the received signal

• Somewhat inverse of the transmitter function
• Demodulation: inverse of the modulation
• Operates in the presence of noise & interference. Hence, some distortions are unavoidable.
• Some other functions: filtering, suppression of noise & interference
Modulation
 The Modulation Process
• The process of creating a signal suitable for transmission is called modulation (modulate
from Latin to regulate)
• A process by which a carrier signal is varied in accordance with the instantaneous value of
a modulating signal.
➢ Signal containing information is called a modulating signal.
➢ This information bearing signal is also called a baseband signal.
➢ The signal resulting from the process of modulation is called a modulated signal.
• Types of modulation
➢ Continuous-Wave Modulation
➢ Pulse Modulation
Continuous Wave
Modulation
 Pulse Modulation
• Pulse modulation has a periodic train of short pulses as the carrier wave.
• Sampling is an important signal-processing technique, and, subject to
certain conditions, it’s possible to reconstruct an entire waveform from
periodic samples.

Pulse-Amplitude Modulation
 Benefits of Modulation
• Modulation for Efficient Transmission
• The efficiency of any particular transmission method depends upon the frequency of the signal being transmitted.
• For example, efficient line-of-sight ratio propagation requires antennas whose physical dimensions are at least 1/10 of the signal’s wavelength.
• Modulation to Reduce Noise and Interference
• A brute-force but costly method is to increase the signal power.
• FM, for example, has the wideband noise reduction property of suppressing both noise and interference.
• Requires the transmission bandwidth to be much greater than the bandwidth of the modulating signal.
• Wideband modulation allows the designer to exchange increased bandwidth for decreased signal power, a trade-off implied by the Hartley-
Shannon Law.
➢ The Shannon capacity is the maximum possible data rate for a system with noise and distortion
➢ For additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channels,
𝐶 = 𝐵 log 2 (1+SNR)
• Modulation for Frequency Assignment
 Exercise 3: Practicality of Antenna
Consider for an AM broadcast systems, the maximum audio frequency is 5
KHz.
(a) Determine the height of a quarter wave antenna required for effective
radiation and reception.
(b) What is the new height of the antenna if the audio frequency is translated
to a radio carrier frequency of 4 MHz?
 Shannon Channel Capacity
• For a case of an FM transmission
with a bandwidth between 10 KHz
and 20 KHz, plot the channel
capacity a function of the S/N over
a range of 0–60 dB.
Design of Communication Systems
 Performance Metrics
• Analogue Communication Systems
• Metric is fidelity (SNR, % distortion, MSE)
• Want 𝑚 𝑡 ≈ 𝑚(𝑡) ෝ
• Digital Communication Systems
• Metrics are data rate (R bps) and probability of bit error (𝑃𝐸 = 𝑃 𝑏෠ ≠ 𝑏 )
• Data rate R limited by signal power, noise power, distortion, and bit error probability
• Without noise, never make bit errors; can have infinite data rate with PE=0.
• With noise, PE depends on signal and noise power, data rate, and channel characteristics.
• Recall that the Shannon capacity is the maximum possible data rate for a system with noise
and distortion

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 Fundamental Limitations of Communication
Systems
• Technological Limitation
➢ hardware availability, economic factors, governmental regulations, etc.
• Fundamental Physical Limitations
➢ Bandwidth Limitation
❑ Communication under real-time conditions requires sufficient transmission bandwidth to accommodate the signal spectrum;
otherwise, severe distortion will result.
▪ For a digital signal with 𝑟 symbols per second, the bandwidth must be 𝐵 ≥ 𝑟/2.
❑ For information transmission without a real-time constraint, the available bandwidth determines the maximum signal speed.
▪ The time required to transmit a given amount of information is inversely proportional to 𝐵.
➢ Noise Limitation
❑ Noise can be internal (e.g. thermal noise, shot noise) or external (e.g. atmospheric noise, industrial noise)
▪ Rate of transmission cannot exceed channel capacity as specified by Hartley-Shannon Law.
 Design Challenges
• Hardware Design • Network Design
• Precise components • Connectivity and high speed
• Small, lightweight, low power • Energy and delay constraints
• Cheap
• High frequency operation
• System Design
• Converting and transferring information
• High data rates
• Robust to noise and interference
• Supports many users
•
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 Summary
• Communication systems send information electronically over communication channels
• The building blocks of a communication system convert information into an electronic format for
transmission, then convert it back to its original format after reception.
• Goal of transmitter and receiver is to mitigate distortion/noise from the channel.
• Communication systems modulate analog signals or bits for transmission over channel.
• Digital systems are more robust to noise and interference.
• Performance metric for analog systems is fidelity, for digital it is rate and error probability.
• Data rates over channels with noise have a fundamental capacity limit.
• Design challenges include hardware, system, and network issues
• Focus of this class is design and performance of analog and digital communication systems

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