c »


E\


E» 

E


 



Eú



Eú  



E?ú 




E\

 




 E \


Frequency modulation is a system in which the amplitude of the modulated

carrier is kept constant, while its frequency and rate of change are varied by the modulating
signal. In FM the deviation of the carrier is proportional to the amplitude of the modulating
voltage. The rate at which the carrier shifts from it¶s resting point to a nonresting point
determined by the frequency of the modulating signal (the interaction between the amplitude and
frequency of the modulating signal on the carrier is complex and requires the use of Bessel¶s
functions to analyze the result).

The prime requirement of a frequency modulation system is a variable output

frequency with the variation proportional to the instantaneous amplitude of modulating voltage.
The subsidiary requirements are that unmodulated frequency should be constant and the
deviation independent of modulating frequency. This is obtained by varying the capacitance of
LC oscillator tank, this variation being obtained by a varactor diode. This transmitter circuit uses
the direct method of FM generation. The circuit built around transistor T1 (BF494) is a basic
low-power variable-frequency VHF oscillator. A varicap diode circuit is included to change the
frequency of the transmitter and to provide frequency modulation by audio signals. Transistor T2
(2N3866) forms a VHF-class A power amplifier. Potentiometer VR1 to set the fundamental
frequency near 100 MHz

Since this circuit does not use any amplifiers at the mic input and there is absence of pre-
emphasis circuit, the output of FM transmitter is affected by much interference like adjacent
channel interface, co channel interference and low signal to noise ratio. Also the power output of
this circuit is very low because no power amplifier stages were incorporated. Due to all these
interferences the transmitted signal may get corrupted and a flickering noise may arise at the
receiver. In case of proper tuning with the trimmers and absence noise the circuit can transmit
signal up to 2 km which is its ideal theoretical transmission range.This transmitter should only
be used for educational purposes.  





  


   » 


 E » 

    

Suppose the baseband data signal (the message) to be transmitted is

And is restricted in amplitude to be

And the sinusoidal carrier is

Where ž is the carrier's base frequency and
is the carrier's amplitude. The modulator combines
the carrier with the baseband data signal to get the transmitted signal,

In this equation, is the instantaneous frequency of the oscillator and is the frequency
deviation, which represents the maximum shift away from ž in one direction, assuming () is
limited to the range ±1.Although it may seem that this limits the frequencies in use to ž ± žǻ, this
neglects the distinction between instantaneous frequency and spectral frequency. The frequency
spectrum of an actual FM signal has components extending out to infinite frequency, although
they become negligibly small beyond a point. While it is an over-simplification, modulating
signals are usually represented as a sinusoidal Continuous Wave signal with a frequency ž. The
integral of such a signal is

Thus, in this specific case, above eqn. simplifies to:

Where the amplitude of the modulating sinusoid, is represented by the peak deviation ( ).

The harmonic distribution of a sine wave carrier modulated by such a sinusoidal signal can be
represented with Bessel functions - this provides a basis for a mathematical understanding of
frequency modulation in the frequency domain.

S   

As with other modulation indices, this quantity indicates by how much the modulated variable
varies around its unmodulated level. It relates to the variations in the frequency of the carrier
signal:

Where is the highest frequency component present in the modulating signal (), and is
the Peak frequency-deviation, i.e. the maximum deviation of the instantaneous frequency from
the carrier frequency.

If , the modulation is called  S, and its bandwidth is approximately .

If , the modulation is called   S and its bandwidth is approximately .
While wideband FM uses more bandwidth, it can improve signal-to-noise ratio significantly.

j









With a tone-modulated FM wave, if the modulation frequency is held constant and the
modulation index is increased, the (non-negligible) bandwidth of the FM signal increases, but the
spacing between spectra stays the same; some spectral components decrease in strength as others
increase. If the frequency deviation is held constant and the modulation frequency increased, the
spacing between spectra increases.

ú

 

A rule of thumb, Carson's rule states that nearly all (~98%) of the power of a frequency-
modulated signal lies within a bandwidth of
Where , as defined above, is the peak deviation of the instantaneous frequency from the
center carrier frequency .

j








 





ú

S   




The major advantages of angle modulation over AM are:

1. The transmitted amplitude is constant, thus the receiver can be fitted with an efficient
amplitude limiter. This characteristic has the advantage of significantly improving
immunity to noise &interference.
2. The Formula used to derive modulation index is:
Modulation index=fdev/fav
Since there is no natural limit to the modulation index, the modulation index can be
increased to provide additional noise immunity, but there is common tradeoff involved,
system bandwidth must be increased.
?







FM additionally has the advantage, over both AM&PM, of providing greater
protection from noise for the lowest modulating frequencies. The resulting noise-signal
distribution is here seen as triangle, whereas it is rectangular in both AM &PM.A
consequence of this is that FM is used for analog transmissions, whereas PM is not.
Because FM broadcasting is latecomer compared with AM broadcasting, the system
design has benefited from the experience gained with AM. Two of the most notable
benefits are the provision of guard bands between adjacent transmissions & the use of
pre-emphasis & de-emphasis. With emphasis, the highest modulating frequencies are
artificially boosted before transmission & corresponding attenuated after reception, to
reduce the effects of noise.




 E


 



ú   

E ú




Sr.no. Components Value Quantity Cost (Rs.)

1 Resistor R1 10 k ohm 1 o.5
2 Resistor R2 100 k ohm 1 0.5
3 Resistor R3 180 k ohm 1 0.5
4 Resistor R4 4.7 k ohm 1 0.5
5 Resistor R5 15 k ohm 1 0.5
6 Resistor R6 68 ohm 1 0.5
7 Resistor R7 470 ohm 1 0.5
8 Resistor R8 30 k ohm 1 0.5
9 Capacitor c1,c3, 0.1 micro f 3 1
c7
10 Capacitor c2, c5 1nf 2 1
11 Capacitor c4 4.7 p f 1 1
12 Capacitor c6 0.001 micro f 1 1
13 Inductor L1 4 turns 20 SWG 1 3
14 Inductor L2 2 turns 24 SWG 1 3
15 Inductor L3 7 turns 24 SWG 1 3
16 Inductor L4 7 turns 24 SWG 1 3
17 Transistor t1 BF 494 1 3
18 Transistor t2 2N 3866 1 3
19 Diode d1 BB 109 1 2

20 Trimmer vc1 50 p f 1 3
21 Condenser vc2 50 p f 1 3
22 Variable resistor Vr1 = 47 k ohm 1 2
Vr2 = 22 ohm 1 2
23 Condenser mic 1 10
24 Antenna 1 3
25 PCB 1 120
26 Breadboard 1
27 Connecting wires 1m 1 5
28 Fecl3 soln 20mg 60
total


E ú  


Õ »



Typical electrets condenser microphone capsule:

Ì 2 terminal device (there are also 3 pin capsules)

Ì Acts as a current source when biased with around 1-9 volt
Ì routinely consumes less than half a milliamp.
Ì This power is consumed by a very small preamplifier built into the microphone capsule
which makes the conversion of very high impedance source of the electrets element itself
and the cable which needs to be driven. This impedance is swamped at signal frequencies
by cable capacitance so that at 1 kHz the assembly will exhibit an impedance of a few
10's of K.
Ì Because the electrets itself contains a small buffer amplifier which adds noise, it is
common to specify a signal to noise ratio (usually at 94dB SPL) or self noise figure,
which is the equivalent acoustic noise level, commonly around 20-30dB SPL.
Ì Electrets need biasing because of the built-in FET amplifier inside the microphone
capsule. Bias voltages should be kept clean, because the noise in this will get to the
microphone output.

‘
   
 

They key to understanding how a varactor or varicap diode works is to look at what a capacitor is
and what can change the capacitance. A capacitor consists of two plates with an insulating
dielectric between them. The capacitance of the capacitor is dependent upon the area of the
plates - the larger the area the greater the capacitance, and also the distance between them - the
greater the distance the smaller the level of capacitance. A reverse biased diode has no current
flowing between the P-type area and the N-type area. The N-type region and the P-type regions
can conduct electricity, and can be considered to be the two plates and the region between them -
the depletion region is the insulating dielectric. This is exactly the same as the capacitor above.
P 

As with any diode, if the reverse bias is changed so does the size of the depletion region. If the
reverse voltage on the varactor or varicap diode is increased, the depletion region of the diode
increases and if the reverse voltage on varactor diode is decreased the depletion region narrows.
Therefore by changing the reverse bias on the diode it is possible to change the capacitance.

P 
  
 

The varactor diode or varicap diode is shown in circuit diagrams or schematics using a
symbol that combines the diode and capacitor symbols. In this way it is obvious that it is being
used as a varactor or varicap capacitor rather than a rectifying diode.

ú  
    

 

When operated in a circuit, it is necessary to ensure the varactor diode remains reverse biased.
This means that the cathode will be positive with respect to the anode, i.e. the cathode of the
varactor will be more positive than the anode.

P 
 
The circuit built around transistor T1 (BF494) is a basic low-power variable-frequency VHF
oscillator. A varicap diode circuit is included to change the frequency of the transmitter and to
provide frequency modulation by audio signals. The output of the oscillator is about 50 mill
watts.
ú 

\

 
Transistor T2 (2N3866) forms a VHF-class A power amplifier. It boosts the oscillator signals¶
power four to five times. Thus, 200-250 mill watts of power is generated at the collector of
transistor T2.
\
With a good matching 50-ohm ground plane antenna or multi-element Yagi antenna, this
transmitter can provide reasonably good signal strength up to a distance of about 2 kilometers

\
  
Pú
Pú 




.

\

 P

   
S

This transmitter should only be used for educational purposes. Regular transmission using such a
transmitter without a license is illegal in India.
 E ?ú 




These are the steps to the PCB design process & work flow which we cover in the PCB design
guide.



 
 ú  



Everything starts with the circuit design. Without a circuit there is no need for a PCB. In today¶s
world of modern computing, the circuit design is capture directly in a schematic using softwares
like WinQcad, Protel, etc.


ú
?ú 



Many times electrical engineers don¶t have a choice when it comes to choosing the PCB design
software. It¶s important to choose a package that is first and foremost easy to use, but also
capable of completing the PCB design as some packages won¶t be able to handle the complexity.


ú
 

As mentioned earlier it¶s likely that the circuit design is being captured electronics from the get-
go. In general ³capturing the schematic´ is the process by which each component is drawn
electronically and is interconnected with each other.




ú

 

Once the schematic is complete its time to draw the physical outline of each of the components.
These outlines are what are placed on the PCB in copper to allow the components to be soldered
to the printed wiring board.




?ú ‘ 

Each project will have restrictions related to the board outline. This should be determined in this
step since an idea of component count and area should be known.





 

With the PCB outline and PCB footprints complete is just about time to start the placement.
Before placement thought you should setup the design rules to ensure that components or traces
aren¶t to close together. This is only one example as there are probably hundreds of different
rules that can be applied to a PCB design.

? ú


Now its time to move each component onto the PCB and begin the tedious work of making all
those components fit together. This is where you¶ll find that PCB design is really a jigsaw
puzzle.
 ú




1. Diode 3 cm

2. Resistor 3 cm

3. Disc cap 1 cm

4. Electrolytic cap As per leads


S 
It¶s necessary to manually route critical traces. Clocks. Power.
Sensitive analog traces. Once that¶s complete you can turn it over to Step 9.



\

There are a handful of rules that will need to be applied for using an autorouter, but doing so will
save you hours if not days of routing traces.





 ú

Most PCB design software packages have a very good setup of design rule checkers. It¶s easy to
violate PCB spacing rules and this will pinpoint the error saving you from having to re-spin the
PCB.




‘
  
Once the board is error free it¶s time to output the gerber files.
These files are universal and are needed by the PCB fabrication houses to manufacture your
printed circuit board.

12. Printing

The Gerber files are printed on copper clad and are made significant by the use of marker ,
radium stickers , etc..



 

  is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal
surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal (the original process²in modern manufacturing
other chemicals may be used on other types of material). The copper clad is dipped in FeCl3
soln. for nearly 3 to 4 hrs.




 
Holes of 1mm to 2mm are drilled on the etched surface. 1mm is used for small components and
2mm are used for the components like diodes, transistors, inductors which have more
dimensions.



 :

Components are mounted on the circuit on PCB and soldered at their ends on back side.

.   

ú


 
 

 

 ú

 
  



 


   
ú








 
 
ú

ú 

This circuit is used to transmit a signal by using frequency modulation for an ideal range of 2
kms. under the complete absence of noise. The noise can be minimized by using sensitive mic
with noise-proof signal ( in sound proof acoustic rooms).The circuit uses direct method of
frequency generation using varactor diode as variable reactance as per input signal and a low
VHF oscillator for the carrier circuit with a class A power amplifier at the output stage. The
transmission using any kind of frequency modulation is illegal in India unless for educational
purposes.




1. www.electronics-circuits-diagrams.com
2. Electronics communication systems by George Kennedy
3. www.wikipedia.com
4. www.pcb.com