Dar es Salaam institute of Technology

(DIT)
ETU 07123
Introduction to Communication Systems
Ally, J
jumannea@gmail.com

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Course Outline

Principles of Communication Systems

Analogue Modulation
Angle Modulation
Pulse Modulation
Digital Modulation

Reference:
Introduction to Analogue and Digital
Communication, by Simon Haykin

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Principle of Communication System

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Information Representation

Communication systems convert information into a format

appropriate for the transmission medium.
Channels convey electromagnetic waves (signals).

Analog communication systems convert (modulate) analog

signals into modulated (analog) signals

Digital communication systems convert information in the form of

bits into binary/digital signals

Types of Information:

Analog Signals: Voice, Music, Temperature readings

Analog signals or bits: Video, Images

Bits: Text, Computer Data

Analog signals can be converted into bits by quantizing/digitizing

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Basic Mode of Communication

There are two basic modes of communication:

Broadcasting: which involves the use of a single powerful

transmitter and numerous receivers that are relatively inexpensive
to build. Here information-bearing signals flow only in one
direction.

Point-to-point communication: in which the communication

process takes place over a link between a single transmitter and a
receiver. In this case, there is usually a bidirectional flow of
information-bearing signals, which requires the use of a transmitter
and receiver at each end of the link.

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Primary Communication Resources

In a communication system, two primary resources are employed:
Transmitted Power and Channel Bandwidth.

The Transmitted Power: is the average power of the transmitted signal

The channel bandwidth is defined as the band of frequencies allocated for
the transmission of the message signal

NB:
A general system design objective is to use these two resources as
efficiently as possible.

In most communication channels, one resource may be considered

more important than the other.

Therefore we may classify communication channels as Power limited or

Band-limited.

Example, the telephone circuit is a typical Band-limited channel, whereas

a space communication link or satellite channel is typically Power limited.

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Source of Information
The telecommunications environment is dominated by four important
sources of information: speech, music, pictures, and computer data

Speech is the primary method of human communication

Music is the one originates from instruments such as the piano,

violin, and flute

Pictures is the one relies on the human visual system for its
perception. The picture can be dynamic, as in television, or static,
as in fascimile (fax) machine

Computer data is the information transmitted or exchanged through

computer or other electronic devices

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Communication System Block Diagram

Source encoder converts message into message signal or bits.

Transmitter converts message signal or bits into format appropriate for

channel transmission (analog/digital signal).

Channel introduces distortion, noise, and interference.

Receiver decodes received signal back to message signal.

Source decoder decodes message signal back into original message.

NB: The good communication system is to produce at the destination

(receiver) an acceptable replica of the source message.

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Modulation and Demodulation

Modulation

Is the process of changing ore or more properties such

as amplitude, frequency, and phase of the analog carrier
in proportion with the information signal
Performed in a transmitter by a circuit called a modulator

Demodulation

Is the reverse process of modulation and converts the

modulated carrier back to the original information
Performed in a receiver by a circuit called a demodulator

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Electromagnetic Frequency
Spectrum
The purpose of an
electronic communications system
is to communicate information between two or more
locations commonly called stations.
Accomplished by converting the original information
into electromagnetic energy and then transmitting it
to one or more receive stations where it converted
back to its original form.
Electromagnetic energy can propagate as a voltage
or current along a metallic wire, as emitted radio
waves through free space, or as a light waves down
an optical fiber.
Electromagnetic energy is distributed throughout an
almost infinite range of frequencies.

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The electromagnetic Spectrum

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Bandwidth

Bandwidth of an information of signal: is the difference

between the highest and lowest frequencies contained in
the information.
Bandwidth of a communication channel: is the difference
between the highest and lowest frequencies that the
channel will allow to pass through it.
The bandwidth of the communications channel must be
equal to or greater than the bandwidth of the information.
For example, voice frequencies contain signals between
300 Hz and 3000 Hz. Therefore, a voice frequency
channel must have a bandwidth equal to or greater than
2700 Hz (300 Hz-3000 Hz).
If a cable television transmission system has a passband
from 500kHz to 5000kHz, it has a bandwidth of 4500 kHz.

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Information Capacity

Information theory: is a theoretical study of the efficient

use of bandwidth to propagate information through
electronic communications systems.
Information theory can be used to determine the
information capacity of a data communications system.
Information capacity: represents the number of
independent symbols that can be carried through a system
in a given unit of time.
The most basic digital symbol used to represent
information is the binary digit or bit.
It is convenient to express the information capacity of a
system as a bit rate.
Bit rate: is the number of bits transmitted during one
second and is expressed in bits per second (bps).

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Information Capacity (2)

In 1928, R. Hartley (Bell Telephone Laboratories)

developed a useful relationship among bandwidth
(B), transmission time (t), and information capacity
(I). Simply stated, Hartleys law is
IBxt
In 1948, mathematician Claude E. shannon (Bell
Telephone Laboratories) published a paper relating
the information capacity of a communication channel
to bandwidth and signal-to-noise power ratio (S/N).
Mathematically stated, the shannon limit for
information capacity is

S
I B log 2 1
N

S
I 3.32 B log10 1
N

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Two Basic of Electronic Communication

System

An analog communication system

Is a system in which energy is transmitted and received in analog form (a

continuously varying signal such as sine wave)

Both the information and the carriers are analog signal

The digital communication system

Covers a broad range of communication techniques, including
digital transmission and digital radio

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Two Basic of Electronic Communication

System(2)
Digital transmission
- Is a true digital system where digital pulses are transferred between
two or more point a communication system
- There is no analog carrier, and the original source may be in digital or
analog form
- Require physical transmission medium such as metallic cable or optical
fiber

Digital Radio
- Is the transmitted of digitally modulated carrier between two or
more points in a communication system
- The modulating signal and the demodulated signal are digital
pulses
- Digital pulse modulate an analog carrier
- Transmission medium may be a physical facility or free space
(i.e. The Earths atmosphere)

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Advantage of using Digital transmission

compared to Analog transmission

Increased immunity to channel noise and external

interference

Flexible operation of the system

A common format for the transmission of different kinds

of message signals (e.g. voice signals, video signals,
computer data)

Improved security of communication through the use of

encryption

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Summary of various modulation technique

Analog Modulation Types

Amplitude Modulation (AM): is the one if the information signal is analog and the
amplitude (V) of the carrier is varied proportional to the information signal
Frequency Modulation (FM): is the one if the frequency (f) of the carrier is varied
proportional to the information signal
Phase modulation (PM): is the one if the phase () of the carrier is varied proportional
to the information signal
Digital Modulation Types
Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK): is the one if the information signal is digital and the
amplitude (V) of the carrier is varied proportional to the information signal
Frequency Shift Keying (FSK): is the one if the frequency (f) of the carrier is varied
proportional to the information signal
Phase Shift Keying (PSK): is the one if the phase () of the carrier is varied
proportional to the information signal
Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM): is the one if both the amplitude (V) and the
phase () of the carrier are varied proportional to the information signal

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Why Modulation is necessary

It is extremely difficult to radiate low frequency

signals from an antenna in the form of
electromagnetic energy
It is possible to combine a number of baseband
(information) signal and send them through the
medium, provided different carrier frequencies
are used for different baseband signals
Transmitting signals over large distance,
because low frequency signals have poor
radiation characteristics

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Analog vs. Digital Systems

Analog signals

The amplitude changes continuously

with respect to time with no discontinuities

Digital signals

The one which are discrete and their

amplitudes maintains a constant level
for prescribed period of time and then it
changes to another level

x(t)
t

Digital systems more robust

x(t)

Binary signals

Has at most 2 values

Used to represent bit values
Bit time T needed to send 1 bit
Data rate R=1/T bits per second

t
x(t)

1
0

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1
0 0

1
0

Fourier Transforms

Let the frequency spacing

infinity such that the product

approach zero, and the index n approach

approaches a continuous frequency variable f. Then

The bracketed term is the Fourier transform of v(t) symbolized by

and defined as:

or

The time function v(t) is recovered from V(f) by the inverse Fourier transform

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Frequency Translation and Modulation

Besides generating new transform pairs, duality can be used to generate

transform theorems. In particular, a dual of the time-delay theorem is

Since
is not a real time function and cannot occur as a
communication signal. However, signals of the form
are
common-in fact, they are the basis of carrier modulation-and by direct
extension of the equation above we have the following modulation theorem:

The theorem is easily proved with the aid of Eulers theorem

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Special Functions

Dirac delta function

(t)

Exponentials

(f-fc)

fc

Sinusoids

Acos(2fct)

Aej2fct

(f+fc)
-fc

(f-fc)
fc

Delta Function Train

n(t-n/Ts)

Ts n(t-nTs)

-3Ts

-2Ts

-Ts

Ts

2Ts

3Ts

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-1/Ts

1/Ts

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