Introduction to Communication System

Communication is the process by which information is exchanged between individuals through

a medium.
Communication can also be defined as the transfer of information from one point in space and
time to another point.
The basic block diagram of a communication system is as follows.

Noise in Communications
• Noise is unavoidable in a channel
– Noise refers to unwanted waves that disturb communications
 – Signal is contaminated by noise along the path.
• External noise: interference from nearby channels, human made noise, natural noise...
• Internal noise: thermal noise, random emission... in electronic devices
• Noise is one of the basic factors that set limits on communications.
• A widely used metric is the signal-to-noise (power) ratio (SNR)

Transmitter and Receiver

• The transmitter modifies the message signal into a form suitable for transmission over the
channel
• This modification often involves modulation
– Moving the signal to a high-frequency carrier (up-conversion) and varying some
parameter of the carrier wave
– Analog: AM, FM, PM
– Digital: ASK FSK PSK (SK: shift keying)
• The receiver recreates the original message by demodulation
– Recovery is not exact due to noise/distortion
– The resulting degradation is influenced by the type of modulation
• Design of analog communication is conceptually simple
• Digital communication is more efficient and reliable; design is more sophisticated
Objectives of System Design
• Two primary resources in communications
– Transmitted power)
– Channel bandwidth (very expensive in the commercial market)
• In certain scenarios, one resource may be more important than the other
– Power limited (e.g. deep-space communication)
– Bandwidth limited ( e.g. mobile communication )
• Objectives of a communication system design
 –The message is delivered both efficiently and reliably, subject to certain design
constraints: power, bandwidth, and cost.
– Efficiency is usually measured by the amount of messages sent in unit power, unit time
and unit bandwidth.
– Reliability is expressed in terms of SNR or probability of error.
Information Theory
• In digital communications, is it possible to operate at zero error rate even though the
channel is noisy?
The famous Shannon capacity formula for a channel with bandwidth W (Hz)
C = W log2(1+SNR) bps (bits per second)
– Zero error rate is possible as long as actual signaling rate is less than C.
If the transmission rate R ≤ 𝐶, the there exists a coding scheme such that the output of
the source can be transmitted over a noisy channel with an arbitrarily small probability of
error. Conversely, it is not possible to transmit messages without error if R >C
Implication
The basic limitation due to noise in a communication channel is not on the reliability of
communication, but rather, on the speed of communication
For additive white gaussian noise channel, the cannel capacity is

B- the bandwidth of the channel

P- the average signal power at the receiver
N0- the single sided power spectral density off noise
How can we achieve this rate?
Design power error correcting codes to correct as many errors possible
Use the ideal modulation schemes that does not lose information in the detection process

Tradeoff between power and bandwidth: to get the same target capacity C, one may
 Increase power, decrease bandwidth
 Decrease power, increase bandwidth
 Remember
A = 10*log10(P2/P1) (dB)
where P1 is the power being measured, and P1 is the reference to which P2 is being
compared

Modulation

Introduction

For a signal to be transmitted to a distance, without the effect of any external interferences or
noise addition and without getting faded away, it has to undergo a process called as
Modulation.

It improves the strength of the signal without disturbing the parameters of the original signal.

What is Modulation?

A message carrying a signal has to get transmitted over a distance and for it to establish a reliable
communication, it needs to take the help of a high frequency signal which should not affect the
original characteristics of the message signal.
The characteristics of the message signal, if changed, the message contained in it also alters.
Hence, it is a must to take care of the message signal. A high frequency signal can travel up to a
longer distance, without getting affected by external disturbances. We take the help of such high
frequency signal which is called as a carrier signal to transmit our message signal. Such a
process is simply called as Modulation.

Modulation is the process of changing the parameters of the carrier signal, in accordance
with the instantaneous values of the modulating signal.

Need for Modulation

Baseband signals are incompatible for direct transmission.

A baseband signal is an original transmission signal that has not be modulated, or has been
demodulated to its original frequency.

For such a signal, to travel longer distances, its strength has to be increased by modulating with a
high frequency carrier wave, which doesn’t affect the parameters of the modulating signal.

Advantages of Modulation

The antenna used for transmission, had to be very large, if modulation was not introduced. The
range of communication gets limited as the wave cannot travel a distance without getting
distorted.

Following are some of the advantages for implementing modulation in the communication
systems.

 Reduction of antenna size

 No signal mixing
 Increased communication range
 Multiplexing of signals
 Possibility of bandwidth adjustments
 Improved reception quality

Signals in the Modulation Process

Following are the three types of signals in the modulation process.

Message or Modulating Signal

The signal which contains a message to be transmitted, is called as a message signal. It is a

baseband signal, which has to undergo the process of modulation, to get transmitted. Hence, it is
also called as the modulating signal.
Carrier Signal

The high frequency signal, which has a certain amplitude, frequency and phase but contains
no information is called as a carrier signal.

It is an empty signal and is used to carry the signal to the receiver after modulation.

Modulated Signal

The resultant signal after the process of modulation is called as a modulated signal.

This signal is a combination of modulating signal and carrier signal.

Types of Modulation

There are mainly two categories of modulations: analog and digital.

Analog Modulation:

Analog modulation refers to the process of transferring analog low frequency baseband
signal, like an audio or TV signal over a higher frequency carrier signal such as a radio
frequency band. Baseband signal is always analog for this modulation.

There are three properties of a carrier signal: amplitude, frequency and phase thus there are three
basic types of analog modulations.

1. Amplitude Modulation (AM)

2. Frequency Modulation (FM)
3. Phase modulation (PM)
Amplitute Modulation

Amplitude modulation or AM is the process of varying the instantaneous amplitude of carrier

signal accordingly with instantaneous amplitude of message signal.

Which means, the amplitude of the carrier signal containing no information varies as per the
amplitude of the signal containing information, at each instant. This can be well explained by the
following figures.
The first figure shows the modulating wave, which is the message signal. The next one is the
carrier wave, which is a high frequency signal and contains no information. While, the last one is
the resultant modulated wave.

It can be observed that the positive and negative peaks of the carrier wave, are interconnected
with an imaginary line. This line helps recreating the exact shape of the modulating signal. This
imaginary line on the carrier wave is called as Envelope. It is the same as that of the message
signal.

Mathematical Expressions

Following are the mathematical expressions for these waves.

Time-domain Representation of the Waves

Let the modulating signal be,

and the carrier signal be,

Where,
𝑨𝒎 and 𝑨𝒄 are the amplitude of the modulating signal and the carrier signal respectively.
𝒇𝒎 and 𝒇𝒄 are the frequency of the modulating signal and the carrier signal respectively
Then, the equation of Amplitude Modulated wave will be

Modulation Index

It states the level of modulation that a carrier wave undergoes.

Rearrange the Equation 1 as below.

Where, μ(mu) is Modulation index and it is equal to the ratio of Am and Ac

Mathematically, we can write it as

Hence, we can calculate the value of modulation index by using the above formula, when the
amplitudes of the message and carrier signals are known.

Now, let us derive one more formula for Modulation index by considering Equation 1. We
can use this formula for calculating modulation index value, when the maximum and
minimum amplitudes of the modulated wave are known.

Let Amax and Amin be the maximum and minimum amplitudes of the modulated wave.

We will get the maximum amplitude of the modulated wave, when cos(2πfmt) is 1.

We will get the minimum amplitude of the modulated wave, when cos(2πfmt) is -1.

Add Equation 4 and Equation 5.

Subtract Equation 5 from Equation 4.

he ratio of Equation 7 and Equation 6 will be as follows.

Therefore, Equation 3 and Equation 8 are the two formulas for Modulation index. The
modulation index or modulation depth is often denoted in percentage called as Percentage of
Modulation. We will get the percentage of modulation, just by multiplying the modulation
index value with 100.

For a perfect modulation, the value of modulation index should be 1, which implies the
percentage of modulation should be 100%.

For instance, if this value is less than 1, i.e., the modulation index is 0.5, then the modulated
output would look like the following figure. It is called as Under-modulation. Such a wave is
called as an under-modulated wave.

If the value of the modulation index is greater than 1, i.e., 1.5 or so, then the wave will be an
over-modulated wave. It would look like the following figure.
As the value of the modulation index increases, the carrier experiences a 180 o phase reversal,
which causes additional sidebands and hence, the wave gets distorted. Such an over-modulated
wave causes interference, which cannot be eliminated.

Bandwidth of AM Wave

Bandwidth (BW) is the difference between the highest and lowest frequencies of the signal.
Mathematically, we can write it as

Remember

Consider the following equation of amplitude modulated wave.

Hence, the amplitude modulated wave has three frequencies. Those are carrier frequency
fc, upper sideband frequency fc+fm and lower sideband frequency fc−fm

Here,
Substitute, fmax and fmin values in bandwidth formula.

Thus, it can be said that the bandwidth required for amplitude modulated wave is twice the
frequency of the modulating signal.

Power Calculations of AM Wave

Consider the following equation of amplitude modulated wave.

Power of AM wave is equal to the sum of powers of carrier, upper sideband, and lower
sideband frequency components.

We know that the standard formula for power of cos signal is

2 (𝑣𝑚 /√2)
𝑣𝑟𝑚𝑠
𝑃= =
𝑅 𝑅

Where,

First, let us find the powers of the carrier, the upper and lower sideband one by one.
Carrier power

Upper sideband power

Similarly, we will get the lower sideband power same as that of the upper side band power.

Now, let us add these three powers in order to get the power of AM wave.

We can use the above formula to calculate the power of AM wave, when the carrier power and
the modulation index are known.

If the modulation index μ=1 then the power of AM wave is equal to 1.5 times the carrier power. So,
the power required for transmitting an AM wave is 1.5 times the carrier power for a perfect modulation.
AM Advantage

AM is the simplest type of modulation. Hardware design of both transmitter and receiver is very
simple and less cost effective.

AM Disadvange:

AM is very susceptible to noise.

Application:

AM radio broad cast is an example

Example 1
A modulating signal 𝒎(𝒕) = 𝟏𝟎𝐜𝐨𝐬⁡(𝟐𝝅𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟑 𝒕) is amplitude modulated with a carrier
𝒄(𝒕) = 𝟓𝟎𝐜𝐨𝐬⁡(𝟐𝝅𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟓 𝒕) .Find (6 mks)
i. The modulation index (2 mks)

, By comparing the above two equations, we will

get
Amplitude of modulating signal as Am=10volts and Frequency of modulating
signal as fm=103Hz=1KHz

The standard equation of carrier signal is

By comparing these two equations, we will get Amplitude of carrier signal
as Ac=50volts and Frequency of carrier signal as fc=105Hz=100KHz

We know the formula for modulation index as ,

ii. The carrier power (2 mks). Assume R=1Ω

Assume R=1Ω and substitute Ac value in the above formula

iii. The power required for transmitting AM wave (2 mks)

We know the formula for power required for transmitting AM wave is
 ,
Therefore, the power required for transmitting AM wave is 1275 watts.

AM Modulators

The following two modulators generate AM wave.

 Square law modulator

 Switching modulator

Square Law Modulator

Following is the block diagram of the square law modulator

Let the modulating and carrier signals be denoted as m(t) and Accos(2πfct) respectively. These
two signals are applied as inputs to the summer (adder) block. This summer block produces an
output, which is the addition of the modulating and the carrier signal. Mathematically, we can
write it as

This signal V1t is applied as an input to a nonlinear device like diode. The characteristics of the
diode are closely related to square law.

Where, k1 and k2 are constants.

Substitute V1(t) in Equation 1

The last term of the above equation represents the desired AM wave and the first three
terms of the above equation are unwanted. So, with the help of band pass filter, we can
pass only AM wave and eliminate the first three terms.

Therefore, the output of square law modulator is

The standard equation of AM wave is

Where, Ka is the amplitude sensitivity

By comparing the output of the square law modulator with the standard equation of AM wave,
we will get the scaling factor as k1 and the amplitude sensitivity ka as 2k2 /k1.

Switching Modulator

Following is the block diagram of switching modulator.

Switching modulator is similar to the square law modulator. The only difference is that in the
square law modulator, the diode is operated in a non-linear mode, whereas, in the switching
modulator, the diode has to operate as an ideal switch.

Let the modulating and carrier signals be denoted as m(t) and c(t)=Accos(2πfct) respectively.
These two signals are applied as inputs to the summer (adder) block. Summer block produces an
output, which is the addition of modulating and carrier signals.

Mathematically, we can write it as

This signal V1(t) is applied as an input of diode. Assume, the amplitude of the modulating signal
is very small when compared to the amplitude of carrier signal Ac. So, the diode’s ON and OFF
action is controlled by carrier signal c(t). This means, the diode will be forward biased when
c(t)>0 and it will be reverse biased when c(t)<0

Therefore, the output of the diode is

We can approximate this as

The Fourier series representation of this periodic pulse train is

Substitute, V1(t) and x(t) values in Equation 2.

The 1st term of the above equation represents the desired AM wave and the remaining
terms are unwanted terms. Thus, with the help of band pass filter, we can pass only AM
wave and eliminate the remaining terms.

Therefore, the output of switching modulator is

We know the standard equation of AM wave is

Where, ka is the amplitude sensitivity.

By comparing the output of the switching modulator with the standard equation of AM wave, we
will get the scaling factor as 0.5 and amplitude sensitivity ka as 4/πAc.

AM Demodulators

The process of extracting an original message signal from the modulated wave is known as
detection or demodulation. The circuit, which demodulates the modulated wave is known as the
demodulator. The following demodulators (detectors) are used for demodulating AM wave.

 Square Law Demodulator

 Envelope Detector

Square Law Demodulator

Square law demodulator is used to demodulate low level AM wave. Following is the block
diagram of the square law demodulator.

This demodulator contains a square law device and low pass filter. The AM wave V1(t) is applied
as an input to this demodulator.

The standard form of AM wave is

We know that the mathematical relationship between the input and the output of square law
device is

Where,

V1(t) is the input of the square law device, which is nothing but the AM wave

V2(t) is the output of the square law device

k1 and k2 are constants

Substitute V1(t) in Equation 1

Remember

In the above equation, the term k2Ac2kam(t) is the scaled version of the message signal. It can be
extracted by passing the above signal through a low pass filter and the DC component k2Ac2/2
can be eliminated with the help of a coupling capacitor.

Envelope Detector

Envelope detector is used to detect (demodulate) high level AM wave. Following is the block
diagram of the envelope detector.

This envelope detector consists of a diode and low pass filter. Here, the diode is the main
detecting element. Hence, the envelope detector is also called as the diode detector. The low
pass filter contains a parallel combination of the resistor and the capacitor.
The AM wave s(t) is applied as an input to this detector.

We know the standard form of AM wave is

In the positive half cycle of AM wave, the diode conducts and the capacitor charges to the peak
value of AM wave. When the value of AM wave is less than this value, the diode will be reverse
biased. Thus, the capacitor will discharge through a resistor R till the next positive half cycle of
AM wave. When the value of AM wave is greater than the capacitor voltage, the diode conducts
and the process will be repeated.

We should select the component values in such a way that the capacitor charges very quickly and
discharges very slowly. As a result, we will get the capacitor voltage waveform same as that of
the envelope of AM wave, which is almost similar to the modulating signal.

Angle Modulation

Angle Modulation is the process in which the frequency or the phase of the carrier signal varies
according to the message signal.

The standard equation of the angle modulated wave is

Where,

Ac is the amplitude of the modulated wave, which is the same as the amplitude of the carrier
signal

θi(t) is the angle of the modulated wave

Angle modulation is further divided into frequency modulation and phase modulation.

 Frequency Modulation is the process of varying the frequency of the carrier signal
linearly with the message signal.
 Phase Modulation is the process of varying the phase of the carrier signal linearly with
the message signal.

Now, let us discuss these in detail.

Frequency Modulation
In amplitude modulation, the amplitude of the carrier signal varies. Whereas, in Frequency
Modulation (FM), the frequency of the carrier signal varies in accordance with the
instantaneous amplitude of the modulating signal.

Hence, in frequency modulation, the amplitude and the phase of the carrier signal remains
constant. This can be better understood by observing the following figures.
The frequency of the modulated wave increases, when the amplitude of the modulating or
message signal increases. Similarly, the frequency of the modulated wave decreases, when the
amplitude of the modulating signal decreases. Note that, the frequency of the modulated wave
remains constant and it is equal to the frequency of the carrier signal, when the amplitude of the
modulating signal is zero.

Mathematical Representation

The equation for instantaneous frequency fi in FM modulation is

Where,

fc is the carrier frequency

kf is the frequency sensitivity

m(t) is the message signal

We know the relationship between angular frequency ωi and angle θi(t) as

Substitute, fi value in the above equation.

Substitute, θi(t) value in the standard equation of angle modulated wave.

This is the equation of FM wave.

If the modulating signal is m(t)=Amcos(2πfmt), then the equation of FM wave will be

Where,

The difference between FM modulated frequency (instantaneous frequency) and normal carrier
frequency is termed as Frequency Deviation. It is denoted by Δf, which is equal to the product
of kf and Am.

FM can be divided into Narrowband FM and Wideband FM based on the values of

modulation index β.

Narrowband FM

Following are the features of Narrowband FM.

 This frequency modulation has a small bandwidth when compared to wideband FM.
 The modulation index β is small, i.e., less than 1.
 Its spectrum consists of the carrier, the upper sideband and the lower sideband.
 This is used in mobile communications such as police wireless, ambulances, taxicabs, etc.

Wideband FM

Following are the features of Wideband FM.

 This frequency modulation has infinite bandwidth.

 The modulation index β is large, i.e., higher than 1.
 Its spectrum consists of a carrier and infinite number of sidebands, which are located
around it.
 This is used in entertainment, broadcasting applications such as FM radio, TV, etc.
FM Advantage

Modulation and demodulation does not catch any channel noise.

FM Disadvange:

Circuit needed for FM modulation and demodulation is bit complicated than AM

Application:

1) FM radio broad cast is an example

Example 1
A sinusoidal modulating waveform of amplitude 5V and a frequency of 2 KHz is applied to
FM generator, which has a frequency sensitivity of 40 Hz/volt. Calculate:
i. The frequency deviation
Given, the amplitude of modulating signal, Am=5V
Frequency of modulating signal, fm=2KHz
Frequency sensitivity, kf=40Hz/volt
We know the formula for Frequency deviation as
Δf=kfAm
Substitute kf and Am values in the above formula.
Δf=40×5=200Hz
Therefore, frequency deviation, Δf is 200Hz
ii. The modulation index
Substitute Δf and fm values in the above formula

,
Here, the value of modulation index, β is 0.1, which is less than one.
Hence, it is Narrow
iii. The bandwidth
The formula for Bandwidth of Narrow Band FM is the same as that of AM

wave.

. Substitute fm value in the above formula

Therefore, the bandwidth of Narrow Band FM wave is 4KHz
Phase Modulation

In frequency modulation, the frequency of the carrier varies. Whereas, in Phase Modulation
(PM), the phase of the carrier signal varies in accordance with the instantaneous amplitude of the
modulating signal.

So, in phase modulation, the amplitude and the frequency of the carrier signal remains constant.
This can be better understood by observing the following figures.
The phase of the modulated wave has got infinite points, where the phase shift in a wave can
take place. The instantaneous amplitude of the modulating signal changes the phase of the carrier
signal. When the amplitude is positive, the phase changes in one direction and if the amplitude is
negative, the phase changes in the opposite direction.

Mathematical Representation

The equation for instantaneous phase ϕi in phase modulation is

Where,

 Kp is the phase sensitivity

 m(t) is the message signal

The standard equation of angle modulated wave is

Substitute, ϕi value in the above equation.

This is the equation of PM wave.

If the modulating signal, m(t)=Amcos(2πfmt) , then the equation of PM wave will be

Where,

Phase modulation is used in mobile communication systems, while frequency modulation is used
mainly for FM broadcasting.
PM Advantage

Modulation and demodulation does not catch any channel noise.

PM Disadvange:

Circuit needed for PM modulation and demodulation is bit complicated than AM and FM

Application:

1) Satellite communication.

FM Modulators

Let us discuss about the modulators which generate NBFM and WBFM waves.

Generation of NBFM

We know that the standard equation of FM wave is

Remember

For NBFM,

We know that cosθ≈1 and sinθ≈ θ when θ is very small.

By using the above relations, we will get the NBFM equation as

The block diagram of NBFM modulator is shown in the following figure.

Here, the integrator is used to integrate the modulating signal m(t). The carrier signal Accos(2πfct)
is the phase shifted by −900 to get Acsin(2πfct) with the help of −900 phase shifter. The product
modulator has two inputs ∫m(t)dt and Acsin(2πfct). It produces an output, which is the product of
these two inputs. This is further multiplied with 2πkf by placing a block 2πkf in the forward path.
The summer block has two inputs, which are nothing but the two terms of NBFM equation.
Positive and negative signs are assigned for the carrier signal and the other term at the input of
the summer block. Finally, the summer block produces NBFM wave.

Generation of WBFM

The following two methods generate WBFM wave.

 Direct method
 Indirect method

Direct Method

This method is called as the Direct Method because we are generating a wide band FM wave
directly. In this method, Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) is used to generate WBFM. VCO
produces an output signal, whose frequency is proportional to the input signal voltage. This is
similar to the definition of FM wave. The block diagram of the generation of WBFM wave is
shown in the following figure.
Here, the modulating signal m(t) is applied as an input of Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO).
VCO produces an output, which is nothing but the WBFM.

Where,

fi is the instantaneous frequency of WBFM wave.

Indirect Method

This method is called as Indirect Method because we are generating a wide band FM wave
indirectly. This means, first we will generate NBFM wave and then with the help of frequency
multipliers we will get WBFM wave. The block diagram of generation of WBFM wave is shown
in the following figure.

This block diagram contains mainly two stages. In the first stage, the NBFM wave will be
generated using NBFM modulator. We have seen the block diagram of NBFM modulator at the
beginning of this chapter. We know that the modulation index of NBFM wave is less than one.
Hence, in order to get the required modulation index (greater than one) of FM wave, choose the
frequency multiplier value properly.

Frequency multiplier is a non-linear device, which produces an output signal whose frequency
is ‘n’ times the input signal frequency. Where, ‘n’ is the multiplication factor.

If NBFM wave whose modulation index β is less than 1 is applied as the input of frequency
multiplier, then the frequency multiplier produces an output signal, whose modulation index is
‘n’ times β and the frequency also ‘n’ times the frequency of WBFM wave.

Sometimes, we may require multiple stages of frequency multiplier and mixers in order to
increase the frequency deviation and modulation index of FM wave.
FM Demodulators

In this chapter, let us discuss about the demodulators which demodulate the FM wave. The
following two methods demodulate FM wave.

 Frequency discrimination method

 Phase discrimination method

Frequency Discrimination Method

We know that the equation of FM wave is

Differentiate the above equation with respect to 't'.

We can write, −sinθ as sin(θ−1800).

In the above equation, the amplitude term resembles the envelope of AM wave and the angle
term resembles the angle of FM wave. Here, our requirement is the modulating signal m(t).
Hence, we can recover it from the envelope of AM wave.

The following figure shows the block diagram of FM demodulator using frequency
discrimination method.
This block diagram consists of the differentiator and the envelope detector. Differentiator is used
to convert the FM wave into a combination of AM wave and FM wave. This means, it converts
the frequency variations of FM wave into the corresponding voltage (amplitude) variations of
AM wave. We know the operation of the envelope detector. It produces the demodulated output
of AM wave, which is nothing but the modulating signal.

Phase Discrimination Method

The following figure shows the block diagram of FM demodulator using phase discrimination
method.

This block diagram consists of the multiplier, the low pass filter, and the Voltage Controlled
Oscillator (VCO). VCO produces an output signal v(t), whose frequency is proportional to the
input signal voltage d(t). Initially, when the signal d(t) is zero, adjust the VCO to produce an
output signal v(t), having a carrier frequency and −900 phase shift with respect to the carrier
signal. FM wave s(t) and the VCO output v(t) are applied as inputs of the multiplier. The
multiplier produces an output, having a high frequency component and a low frequency
component. Low pass filter eliminates the high frequency component and produces only the low
frequency component as its output.

This low frequency component contains only the term-related phase difference. Hence, we get
the modulating signal m(t) from this output of the low pass filter.

Comparing and contrasting between AM and FM

Limiters

Another name which we often come across while going through these clippers and clampers is
the limiter circuit. A limiter circuit can be understood as the one which limits the output voltage
from exceeding a pre-determined value.
This is more or less a clipper circuit which does not allow the specified value of the signal to
exceed. Actually clipping can be termed as an extreme extent of limiting. Hence limiting can be
understood as a smooth clipping.
The following image shows some examples of limiter circuits −
The performance of a limiter circuit can be understood from its transfer characteristic curve. An
example for such a curve is as follows.

The lower and upper limits are specified in the graph which indicate the limiter characteristics.

Types of Limiters

There are few types of limiters such as

 Unipolar Limiter − This circuit limits the signal in one way.
 Bipolar Limiter − This circuit limits the signal in two way.
 Soft Limiter − The output may change in this circuit for even a slight change in the input.
 Hard Limiter − The output will not easily change with the change in input signal.
 Single Limiter − This circuit employs one diode for limiting.
 Double Limiter − This circuit employs two diodes for limiting.
AM and FM transmitters.

AM Transmitter

AM transmitter takes the audio signal as an input and delivers amplitude modulated wave to the
antenna as an output to be transmitted. The block diagram of AM transmitter is shown in the
following figure.

The working of AM transmitter can be explained as follows.

 The audio signal from the output of the microphone is sent to the pre-amplifier, which
boosts the level of the modulating signal.
 The RF oscillator generates the carrier signal.
 Both the modulating and the carrier signal is sent to AM modulator.
 Power amplifier is used to increase the power levels of AM wave. This wave is finally
passed to the antenna to be transmitted.

FM Transmitter

FM transmitter is the whole unit, which takes the audio signal as an input and delivers FM wave
to the antenna as an output to be transmitted. The block diagram of FM transmitter is shown in
the following figure.
The working of FM transmitter can be explained as follows.
 The audio signal from the output of the microphone is sent to the pre-amplifier, which
boosts the level of the modulating signal.
 This signal is then passed to high pass filter, which acts as a pre-emphasis network to filter
out the noise and improve the signal to noise ratio.
 This signal is further passed to the FM modulator circuit.
 The oscillator circuit generates a high frequency carrier, which is sent to the modulator
along with the modulating signal.
 Several stages of frequency multiplier are used to increase the operating frequency. Even
then, the power of the signal is not enough to transmit. Hence, a RF power amplifier is
used at the end to increase the power of the modulated signal. This FM modulated output
is finally passed to the antenna to be transmitted.

Application of Fm Transmitter
 The FM transmitters are used in the homes like sound systems in halls to fill the sound
with the audio source.
 These are also used in the cars and fitness centers.
 The correctional facilities have used in the FM transmitters to reduce the prison noise in
common areas.
Advantages of the FM Transmitters
 The FM transmitters are easy to use and the price is low
 The efficiency of the transmitter is very high
 It has a large operating range
 This transmitter will reject the noise signal from an amplitude variation.

Receivers
Introduction to Radio Receivers:
In radio communications, a radio receiver (receiver or simply radio) is an electronic
device that receives radio waves and converts the information carried by them to a usable
form.
Types of Receivers:
Tuned Radio Frequency Receiver:

Fig.1. TRF Receiver

Problems in TRF Receivers:

Fig.2. Block diagram of Super heterodyne Receiver.
Characteristics of Radio Receiver:
Fig.3. Typical Fidelity curve
Blocks in Super heterodyne Receiver:
Basic principle
o Mixing
o Intermediate frequency of 455 KHz
o Ganged tuning
RF section
o Tuning circuits – reject interference and reduce noise figure
o Wide band RF amplifier
Local Oscillator
o 995 KHz to 2105 KHz
o Tracking
IF amplifier
o Very narrow band width Class A amplifier – selects 455 KHz only
o Provides much of the gain
o Double tuned circuits
Detector
o RF is filtered to ground

Requirement for a receiver to function effectively

 It should be cost-effective.
 It should receive the corresponding modulated waves.
 The receiver should be able to tune and amplify the desired station.
 It should have an ability to reject the unwanted stations.
 Demodulation has to be done to all the station signals, irrespective of the carrier signal
frequency.