Chapter One:

Introduction to Communication
Systems
 Introduction
• Communications was one of the first applications of
electrical technology
• Practical electrical communications began with the telegraph
• Voice communication became possible with the invention of
the telephone
• Marconi developed the first transatlantic radio
communication in 1901
 Elements of a
Communication System
• Any communication system moves information from a
source to a destination through a channel
• The diagram below illustrates the basic elements of all
communication systems
 The Source
• The source of the information signal can be analog or
digital
• Typical examples are video, audio, and digital data
• Sources may be described by the frequency range they
occupy
– Telephone-quality frequency range is 300 Hz - 3 kHz
– Music frequency range is 20 Hz - 20 kHz
– Video requires a frequency range from dc to 4.2 MHz
 The Channel
• A communication channel can be:
– A pair of conductors
– Fiber-optic cable
– Radio Frequency
• Sometimes the channel carries the information directly
• Some situations call for a carrier signal to propagate the signal
and typically, this carrier will be modulated
• The information impressed upon the carrier is referred to as the
modulating signal
• The frequency spectrum of the information signal is referred to as
the baseband
 Types of Modulation
• All systems of modulation are variations on a small
number of possibilities
• A carrier is generated at a much higher frequency than the
highest baseband signal
• Usually, the carrier is a sine wave
• In modulation, the parameters that can be changed are:
– Frequency
– Amplitude
– Phase
 Signal Bandwidth
• An unmodulated carrier would exist at only one frequency
and has zero bandwidth
• How much frequency range is needed for a carrier depends
upon the baseband frequency range
• Hartley’s Law relates bandwidth and information capacity:

I = ktB
Frequency-Division Multiplexing
• Using modulated carriers, several carriers can be used at
different frequencies
• Multiplexing is the term used to refer to the combining of
two or more information signals
• When the available frequency range is divided among the
signals, the process is known as frequency-division
multiplexing
• Radio and television signals are examples of FDM
FDM in VHF Band
 Time-Division Multiplexing
• Another method used for for multiplexing is called time-
division multiplexing
• Instead of dividing the bandwidth, the entire bandwidth is
used for each signal, but only for a small part of the time
• Digital telephone systems use TDM
Frequency
Bands
 Distortionless Transmission
• A receiver should restore the baseband signal exactly
• Any changes in the baseband signal are referred to as
distortion
• Some types of distortion are:
– Intermodulation distortion
– Harmonic distortion
– Nonlinear frequency response
– Nonlinear phase response
– Noise
– Interference
 Time and Frequency Domains
• Time domain refers to amplitude versus time
• Signals can also be described as frequency domain
• Spectrum analyzers gives a frequency-domain representation of a
signal
 Fourier Series
• Any well-behaved periodic waveform can be represented
as a series of sine and/or cosine waves at multiples of its
fundamental frequency
• This is known as a Fourier series
• Mathematically, a Fourier series is expressed by:

A0
f (t)   A1 cos t  B1 sin t  A2 cost  B2t....
2
 Effect of Filtering on Signals
• Many signals have a bandwidth that is theoretically infinite
• Limiting the frequency response of a channel removes
some of these signals and causes the time domain to be
distorted
• Shifting the phase angles of a square wave results in a
signal other than a square wave
• In general, the wider the bandwidth, the better
• For practical and legal purposes, bandwidth is constrained
to less than optimal
 Noise and Communications
• Noise in a channel originates both in the channel and in the
communication equipment
• Noise consists of undesired, usually random, variations
that interfere with the signals and inhibit communication
• Noise is classed one of two ways:
– External noise
– Internal noise
 External Noise
• External noise
– Equipment noise
– Atmospheric noise
– Space noise
 Internal Noise
• Internal noise
– Thermal noise
– Shot noise
– Partition noise
– Excess noise (flicker noise)
– Transit-time noise
 Addition of Noise from
Different Sources
• All of the noise sources have random waveforms
• The amplitude at a particular time cannot be predicted,
though the average voltage is zero and the RMS voltage or
current and average power are predictable (and not zero)
 Signal-to-Noise Ratio
• In an analog system, noise makes the signal unpleasant to
watch or listen to, or in extreme cases, difficult to understand
• In digital systems, noise increases the error rate
• Overall, it is not the level of the noise that is of interest in a
system but the ratio of the signal to noise power
• This signal-to-noise ratio is usually expressed in decibels is
one of the most important characteristics of a communication
system
• Signal-to-noise ratio is found by:
PS
S / N (dB)  10 log
PN
 Noise Figure
• Since thermal noise is produced by all conductors and
active devices, it follows that any stage in a
communication system will add noise
• Noise Figure is a figure of merit, indicating how much a
component, stage, or series of stages degrades the signal-
to-noise ratio of a system

(S /N )i
NF 
(S /N )o
 Equivalent Noise Temperature
• Equivalent noise temperature is
another way of specifying the
noise performance of a device
• Noise temperature has nothing to
do with the temperature of the
device; it is the absolute
temperature of a resistor, that
connected to the input of a
noiseless amplifier, would produce
the same noise at the output as the
device under discussion
 Cascaded Amplifiers
• When two or more amplifiers are connected in cascade,
the noise figure of the first stage is the most important in
figuring the noise performance of the entire system
because the noise generated there is amplified in all
succeeding stages
 Spectrum Analysis
• An ordinary oscilloscope is
useful for examining the
time domain of a signal
• A spectrum analyzer is
used for the analysis of a
signal in the frequency
domain