COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

BTB15104 / S2`14

Topic 1
Introduction to Communication System

Communication Technology Section

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Introduction
 Communications
 Transfer of information from one place to another.
 Should be efficient, reliable and secured.
 “A communication system is a process of conveying
information from a source to a destination”.

 Communication system
 Components/subsystems act together to accomplish
information transfer/exchange.

 Electronic Communication system

 Transmission, reception, and processing of information
between two or more locations using electronic circuits.
 “An electronic communication system is transferring information
using an electrical field as a mean of signal”.

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Electromagnetic Signal

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Significance of Human Communication

 Communication is the process of exchanging information.

 Main barriers are language and distance.

 Methods of communication:
1. Face to face
2. Signals
3. Written word (letters)
4. Electrical innovations:
 Telegraph

 Telephone

 Radio

 Television

 Internet (computer)

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Requirements
1. Rate of information transfer
 The rate of information transfer is defined as the amount
of information that must be communicated from source to
destination.
 It will determine the physical form and technique used to
transmit and receive information and therefore determines
the way system is designed and constructed .

2. Purity of signal received

 The received signal must be the same as the transmitted
signal.

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Requirements
3. Simplicity of the system
 Any communication system must be convenient in order to
be effective and efficient and easy to use.

4. Reliability
 Users must be able to depend on a communication system.
It must work when needed and transmit and receive
information without errors or with an acceptable error.

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Elements of Communication system

Input
Message Input Transmitter
Transducer

noise Channel

Output Transmission
Message Output medium
Receiver
Transducer

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Block diagram of Communication system
Elements of Communication system
 Input Transducer
 A device that converts energy from one form to another.
 Convert an input signal into an electrical waveform.

Example: microphone converts human voice into electrical

signal referred to as the baseband signal or message signal.

Input message input Baseband/message signal

transducer

eg. voice microphone electrical signal

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Elements of Communication system
 Transmitter
 Modifies or converts the baseband signal into format appropriate
for efficient channel of transmission.
[Example: If the channel is fiber optic cable, the transmitter converts the
baseband signal into light frequency and the transmitted signal is light].
 Transmitter also use to reformat/reshape the signal so that the
channel will not distort is as much. Modulation takes place in the
transmitter. It involves static variation of amplitude, phase or
frequency of the carrier in accordance to a message signal.

Baseband/message signal transmitted signal

Tx

eg: electrical signal transmitter optical signal

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Elements of Communication system
 Channel (Transmission medium)
 Physical medium through which the transmitter output is sent.

 Divided into 2 basic groups:

 Guided Electromagnetic Wave Channel (wire, coaxial cable,
optical fiber)
 Electromagnetic Wave Propagation Channel (wireless broadcast
channel, mobile radio channel, satellite)
 Introduces distortion, noise and interference – in the channel,
transmitted signal is attenuated and distorted. Signal
attenuation increase along with the length of channel.
Transmitted signal Received signal
channel

Distortion & Noise

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Elements of Communication system
 Receiver
 To extract the desired signal from the output channel and to
convert it to a form suitable for the output transducer.
 Demodulation takes place in the receiver.

 Output Transducer
 Converts electrical signals to its original waveform.

Received signal Output signal Output Output message

Rx
transducer voice
eg: electrical
signal

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Communication System Examples

DIGITAL MODEM ANALOG MODEM DIGITAL

WAN/LAN
(DIGITAL)
IP IP
ANALOG GATEWAY GATEWAY ANALOG

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Communication System Examples

RADIO AAAIR
FREE SPACE
STATION

ANALOG ANALOG ANALOG

DS1

ANALOG CODEC CODEC ANALOG

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Analog vs. Digital
The signal can be analog or digital message:
 Analog
 An analog signal is a smoothly and continuously varying voltage or
current. Examples are:
 Sine wave

 Voice

 Video (TV)

 Digital
 Digital signals change in steps or in discrete increments.
 Most digital signals use binary or two-state codes. Examples are:
 Telegraph (Morse code)

 Continuous wave (CW) code

 Serial binary code (used in computers)

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 Analog Vs Digital
(Advantages and Disadvantages)
Digital Analog

Advantages: Disadvantages:
 Inexpensive  Expensive
 Privacy preserved (Data  No privacy preserved
encrypt.)  Cannot merge different data
 Can merge different data  No error correction capability
 Error correction

Disadvantages: Advantages:
 Larger bandwidth  Smaller bandwidth
 Synchronization problem is  Synchronization problem is
relatively difficult. relatively easier.

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Mode of Communication
 Broadcasting
 Involves the use of a single powerful transmitter transmit to
many receivers. Demodulation takes place in the receiver.
 Information-bearing signals flow in one direction.
 Example : TV and radio (Simplex).

 Point-to-point Communication
 Where a communication process takes place over a link
between a single transmitter and a receiver.
 Information-bearing signals flow in bidirectional, which
requires the use of a transmitter and receiver at each end of
the link.
 Example: Telephone (Full Duplex) and walkie talkie (Half
Duplex).

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Block Diagram of Modulation Process

Baseband MODULATION Modulated

signal PROCESS signal

Carrier signal

“Modulation is the process of putting information onto a

high frequency carrier in a transmitter.”

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Baseband vs Modulated Signal
 Baseband Signal
 Base band signal is the modulating signal/original information
signal either in a digital or analog form (intelligent/message) in
communication system.
Example: voice signal (300Hz – 3400Hz)

 Transmission of original information whether analog or digital,

directly into transmission medium is called baseband
transmission.

 Modulated Signal
 Modulated signal is baseband signal which its original
frequency is shifted to higher frequency to facilitate
transmission purposes.
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Carrier signal

o waveform (usually sinusoidal) that is modulated (modified)

with an input signal for the purpose of conveying information
o usually a much higher frequency than the input signal.
o Its purpose is either to
- transmit the information through space as an
electromagnetic wave (e.g in radio communication)
- allow several carriers at different frequencies to
share a common physical transmission medium by
frequency division multiplexing (e.g tv system).

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Modulation
 Modulation

Process of changing baseband signals to facilitate the

transmission medium

 Process of modulation

 Frequency translation such as AM, FM, PM etc

 Sampling and coding such as PAM, PCM etc
 Keying such as ASK, FSK etc

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Modulation
 Types of modulation :

 Analogue modulations are frequency translation method

caused by changing the appropriate quantity in a carrier signal

 Digital modulation is the result of changing analogue signal

into binary ones by sampling and coding

 Keying modulations are digital signals subsequently

modulated by the frequency modulation by using one or other
analogue method

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Why Modulate?
 Reduce noise and interference
 By using proper frequency where noise and interference are at
minimum
 Increasing power is costly and may damage equipment

 Frequency Assignment
 For TV and radio broadcasting, each station has a different
assigned carrier

 Multiplexing
 Combining several signals for simultaneous transmission on
one channel by placing each signal on different carrier
frequency

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Why Modulate?
 Modulation is also important because:

 Ease of radiation - related to antenna design & smaller size.

Low loss and low dispersion.
 Simultaneous transmission of several signals – enables the
multiplexing i.e combining multiple signals for tx at the same
time over the same carrier.
Modulation ex:

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SNR, Bandwidth and Rate of Communication

1) Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)

 SNR is defined as the ratio of signal power to noise power.
Noise distorts the signal and accumulated along the path.
 It is normally measured in Decibel (dB), defined as 10 times
the algorithm (to base 10) of the power ratio.
 dBm is a dB level using a 1mW reference.
 dBW is a dB level using a 1W reference.

signal power (W ) Ps
SNR = 
noise power (W ) Pn
Ps  Vs2 / Rin 
SNRdB  10 log  10 log 2 dB

Pn  Vn / Rout 

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SNR, Bandwidth and Rate of Communication

Example 1: Convert 100W to dB and dBm.

Answer : dB = 10 log10 [100W/1W]

= 10(2)
= 20 dB

dBm = 10 log10 [100W/1mW]

= 10 log10 [100W/(1x10-3W]
= 10(5)
= 50 dBm
SNR, Bandwidth and Rate of Communication

Example 2: A measured value of 10mW will result in what dBm

power level?

Answer : dBm = 10 log10 [10mW/1mW]

= 10(1)
= 10 dBm
SNR, Bandwidth and Rate of Communication

Example 3: A laser diode outputs +10dBm. Convert this value to

Watts

Answer : dBm = 10 log 10 (x W/1mW)

10 = 10 log 10 (x W/1mW)
x W/1mW = 10(10/10)
x W = 10 (1mW)
x = 10 (1x10-3)
x = 0.01 Watts
SNR, Bandwidth and Rate of Communication

2) Bandwidth
 Bandwidth is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum
occupied by a signal.
 Specifically, bandwidth is the difference between the upper
and lower frequency limits of the signal or the equipment
operation range.
 Figure below shows the bandwidth of the voice frequency
range from 300 to 3000Hz. The upper frequency is f2 and the
lower frequency is f1. The bandwidth, then is BW = f2 – f1

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SNR, Bandwidth and Rate of Communication

• Bandwidth of an information 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 signals to pass through it (ie: its pass band).

• Data rate proportional to bandwidth

SNR, Bandwidth and Rate of Communication

3) Rate of Communication
 Rate of information transfer is directly proportional with its
bandwidth.
 Shannon limit for information capacity, C

C = B log2 (1 + SNR) Shannon Hartley Theorem

= 3.32 B log10 (1 + SNR)

where C = information capacity (bps)

B = bandwidth (Hz)
SNR = signal to noise ratio (no unit)

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SNR, Bandwidth and Rate of Communication
SNR, Bandwidth and Rate of Communication

Example 5: The telephone channel has a bandwidth of about

3kHz. Calculate the capacity of a telephone channel that has an
SNR of 1023.

Answer : C = 3.32B log10 (1+SNR)

= 3.32 (3x103) log10 (1+1023)
= 29982.59 bps
= 29.983 kbps
Electromagnetic Frequency Spectrum

 The electromagnetic frequency spectrum is divided into

 subsections, or bands, with each band having a different
name and boundary.

 The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is an

international agency in control of allocating frequencies and
services within the overall frequency spectrum.

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Electromagnetic Frequency Spectrum

• Electromagnetic waves are signals that oscillate; i.e the

amplitudes of the electric and magnetic fields vary at a specific
rate.
• These oscillation may occur at a very low frequency or at an
extremely high frequency.
• The range of electromagnetic signals encompassing all
frequencies is referred to as the electromagnetic spectrum.
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Frequency and Wavelength

 A signal is located on EM spectrum according to its frequency & wavelength

1) Frequency, f (Hz)
 Frequency is the number of cycles of a repetitive wave that occur in a
given period of time.
 Frequency is measured in cycles per second (cps).
 The unit of frequency is the hertz (Hz).

2) Wavelength, λ (m)
 Wavelength is the distance occupied by one cycle of a wave and
is usually expressed in meters.
 Wavelength is also the distance traveled by an electromagnetic
wave during the time of one cycle.
Frequency and Wavelength

λ = c/f
Wavelength = speed of light ÷ frequency

As speed of light = 3 × 108 meters/second

Therefore  λ = 3 × 108 / f
Example:
Determine the wavelength if the frequency is 4MHz?
λ = 3 x 108/ (4 x 106)
= 75 m
Frequency Bands

3 – 30 kHz VLF (very low freq) Ground wave

30 – 300 kHz LF (low freq)Ground wave
300 – 3000 kHz MF (medium freq) Ground wave/sky wave 3 – 30 MHz HF (high freq) Sky wave (Ionospheric)
30 – 300 MHz VHF (very high freq) Space wave (LOS)
300 – 3000 MHz UHF (ultrahigh freq) Space wave (LOS)
3 – 30 GHz SHF (superhigh freq) LOS/Satellite
30 – 300 GHz EHF (Extremely high freq) LOS/Satellite

International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Band Designation

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Electromagnetic Frequency Spectrum

Example 6
A signal with a wavelength of 1.5m , what is its frequency?

Answer : λ = 3x108 / f
f = 3x108 / λ
= 200 x 106
= 200 MHz
Electromagnetic Frequency Spectrum

Example 7
The maximum peaks of an electromagnetic wave are
separated by a distance of 0.203m. What is the frequency in
MHz and GHz?

Answer : f = 3x108 / λ
= 3x108 / 0.203
= 1.478 GHz
= 1478 MHz
Radio Communication System

 It is wireless communication system

 The information is being carried by the electromagnetic waves,

which is propagated in free space

 Electromagnetic waves are waves that travel at the speed of light

and made up of an electrical field and magnetic field at right
angles to one another and to the direction of propagation

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Radio Communication System

Transmitting Receiving
antenna antenna

Transmitter Receiver

Block diagram of a radio communication system

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Propagation Waves
 The three waves propagation methods:
 Ground wave propagation

 Sky wave propagation

 Space wave propagation

Sky wave propagation

Ionospheric layer
Space wave
propagation

Earth Receiver
Transmitter
Fig: Radio wave propagation methods

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Propagation Waves
There are three main type of propagations:

 Ground (space) wave propagation

 Dominants mode for frequencies below 2 MHz
 The movement tend to follow the contour of the earth with
large antenna size

 Sky-wave propagation
 Dominants mode for frequencies between 2 – 30 MHz range
 Sky waves are those waves that radiated towards ionosphere.
By a process of refraction and reflection, the receiver on the
earth will receive the signal. The various layers of the
ionosphere have specific effects on the propagation of radio
waves.

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Propagation Waves
 There are areas of no coverage along the earth surface
between transmitting and receiving antenna
 The angle of reflection and the loss of signal depend on the
frequency, time, season, activities of the sun etc

 Space wave propagation (Line Of Sight)

 Dominants mode for frequencies above 30 MHz where in
propagates in straight line
 No refraction and can almost propagates through ionosphere

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Satellite Communication
 Satellite employs LOS radio transmission over very long distance
 It offers broad coverage even across the ocean and can handle
bulk of very long distance telecommunication

Satellite
down-link
uplink

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Historical Development

Year Events
1844 Telegraph
1876 Telephone
1904 AM Radio
1923 Television
1936 FM Radio
1962 Satellite
1966 Optical links using laser and fiber optics
1972 Cellular Telephone

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Historical Development
Year Events
1975 First digital telephone switch
1975 Wideband communication system (cable TV etc)
1980 Compact disc is developed by Philip & Sony
1981 FCC adopts rules for commercial cellular telephone
1982 Internet is used to replace ARPANET
1985 Fax machines widely available in offices
1989 First SONET standard optical fiber products released
1990 WWW becomes part of the internet
1990-2000 Digital communication system (ISDN, BISDN, HDTV,
handheld computers, digital cellular etc Global
telecom system

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Power Measurement (dB, dBm)
 The decibel (dB) is a transmission-measuring unit used to
express gain and losses an electronic devices and circuits

 for describing relationship between signal and noise

 dB  1W
 dBm  1mW
 example: 100W = 10 log10 100 = 2dB
= 10 log10 100 = 50 dBm
1mW

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Power Measurement (dB, dBm)
 If two powers are expressed in the same unit (eg: watts or
microwatts), their ratio is a dimensionless quantity that can
be expressed in decibel form as follows:

P1
dB  10 log10 ( )
P2

Where P1 = power level 1 (watts)

P2 = power level 2 (watts)
The dB value is the difference in dB between P1 and P2

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Power Measurement (dB, dBm)
 When used in electronic circuits to measure a power gain or loss,
that equation can rewritten as

Pout
Gain (dB)  10 log10 ( )
Pin

Where Gain (dB) = power gain (dB)

Pout = output power level (watts)
Pin = input power level (watts)

Pout • (+) dB - power gain

 absolute power •output power is greater than input power
Pin • (-) dB power loss
•output power is less than input power

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Examples

1. Convert the absolute power ratio of 200 to a power gain in dB

Solution:
Power gain, Ap (dB) = 10 log10 [200]
= 10(2.3)
= 23 dB
2. Convert the power gain Ap = 23 dB to an absolute power ratio
Solution
Power gain, Ap (dB) = 10 log10 [Pout/Pin]
2.3 = log10 [Pout/Pin]
[Pout/Pin] = 10 2.3
= 200
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Noise
 Noise is any interference that disturbs the legible transmission of
a signal (any unwanted signal in a CS)
 It is a random, undesirable electric energy that enters the
communication system via the communication medium and
interferes with the transmitted message.
 Noise can occur in various ways :
 External noise (generated outside the device or circuit)

 Internal noise (produced by circuit component)

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Noise Power

Noise power is interfering and unwanted power in an electrical

device or system. is defined as :

N (Watt) = KTB
or
N(dBm) = 10log(KTB/1mW)

 K = Boltzmann’s Constant (1.38 x10-23 J/K)

 T = Temperature in Kelvin (273+ ???Celcius)
 B = Signal Bandwidth

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 Example: A portable radio receiver operating at 27C is capable of
detecting radio stations within a range of frequency from 80 kHz to 120 kHz.
i - Determine the signal bandwidth.
ii - Calculate the thermal noise power density in Watts and dB.
[Given Boltzman constants, k = 1.38 x 10-23 J/K]

Answer
i – B= fu-fl
= 120k – 80k
= 40 kHz

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Limitation in a Communication System
There are two categories of limitations:
 Technological constraint
 Equipment ability
 Economy and cost factor
 National and international law and agreement as well as
standardization (such as ITU etc)
 Interaction with existing system
 Physical constraint
 Bandwidth
 The difference between the upper frequency and lower frequency of
the signal or the equipment operation range
 Noise
 Any unwanted electrical energy present in the usable passband of a
communication circuit

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