Basic System

The basic communications system has:

Transmitter: The sub-system that takes the information signal and processes it prior to
transmission. The transmitter modulates the information onto a carrier signal, amplifies the
signal and broadcasts it over the channel
Channel: The medium which transports the modulated signal to the receiver. Air acts as the
channel for broadcasts like radio. May also be a wiring system like cable TV or the Internet.
Receiver: The sub-system that takes in the transmitted signal from the channel and processes it
to retrieve the information signal. The receiver must be able to discriminate the signal from
other signals which may using the same channel (called tuning), amplify the signal for
processing and demodulate (remove the carrier) to retrieve the information. It also then
processes the information for reception (for example, broadcast on a loudspeaker).

Modulation
The information signal can rarely be transmitted as is, it must be processed. In order to use
electromagnetic transmission, it must first be converted from audio into an electric signal. The
conversion is accomplished by a transducer. After conversion it is used to modulate a carrier
signal.
A carrier signal is used for two reasons:
- To reduce the wavelength for efficient transmission and reception (the optimum antenna
size is or of a wavelength). A typical audio frequency of 3000 Hz will have a
wavelength of 100 km and would need an effective antenna length of 25 km! By
comparison, a typical carrier for FM is 100 MHz, with a wavelength of 3 m, and could
use an antenna only 80 cm long.
- To allow simultaneous use of the same channel, called multiplexing. Each unique signal
can be assigned a different carrier frequency (like radio stations) and still share the same
channel. The phone company actually invented modulation to allow phone conversations
to be transmitted over common lines.
The process of modulation means to systematically use the information signal (what you want to
transmit) to vary some parameter of the carrier signal. The carrier signal is usually just a simple,
single-frequency sinusoid (varies in time like a sine wave).
The basic sine wave goes like V(t) = V
o
sin (2 t f t + |) where the parameters are defined below:
V(t) the voltage of the signal as a function of time.
V
o
the amplitude of the signal (represents the maximum value achieved each cycle)
f the frequency of oscillation, the number of cycles per second (also known as Hertz = 1 cycle
per second)
| the phase of the signal, representing the starting point of the cycle.
To modulate the signal just means to systematically vary one of the three parameters of the
signal: amplitude, frequency or phase. Therefore, the type of modulation may be categorized as
either
AM: amplitude modulation
FM: frequency modulation or
PM: phase modulation
Note: PM may be an unfamiliar term but is commonly used. The characteristics of PM are very
similar to FM and so the terms are often used interchangeably.
FM
Frequency modulation uses the information signal, V
m
(t) to vary the carrier frequency within
some small range about its original value. Here are the three signals in mathematical form:
- Information: V
m
(t)
- Carrier: V
c
(t) = V
co
sin ( 2 t f
c
t + | )
- FM: V
FM
(t) = V
co
sin (2 t |f
c
+ (Af/V
mo
) V
m
(t) | t + |)
We have replaced the carrier frequency term, with a time-varying frequency. We have also
introduced a new term: Af, the peak frequency deviation. In this form, you should be able to see
that the carrier frequency term: f
c
+ (Af/V
mo
) V
m
(t) now varies between the extremes of f
c
- Af
and f
c
+ Af. The interpretation of Af becomes clear: it is the farthest away from the original
frequency that the FM signal can be. Sometimes it is referred to as the "swing" in the frequency.
We can also define a modulation index for FM, analogous to AM:
| = Af/f
m
, where f
m
is the maximum modulating frequency used.
The simplest interpretation of the modulation index, |, is as a measure of the peak frequency
deviation, Af. In other words, | represents a way to express the peak deviation frequency as a
multiple of the maximum modulating frequency, f
m
, i.e. Af = | f
m
.
Example: suppose in FM radio that the audio signal to be transmitted ranges from 20 to 15,000
Hz (it does). If the FM system used a maximum modulating index, |, of 5.0, then the frequency
would "swing" by a maximum of 5 x 15 kHz = 75 kHz above and below the carrier frequency.
Here is a simple FM signal:

Here, the carrier is at 30 Hz, and the modulating frequency is 5 Hz. The modulation index is
about 3, making the peak frequency deviation about 15 Hz. That means the frequency will vary
somewhere between 15 and 45 Hz. How fast the cycle is completed is a function of the
modulating frequency.
FM Spectrum
A spectrum represents the relative amounts of different frequency components in any signal. Its
like the display on the graphic-equalizer in your stereo which has leds showing the relative
amounts of bass, midrange and treble. These correspond directly to increasing frequencies (treble
being the high frequency components). It is a well-know fact of mathematics, that any function
(signal) can be decomposed into purely sinusoidal components (with a few pathological
exceptions) . In technical terms, the sines and cosines form a complete set of functions, also
known as a basis in the infinite-dimensional vector space of real-valued functions (gag reflex).
Given that any signal can be thought to be made up of sinusoidal signals, the spectrum then
represents the "recipe card" of how to make the signal from sinusoids. Like: 1 part of 50 Hz and
2 parts of 200 Hz. Pure sinusoids have the simplest spectrum of all, just one component:

In this example, the carrier has 8 Hz and so the spectrum has a single component with value 1.0
at 8 Hz
The FM spectrum is considerably more complicated. The spectrum of a simple FM signal looks
like:

The carrier is now 65 Hz, the modulating signal is a pure 5 Hz tone, and the modulation index is
2. What we see are multiple side-bands (spikes at other than the carrier frequency) separated by
the modulating frequency, 5 Hz. There are roughly 3 side-bands on either side of the carrier. The
shape of the spectrum may be explained using a simple heterodyne argument: when you mix the
three frequencies (f
c
, f
m
and Af) together you get the sum and difference frequencies. The largest
combination is f
c
+ f
m
+ Af, and the smallest is f
c
- f
m
- Af. Since Af = | f
m
, the frequency varies
(| + 1) f
m
above and below the carrier.
A more realistic example is to use an audio spectrum to provide the modulation:

In this example, the information signal varies between 1 and 11 Hz. The carrier is at 65 Hz and
the modulation index is 2. The individual side-band spikes are replaced by a more-or-less
continuous spectrum. However, the extent of the side-bands is limited (approximately) to (| + 1)
f
m
above and below. Here, that would be 33 Hz above and below, making the bandwidth about
66 Hz. We see the side-bands extend from 35 to 90 Hz, so out observed bandwidth is 65 Hz.
You may have wondered why we ignored the smooth humps at the extreme ends of the
spectrum. The truth is that they are in fact a by-product of frequency modulation (there is no
random noise in this example). However, they may be safely ignored because they are have only
a minute fraction of the total power. In practice, the random noise would obscure them anyway.
Example: FM Radio
FM radio uses frequency modulation, of course. The frequency band for FM radio is about 88 to
108 MHz. The information signal is music and voice which falls in the audio spectrum. The full
audio spectrum ranges form 20 to 20,000 Hz, but FM radio limits the upper modulating
frequency to 15 kHz (cf. AM radio which limits the upper frequency to 5 kHz). Although, some
of the signal may be lost above 15 kHz, most people can't hear it anyway, so there is little loss of
fidelity. FM radio maybe appropriately referred to as "high-fidelity."
If FM transmitters use a maximum modulation index of about 5.0, so the resulting bandwidth is
180 kHz (roughly 0.2 MHz). The FCC assigns stations ) 0.2 MHz apart to prevent overlapping
signals (coincidence? I think not!). If you were to fill up the FM band with stations, you could
get 108 - 88 / .2 = 100 stations, about the same number as AM radio (107). This sounds
convincing, but is actually more complicated (agh!).
FM radio is broadcast in stereo, meaning two channels of information. In practice, they generate
three signals prior to applying the modulation:
- the L + R (left + right) signal in the range of 50 to 15,000 Hz.
- a 19 kHz pilot carrier.
- the L-R signal centered on a 38 kHz pilot carrier (which is suppressed) that ranges from
23 to 53 kHz .
So, the information signal actually has a maximum modulating frequency of 53 kHz, requiring a
reduction in the modulation index to about 1.0 to keep the total signal bandwidth about 200 kHz.
FM Performance
Bandwidth
As we have already shown, the bandwidth of a FM signal may be predicted using:
BW = 2 (| + 1 ) f
m

where | is the modulation index and
f
m
is the maximum modulating frequency used.
FM radio has a significantly larger bandwidth than AM radio, but the FM radio band is also
larger. The combination keeps the number of available channels about the same.
The bandwidth of an FM signal has a more complicated dependency than in the AM case (recall,
the bandwidth of AM signals depend only on the maximum modulation frequency). In FM, both
the modulation index and the modulating frequency affect the bandwidth. As the information is
made stronger, the bandwidth also grows.
Efficiency
The efficiency of a signal is the power in the side-bands as a fraction of the total. In FM signals,
because of the considerable side-bands produced, the efficiency is generally high. Recall that
conventional AM is limited to about 33 % efficiency to prevent distortion in the receiver when
the modulation index was greater than 1. FM has no analogous problem.
The side-band structure is fairly complicated, but it is safe to say that the efficiency is generally
improved by making the modulation index larger (as it should be). But if you make the
modulation index larger, so make the bandwidth larger (unlike AM) which has its disadvantages.
As is typical in engineering, a compromise between efficiency and performance is struck. The
modulation index is normally limited to a value between 1 and 5, depending on the application.
Noise
FM systems are far better at rejecting noise than AM systems. Noise generally is spread
uniformly across the spectrum (the so-called white noise, meaning wide spectrum). The
amplitude of the noise varies randomly at these frequencies. The change in amplitude can
actually modulate the signal and be picked up in the AM system. As a result, AM systems are
very sensitive to random noise. An example might be ignition system noise in your car. Special
filters need to be installed to keep the interference out of your car radio.
FM systems are inherently immune to random noise. In order for the noise to interfere, it would
have to modulate the frequency somehow. But the noise is distributed uniformly in frequency
and varies mostly in amplitude. As a result, there is virtually no interference picked up in the FM
receiver. FM is sometimes called "static free, " referring to its superior immunity to random
noise.
The bandwidth, spectrum and sidebands are of great importance when using frequency
modulation.
The sidebands of a frequency modulated signal extend out either side of the main carrier, and
cause the bandwidth of the overall signal to increase well beyond that of the unmodulated carrier.
As the modulation of the carrier varies, so do the sidebands and hence the bandwidth and overall
spectrum of the signal.

Frequency modulation Bessel functions & sidebands
Any signal that is modulated produces sidebands. In the case of an amplitude modulated signal
they are easy to determine, but for frequency modulation the situation is not quite as
straightforward. . They are dependent upon the not only the deviation, but also the level of
deviation, i.e. the modulation index M. The total spectrum is an infinite series of discrete spectral
components expressed by a complex formula using Bessel functions of the first kind.

The total spectrum can be seen to consist of the carrier plus an infinite number of sidebands
spreading out on either side of the carrier at integral multiples of the modulating frequency. The
relative levels of the sidebands can be obtained by referring to a table of Bessel functions. It can
be seen from the image below that the relative levels rise and fall according to the different
values of modulation index.

Relative levels of carrier and sidebands for a frequency modulated signal
For small values of modulation index, when using narrow-band FM, and FM signal consists of
the carrier and the two sidebands spaced at the modulation frequency either side of the carrier.
This looks to be the same as an AM signal, but the difference is that the lower sideband is out of
phase by 180 degrees.
As the modulation index increases it is found that other sidebands at twice the modulation
frequency start to appear. As the index is increased further other sidebands can also be seen.

Spectra of an FM signal with differing levels of modulation index
At certain levels of modulation, where the modulation index equals figures of 2.41, 5.53, 8.65
and other higher specific levels, the carrier actuals falls to a figure of zero, the signal being
comprised simply of the sidebands.

Bandwidth of a frequency modulation signal
In the case of an amplitude modulated signal the bandwidth required is twice the maximum
frequency of the modulation. Whilst the same is true for a narrowband FM signal, the situation is
not true for a wideband FM signal. Here the required bandwidth can be very much larger, with
detectable sidebands spreading out over large amounts of the frequency spectrum. Usually it is
necessary to limit the bandwidth of a signal so that it does not unduly interfere with stations
either side.
As a frequency modulated signal has sidebands that extend out to infinity, it is normal accepted
practice to determine the bandwidth as that which contains approximately 98% of the signal
power.
A rule of thumb, often termed Carsons' Rule states that 98% of the signal power is contained
within a bandwidth equal to the deviation frequency, plus the modulation frequency doubled,
i.e.:

BT = 2 ( f + fm)

Normally the bandwidth of a wideband FM signal is limited to the Carson's Rule limit - this
reduces interference and does not introduce any undue distortion of the signal. In other words for
a VHF FM broadcast station this must be (2 x 75) + 15 kHz, i.e. 175 kHz. In view of this a total
of 200 kHz is usually allowed, enabling stations to have a small guard band and their centre
frequencies on integral numbers of 100 kHz.
There are a few interesting points of summary relative to frequency modulation bandwidth:
- The bandwidth of a frequency modulated signal varies with both deviation and
modulating frequency.
- Increasing modulating frequency reduces modulation index - it reduces the number of
sidebands with significant amplitude and hence the bandwidth.
- Increasing modulating frequency increases the frequency separation between sidebands.
- The frequency modulation bandwidth increases with modulation frequency but it is not
directly proportional to it.
Frequency modulation bandwidth is of importance as it is with any other form of signal. With
band occupancy growing, and pressure on spectrum space, it si necessary to ensure the
bandwidth of a frequency modulated signal falls within its specified allowance. Any undue
signal spread outside this is likely to cause interference to other users.
Frequency Modulation
If we make the frequency of our carrier wave a function of time, we can get a generalized
function that looks like this:

We still have a carrier wave, but now we have the value ks(t) that we add to that carrier wave, to
send our data.
As an important result, ks(t) must be less than the carrier frequency always, to avoid ambiguity
and distortion.

Deriving the FM Equation
Recall that a general sinusoid is of the form:

Frequency modulation involves deviating a carrier frequency by some amount. If a sine wave is
used to deviate the carrier, the expression for the frequency at any instant would be:

where:
instantaneous frequency
carrier frequency
carrier deviation
modulation frequency
This expression describes a signal varying sinusoidally about some average frequency. However,
we cannot simply substitute this expression into the general equation for a sinusoid to get the FM
equation. This is because the sine operator acts on angles, not frequency. Therefore, we must
define the instantaneous frequency in terms of angles.
It should be noted that the modulation signal amplitude governs the amount of carrier deviation
while the modulation signal frequency governs the rate of carrier deviation.

The term is an angular velocity (radians per second) and is related to frequency and angle by
the following relationship:


To find the angle, we must integrate with respect to time:


We can now find the instantaneous angle associated with the instantaneous frequency:


This angle can now be substituted into the general carrier signal to define FM:


The FM modulation index is defined as the ratio of the carrier deviation to modulation
frequency:


Consequently, the FM equation is often written as:

Bessel's Functions
This is a very complex expression and it is not readily apparent what the sidebands of this signal
are like. The solution to this problem requires a knowledge of Bessel's functions of the first kind
and order p. In open form, it resembles:

where:
Magnitude of the frequency component
Side frequency number (not to be confused with sidebands)
Modulation index

As a point of interest, Bessel's functions are a solution to the following equation:


Bessel's functions occur in the theory of cylindrical and spherical waves, much like sine waves
occur in the theory of plane waves.
It turns out that FM generates an infinite number of side frequencies (in both the upper and lower
sidebands). Each side frequency is an integer multiple of the modulation signal frequency. The
amplitude of higher order side frequencies decreases rapidly and can generally be ignored.
The amplitude of the carrier signal is also a function of the modulation index and under some
conditions, its amplitude can actually go to zero. This does not mean that the signal disappears,
but rather that all of the broadcast energy is redistributed to the side frequencies.
A plot of the carrier and first five side frequency amplitudes as a function of modulation index
resembles:


The Bessel coefficients have several interesting properties including:


One very useful interpretation of this is: represents the voltage amplitude of the carrier,
represents the amplitude of the 1st side frequency, the 2nd side frequency etc. Note that the
sum of the squares (power) remains constant.
FM Bandwidth
FM generates upper and lower sidebands, each of which contain an infinite number of side
frequencies. However, the FM bandwidth is not infinite because the amplitude of the higher
order side frequencies decreases rapidly. Carson's Rule is often used to calculate the bandwidth,
since it contains more than 90% of the FM signal.
Carson's Rule


In commercial broadcast applications, the maximum modulation index ( ) = 5, the
maximum, carrier deviation ( ) = 75 kHz, and maximum modulation frequency ( ) = 15
kHz. The total broadcast spectrum according to Carson's rule is 180 kHz, but an additional 20
kHz guard band is used to separate adjacent radio stations. Therefore, each FM radio station is
allocated 200 kHz.

Noise
In AM systems, noise easily distorts the transmitted signal however, in FM systems any added
noise must create a frequency deviation in order to be perceptible.

The maximum frequency deviation due to random noise occurs when the noise is at right angles
to the resultant signal. In the worst case the signal frequency has been deviated by:


This shows that the deviation due to noise increases as the modulation frequency increases. Since
noise power is the square of the noise voltage, the signal to noise ratio can significantly degrade.


To prevent this, the amplitude of the modulation signal is increased to keep the S/N ratio
constant over the entire broadcast band. This is called pre-emphasis.
Pre & De-emphasis
Increasing the amplitude of high frequency baseband signals in the FM modulator (transmitter)
must be compensated for in the FM demodulator (receiver) otherwise the signal would sound
quite tinny (too much treble).
The standard curves resemble:



In commercial FM broadcast, the emphasis circuits consist of a simple RC network with a time
constant of 75 Sec and a corner frequency of 2125 Hz.


The magnitude of the pre-emphasis response is defined by:

FM Transmission Power
The equation for the transmitted power in a sinusoid is a fundamental equation. Remember it.
Since the value of the amplitude of the sine wave in FM does not change, the transmitted power
is a constant. As a general rule, for a sinusoid with a constant amplitude, the transmitted power
can be found as follows:

Where A is the amplitude of the sine wave, and R
L
is the resistance of the load. In a normalized
system, we set R
L
to 1.

The Bessel coefficients can be used to determine the power in the carrier and any side frequency:

is the power in the unmodulated carrier.
is the total power and is by definition equal to the unmodulated carrier power.
As the modulation index varies, the individual Bessel coefficients change and power is
redistributed from the carrier to the side frequencies.
FM Transmitters
FM Transmitters can be easily implemented using a VCO (see why we discussed Voltage
Controlled Oscillators, in the first section?), because a VCO converts an input voltage (our input
signal) to a frequency (our modulated output).