DECEMBER 11, 2014

A FM DEMODULATOR
ECE 460 EXPERIMENT #10

CARLOS OLIVEIRA

Introduction:
In this experiment we designed a FM demodulator
Procedure:
1. Build the circuit attached to this hand out.

Figure 1 FM Descrambler

2. Set the signal generator to a carrier frequency of 49 kHz with FM modulation with a
deviation of 5 kHz and a modulating frequency of 500 Hz. Set the output of the generator
to 100mV p-p.
3. Apply the signal to the signal input of the circuit and observe the output waveform.

Figure 2 Output Signal

4. Adjust the carrier frequency so that the output signal has minimal distortion.

Figure 3 Output Signal

5. Set the deviation to 500 Hz and measure the output amplitude.

Figure 4 Output Signal

6. Increase the deviation in 500 Hz steps to 10 kHz and record the output amplitude at each
deviation.
Deviation [Hz]
Amplitude [mV] peak-peak
500
3.436
1000
4.995
2000
8.067
3000
10.83
4000
13.23
5000
15.13
6000
16.49
7000
17.33
8000
17.57
9000
17.94
10000
18.41
Table 1 Deviation vs Amplitude

7. Graph the output amplitude versus the deviation and determine the maximum deviation at
which the demodulation is linear.

Figure 5 Deviation vs Amplitude

8. Set the deviation to the value from step 7.

Figure 6 Maximum Linear Deviation

9. Reduce the input signal level to 1 mV p-p and note the output signal amplitude. (It will be
noise.)

Figure 7 Output Signal

10. Set the signal input level to 1mV (if necessary, use a voltage divider to achieve this).
Measure and record the output signal amplitude. (This may be difficult at first. You may
want to use the oscilloscopes spectrum analyzer to find the modulating signal.)

Figure 8 Output Spectrum

11. Increase the signal input amplitude in 3 Db steps until it backs to 100 Mv p-p. Measure
and record the output level at each input level with the FM modulation on.
V input [mV]
1
2
4
8
16
32
64
100

V output [mV]
3
6
12
24
48
90
125
135
Table 2 _ vs _

12. Graph the signal output versus the signal input level. Is this a linear relationship? What
are the advantages of this relationship? What are the disadvantages?

Figure 9 V_input vs V_output *Using Spectrum Analyzer

It is linear only in certain range (in this case from 0 to 50mv approximately). The
main advantage is that the signal output is very clear even using low input signals. The
disadvantages is that the signal loses its linearity after some voltage, which makes the
output power be limited.
Discussion:
The FM demodulator designed in the experiment worked as expected. The results
did not have any problems in then, and only shown what the theory says of FM: A
modulation that suppress the noise, however have a higher bandwidth and a lower
transmission distance compared to AM.
Conclusion:
As said in the discussion, the FM demodulator worked as expected. The system
worked better with a carrier frequency at 52 kHz, instead of the 49 kHz desired, and had
its maximum linear deviation at 5 kHz.
Another point is that the signal have a linear response to the input from 0 to
50, after this the output signal starts to decrease its gain. However, the best
conclusion of this was how a small input signal could still generate a clear output signal.
This could never be done using AM systems, and shows the best advantages of FM, that
it is to suppress the noise.