LAHORE COLLEGE FOR WOMEN UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Sir Sijjad

Submitted By:

Shahrukh Javed

Topics:

Comparison of Fm and AM

Comparison of Analog and Digital Signals

History:-
If we talk about their order, there’s no chicken and egg story here: The AM
definitely came first. Inventor Reginald Fessenden made the first AM radio
broadcast in 1906—presaging those radio preachers by making his first
broadcast a reading from the Bible and a live performance of himself playing “O
Holy Night” on the violin. And while the medium was most popular from 1920 to
the advent of FM in the ’50s, AM certainly has its limitations. For one thing, AM
travels by sound waves close to the Earth during the day and higher in the sky in
the evening, meaning it’s hard to have a large broadcast radius during daylight
hours? For another thing, AM signals, unlike FM, are often disrupted by tall
buildings—a bigger problem today than in 1920.

Introduction of FM and AM:-

FM stands for “frequency modulation” and AM stands for “amplitude

modulation,” so it’s not hard to figure out that the distinction is based on the way
a radio wave modulates, or fluctuates. FM waves differ from one another based
on frequency, or how many times per second the wave’s current changes
direction. AM waves, however, fluctuate based on amplitude, which refers to the
specific strength of the signal. All radio waves experience changes in amplitude
as they travel, but obviously, if the amplitude isn’t strong enough when it reaches
a receiver, we’ll hear static. And because AM waves depend on specific
amplitudes to get a signal, they’re less reliable. This also makes them less
valuable, which is why it’s easier for all those farm news enthusiasts and
mariachi bands to get one of their own.

Comparison of AM and FM:-

Both AM and FM radio signal carriers are output at a single frequency (FM is
usually much higher than AM).

AM (amplitude modulation) carriers alter in amplitude to mimic the audio being

sent. The carrier signal frequency doesn't alter.
FM (frequency modulation) carriers alter in frequency to mimic the audio being
sent. The carrier signal amplitude doesn't alter.

Receivers of either type are designed to detect those changes which are applied
to the carrier signal to retrieve the audio signal.

The major point of difference is with regard to how the "information" rides on the
carrier wave. AM is amplitude Modulation, and FM is Frequency Modulation. With
both AM and FM, a carrier wave must be broadcasted. The carrier wave is at a
particular frequency, which is singled out as you tune in your radio station. All
other frequencies are filtered out.
Working of AM and FM:-

In AM or Amplitude Modulation, the information is added to the amplitude of

the carrier signal. When the receiver receives the signal, it does an analog
sample of the wave to determine its average strength, and then demodulates
the differences in the amplitude to pull out the original information. This is the
worst and most inaccurate way of demodulation; for the signal strength is
continuously changing, with the analog demodulator always working "behind
the times". This is why it took so many years for the occurrence of AM Stereo.
The reason it came first is, it is very easy to mix amplitudes, and no
complicated circuitry was required in the old days to pull in the correct carrier
wave. They couldn't do frequency modulation at first as commercial
businesses were not allowed to be transmitted on high enough frequencies to
pull out the original information. Also since AM carrier waves have relatively
low frequencies, they can travel quite a distance.
In Frequency Modulation, the information is added to the frequency of the
carrier wave. The amplitude of the incoming signal is a mute point as long as
it is strong enough where the receiver can lock onto the carrier wave. Carrier
frequencies in high ranges were released for commercial use, so they could
transmit in the Mega Hertz range. Since all information needed in the hearing
range is commonly in the 20 to 20KiloHertz range, it was easy to pull the
signal in. The information didn't cause enough of a difference in the signal to
cause the tuner to filter it out. And since the original carrier frequency is
known, and locked in, it was extremely easy to pull out the original
information. In fact, add 6 or 8 different information signals could be added.
Since the demodulation is so accurate, this gives it better clarity, and the
ability to modulate 2 separate signals for stereo. However, since the carrier
frequency is so high, it bounces off obstacles instead of going through them,
thus reducing range.

Comparison of AM and FM:-

Both AM and FM radio signal carriers are output at a single frequency (FM is
usually much higher than AM).
AM (amplitude modulation) carriers alter in amplitude to mimic the audio being
sent. The carrier signal frequency doesn't alter.
FM (frequency modulation) carriers alter in frequency to mimic the audio being
sent. The carrier signal amplitude doesn't alter.

Receivers of either type are designed to detect those changes which are applied
to the carrier signal to retrieve the audio signal.

The major point of difference is with regard to how the "information" rides on the
carrier wave. AM is amplitude Modulation, and FM is Frequency Modulation. With
both AM and FM, a carrier wave must be broadcasted. The carrier wave is at a
particular frequency, which is singled out as you tune in your radio station. All
other frequencies are filtered out.

The difference between AM and FM radio is that FM has shorter range,

within the line of sight of the radio transmitter. Thus, as we will see, after
being transmitted, they will behave differently.

Stations can theoretically be placed every 10 kHz, along the AM band. This means
that there are a total of 117 different channels available for AM radio stations. The
FM radio band goes from 88 to 108 MHz. FM stations must be 200 kHz
apart at these frequencies, which means that there's room for 200 FM
stations on the FM band.
There are many differences to consider between AM frequencies and inaccessible
Low-Power FM (LPFM) frequencies.
AM (LPAM)
1 May be used only by a governmental
entity.
2 May not mention business names and
must be voice only.
3 May play a repeating loop of
information.
4 Applicants are almost assured of
having requests for stations granted.
Frequencies are plentiful in most areas
except the large cities. Applications can
be sent in anytime.
5 Applicants may apply for as many
stations as they like and locate them
where they like, within limits.
6 Stations are all 0-10 watts, mono.
7 Stations are content-limited.
FM (LPFM)
1 May be used by more, i.e., nonprofit
groups, educational institutions and
government entities.
2 May be underwritten by a sponsor and
named on the air; can play music.
3 May do that too but must also locally
originate a significant amount of
programming each week.
4 Frequencies are much more limited,
and applying is not a guarantee of
obtaining a grant. If others apply for the
same frequency, grants will be made to
the most qualified applicants; equally
qualified applicants may have to share.
Applications may be made in a 5-day
filing window, determined by the FCC
according to state — then the
opportunity expires.
5 Applicants may only apply for 1
station for the first few years. FM
applicants also must be locally owned
and controlled.
6 Stations are to be 0-10 watts and 0-100
watts, both stereo.
7 Stations may broadcast almost any
kind of content of interest to the
community.
 Analog vs. Digital Signals
The information carrying signals are divided into two broad classes;

1. Analog
2. Digital

Analog Signals:-

Analog signals are continuous electrical signals that vary in time as shown in figure
a. Most of the time, the variations follow that of the non-electric (original) signal.
Therefore, the two are analogous hence the name analog.

Figure a: Analog Signal

Not all analog signals vary as smoothly as the waveform shown in Figure a. Analog
signals represent some physical quantity and they are a ‘MODEL’ of the real quantity.

Example:-

Telephone voice signal is analog. The intensity of the voice causes electric current
variations. At the receiving end, the signal is reproduced in the same proportion.
Hence the electric current is a ‘MODEL’ but not one’s voice since it is an electrical
representation or analog of one’s voice.

Digital Signals

Digital signals are non-continuous, they change in individual steps. They consist of
pulses or digits with discrete levels or values. The value of each pulse is constant,
but there is an abrupt change from one digit to the next. Digital signals have two
amplitude levels called nodes. The value of which are specified as one of two
possibilities such as 1 or 0, HIGH or LOW, TRUE or FALSE and so on. In reality, the
values are anywhere within specific ranges and we define values within a given range
as in fig b
 Figure b: Digital Signal

What are They?

What exactly is an analog signal, and what is a digital signal?

Analog
Analog signals are signals with continuous values. Analog signals are used in
many systems, although the use of analog signals has declined with the advent of
cheap digital signals.
Digital
Digital signals are signals that are represented by binary numbers, "1" or "0". The
1 and 0 values can correspond to different discrete voltage values, and any signal
that doesn’t quite fit into the scheme just gets rounded off.

What are the Pros and Cons?

Each paradigm has its own benefits and problems.

Analog
Analog systems are less tolerant to noise, make good use of bandwidth, and are
easy to manipulate mathematically. However, analog signals require hardware
receivers and transmitters that are designed to perfectly fit the particular
transmission. If you are working on a new system, and you decide to change your
analog signal, you need to completely change your transmitters and receivers.
Digital
Digital signals are more tolerant to noise, but digital signals can be completely
corrupted in the presence of excess noise. In digital signals, noise could cause a 1
to be interpreted as a 0 and vice versa, which makes the received data different
 than the original data. Imagine if the army transmitted a position coordinate to a
missile digitally, and a single bit was received in error? This single bit error could
cause a missile to miss its target by miles. Luckily, there are systems in place to
prevent this sort of scenario, which tell the receiver when a bit has been corrupted
and ask the transmitter to resend the data. The primary benefit of digital signals is
that they can be handled by simple, standardized receivers and transmitters, and
the signal can be then dealt with in software (which is comparatively cheap to
change).
The Difference between Digital and Discrete

Digital quantity may be either 0 or 1, but discrete may be any numerical value i.e. 0,
1....9.

Which is Better?
There is no way to say which type of signal is better or worse. Modern digital systems
often require more expensive components (consider the difference in price between old
TV sets, and new HDTV sets), although lower-end digital systems can be moderately
priced. Analog systems need to be built with a complex array of Op Amps, resistors,
capacitors, diodes, etc, while a digital system can be implemented with a generic
microcontroller, and some quick programming.

Sampling and Reconstruction

The process of converting from analog data to digital data is called "sampling". The
process of recreating an analog signal from a digital one is called "reconstruction"