Sunil Kumar S M * et al.

/ (IJITR) INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH

Volume No.2, Issue No. 2, February March 2014, 872 - 875.

SUNIL KUMAR S M
Final year BE (ECE) Student
R.V. College of Engineering
Bangalore-59

SANTHOSHA H D
Final year BE (ECE) Student
R.V. College of Engineering
Bangalore-59

RAVINDRA
Final year BE (ECE) Student
R.V. College of Engineering
Bangalore-59

Abstract- Power-line network has very widespread arrangement in every building and power-line is developed for
transmission of power at 50 Hz and 230 volts. Traditionally, the data and voice is transmitted through
communication link. The power line communication allows use of existing electrical wiring for data and voice
transmission. The objective of this project work is to design and develop modules to transmit voice over Alternating
Current (AC) power-line electrical network. Hence does not require separate wiring for the purpose of voice
transmission.The proposed power line voice communication system consists of transmitter and receiver. The
Transmitter frequency modulates voice to be transmitted on carrier at 48 KHz. The amplified modulated signal is
superimposed on 50 Hz AC power line with suitable electrical isolation. The received signal is band limited and
demodulated to recover the voice.
The transmission voice through power-line has many advantages and adds new aspect for communication such as
portable & easy to install. The quality of the transmission is good up to a transmitter receiver separation of 4m.
Keywords - Power line Communication, phase locked loop, Superimposition, Pre amplifier, duplexer, Power
amplifier, Intermediate frequency transformer.

I.

INTRODUCTION

The communication flow of today is very high.

Many applications are operating at high speed and
a fixed connection is often preferred. If the power
line network is used as a channel or medium to
provide a power line communication to the
costumers it could make a tremendous
breakthrough in communications. Because Power
line
communication
provides
a
voice
communication services at real-time and it is one of
the cost-effective ways compared to other
communication systems because it uses an existing
Low voltage power line network which is present
in every building. As a result it significantly
decreases the difficulty and complexity associated
with the installation of new wires, which is mainly
for in-house applications. This technology helps to
perform communication between the various
devices by connecting each of those to the
electrical source installed in each room in a house.
The power line communication approach that
eventually could be used for voice transfer over
low voltage power-line network is described.
In the voice communication over ac power line
system the transmitter transmits the voice signal
along with an power line having the frequencies of
50 Hz. The receiver receives only our voice signal
and rejects all other signals. A voice
communication system typically operates by
superimposing a modulated signal on the AC signal
which is present
power-line. The principle of
superimposition will be applied to signals
whenever two or more signals passes through the
same channel at the same time. The signals passes
through a common medium
without getting

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disturbed from one another signal. The

superimposed signal at any point of time is sum of
the individual signals at a same time. The
superimpositions of two signals (A and B) are
shown in figure 1.

Fig1: Superimposition of two signals

In voice Communication over ac power line is a

method of transmitting voice signals at through a
power line as a channel, which consist of three
basic elements, first one is power line that act as a
channel for the transmission of modulated signal,
next is the isolation or coupling unit that isolates
the device from the high-voltage power line finally
couples our modulated signal with an AC signal
present in power line and receiver receives the
modulated signal, which is demodulated by
separating the voice signal
from the carrier
signal.
II. SYSTEM DESIGN
The block diagram of Voice communication over
ac Power-line is shown in figure-2. In voice
communication over ac power line system the
module used for transmitting the voice signal is

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Sunil Kumar S M * et al. / (IJITR) INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH
Volume No.2, Issue No. 2, February March 2014, 872 - 875.

also used for reception of our voice signal. The

Voltage control oscillator (VCO) present in Phase
Lock Loop (PLL) is used to modulate our voice
signal during transmission. The same PLL is used
for demodulating the modulated signal when the
Module is working as a receiver. Due to this, the
same module working as both transmitter as well as
receiver in half duplex mode. The speaker used as a
output device in order to receiving the audio and
also used as the buzzer to alert the user.
In the transmitting mode, the signal from the
Microphone is fed to pre amplifier unit which
amplifies the voice signal in such way that output
of pre amplifier is sufficient to drive a next stage of
the communication system. Then it is fed to the
modulator/demodulator unit which consists of
VCO of the PLL unit. Therefore, the frequency of
the VCO is varied with the instantaneous amplitude
variation in the Microphone signal and appears at
the output. This FM signal is amplified by using
power amplifier. The output of power amplifier
then transmitted to the power line by using
coupling unit as shown in figure 2.

Fig
2: Block diagram of voice communication over power-line

1. Mike and Speaker:

The Microphone (Mike) contains mouth piece for
voice signals. It is one device which converts the
voice signal into suitable electrical signal. In the
voice communication system design a condenser
MIC is used for voice communication. The speaker
converts electrical signal into suitable voice signal.
This audio output device is for ring tone which
alerts the user at the other module. In this system a
0.5 watt 4 ohm speaker is used, which have hifidelity output handling capacity.
2. PLL transceiver:
The incoming ring signal send to the power line
through coupling unit. If cradle switch is On-Hook,
the base biasing voltage of cradle switch transistor
maintains at 6V [in cut-off state] with the help of
zener diode and capacitor. Thus the PLL acts as
Voltage Controlled Oscillator [VCO] and thus
generates ring tone signals, which are fed to Audio
Power Amplifier through Duplexer. As soon the

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cradle is Off-Hook, the transistor goes into active

region and starts conducting. Thus the PLL acts as
tone decoder and allows incoming voice signals to
be broadcasted through the same Audio Power
Amplifier with speaker. Simultaneously the
coupling unit transmits the voice signals in to the
power line. The switching action is done using
Duplexer and it is done by measuring voltage
variation across microphone.
This Phase Locked Loop (PLL) block consists of
an VCO which transmits and receives voice
signals, hence PLL is bidirectional and controlled
by a switching block Duplexer. If duplexer is in
receiving mode, ring tone is fed to Ring Tone
Generator unit to alert the user. If called user lifts
the hand set, this unit switches to transceiver mode
and hence allows both users to make a
conversation.
3. Preamplifier:
The pre amplifier is used where circuit needs to
catches the very low pitch voice signal. Basically
the pre amplifier is used to enhance the whole
quality of the voice signal and the power amplifier,
doesnt increase the quality of the voice signal but
it will be much louder
4. Duplexer:
The Duplexer is nothing but a digital switch, whose
switching action takes place only if any one of two
inputs goes low. In voice communication system
NAND gates are used to carry over the switching
action between Transmitter and Audio Power
Amplifier with Speaker. The switching action is
again depends upon the condenser microphone,
whose voltage variations [caused due to voice
signals] are fed as input to the NAND gates. It
simply means no voice signals at microphone end
then audio amplifier with speaker comes into
action.
5. Power amplifier:
The power amplifier amplifies both caller and
called user voice signals with a gain of 20 to
200(46db). The amplification is necessary because
voice signal has to be travel for a long distance
from transmitter to receiver. The power amplifier
unit is bidirectional in each module receives or
transmits voice signals simultaneously. The power
amplifier provides the higher current which is
necessary to drive 0.5 watt speakers.
6. Coupling unit:
A coupling unit plays a very important role in
superimposing a modulated signal into the power
line and also helps in connecting the
communicating module to the power-line. The
main device used in coupling unit is inter mediate
frequency transformer which play A very important
role to prevent the damaging of the communication
modules from the power line which has 50Hz, 230

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Sunil Kumar S M * et al. / (IJITR) INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH
Volume No.2, Issue No. 2, February March 2014, 872 - 875.

volts signal. The portion of the received/transmitted

signal must be within the frequency band used for
communication.
III. TESTING AND RESULTS
The challenges faced in the voice communication
over ac power line are noise, disturbances,
impedance variation, and signal attenuation present
in low voltage power line network. In the low
voltage power network, the most common
interference can be caused by the various
appliances and equipments on the network are
alternately drawing and then not drawing power
from the network. The voice communication over
ac power line system has a transmitter and a
receiver with sufficiently low output/input
impedance. This is approximately equal to channel
impedance in the most of the operating situations.
7. Setup for Voice communication:
The setup for Voice communication over powerline is as shown in Figure 3.1. The Module1 and
Module2 are transceivers connected to electrical
sink at two different ends inside a building for
voice transmission and this device is helpful in
bidirectional voice communication over powerline. Voice communication transceiver Module 2 is
as shown in the Figure 3.2.

Fig 3.1: Voice communication transceiver Module1

IV. APPLICATIONS ADVANTAGES AND

DISADVANTAGES OF VOICE PLC
The some of the applications of the voice
communication over ac power line as listed below
A. Applications:
The typical applications of in-house power-line
Voice communication is that, this system allows
easier and more efficient Voice communication
between the end users inside a building
B. Advantages:
This section highlights the advantage of using
power-line as transmission medium for in-house
communication.
1. Affordable and Easy to install:
Power-line communication allows user to use their
already existing electrical wiring to connect to the
different devices. Hence does not require separate
wiring for the purpose of communication.
2. Mobility:
This system can be helps for occasionallyconnecting for communication and removing when
not in use.
3. Flexibility:
Power-line communication extends connectivity to
all electrical outlets in the home. The same
electrical outlets that provide power will also serve
as access point for the network devices.
C. Disadvantages:
The proposed system have some problems that
have to be overcome and some aspects that have to
be taken into account to realize a successful
communication. They are listed as below
1. Minimum-security levels:
Power-lines do not necessarily provide a secure
media because each electrical sink inside a building
acts as access point for communication.
2. Voice attenuation:
Due to the presence of numerous elements on a
power-line network, voice attenuation is likely to
be an issue.
3. Noise:
The greater amount of electrical noise on the
power-line limits practical transmission speed.
V. CONCLUSION

Fig 3.2: Voice communication transceiver Module2

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Power-line communication is a valid technique that

allows the exchange of voice by means of the
power-line cables that are present in every dwelling
and in every building. The system is inexpensive
when compared with other technologies for
example wireless technology for in-house
application. This system also has high potential in
terms of innovation and commercial value due to
the uniqueness and the effectiveness.

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Sunil Kumar S M * et al. / (IJITR) INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH
Volume No.2, Issue No. 2, February March 2014, 872 - 875.

Information transmitted through the power-line can

be used to share voice and also to control home and
building automation systems. Equipping a home
environment
with
a
smart
power-line
communication system will increase the comfort. A
smart power line communication system can
improve the independence in the every days
activities, in a comfortable environment which is
very personal and peculiar for everyone. A
communication
system
using
power-line
communication
is
successfully
designed,
implemented and tested.
VI. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank Dr.S.Sridhar, Professor and
Dean, Cognitive & Central Computing Facility of
R.V.College of Engineering, Bangalore, India for
guiding them to present their ideas in the form of
paper and having communicated to this journal.
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[2] Fahd Hashish, and Pavel Soukal, A Proposed
Broadband Power-line Communication System
for Smart Grid Applications in a Typical
Egyptian Network, 17th Telecommunications
forum TELFOR 2009Serbia.
[3] Nikolas
Papandreou
and
Theodore
Antonakopoulos, Fair Resource Allocation
With Improved Diversity Performance for
Indoor
Power-Line
Networks,
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TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY,
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[4] A. Cataliotti & G. Tine, THE MODEL OF
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[5] M. K. Lee & R. E. Newman, HomePlug 1.0
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5.4 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF
COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS Int. J.
Commun. Syst. 2000; 00:16 prepared using
dacauth.cls [Version: 2002/09/18 v1.01].

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