EECB353

COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION
SYSTEMS
Savithry

Dept of Electronic & Communication Engineering

Universiti Tenaga Nasional

INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

Chapter Outline:

1. The Evolution of Communication Technology

2. The Block Diagram of Communication System
- Definition
- Main Components
- Mode of Communication
2. SNR, Bandwidth & Data Rate
3. The Electromagnetic Frequency Spectrum
- Frequency Spectrum
- Radiowave Propagation
-Antenna
4. Modulation
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The Evolution of
Communication
Technology

The Block Diagram of Communication System

Definition : Communication is the transmission of information from a source to a
user via some communication link.
If the information that you want to send is your voice, how to make
sure that what you are saying is understood by your friend?

POSSIBLE SCHEMES

COMMUNICATIONS
SYSTEM
ANALOG DATA
OR
DIGITALDATA

SOURCE
ANALOG DATA
OR
DIGITALDATA

NUMBER OF POSSIBLE SCHEMES =

DESTINATION
ANALOG DATA
OR
DIGITALDATA

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AAA
AAD
ADA
ADD

DAA
DAD
DDA
DDD

DA

DA

COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS EXAMPLES

DIGITAL

MODEM

ANALOG

MODEM

DIGITAL

WAN/LAN
(DIGITAL)
ANALOG

IP
GATEWAY

IP
GATEWAY

ANALOG

COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS EXAMPLES

FREE SPACE
RADIO
STATION
ANALOG

ANALOG

ANALOG

DS1

ANALOG

CODEC

CODEC

ANALOG

The Block Diagram of Communication System

Main Components of Communication System:
(i) Input message can be:

Analog continuous signal i.e value varies continuously eg. human

voice, music, temperature reading

Digital discrete symbol i.e value limit to a finite set eg. data

Figure 2: Analog Vs Digital Signal

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The Block Diagram of Communication System

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(ii) 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.

WHAT IS BASEBAND ?
The signal is in its original form, not changed by modulation.
Baseband is the original information that is to be sent.

The Block Diagram of Communication System

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(iii) Transmitter (Tx):
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 much distorted.
Modulation takes place in the transmitter.
Modulation is a process of putting information onto high frequency carrier
for transmission.

The Block Diagram of Communication System

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(iv) Channel:

Physical medium through which the transmitter output is sent.

Divided into 2 basic groups:

Guided Electromagnetic Wave Channel eg. wire, coaxial cable, optical
fiber
Electromagnetic Wave Propagation Channel eg. Wireless broadcast
channel, mobile radio channel, satellite etc.

In the channel, transmitted signal is attenuated and distorted due to

distortion, noise and interference etc.

Signal attenuation increase along with the length/distance of channel.

This results in corrupted transmitted signal received by receiver, Rx

Transmission Medium (Guided)

Twisted pair

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)

Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)

Coaxial

Fiber Optic

Waveguide

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The Block Diagram of Communication System

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(v) Receiver

Receiver decodes the received signal back to message signal i.e it attempts
to translate the received signal back into the original message signal sent by
the source.

Reprocess the signal received from the channel by undoing the signal
modification made by transmitter and the channel.

Extract the desired signal from the received signal and convert it to a form
that suitable for the output transducer.

Demodulation takes place in the receiver, to remove the high frequency

carrier and to recover the baseband signal.

(vi) Output transducer

Convert electrical signals to its original waveform.

The Block Diagram of Communication System

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Mode of Communication (based on information flow):
Transmitter

Receiver

Transmitter

Receiver
AND

Receiver

Transmitter

Transmitter

Receiver
OR

Receiver

Transmitter

Simplex: One way

Full Duplex: Two way

simultaneously

Half Duplex: Either Tx

Or Rx

Mode of Communication (based on number of devices)

Transmitter

Receiver

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Point to point (ie:
Telephone, walkie talkie)

Point to multi-point @
Broadcast (ie: TV, satellite)

SNR, Bandwidth & Data Rate

1. Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR):

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SNR is defined as the ratio of signal power to noise power. Usually

represented in dB.

The dB value is calculated by taking the log of the ratio of the measured or
calculated power (PS) wrt a reference power (PN) level.

SNR = signal power(W ) Ps

noise power(W ) Pn

Vs2 / Rin
Ps
dB
SNRdB 10log 10log 2

Pn
Vn / R out

SNR of 10, 100 and 1000 correspond to 10dB, 20dB, and 30dB, respectively.

dBm is a dB level using a 1mW reference.

Example - Convert 1mW to dBm

Decibel

Decibel is a relative unit of measurement used frequently in electronic

communications for example to describe power gain or loss, SNR etc
Equation 1-3 below are commonly referred to as the power ratio form
for dB.

(Eq. 1)

(Eq. 2)

(Eq. 3)

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SNR, Bandwidth & Data Rate

Bandwidth is that portion of the electromagneticspectrum

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 1, 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

SNR, Bandwidth & Data Rate

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Bandwidth of a channel is the range of frequencies that it can

transmit with reasonable fidelity.

Bandwidth of an information signal is the difference between

the highest and lowest frequencies contained in the information.

Data rate is directly proportional to bandwidth.

Shannon limit for information capacity, C
C

= B log2 (1 + SNR)
= 3.32B log10 (1 + SNR)

Where

C = information capacity (bps)

B = bandwidth (Hz)

SNR = signal to noise ratio (no unit)

Electromagnetic Frequency Spectrum

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The purpose of an electronic communications system is to communicate

information between two or more locations/stations.

This is accomplished by converting the original information into

electromagnetic energy and then transmitting it to one or more received
stations where it converted back to its original form.

Electromagnetic energy can propagate as a voltage or current along a

metallic wire, as emitted radio waves through free space or as light waves
down an optical fiber.

Electromagnetic energy is distributed throughout an almost infinite range

of frequencies.

Electromagnetic Frequency Spectrum

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The total span of frequencies and corresponding wavelength used in

communications systems.

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Electromagnetic Frequency Spectrum

Frequency and wavelength. (a) One cycle. (b) One wavelength.

Frequency is the number of cycles of a repetitive wave that occur in
a given period of time. Unit (Hz)

Wavelength is the distance occupied by one cycle of a wave and is

usually expressed in meters. Represented in lambda ().
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Electromagnetic Frequency Spectrum

Wavelength () = speed of light frequency

c
( )
f
Speed of light, c = 3 108 meters/second
Therefore:
= 3 108 / f
Example:
What is the wavelength if the frequency is 4MHz?
= 3 108 / 4MHz
= 75 meters (m)
**Antenna length is usually or of the waves it is set up to transmit
(depends on type of antenna used).

Radio Wave Propagation

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Ground Wave
Radio frequency propagation that uses the area between the
surface of the earth and the ionosphere for transmission.
(i) Surface Wave

Radio wave that travels along the earths surface.

The propagation is better over water, esp salt water.
Frequencies up to 2MHz
Reception not affected by daily or seasonal changes.
Application: submarine application

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Radio Wave Propagation

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(ii) Space Wave

Divided into 2 types direct wave & ground reflectedwave

Limited by line of sight (LOS)

Antenna height and earth curvature become important factors

1.3 Electromagnetic Frequency Spectrum

Sky Wave (Ionospheric Wave)

Radiated from the transmitting antenna in direction toward the

ionosphere.

Skipping the alternate refracting and reflecting of a sky wave signal

between the ionosphere and earths surface.

The ability of the ionosphere to return the radio wave depends on the
ion density, frequency of radio wave and angle of transmission.

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Antenna Type

Half Wave Antenna:

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The physical length is 1/2 wavelength of the applied frequency.

Typically used for >2 MHz

Dipole Antenna

Straight radiator, typically wavelength long, usually separated at

center by insulator and fed by a balanced transmission line.

Monopole Antenna

Typically used for <2 MHz

Large amount of energy is launched as a ground wave

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Modulation

Modulation is a process of changing some property of the original message

signal into suitable form for transmission through the physical
medium/channel

Modulation is the process of putting information onto a high frequency

carrier in a transmitter. The process takes place at the transmitter.

Why cant the information signals be radiated directly? Why modulation is

important?

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 to be transmitted at the
same time over the same carrier.

Classification of modulation process:

Analog modulation- AM, FM, PM

Digital Modulation- ASK, PSK, FSK, QPSK, QAM

Analogy: How to throw piece of paper over long distance?

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TYPE OF MODULATION

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END OF CHAPTER
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1)

Explain the importance of modulation in communication

system.

2)

A laser diode outputs +20dBm. Convert this value to both in

dB and Watt.

3)

Consider a standard telephone channel with BW of 3 kHz

and intended capacity of 20kbps. Calculate the required
SNRdB to achieve this capacity. How long does it takes to
send 2Mb of data through the channel?

4)

An information signal with a frequency of 1 kHz is being

transmitted. If half wave antenna is to be use to capture
the signal at the receiving end:
a)

Calculate the length of the antenna.

b)

In terms of practicality, what can you say about the

length of antenna obtained above? Is there any
adjustment to be made? [YES/NO and WHY]

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Student questions

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5) Frequency range of 87.5 MHz until 108 MHz is allocated for FM radio
broadcasting services. Assume the radio broadcast service support voice
application only. In terms of practicality, is 10 MHz is sufficient for the
carrier frequency? Give TWO (2) reasons why you agree/disagree.

6) A typical SNR value for data transmission through fiber optic cable is
18dB. Determine the data rate if the optical channel bandwidth is 100
GHz.
7) Half duplex antenna is used to transmit LTE signal, operating at 2.7 GHz
frequency. How long it takes for the RF signal to travel over 200 km
distance? Determine the antenna size.
8) DanaTel is a GSM 900 network operator that operates in the frequency
range of 890 to 950 MHz. A mobile phone manufacturer needs to decide
either to use a half-wave or a quarter-wave dipole antenna in order to
transmit a voice signal of 4 kHz over DanaTel network. Propose the
solution if the size of the mobile phone antenna is 8 cm. Justify your
selection with calculations.