Name: M Salman Aslam Roll No.

: 2022-EE-123
EE-322L ANALOG & DIGITAL COMMUNCATION

University of Engineering and

Technology
UET Lahore

LAB 13 REPORT
Course Name:
Analog & Digital Communication
Submitted by:
M Salman Aslam
Registration No:
2022-EE-123
Submitted to:
Sir Imran Javed
Section : B

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Name: M Salman Aslam Roll No. : 2022-EE-123
EE-322L ANALOG & DIGITAL COMMUNCATION

Experiment No. 13
Experiment Title: FM Radio Transmitter with
GNU Radio Companion and Nuand BladeRF SDR
 Objective:
In this lab, students will learn to construct a flow graph of FM radio transmitter to transmit
their recorded sound into the air through SDR and then receive and play it on their cell
phones.

 Task-1
 Flowchart of FM Radio Transmitter:

 Technical Background:
 Variable block:
This block is used to define the sampling rate for both the Low Pass Filter and the Soapy
BladeRF Source. In this setup, the sampling rate is set to 1.2 MHz, which is a suitable multiple
of the standard digital audio frequency of 48 kHz.This value ensures that all other processing
blocks work in sync without any compatibility issues. The defined variable samp_rate holds this
value and is shared across the flow-graph to maintain consistency in signal processing.

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Name: M Salman Aslam Roll No. : 2022-EE-123
EE-322L ANALOG & DIGITAL COMMUNCATION

 QT GUI Range:

Like the variable block, this block is used to define a default value for center frequency of the
Soapy BladeRF sink, with the exception that this block allows to change the center frequency
between a minimum and maximum value, during runtime. This allows us to tune the Nuand
BladeRF transmitter to different center frequencies during runtime.

 Wave File Source:

This block reads an audio file from the computer and outputs the sample to the rest of the flow
graph. It is provided the address of the audio file, so it can be accessed readily and repeat is set to
yes, so even when the playback of the audio file ends, it starts transmission of the same file over
again.

 Multiply Const:
The Multiply Const block scales the amplitude of the audio signal before it reaches the Audio
Sink block, using a constant value of 0.6. This adjustment ensures the audio signal is at an
optimal level for playback, similar to adjusting the volume on an analog radio. It allows for
amplification or attenuation without affecting the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of the audio.

Rational Resampler:
This block changes the sampling rate of the input signal to match what other blocks or hardware
need. It uses two key settings: interpolation and decimation. Interpolation means adding extra
points between samples to increase the signal rate (up sampling), and decimation means
skipping some samples to lower the rate (down sampling). Together, they control how fast the
output signal is compared to the input.

Interpolation factor
New Sample rate=Old Sample rate ×
Decimation factor

In our case, interpolation factor was set to 25 and decimation factor to 1, i.e. none of the samples
are dropped, so the new sample rate is

25
48 kHz × =1.2 MHz
1

This is done to increase the frequency of the signal because VHF FM band uses frequencies in
the range of 88 – 108 MHz, so using a high sampling rate ensures that the signal can
accommodate the FM modulation bandwidth, without aliasing.

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Name: M Salman Aslam Roll No. : 2022-EE-123
EE-322L ANALOG & DIGITAL COMMUNCATION

 QT GUI Frequency Sink:

This block is used to display the frequency spectrum of the received signal, with the bandwidth
set to 1.2M, matching the input signal's bandwidth. The FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) uses
1024 points to calculate the frequency spectrum. A larger number of FFT points improves
frequency resolution, providing more detailed information about the signal's frequency
components. However, increasing the number of points also increases the computational cost.
The center frequency is set to 100M, aligning with the FM channel, and the window power is
normalized for better visualization of the spectrum.

 QT GUI Time Sink:

The QT GUI Time Sink is a tool used to display signals or data over time. It shows a limited
portion of the data (1024 points in total) to keep the display clear and easy to read. The sample
rate is set to 1.2M samples per second, which determines how frequently the data is collected.
The Autoscale feature is enabled, so the graph automatically resizes to fit the signal levels. This
makes it easier to spot patterns or changes in the signal without needing to adjust the graph
manually. This setup is helpful for monitoring signals in real time.

 Complex to Real Block:

After passing through the resampler and LPF, the signal may contain imaginary part, which does
not contain any useful information for an audio signal after demodulation, so in order to save
CPU cost, the imaginary part is dropped after passing through complex to real part, and only the
real part is allowed to pass.

 Low Pass Filter:

The Low Pass Filter (LPF) is used to clean up the signal after downsampling, removing any
unwanted high-frequency components and smoothing out irregularities caused by previous
processing steps. In this setup, the cutoff frequency is set to 20kHz, allowing the desired portion
of the signal spectrum to pass through while rejecting nearby channels. A transition width of
1kHz is chosen to create a balance between filter sharpness and CPU load. The decimation
factor is set to 1, making the sample rate to 1.2MHz.

 WBFM Transmit:
The output from the Low Pass Filter which is given by Complex To Real block is fed into the
WBFM Transmit block, which functions as the FM audio modulator. The Quadrature Rate is
set to 1.2MHz (calculated as samp_rate / LPF_decimation = 1.2M / 1). The Audio Rate is set to
1.2M, and Tau is set to 75*10^-6.in this Max.deviation is set to 75K .Its output is fed to
Multiply Constant(having 0.6 value).

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Name: M Salman Aslam Roll No. : 2022-EE-123
EE-322L ANALOG & DIGITAL COMMUNCATION

 Soapy BladeRF Sink:

This graphical software block connects the GNU Radio software to the Nuand BladeRF
hardware, which functions as an FM receiver. The sample rate is set to 1.2 MHz, matching the
rate of the incoming signal. The center frequency, which determines the specific FM channel
being received, is set to 101 MHz. With the help of GUI Range block, this frequency can be
adjusted during runtime, allowing users to tune to different stations easily.

 Task 2:
These are the waveforms obtained from our recorded voice.

 Task 3:

The signal shows variations in amplitude over time, which is a common characteristic of modulated
signals. The frequency spectrum shows a series of peaks around a central frequency. This is a strong
indicator of FM. The spread of these peaks around the central frequency suggests a frequency deviation,
which is a fundamental characteristic of FM.

 Task-4:
Yes we were able to receive and listen to the transmitted file on our cellphone.

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Name: M Salman Aslam Roll No. : 2022-EE-123
EE-322L ANALOG & DIGITAL COMMUNCATION

 Rubrics Of Experiment 13:

Performance Exceeds expectation Meets expectation Does not meet Marks

(0.25)/(0.25)/(0.25) (-)/(0.125)/(0.125) expectation (0)/(0)/(0)

R1: Timely The submission is on ------ Late submission

submission time
Marks: 0-0.25

R2: Report All relevant All the relevant Most of the relevant
completeness calculations, calculations, graphs, results,
Marks: 0-0.25 specifications, code, specifications, code, calculations,
graphs, and results are graphs and results are specifications, and code
provided with proper provided but with little are missing, as well as
explanation. explanation and their proper explanation
justification. and justification is also
missing.

R3: Error-free The submitted Some parts of the The submitted

write-up assignment is submitted assignment assignment is mostly
Marks: 0-0.25 without any contain formatting plagiarized and contain
plagiarism and errors and plagiarized formatting errors.
formatting errors. material.

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Name: M Salman Aslam Roll No. : 2022-EE-123
EE-322L ANALOG & DIGITAL COMMUNCATION