Mizan-Tepi University

College of Engineering and Technology

Department of
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Course title
Introduction to Communication Systems
Course code: ECEg-4111
November 2015 EC
 1. Introduction
 What is Communication:
 The systems and processes that are used to convey
information from a source to a destination efficiently and
reliably, especially by means of electricity or radio waves.
 Is the transfer of information from one place to another.
 This should be done
 as efficiently as possible usually measured by the amount of
messages sent in unit power, unit time and unit bandwidth.
 with as much fidelity/reliability as possible
Reliability is expressed in terms of SNR or probability of error.
 securely
 Examples of Communication systems
Line telephony & line telegraphy

Radio broadcasting & TV broadcasting

Mobile communication,

Radar communication,
Computer communication

Radio telemetry

Radio aids to navigation

Radio aids to air craft landing

 Cont.
 In general sense, communication involves implicitly (indirectly ) the transmission of

inf/n from one point to another through a succession of process as

1. The generation of a message signal: like voice, music, picture, computer data

2. The description of that message signal with a certain measure of precision, by a set of

symbols: electrical, aural or visual

3. The encoding (symbols are mapped onto bytes) of these symbols in the form that is

suitable for transmission over a physical medium of interest.

4. The transmission of the encoded symbols to the desired destination.

5. The decoding & reproduction of the original messages

6. The recreation of the original message signal, with a definable degradation in

quality which is caused by imperfections in the system

 Basic modes of communication
 Two basic modes of communication
1.Broadcasting:
 Involves use of single powerful transmitter (Tx) & numerous
receivers (Rxs)
 Inexpensive to build
 Information bearing signals flow only in one direction.
2. Point -to-point communication:
 Communication process takes place over a line b/n a single
transmitter and receiver.
 Usually a bidirectional flow of information bearing signals
 Requires the use of a transmitter & receiver at each end of the link
 Element of Communication system

 The main objective of communication system is to transmit an inf/n from

source located at one point to a destination located to another point with
the minimum distortion and noise.
 So that to produce an accurate output at the receiver.
 Communication is the process of establishing connection (or link)
between two points for information exchange
 For communication to take place three essential things must be required
i.e.
– Transmitter (Tx)
– Communication channel and
– Receiver (Rx)
 Blok diagram of communication process
EM wave
n al d High Electrical
l sig y an EM wave frequency
text.
trica enc y High low energy
low
video c u rg frequency
Ele freq ene frequency +noise
Voice w high
Image Lo low High energy
energy

Out put
Input Transducer o/p
Input Transmitter Channel Receiver
Transducer

Convert non- Demodulation

electrical to Modulation Amplifier
electrical Amplifier Noise Wired or Mixer
Voice to Mixer Wireless Antenna
microphone Antenna channel
 Communication process
1 Information source:

 In communication system: the message comes from the information source.

 It may contain human voice, picture , audio, text

2 Transmitter :

 The transmitter is a collection of electronic components and circuits that converts

the input signal to transmitted signal suited for the transmission channel.

 Most of the time msg that comes from information source is not electrical &
therefore it is not suitable for immediate transmission.

 It sends information for example:

 TV transmitter station

 Radio transmitter station

 Cont.
 Transmitters are made up of oscillators, amplifiers, tuned circuits and filters,
modulators, frequency mixers, frequency synthesizers, and other circuits
 Effects of the channel on the transmitted signal

 Attenuation/ Loss:

 Decreasing the signal strength;

 Can be compensated by amplification at the receiver

 Distortion of the signal waveform:

 Caused by channel characteristics (linearity, frequency response)

 Disappears when the signal is turned off

 Linear distortion may be corrected by the use of equalizers (special filter).

 3. Communication channel
 The communication channel is the medium by which the electronic signal is
transmitted from source to destination.
 Eg. conducting wire, coaxial cable, optical fiber or free space.
 This is the path that the signal propagates from transmitter to receiver.
 Depending on the type of communication medium

Communication system

Wireless communication or
Wired communication radio communication
(line communication). Ex. Radio or TVs
Ex. Telegraphy, broadcasting ,satellite
telephony(actually two physical communication
wires or conductor are run (no physical wire between
between transmitter & receiver ) transmitter & receiver to carry
the signal)
 Uses transmitting antenna
 4. Noise
• Noise is the random unwanted electrical energy that inters the
communication system via the medium and interferes with
transmitting signal.
• Some noises are also produced in the receiver.

Noise

Man made
Natural
Noise produced in nature Noise produced by
electric ignition system
a) Lighting during rainy season
like, from
b) Due to radiation produced  cars,
 electric motors,
by the sun or other stars
 fluorescent light.
 5. Receiver
Extract the desired signal from the received signal at the channel
output and convert it to a form suitable for the output transducer.
 It contain
 amplifiers,
 oscillators,
 mixers,
 tuned circuits and filters,
 demodulator or detector that recovers the original intelligence/msg signal from
the modulated carrier.
 Basic operations at the receiver
• Filtering
• Amplification
• Oscillation
• Demodulation/Detection that recovers the original intelligence signal from
the modulated carrier.
• Decoding
 6. Output transducer
 Converts the output electrical signal to the desired message signal.
 Example:
Loudspeaker,
personal computer (PC),
 tape recorders.
 Classification of communication system
 Depending on mode of communication there are three types of
communication system
1. Simplex (SX) or One-way
 Only one direction flow of information. Eg, broadcasting, telephony
system or satellite communication
Rx
Tx
Rx
 Is one direction of communication
 Requires only one line for communication Rx
Rx
Rx
 Not often used in communication systems b/c it is not possible to
send feedback error or control signals to transmitter end.
 Example: TV & Radio broadcasting
 2. Half duplex
 At one instant only one of the Tx or Rx is functional
 Two direction of communication: can send & receive
 Only one dxn is allowed at a time
 Only one end transmits at a time, the other end receives
 Each channel allows transmission in both directions but not
simultaneously
 It is possible to send feedbacks
 An advantage is that the single lane is cheaper than the double lane

Example: Talk back radio , Police, military, family radio

Tx Tx Tx Tx
Rx Rx
Rx Rx
3. Full-duplex (FDX)
 Two way of communication which data can travel in both directions
simultaneously
 Is the most common channel operation in communication systems &
networking
 It can perform feed backs
 More expensive
Example: Mobile phone, telephone

Tx Rx
 1. Limitations Due to Technological Problems
 Hardware availability
 Economic factors
 International and national regulating norms
2. Fundamental Physical Limitations
A. Transmission Bandwidth (B).
• The frequency range or the band of frequency needed for a particular txn.

• Band of frequency required for a particular txn is also called channel.

 Bandwidth (BW):is that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum occupied by a

signal.

 Channel bandwidth: refers to the range of frequencies required to transmit the

desired information
 Cont.
 The greater the txn bandwidth (B) of a communication the more the
signal can be transmitted.
 Limits the spectrum of the transmitted signal, i.e. the maximum speed
of variation of the transmitted signal.
 The time required for transmission of a given amount of information
is inversely proportional to the transmission bandwidth (B)
B. Noise
 Generated in all conductors and in electronic devices.
 Thermal noise due to random motion of the charged particles like
electrons.
 Noises generated in electronic devices: shot, flicker(unsteady flash
of light), popcorn, avalanche.
 Cont.

Noise based on its source

1. External: Atmospheric noise, Galactic noise, Industrial noise
2. Internal: Thermal noise, Shot noise
 If the signal variations are quite large in comparison to noise ,then the effect
of noise is very small and may be ignored.
 Noise relative to signal is measured in terms of SNR

The noise degrades the fidelity in analog communication systems and produces

errors in digital communications.

Noise generation limits the weakest transmitted signal.

Significant in long-distance communications when the signal attenuation is

large.

 Signal-to-noise ratio (S/N )

 C. Channel capacity
 The most important question for a communication channel is the maximum

rate at which it can transfer information.

 There is a theoretical maximum rate at which information passes error free

over the channel, called the channel capacity C.

 The famous Hartley-Shannon Law states that the channel capacity C is

given by

b/s

 Where
C= Channel capacity
B= Bandwidth
The rate of information transmission cannot exceed the channel capacity C
 Modulation
 Modulation is defined as the process by which some characteristic of a carrier wave
is varied in accordance with an information-bearing signal.
 The carrier is needed to facilitate the transportation of the modulated signal across a
band-pass channel from the Tx to the Rx.
 A common form of the carrier is a sinusoidal wave, in which case we speak of
continuous-wave modulation.
 The baseband signal is referred to as the modulating wave, and the result of the
modulation process is referred to as the modulated wave.
 Analog Modulation:
 A higher frequency signal is generated by varying some characteristic of a high
frequency carrier signal.
 Example:
 AM (Amplitude Modulation),
 FM (Frequency modulation),
 PM (Pulse Modulation),
 Digital Modulation:

• Signals are converted to binary data, encoded, and translated to

higher frequency.
• More complex, but reduces the effect of noise
 Example :
 ASK (Amplitude Shift Keying)
 FSK (Frequency Shift Keying)
 PSK ( Phase Shift Keying )
 QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying )
 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation)
 CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access)
 Comparison of analog and digital communication
system
Digital communication system Analog communication system

 Advantage:  Advantage :
 Inexpensive digital circuits  Smaller bandwidth
 Privacy preserved (data encryption)  Synchronization problems is relatively
 Can merge different data(voice, easier
video and data) and transmit over a
common digital transmission
 Error correction by coding

 Disadvantage :  Disadvantage :
 Needs larger bandwidth  Expensive analog component: L &C
 Synchronization problems is  No privacy
relatively difficult  Con not merge data from different sources
 No error correction capability
Comparison between analog and digital transmission
Analog Transmission Digital Transmission
The transmitted modulated signal is analogue The transmitted modulated signal is train of
in nature digital pulses

AM, FM, PM,….modulation methods are used ASK, FSK, PSK,…modulation methods are
used
Amplitude , frequency and phase variation The message transmitted in the form of code
represents the information or message words (bits)

Poor noise immunity in AM and improve in noise immunity is better for all types of
FM and PM modulation
Difficult to use repeaters because it is difficult Repeats could be used because it is possible to
to separate out noise and signal separate out noise and signal

Difficult to use coding techniques for error Coding techniques used for error detection and
detection and correction correction
Lower BW is required than that of for the Higher BW channel due to the required higher
digital modulation techniques. bit rates
FDM is used for multiplexing TDM used for multiplexing
Not suitable for military applications Suitable because of coding techniques
 Cont.
• Modulation: changing the characteristics of a carrier signal in
accordance with the instantaneous values of another signal called
modulating signal.
• The information bearing signal is called modulating signal (message signal).
 Usually it is much slower than the carrier wave.
• The signal resulting from process of modulation is known as
modulated signal.
 Carrier wave: suits the application.
 Modulation: altering one or more of the parameters (amplitude, frequency, phase,
pulse width) of the carrier in correspondence with the modulating signal.
 Demodulation: extraction of modulating signal from modulated signal; reverse
operation to modulation
 Cont.
 Continuous wave modulation : when the carrier is sinusoidal.

A. Amplitude Modulation: amplitude of the sinusoidal carrier wave is varied in accordance with an

incoming message signal.

 Used for radio broadcasting and other applications.

B. Angle Modulation: the instantaneous frequency or phase of the sinusoidal carrier is varied in

accordance with message signal.

 Two types of angle modulation are,

1. Frequency modulation(FM)

2. Phase modulation (PM)

 All methods for sinusoidal carrier modulation are grouped under the heading of continuous-wave (CW)

modulation.

 Produces frequency translation

 In AM broadcasting, for example, the message spectrum typically runs from 100 Hz to 5 kHz; if the
carrier frequency is 600 kHz, then the spectrum of the modulated carrier covers 595-605 kHz.
600kHz
Cont.
 Why modulation?
• Base band signal = original information=low frequency signal in
analog or in digital.
• Base band signal are incompatible for direct transmission over a
medium and therefore need to use modulation techniques.
• Some advantages of modulation techniques are
a. Reduce the height of antenna

b. Avoid the mixing of signals

c. Increase the range of communication

d. Allows the multiplexing of signal

e. Allows adjustment in the bandwidth

f. Improve the quality of reception.
 A. Reduce the height of antenna

• The height of an antenna required for txn and reception of radio

waves in radio txn is the function of wave length of the frequency
used.
• The minimum antenna height is given by
• The wavelength is given by =c/f
Where
c - speed of light and
f - is the frequency of the signal to be transmitted
 The minimum antenna height required to transmit a baseband
signal of  f = 10 kHz is calculated as

 NB. The antenna of this height is practically impossible to install .

 Cont.
• Now, let us consider a modulated signal at f = 1 MHz . The
minimum antenna height is given by,

• This antenna can be easily installed practically

• Thus, modulation reduces the height of the antenna .
 2. Avoids mixing of signals
 If the baseband sound signals are transmitted without using
modulation by more than one transmitter, then all the signals will
be in the same frequency range i.e. 0 to 20 kHz .
 Therefore, all the signals get mixed together and a receiver can not
separate one from the other .
• Hence, if each baseband sound signal is used to modulate a
different carrier then they will occupy different slots in the
frequency domain (different channels).  

• Thus, modulation avoids mixing of signals .

 3. Increase the Range of Communication
•  The frequency of baseband signal is low, and the low frequency
signals can not travel long distance.
i.e. they get heavily attenuated .
• The attenuation reduces with increasing in frequency of the
transmitted signal, and they travel longer distance .
• The modulation process increases the frequency of the signal to be
transmitted.
• Therefore, it can increases the range of communication.
 4.    Multiplexing is possible
• Multiplexing is a process in which two or more signals can be
transmitted over the same communication channel simultaneously .
• This is possible only with modulation.
• Multiplexing allows the same channel to be used by many signals .
Hence, many TV channels can use the same frequency range,
without getting mixed with each other
i.e. different frequency signals can be transmitted at the same time
 5.  Improves Quality of Reception

• With frequency modulation (FM) and  the digital communication

techniques such as PCM, the effect of noise is reduced to a great
extent .
• This improves quality of reception 

6. Modulation for Efficient Transmission

• The efficiency of any particular transmission method depends

upon the frequency of the signal being transmitted.

 Coding Methods
 In a digital Communication system, the functional operations performed by the

Tx & Rx must include m(t) discretization at the Tx & m(t) synthesis at the Rx.

 Coding is a symbol processing operation for improved communication, when

the inf/n is digital or can be approximated in the form of discrete symbols.

 Good for long distance digital txn

 Types of coding

1. Encoding: its operation transforms a digital message in to a new sequence

of symbols

2. Decoding: Converts an encoded sequence back to the original message

 Cont.

Figure: Basic elements of a digital communication system.

 The source output may be either an analog signal, such as audio or

video signal, or a digital signal, such as the output of a computer
which is discrete in time and has a finite number of output
characters.
 Cont.
 In a digital communication system, the messages produced by
the source are usually converted into a sequence of binary
digits by source encoder or data compressor
 The information sequence from the source encoder is passed
to the channel encoder
 The purpose of the channel encoder is to introduce, in a
controlled manner, some redundancy in the information
sequence which can be used at the Rx to overcome the effect
of noise & interference encountered in the transmission
through the channel.
 Cont.
 Thus, the added redundancy serves to increase the reliability of the
received data and improves the fidelity of the received signal.
 In effect, redundancy in the information sequence aids the receiver
in decoding the desired information sequence.
 The added redundancy may be code word & in a sequence called
code rate
 The o/p of the channel encoder is passed through a digital
modulation.
 Cont.

 Coding is a technique used to introduce controlled redundancy

to further improve the performance and reliability in analog
channel

 Used to overcome unwanted channel noise

Error control coding

 Goes further in the dxn of wide band noise reduction

 By appending extra check digits to each binary code words, we

can detect, or even correct, most of the errors that do occur.

 But increases both Bandwidth(B) and hard ware complexity.

 Source coding

• It reduces redundancy to achieve the desired efficiency

Benefits
• digital coding can be incorporated in analog
communication with the help of an analog-to- digital
conversion methods such as PCM
• A PCM signal is generated by sampling the analog
message, quantizing the sample values, and encoding the
sequence of the digitized samples.
 Radio Wave Propagation Modes
(a) Ground Wave Propagation
• Follows contour of the earth
• can propagate considerable distances
 Frequencies up to 2 MHz
Example : AM radio
 Cont.

(b) Sky Wave Propagation

 Signal reflected from ionized layer of atmosphere.
 Signal can travel a number of hops, back and forth
 Reflection effect caused by refraction

Examples : SW radio (Short wave radio),

International broadcasts
 Cont.
(C) Line-of-Sight Propagation
• Transmitting and receiving antennas must be within
line of sight
Example:
 Satellite communication
 Ground communication
 Cont.
• Above 30 MHz neither ground nor sky wave propagation operates
 Transmitting and receiving antennas must be within line of sight
 Satellite communication – signal above 30 MHz not reflected by
ionosphere
 Ground communication – antennas with in effective line of site due to
refraction
 Refraction : bending of microwaves signals by the atmosphere
 Velocity of electromagnetic wave is a function of the density of the medium
 When wave changes medium, speed changes
 Wave bends at the boundary between mediums
Frequency Spectrum
 Chapter two

• Amplitude modulation