1

TELECOMMUNICATIONS NOTES
COMMUNICATION- refers to sending of a message from one point to another point in an
intelligible form.
COMMUNICATION SYSTEM-The set up used to transmit the information from one point to
another point is called communication system.
A communication system consist of three essential elements-
(i) Transmitter: The transmitter converts the message (or information) signal into a suitable signal
which may be passed on to a suitable medium called transmission channel.
(ii) Transmission/Communication Channel: Transmission/Communication channel refers to the
medium, the path or even the actual frequency range used to convey information from
a transmitter to a receiver.
Communication channel may be wire-pairs, coaxial cables, a radio and microwave
links and optical fibres
(iii) Receiver: Receiver converts the suitable signal prepared by transmitter into actual message
(or information).

Fig 1 shows schematic diagram of a communication system.

Fig 1

COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

Fig 2

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Wire Pairs:-A pair of insulated copper wires that connect/link a transmitter to a
receiver/buzzer as in Fig 2. The potential difference between the two wires is the
signal.

Wire-pairs are used mainly for very short distances with low frequencies. If high
frequency signals are transmitted along a pair of wires over an appreciable
distance, repeaters/boosters must be provided at regular intervals to boost signals
by repeated amplification. This is due to the very high attenuation of the signal.

The disadvantages of wire-pairs include:

1. Cross-linking/cross-talk
2. High attenuation
3. Low bandwidth
4. Noise

EXPLANATIONS
1 Cross-linking/cross-talk:-is signal in one wire pair picked up by a neighboring wire pair.
If several wire-pairs are arranged next to one another, they will pick up
each other’s signals. This effect is known as cross-talk or cross-linking.
Cross-linking/cross-talk causes very poor security because one can
‘tap’ into another telephone conversation, i e the signal intended for one
subscriber is picked up by another, unintended, subscriber. It is caused
by the transmitted signal on one circuit inducing a copy of the signal into
an adjacent circuit

2 High attenuation:- Attenuation is loss of power during transmission.

Energy is lost as (i) heat in the resistance of the wires and
(ii) electromagnetic radiation.
The wires themselves act as aerials and the changing currents radiate
electromagnetic waves, further weakening the signal. This means that the
signals need to be amplified at regular intervals.

3 Low bandwidth:- A bandwidth is a frequency range in which a signal can be transmitted from
transmitter to receiver.
Due to the low bandwidth, the rate of transmission of information is limited.
The bandwidth of a pair of wires is only about 500 kHz. Consequently, as a
means of carrying a large amount of information, it is extremely limited.

4 Noise:- Noise is any unwanted random signal and any unwanted sound that is being
transmitted, i e unwanted signals and unwanted sound are easily picked up
during a transmission. When the information signal is amplified the noise is also
amplified. This reduces the quality of the signal that is intended.

Coaxial Cable:- a cable that consists of two wire conductors;- a central inner conductor/inner
core (copper wire) and an outer conductor/outer core (copper braid). The
copper wire is surrounded by a polythene insulator while the copper braid is
covered by a plastic covering. Fig 3 shows a coaxial cable.

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 A Coaxial Cable

Fig 3
Any electrical signal is transmitted along a central inner conductor, the copper wire.

Function of copper braid:

1. It acts as return wire for the signal.
2. It shields the inner core from noise, electromagnetic interference and cross-talk.
3. It acts as the earth, since it is usually earthed

Coaxial cable is used for connecting an aerial/dish to a television set.

The advantages of coaxial cable include:

 Larger bandwidth than wire pairs. This increases the rate of transmission of information.
The bandwidth of coaxial cable is about 50MHz, so the cable is capable of carrying much
more information than a wire-pair.
 Reduced attenuation, since the cable does not radiate electromagnetic waves to the same
degree.
 Security is slightly greater because they are somewhat more difficult to tap into.
 Less electrical interference and noise compared to wire-pairs which pick up noise and have
more electrical interference.
 Little cross-talk compared to wire-pairs which suffer from cross-talk

Comparison Between Wire-pairs and Coaxial Cable

Wire-pair Coaxial Cable
1 Cheap and convenient More expensive
2 Signal attenuated greatly Less attenuating
3 Have low bandwidth Higher bandwidth
4 Picks up noise and suffers more electrical Less electrical interference and picks up less
interference noise
5 Suffer from cross-talk Little cross-talk
6 Have low security More secure
Optic Fibers:
 Optic fibers are thin flexible glass rods used to carry digital information in the form of pulses
of light or infra-red radiation transmitted using total internal reflection. These pulses are
provided by lasers and the light produced has very high frequencies of the order of 108 MHz

The information is transmitted as laser light or infra-red radiation because these forms of
light or radiation have lower attenuation than for visible light.

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The advantages of transmission using optic fibres are indicated below.

 Optic fibres have a wide bandwidth. This gives rise to a large transmission capacity.
 Signal power losses in optic fibres are relatively small. This allows for longer
uninterrupted distances between regenerator amplifiers and reduces the costs of
installation.
 The cost of optic fibre is much less than that of metal wire.
 The diameter and weight of fibre optic cables is much less that that of metal cables. This
implies easier handling and storage.
 Optic fibres have very high security since they do not radiate energy and thus there is
negligible „cross-talk‟ between fibres.
 Optic fibres do not pick up electromagnetic interference. This means they can be used in
electromagnetically „noisy‟ environments, for example alongside electric railway lines.
 Optic fibre is ideal for digital transmissions since the light is obtained from lasers that can
be switched on and off very rapidly.

Microwave link
Microwaves are electromagnetic waves in the frequency range 3GHz to 30GHz and the order of
wavelength is 10-3m to 10-1m. They are used for point-to-point communication, as illustrated in the
diagram below.

Fig 4

In point-to-point communication, reflecting parabolic dishes are used as shown in Fig 4.

The reflecting parabolic dishes are a means of

(i) directing as much power as possible into a parallel beam
(ii) collecting this power in the parallel beam and
(iii) directing/converging it to the receiving aerial or element.

Parabolic dishes are most useful with short wavelengths where the spread of the waves due to
diffraction is less pronounced.

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 How Microwave Link Operates
 A transmitting element is placed at the focus of a parabolic mirror to form a transmitter as
shown in Fig 4.
 The transmitter focuses the radio waves as a parallel beam towards the receiver by using an
aerial shaped as a dish as without it, the strength of the signal would decrease greatly. Each
dish points/faces towards a dish on another tower and transmits microwaves back and forth in
line-of-sight.
 Another parabolic reflector is placed in the path of this beam. This reflector reflects and
focuses the wave power on to a receiving element.

Advantages of Microwave Link.

 These are electromagnetic waves with a wide range of frequencies, i e they a wide
bandwidth. The bandwidth of a microwave link is of the order of 1GHz. Consequently,
microwave links have a very large capacity for carrying information.
 Microwaves are more secure and difficult to tap into because of encoding of information
and the travelling beam is narrow and parallel (i e does not spread)
 Their mode of use and range depend on frequency only

Disadvantages of Microwave Link

However, for terrestrial use, the range of the transmissions is limited to line-of-sight. For long-
distance transmissions, many repeater stations are required. This increases operating and transmitting
costs.

Radio and Microwave Link:- a communication link that links a ground station to a
satellite. The link uses microwaves and radio waves. The microwaves and radio waves are
classified into Surface waves, Sky waves and Space waves.

Radio waves and microwaves:- part of the electromagnetic spectrum, with frequencies
ranging from about 30 kHz to 300 GHz and wavelengths ranging from 1mm to 10km.

Although there is no fixed boundary between radio waves and microwaves, it is generally considered
that microwaves have a frequency of 3 GHz or greater.

For convenience, radio waves are split into several further bands as shown in the Table 1 below.
Table 2 radio waves and microwaves classified into surface, sky and space waves and their
wavelengths, frequencies and range.

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 Table 1

Table 2

Surface waves, Sky waves and Space waves.

Fig 5

Surface waves are waves that travel close to and along the surface of the earth and diffract around
the Earth due to their long wavelengths.

Surface waves have the advantage that they can diffract sufficiently to keep close to the Earth’s
surface and can also diffract round objects so that there are no “shadows” in which reception is poor.

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Sky waves are short-wave radio waves that do not diffract sufficiently for this type of transmission,
but travel in the atmosphere in straight lines, reflecting back and forth between the ionosphere (the
layer of charged particles in the Earth’s atmosphere) and Earth’s surface hence can go a long
distance.

Space waves have a higher frequency so they can pass through the ionosphere and transmit in the
line-of-sight. They are used, in communication satellites. They are transmitted to satellites, which
regenerate them and transmit them back to Earth. Space waves are in the VHF, the UHF and the
microwave regions and are of even shorter wavelength than short-wave radio waves and hence
diffract even less.

Disadvantages of using ionospheric reflection:

 Unreliable because ion layers vary in height/density
 Cannot carry information required as bandwidth is too narrow
 Coverage limited and reception poor in hilly areas

MODULATIONS

Sound can be transmitted

1 directly through air as in (a) directly
2 through alternating currents induced in a moving-coil microphone and
received by a moving coil speaker as illustrated in (b).
3 through radio waves by simply amplifying the audio signal and applying
it to a suitable aerial as illustrated in (c).

However, radio wave communication causes two fundamental problems:

 only one radio station could operate in the region because the wave from a second station
operating would interfere with the first,
 the aerial required to transmit frequencies in the audio range (20 Hz to 20 kHz) would be
both very long and inefficient (the radio waves would not travel very far unless huge powers
were used).

Both of these problems are solved by the process of modulation.

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Modulation is the process in which a low frequency signal (information signal) is
superimposed over a high frequency signal (called carrier wave) in such a way that amplitude or
frequency of a carrier wave changes in accordance with the information signal.
A carrier wave is a high frequency wave used to transmit/carry an information signal.

Advantages of Using A Carrier Wave (Advantages of Modulation over Direct

The use of a carrier wave

 allows several different radio stations in the same area/region to transmit

simultaneously.
 allows shorter aerials to be used.
 for longer transmission range
 causes less attenuation
 cause less distortion of information signal
 allows for multiplexing;-a process of combining several signals for simultaneous
transmission on a single channel.

Amplitude and Frequency Modulations

Diagram A shows a carrier wave, while B shows an information signal that is superimposed on
carrier wave. Diagram C shows the result of amplitude modulation while Diagram D shows the result
of the frequency modulation.

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Frequency Modulation (FM):-the variation of the frequency of the carrier wave in synchrony/in
accordance with the displacement of the information signal.
 The amplitude of the carrier wave does not vary
 The variation in the frequency of the carrier wave is a measure of the displacement of the
information signal
 The rate at which the carrier wave frequency is made to vary is equal to the frequency of the
information signal

Advantages of FM Disadvantages of FM
 Shorter range of transmission so more
 Greater bandwidth produces better transmitters required
quality of signal reproduction
 More complex circuitry
 Less electrical noise and interference
 More expensive

Amplitude Modulation (AM):-the variation of the amplitude of the carrier wave in synchrony/in
accordance with the displacement of the information signal

 The frequency of the carrier wave does not vary

 The amplitude of the signal must be less than half of the amplitude of the carrier wave
 The variation in the amplitude of the carrier wave is a measure of the displacement of the
information signal
 The rate at which the carrier amplitude varies is equal to the frequency of the information
signal

Advantages of AM Disadvantages of AM
 Requires a high power transmitter
 Smaller bandwidth so more stations
available in frequency range  Poor signal quality reproduction
because of narrower bandwidth
 Greater range of transmission area
covered by one transmitter because  More noise and electrical interference,
range of transmission is much larger. so output signal is greatly distorted.

 Cheaper and less advanced technology  Amplitude of signal is fluctuating, so

radio sets power of signal is also fluctuating.

 Can reflect off the ionosphere so it

enables transoceanic broadcasting

 It uses longer wavelengths which can

be diffracted round physical barriers
like mountains, so it significant in
mountainous regions.

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Sidebands and bandwidth
. Analysis of the amplitude modulated signal, shows that an amplitude modulated wave consists of
three components:

i. Original carrier wave of frequency 𝑓𝑐 and amplitude 𝐴𝑐

ii. A wave of frequency = 𝑓𝑐 − and amplitude =

Aa
2

iii. A wave of frequency 𝑓𝑐 + and amplitude =

Aa
2

When music or speech is transmitted, the carrier is modulated by a range of frequencies which
change with time.
 The central frequency fc is that of the high frequency carrier wave
 The other two are sideband frequencies:- fc – fa is the lower sideband
fc + fa is the upper sideband

The upper and lower sidebands stretch above and below the carrier frequency fc by the value of the
highest modulating frequency as shown in diagram B.

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Diagram C shows the frequency spectrum for a carrier wave of frequency 1MHz modulated with
frequencies between 0 and fa = 15 kHz = 0.015MHz. The highest frequency present in the spectrum
is ( fc + fa) = 1.015 MHz and the lowest frequency is ( fc − fa) = 0.985MHz.

The maximum and minimum values are important, as these must not overlap the sidebands from any
other radio station.

The value of fa needed depends on the quality required in the signal. High-quality music only needs
frequencies up to 15 kHz, even though the ear can hear frequencies up to 20 kHz. Speech only needs
frequencies up to 3.4 kHz for people to understand one another.

In practice, when listening to a radio, there is a range of sound frequencies and, therefore,
signals. The bandwidth is the range of these frequencies from the minimum to maximum
frequency.

Bandwidth = (𝑓𝑐 +f a) − (𝑓𝑐 − 𝑓𝑎) = 2𝑓𝑎

speed of light
Wavelength of carrier wave =
carrier frequency f c

The significance of the size of the bandwidth is to determine

1. the number of stations that can be transmitted in an area or region.

allowed frequency range

Number of stations =
¿ bandwidth

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 2. quality of signal. Increasing bandwidth increases quality of signal. If bandwidth is
reduced quality of signal is also reduced.

QUE:-State and explain if the greater bandwidth available on FM is an advantage or a disadvantage.

ANSWER:- It is an advantage if the quality of the signal is required because greater bandwidth
means greater signal frequency.

It is a disadvantage if more stations are needed and are not in line of sight with the
transmitter because increasing bandwidth reduces number of transmitting
stations. In this case then AM is better.

Effect of Audio frequency fa on Sound Quality and Number Of Stations

 Increase in the maximum frequency fa of the information signal that modulates the carrier
wave increases (i) sound quality,
(ii) bandwidth.
 Increase in bandwidth decreases the number of available stations in the LW region of the
spectrum. So an increase if audio frequency fa reduces number of stations in an area.

Worked examples
1 Radio stations, which broadcast in the long wave (LW) region of the electromagnetic spectrum, use
a carrier frequency between 140 kHz and 280 kHz. The sidebands are within 4.5 kHz on either side
of the carrier frequency.

(a) State the bandwidth of each radio station in the LW region of the spectrum

(b) Calculate the maximum number of radio stations which can transmit in the LW region.

Solution

(a) The bandwidth of an individual station is twice the width of an individual sideband:

Bandwidth = 2 × 4.5 = 9.0 kHz

(b) The LW region is divided into regions of width 9.0 kHz. Hence:

allowed frequency range

Number of stations =
¿ bandwidth

( 280−140 ) x 10 3
=
9 x 103
= 15.5 = 15stations

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2 Fig 2.1 shows the frequency spectrum of the signal from a radio transmitter. A carrier and two
sideband frequencies are present.

2 a Give the name of the type of modulation that produces two sideband frequencies.

b (i) State the carrier frequency and

(ii) the frequency of the signal used to modulate the carrier wave.

c Calculate the bandwidth of the transmitted signal.

Solution
2 a Amplitude modulation

b(i) 40 kHz b(ii) 5kHz

c bandwidth = 2fa = 2(40-35)kHz = 10kHz

Calculation For Carrier frequency fc and Signal frequency fa

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For Carrier frequency fc
1
Period T is inverse of frequency i e T =
f

Time for a complete carrier wave cycle is period Tc as shown in the graph.

1
∴ carrier wave frequency fc =
Tc

For Signal frequency fa

A complete cycle for a information signal is from crest to crest of a carrier wave. In the graph above

Ta is the period of the information signal.

1
∴ frequency of information signal fa =
Ta

Practise Question
1 The diagram below shows an AM carrier modulated by a pure tone.

(i) Calculate the carrier frequency and the pure tone frequency.
(ii) On the axes below, sketch the frequency spectrum of the AM signal.

SOLUTION
1. (i) Carrier frequency: 1 cycle lasts 10μs, the period for a carrier wave = 10μs
1
∴ fc = = 100kHz
10 μs

Signal frequency : 1 cycle from peak to peak lasts (150μs-50μs) = 100μs. So period Ta = 100μs
1
∴fa = = 10kHz
100 μs
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(ii)

COMPARISONS OF AM and FM

Electromagnetic interference and noise affect AM more than FM.

Amplitude of a radio wave is affected by electromagnetic interference but frequency of the radio
wave is not affected.

When Amplitude modulation (AM) is used to produce radio waves, the amplitude of the output of
the radio wave is affected by electromagnetic interference produced by switching on and off lights in
a house or lightning striking nearby or ignition system of an unsuppressed internal combustion
engine but the frequency of radio wave is not affected.

AMPLITUDE MODULATION FREQUENCY MODULATION

 Narrower bandwidth, more stations  Wider bandwidth, fewer stations available
available in any frequency range. in any frequency range.
 Poor signal quality because of the narrower  Better signal quality (i e better
bandwidth reproduction of sound) because of wider
bandwidth.
 Involves signals of longer wavelengths,  Involves signals of shorter wavelengths
which can be diffracted round physical which cannot be cannot be diffracted round
barriers, so AM transmission is significant physical barriers, so FM transmission is
in mountainous/hilly areas. less significant in mountainous/hilly areas.
 AM transmission is more prone to  FM transmission is less prone to
electromagnetic interference from other electromagnetic interference from other
sources, e g lightning, unsuppressed sources, e g lightning, unsuppressed
internal combustion engines and switching internal combustion engines and switching
on and off alternating mains current on and off alternating mains current..

 Range of AM transmission is much bigger  Range of FM transmission is much smaller

than FM, therefore fewer transmitters than AM; hence this also means more
are required and this makes Am transmitters are required, so it is more
transmission cheaper expensive.
 Cheaper and less advanced technology is  Expensive and more advanced technology
required for transmission and receiving of is required for transmission and receiving
signals of signals
 Less energy efficient, one-third of the total  More energy efficient, in AM waves one-
power is carried by the sidebands third of the total power is carried by the
sidebands
 Fluctuating amplitude in AM means power  Constant amplitude in FM means constant
constant unlike in FM power unlike in AM.
 Can reflect off the ionosphere  Can pass through the ionosphere, so used

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 with satellite communication

Advantages of AM and FM transmissions.

 Due to interference and noise; AM reception is generally poorer than that of FM. AM is
affected by noise and distortion due to interference by electromagnetic waves from lightning,
motorbike and car engines switching on/off electricity.

Human ear can hear sound in the frequency range 20Hz to 20 kHz.

 On the long wave (LW) and medium wave (MW) wavebands, the bandwidth on an AM radio
station is 9 kHz. This means that the maximum audio frequency fa that can be broadcast is 4.5
kHz. This frequency is well below the highest frequency audible to (i e-can be heard by)
the human ear (about 15 kHz) and therefore such broadcasts lack higher frequencies,
hence poor sound quality.

 On the very-high frequency (VHF) waveband, the bandwidth of an FM radio station is about
200 kHz and the maximum audio frequency broadcast is 15 kHz. Thus, the quality of music
received on AM is poorer than that of FM but in this case, on the basis of bandwidth.

 The LW waveband occupies a region of the electromagnetic spectrum from 30 kHz to 300
kHz. The number of separate AM radio stations that could share this waveband is,
theoretically, 270 / 9 = 30 stations. However, the number of separate FM stations would be
only 270 / 200 = 1. So, more AM radio stations than FM radio stations can share any
waveband. For this reason, FM is used only at frequencies in excess of 1MHz.

 The AM transmissions on the LW, MW and SW (short-wave) wavebands are

propagated very large distances so that broadcasts can be made to a very large area
from only one transmitter. FM transmissions have a range of only about 30km by line-
of-sight. To broadcast to a large area, many FM transmitters are required. It is,
therefore, much cheaper and simpler to broadcast by AM than by FM.

 AM transmitters and receivers are electronically simpler and cheaper and they also
occupy a much smaller bandwidth than those of FM.

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B) ANALOGUE AND DIGITAL SIGNALS
Noise:-any unwanted sound and any random and unwanted signal that adds to and distorts a
transmitted signal
Attenuation:- loss of power from a signal as it travels through its channel of communication.

Analogue quantity is one that can have any value, for example the height of a person.

Analogue signal: a signal whose displacement varies continuously with time. When transmitting
analogue information, a voltage is transmitted that is proportional to the
displacement. The transmitted voltage variation is the replica of the displacement
time variation. This voltage variation is converted back to the original signal at the
receiver.

Digital signal: is a signal that consists of a series of “highs” and “lows” or 1s and 0s. It has no
intermediate values.

Digitization: conversion of an analogue signal into a digital signal.

REASONS FOR DIGITIZATION

If the analogue signal is transmitted over long distance,

 it will pick up noise and becomes distorted.
 the power of the signal becomes less, i e the signal is attenuated due to interferences and
radiation..

Therefore, for long distance transmission, the signal has to be amplified at regular intervals to
restore lost power and to remove distortion of the signal.

The problem of amplifying the attenuated and distorted signal is that the noise will be amplified
together with the analogue signal. The signal will become noisy or distorted. This effect is shown in
diagram below.

There is little improvement possible for the analogue signal; but amplification will not remove the
noise.

Digitization produces digital signals which can be regenerated while analogue signals cannot be
regenerated

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REGENERATION
- the renewal and restoration of a signal to its original shape and size.
- removes the noise from a digital signal. The signal is “cleaned” of the noise
and it is restored to its initial shape.

If the information to be transmitted is in digital form, then it too suffers from attenuation and the
addition of noise.

The amplifiers in REGENERATORS which are used with digital signals are set to block and filter
small fluctuations in amplitude.

Since noise consists of such small fluctuations; the amplification of a digital signal does not also
amplify the noise.

Thus a digital signal can be transmitted through very long distances with regular regenerations
without becoming increasingly noisy as happens to analogue signals. This is illustrated in below.

A Schmitt trigger is commonly used in regenerators.

Advantages of Digital Signals:

 Signal can be regenerated and noise can be eliminated
 Extra data can be added to check for errors
 Multiplexing: digital signals from a large number of different sources can be made to share
the same path
 Digital circuits are more reliable & cheaper to produce
 Data can be encrypted for security
 Digital signals are compatible with modern technology and can be stored and processed more
easily, for example in a computer or on a compact disc (CD);
 Digital signals build in safeguards so that if there is an error in reception it is noticed and
parts of the signal can be sent again.

Analogue-to-Digital Conversion
 In digital transmission, the analogue signal is converted to digital using an analogue-to-
digital converter (ADC). The process is called digitization.

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  When received, it is converted back to analogue using a digital-to-analogue converter (DAC).
Binary numbers 0 and 1 are used in analogue to digital conversion ADC and digital to
analogue conversion DAC.
BINARY NUMBERS
Binary is a system of counting to base 2, whereas we normally use base 10. Binary has the
advantage that there are only two digits, 1 and 0. These are called bits.

A 1 is represented by a high voltage and a 0 is represented by a low voltage, hence a digital signal is
made of a series of high and low voltages

E g Decimal number 13 to base 2 or as binary number is 1101, and has 4bits. A 4-bit system is used
in the examples

The bit on the left-hand side of a binary number is the most significant bit (MSB) and has the
highest value and the bit on the right-hand side has the least value and is known as the least
significant bit (LSB)
ie 1101
most significant bit least significant bit
BITS & BYTES

A bit is a measurement unit of data

8 bits = 1 byte; 1024 bits = 1kbits and 1024 x1024 bits = 1Mbits

A four-bit system can count from 0 up to 15 whereas an eight-bit system can count up to
255. An eight-bit electronic system could split a signal into 256 levels.

Eg
Decima 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 - 14 15
l -
Binary 000 000 001 001 010 010 011 011 100 - 111 111
0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 - 0 1

The number of bits per sample limits the number of possible voltage levels (with 4 bits there are 24
= 16 levels; with 8 bits = 28 = 256 levels).

Each bit-system determines size of voltage step in the output signal.

maximum potential diffrence

Size of step in the output signal =
maximum count by a bit −system

E g Worked example
A four-bit analogue-to-digital converter converts a signal into binary code.
The ADC works at a maximum potential difference of 7.50 V.

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(a) Calculate the size of each ‘step’ in the output signal. Assume that there is no amplification or
attenuation.
(b) Deduce the binary code packets that would correspond to the following series of sampling
voltages: 0.2 V, 1.5 V, 4.5 V, and 7.2 V
Answer
(a) voltage steps = 7.5/15 = 0.5 V
(b) 0.2 V is below the first step of 0.5V, so it is recorded as 0000
1.50 V is the third step (1.50/0.5 = 3) and is recorded as 0011
4.50 V is the ninth step (4.50/0.5 = 9) and is recorded as 1001
7.2 will read as 7.0 V, which is the fourteenth step (7.2/0.5 = 14) and is recorded as 1110

SAMPLING
Conversion of an analogue signal into a digital signal involves sampling. In analogue-to-digital
conversion (ADC), sampling is the measurement of amplitude of the analogue signal at regular time
intervals.
 To convert an analogue signal into digital, its voltage value is measured at regular intervals of
time (sampling), what is known as the sampling frequency or sampling rate.
 These instantaneous voltage values (samples) are converted into binary numbers representing
their voltage values
NB:-When sampling the number representing the sample would be whole number below the
actual value of the sampled voltage. E g, if the sampled voltage is 11.4V, then on the 4-bit system
the binary number would be 1011. A sampled signal of 11.9V would also be 1011. Thus all
sampled voltage values in decimal numbers with decimal places, the decimal parts ARE
ALWAYS ROUNDED DOWNWARDS before converting to binary numbers.

Diagram (a) illustrates the sampling process while diagram (b) shows the voltage amplitudes in
decimal numbers at the respective times in μs. In c) 4-bit binary numbers are produced. This process
of converting an analogue quantity into a sequence of numbers is called quantisation. The resulting
number sequence is called the digitised signal. Diagram (d) gives the recovered digital signal.

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c)

d)

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Sampling Rate:-The sampling rate (SR) is the rate at which amplitude values are digitized from
the original waveform.
Sampling frequency , the is the number of samples per unit time.
A higher sampling frequency results in more information being gathered from the analogue
signal and quality of signal increases/improves.
A larger number of bits increases the quality of signal reproduced.

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QUALITY OF OUTPUT SIGNAL is improved by
 increasing number of bits in digital number at each sampling so that step height is reduced i e
by increasing bit rate
 increasing sampling frequency so that width of step is reduced.

Advantages of digital sampling

 Digital signals can be much easier to process and to save than analogue counterparts. Digital
filters, where the filtering of the signal is done by computation, can be more sophisticated and
much more accurate than analogue techniques.
 Once converted, the digital signal can be easily saved in memory or to disk for later easy
retrieval. Analogue recording methods, such as tape and vinyl disc for audio signals, have many
associated problems, not least the introduction of noise and signal loss.
 Digital signals are much less prone to corruption by noise. All that is needed to interpret a
digital signal is to distinguish the 0 from 1, so noise can be introduced with little or no eventual
harmful effects. This is illustrated below:

The same amount of noise added to the original analogue signal could well overwhelm it – removal of
this noise would be difficult.

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  Digital signals can be encoded (made unreadable by anyone other than the intended recipient).
A digital signal can be made unreadable by anyone other than the intended recipient, who will
have the required decoding software to unlock the encoding. There is no equivalent way to do this
for an analogue signal.
 A single data link can easily be used by many different data sources, with no risk of them
getting confused. By encoding each data stream differently the receiving end can distinguish
between them. Thus it is possible to send many thousands of telephone calls down an optical
fibre, and to extract and separate them at the other end.

Disadvantage of digital sampling- a disadvantage of digital sampling is that a digital signal

will often require a greater bandwidth than its analogue equivalent.

C) COMMUNICATION SATELLITES
The basic principle of satellite communication is illustrated in the diagram below

A transmitting station T directs a signal to the satellite. The signal reaching the satellite is only a
tiny fraction of the transmitted signal. The satellite regenerates and amplifies the signal and
retransmits it back to the Earth based receivers at a different frequency.

The pathway from the Earth to the satellite is called the uplink; the path from the satellite to
Earth is called the downlink.

The carrier wave in the uplink may have a frequency fup of about fup = 6GHz towards the satellite
while the carrier wave in the downlink may have a frequency fdown about fdown = 4GHz..

Alternative carrier frequencies are the 14/11GHz band and the 30/20GHz band.
The uplink frequency fup is different from the downlink fdown to prevent SWAMPING of the
downlink frequency. There is no interference of the actual information being carried by the waves
because this is stored as a modulation of the carrier waves.

The transmitter T could transmit more or less directly to the receiver R without the use of a satellite.
It could only do so on the SW or MW wavebands.
However, in modern communication systems, this is not done for three reasons.

i. Long-distance communication on these wavebands is unreliable. Sky waves rely on

ionospheric reflection. These layers of ions vary in height and density according to the time
of day. In hilly areas, surface waves give rise to regions of poor reception where there are
„shadows‟.

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 ii. The wavebands are already filled by existing broadcasts.
iii. The available bandwidths are too narrow to carry the required amount of information.

SWAMPING
Swamping a signal means to bury the signal in noise or in another signal such that it is overwhelmed
or the signal will not be recognizable. In the case satellite communication the satellite has both a
transmitter and a receiver. If the transmitter and receiver close to each other and tuned to the same
frequency, the strong transmitted signal will overwhelm (swamp) the signal that is to be heard from
the receiver.

Swamping is overcome by making frequencies from transmitter and receiver different.

ADVANTAGES OF COMMUNICATION BY SATELLITE RATHER THAN BY SKY

WAVE:
 The concentration of ions in the ionosphere is constantly changing and reflection of the sky
wave is not always possible; sometimes layers in the ionosphere even absorb radio
frequencies.
 The satellite boosts the signal for its return to Earth and provides a stronger signal than is
obtained by reflection from the ionosphere.
 Satellite communication uses higher frequencies, which have higher bandwidth and can carry
more information per second.
 Only a few frequencies in the MW and SW bands are available. More frequencies are
available for communicating if a satellite uses higher frequencies.

A GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITE
Diagram below illustrates a satellite in a geostationary orbit.

 Geostationary satellites orbit the Earth above the Equator with a period of 24 hours at a
distance of 3.6 × 104 km above the Earth’s surface.
 It orbits in the same direction as the direction of rotation of the Earth, with the same angular
velocity as the Earth.
 So to an observer on the Earth, the satellite will always appear to be above a fixed position on
the Equator

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 The frequencies of the carrier waves used to communicate with the satellite are in the range 0.1-
10 GHz. The up-link frequency is different to the down link frequency since if they were the
same, the two signals could interfere with each other giving unwanted feedback.

 A geostationary satellite has a permanent link with an Earth base station. A continuous
communication is maintained with satellite.
 Communication with geostationary satellite allows for distance communication. This
removes the need for transoceanic submarine cables.

Problems Associated with Geostationary Satellite Communication

1. Geostationary satellites are in equatorial orbits, This means that communication in polar
regions may not be possible because a satellite will not be in line-of-sight.
2. Due to height involved of 3.6 x 104km for a signal to travel between earth base station
and the satellite, there is a time delay between the transmission of a signal and receiving
back the signal. This is not acceptable in telephone conversations.

To avoid these problems, geostationary satellites may be used in conjunction with optic
fibres. Optic fibres reduce the time delays.

Worked example
When in a geostationary orbit, a satellite is about 3.6 × 107 m above the Earth.
(a) Estimate the time lapse between a signal being sent to the satellite and the receiver
receiving the signal.
(b) Comment on the effect of this time lapse.

(c) Give the solution to this time lapse

Answer

(a) Minimum distance the signal must travel = 2 × 3.6 × 107 m.

Time lapse = distance travelled/speed of light.
= 2 × 3.6 ×107/(3.0 × 108) = 0.24 s

(b) This is the minimum delay.

It means that in the gap between sending out a signal and receiving back the signal is
twice the time the signal takes to the satellite.

(c) The satellites are used in conjunction with optic fibres.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Geostationary Satellite

Advantages Disadvantages

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 1. No need to move dishes because 1. Their great height above the Earth’s
geostationary satellite remains in surface means that more power is
fixed position above a point on needed for transmitting to and from
Earth’s surface. the satellites.

2. It has a longer life span 2. Because of the curvature of Earth,

geostationary satellites are not able
3. Geostationary satellite is easy to to communicate with points further
track down. than about 60°-70° North or South.

4. Allows for a long distance

communication, so removes the 3. Geostationary satellites, because of
need for long-distance their large orbital height, are much
transoceanic submarine cables more costly to put into orbit than
polar satellites
5. Can be used for continuous
communication because the 4. Large delay time
satellite is continuously beaming at
one area on earth’s surface.

6. Used to continuously monitor

climatic change

7. The fact that they keep the same

position means, geostationary
satellites need no tracking system.

POLAR ORBITING SATELLITES

Another type of communication satellite is the polar orbiting satellite. A polar satellite is not
geostationary and as such, its orbital height above the surface of Earth is much less than that of a
geostationary satellite.

Polar orbiting satellite is a satellite that follows a Polar Orbit.

Polar orbit passes above or nearly above North and South Poles each time in each of its revolutions.
Satellites may orbit the Earth in polar orbits, as illustrated in diagram below

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  Polar orbits are relatively lower in height compared to geostationary orbit and they have a
period of rotation of the order of 90 minutes. Such satellites will, as a result of the rotation of
the Earth, at some time each day orbit above every point on the Earth’s surface. For a
satellite having a period of 90 minutes, each orbit crosses the Equator 23° to the west of the
previous orbit.
 It is not possible to have continuous communication links with one such satellite because,
from Earth, the satellite appears to move rapidly across the sky and, for part of the time, is
below the horizon.
Polar orbiting satellites are used, as well as for communications, for monitoring the state of the
Earth’s surface, weather forecasting, spying etc.

Advantages of Using Polar Satellite Disadvantages of Using Polar Satellite

1. Polar satellites will be able to 1. Difficult to track down the satellite

communicate with all points in both the
Northern and Southern hemispheres at 2. Not always in the same position relative
some time during their orbit. to earth so dishes must be moved

2. Satellite passes over every area on earth

3. Cannot be used for continuous comm

3. At smaller height above the earth and can

detect objects of smaller detail.

4. Polar satellites, because of their short

orbital height, are much cheaper to put
into orbit than geostationary satellites

5. Has smaller delay times

6. Satellite passes over every area on earth

Used for remote sensing:- e g surveillance and weather reporting

Used for communication

D) ATTENUATION
 An electrical signal travelling along a metal wire gradually loses power (mostly as
thermal/heat energy in the wire). As an electrical signal passes along a wire, there is a
voltage drop across the resistance of the wire itself. This reduces the voltage of the signal that
arrives at the end of the wire. The energy loss in the wire causes electrical heating in the
resistance of the wire (I2R).

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  A light pulse travelling along an optic fibre also loses power (mostly by
absorption due to impurities in the glass and scattering by imperfections in the
fibre).
 Electromagnetic waves radiating from a transmitter also lose power by absorption
and dispersion. A radio wave spreads out from a transmitter. On its own this spreading
causes a decrease in intensity, but there is also a loss in signal strength because of the
absorption of energy by the medium through which the wave travels.

ATTENUATION is the gradual decrease in signal power as it travels through

space or a medium.
For a signal to be detected adequately, its power must be a minimum number of times greater
than the power associated with noise. The signal-to-noise ratio must be very large;- larger or equal
to 100.
In comparing power levels, P2 to P1 ¿) the ratio of the two numbers is involved and that this ratio
can be very large or very small. The ratio P2 to P1 ¿) is measured using a logarithmic scale rather
than by the simple ratio of the two powers in order to condense the scale of such variations and to
make the numbers more manageable, The unit of the logarithmic scale ratio is the bel (B).

The logarithm to base 10 of the ratio P2 to P1 gives the number of bels (B). When multiplied by 10
we obtain the number of decibels (dB).

Thus the advantage of using decibels in comparisons is that it is convenient since some of the
figures involved can be too large or to small.

P2 P2
Number of bels B = log [ ] and Number of decibels dB =10log [ ]
P1 P1

The number decibels (dB) can be called a GAIN or LOSS (i e ATTENUATION) of an

amplifier.

For power gain P2 is output power Pout and P1 is power input Pin

P o ut
∴Gain = 10log [ ]
P¿

For attenuation or power loss P2 is input power Pin and P1 is power output Pout

P¿
∴Attenuation = 10log [ ]
P out

Example
1 The gain of an amplifier is 45dB. Calculate the output power Pout of the amplifier for an input
power Pin of 2.0μW.
P2
Number of dB =10log [ ] P2 is power output and P1 is power input
P1

29
 P2
45dB = 10log [ −6 ]
2.0 x 10

Pout = 6.3 x 10-2W

2 The attenuation of a signal along a wire is 30 dB. The initial signal has a power of 50mW.
Calculate the power of the signal after attenuation.
Answer
P¿
Attenuation/Number of decibels = 10log [ ]
P out
−3
50 x 10
30 = 10 log [ ]
Pout

−3
50 x 10
3 = log [ ]
Pout
−3
50 x 10
Pout = 3 = 50 x 10-6W = 50 µW
10

Attenuation can occur along a transmission line. Power input to a transmission line isP 1 and the
power at a point distance L along the line is P2 as illustrated in diagram below.

P1 P2

P2
Then, attenuation in the line = 10log [ ]
P1

Since a transmission line may vary in length, an important feature of a transmission line is its
attenuation per unit length.

Attenuation 10 P2
Attenuation per unit length = = log [ ]
Length L P1

EXAMPLE
The input power to a cable of length 25 km is 500mW. The attenuation per unit length of the cable is
2dBkm-1. Calculate the output power of the signal from the cable.

SOLUTION

Attenuation or signal power loss = 25km x 2dBkm-1

= 50Db
Attenuation 10 P¿
Attenuation per unit length = = log [ ]
Length L P out

30
 −3
10 500 x 10
2dBkm-1 = log [ ]
25 km Pout

−3
500 x 10
50dB = 10log [ ]
Pout

−3
500 x 10
105 =
P out
−3
500 x 10
Pout = 5
10
= 5 x 10-6W = 5W = 5µW

signal power
SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO :- Ratio of signal power to noise power (10log [ ])
noise power

As a signal travels along a cable the signal size decreases and the noise increases.
It is not acceptable for the signal size to become so small that it is indistinguishable from the
noise. The minimum signal-to-noise ratio gives a measure of the smallest signal amplitude that
is acceptable.

P signal
Signal-to-noise ratio = 10log [ ]
P noise

Worked example
A cable has an attenuation of 4 dB km−1. There is an input signal of power 0.75 W and the noise
is 5 × 10−10 W. The minimum signal-to-noise ratio is 20 dB.
Calculate the maximum length of cable that can be used to carry this signal.

Answer
P signal P signal
Power-to-noise ratio = 10log [ ] Power-to-noise ratio = 10log [ ]
P noise P noise
P signal P signal
20 = 10log [ ] 20 = 10log [ ]
P noise P noise

P signal P signal
2 = log [ ] 2 = log [ ]
P noise P noise

Psignal Psignal
102 = −10 102 = −10
5 x 10 5 x 10

Psignal = 5 x10-10x 102 = 5 x 10-8W Psignal = 5 x10-10x 102 = 5 x 10-8W

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 10 P2 P¿
Attenuation per unit length = log [ ] Attenuation = 10 log [ ]
L P1 P out

10 P2 0.75
4= log [ ] = 10log [ −8 ]
L P1 5 x 10
= 72dB
10 0.75 Attenuation
L= log [ Attenuation per unit length =
−8 ] L
4 5 x 10
72 72
4= L=
= 18km L 4
= 18km

Signal Attenuation Summary

 Attenuation is the gradual decrease in power of a signal the further it travels
 Power ratios are expressed in decibels (dB) because the numbers involved are smaller and cover a
wider range
 Attenuation/amplification between two positions can be expressed in dB by:

P2
Number of decibels = 10log [ ]
P1

 If value is positive, there is an increase in power hence the signal has been amplified
 If value is negative, there is a decrease in power hence the signal has been attenuated
 Attenuation of cables is given as attenuation per unit length and is found by:

Attenuation 10 P2
Attenuation per unit length = = log [ ]
Length L P1

Signal-to-noise ratio
signal power
Ratio of signal power to noise power [ ]
noise power

 Signal must be distinguishable above the level of noise and this can be measured by the signal-to-
noise ratio:

P signal
Signal-to-noise ratio = 10log [ ]
P noise

 However regeneration of digital signal removes most noise ∴ high signal-to-noise ratio
 Repeaters amplify both signal & noise so signal-to-noise ratio remains constant.

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