Lecture note on

Communication System I
(Section –A)

Prepared by

Professor Dr. Shaikh Enayet Ullah

 Section-A

Overview of Communication Systems: Basic principles, fundamental

elements, system limitations, message source, bandwidth requirements,
Transmission types- base-band transmission, carrier transmission;
transmission media types, bandwidth and transmission capacity
Noise: Sources of noise, characteristics of various types of noise and
signal to noise ratio.
Analog Modulation and Demodulation: Amplitude modulation (AM)-
introduction, DSB, SSB, VSB, quadrature; spectral analysis of each
type, envelope and synchronous detection; angle modulation-
instantaneous frequency, frequency modulation (FM) and phase
modulation (PM), spectral analysis, demodulation of FM and PM
Radio System: Radio Transmitter- classification, elements of AM, FM
and SSB transmitter, master oscillator, mixer, RF power amplifier,
pre-emphasis circuits, Radio Receiver- classification, elements of AM,
FM and SSB receiver, AGC, AFC, de-emphasis circuits, noise limiter,
cross modulation, Design of radio transmitter and receiver circuits.
Communication system is a system model describes a communication
exchanges between two stations, transmitter and receiver. Signals or
information’s passes from source to destination through what is called
channel which represents a way that signal use it to move from source
toward destination. To transmit signals in communication system, it
must be first processed by several stages, beginning from signal
representation, to signal shaping until encoding and modulation. After
preparing the transmitted signal, it passed to the transmission line of
channel and due signal crossing this media it faces many impairments
such noise, attenuation and distortion.
 Get idea on another communication system

Principles of Communication Systems

In a broad sense, the term principles of communication systems refers to the
sending, receiving and processing of information by electronic means. A modern
principles of communication systems is first concerned with the sorting, processing
and sometimes storing of information before its transmission
Information can be transmitted in time via data storage and space via
communication and telecommunication Information is expressed either as the
content of a message or through direct or indirect observation
 Elements of a Communication System
Communication means sending, receiving and processing of information
between two or more devices. A collection of elements (devices) which works
together to establish a communication between the sender and receiver is called
a communication system. Some examples of communication system include
radio broadcasting, television broadcasting, radio telegraphy, mobile
communication, computer communication etc. Two or more people
communicating with each other by using sound signals is also known as the
communication system.
Block Diagram of Communication system
The basic components of a communication system are information source, input
transducer, transmitter, communication channel, receiver, output transducer
and destination
The information generated by the source may be in the form of sound (human speech),
picture (image source), words (plain text in some particular language such as English,
French, German etc. In order to transmit information to larger distances, first we need to
convert this sound signal into another form of signal (electrical signal) The device which is
used to convert this sound signal into another form of signal is called transducer. The
transmitter is a device which converts the signal produced by the source into a form that
is suitable for transmission over a given channel or medium. Transmitters use a technique
called modulation to convert the electrical signal into a form that is suitable for
transmission over a given channel or medium. Modulation is the main function of a
transmitter. The communication channel is a medium through which the signal travels.
The communication channel is a wired or wireless medium through which the signal
(information) travels from source (transmitter) to destination (receiver). Noise is an
unwanted signal that enters the communication system via the communication channel
and interferes with the transmitted signal. The noise signal (unwanted signal) degrades
the transmitted signal (signal containing information). The receiver is a device that
receives the signal (electrical signal) from the channel and converts the signal (electrical
signal) back to its original form which is understandable by humans at the destination.
The transducer that is present at the output side of the communication system is called
output transducer. Generally, the output transducer converts the electrical signal into a
The best example of an output transducer is the loudspeaker which is placed between
the receiver section and the destination. The loudspeaker converts the electrical signals
into sound signals which are easily understandable by the humans at the destination.
The destination is the final stage in the communication system. Generally, humans at
some place are considered as the destination. A destination is a place where humans
consume the information

limitations of communication system

While designing a communication system , an engineer generally faces several
limitations such as:
Noise limitation
Bandwidth limitation
equipment limitation

Noise Limitation
The noise may be defined as an unwanted form of energy which tend to interfere
with the transmission and reception of the desired signals in a communication
system. This noise can not be eliminated completely. However, the effect of noise on
desired signals can be minimized with the help of several techniques. Noise can be
classified into two categories depending upon the source, such as external noise and
internal noise
External noise is that type of noise whose sources are external to a communication
system. Examples of external noise are, atmospheric noise, galactic noise and industrial
noise. On the other hand, internal noise is that type of noise whose sources are internal to
a communication system. Examples of internal noise are thermal noise and shot noise.
This type of noise is unavoidable and it forms a basic limitation on transmission and
reception of signals.
Bandwidth Limitation
The frequency range or the band of frequency needed for a particular given
transmission is called as bandwidth or channel. This bandwidth is always allocated by
some international regulatory agencies. This type of regulation is essential to avoid
interference among the signals having same frequency. The information theory states
that the greater is the transmission bandwidth of a communication system, the more is
the information that can be transmitted. For example, anyone wants to listen to a
music in an AM radio and in such case, the complete amount of information available
to the human ear is contained in a frequency range up to 15 kHz, i.e., musical
information extends up to a frequency of 15 kHz. However, in AM radio the maximum
modulating frequency is restricted up to 5 kHz and hence the maximum bandwidth of
AM transmission is 10 kHz. Therefore, an AM radio receiver can not reproduce all the
information contained in the music because this will require a bandwidth of 30 kHz.
On the other hand, the bandwidth allocated to a FM transmission is about 200 kHz.
Thus, on FM receiver can easily reproduce the transmitted information without any
distortion. This means that a FM system has a better fidelity than an AM system.
 Equipment Limitation

The noise and bandwidth limitation dictate theoretically what can or cannot be
achieved in terms of performance in a communication system. However, this
theoretical limit may not be realized in a practical system due to equipment
limitations. For example, the theory might require a band pass filter with a quality
factor of 100 at a center frequency of 1 kHz. Such a filter cannot be realized in
practice. Even if a filter with nearly identical characteristics is built, the cost may
exceed. Thus equipment limitation is another major problem in a communication
system.
Baseband Transmission is a signaling technology that sends digital signals over a
single frequency as discrete electrical pulses. The entire bandwidth of a baseband
system carries only one data signal and is generally less than the amount of
bandwidth available on a broadband transmission system
A carrier signal is a transmitted electromagnetic pulse or wave at a steady base
frequency of alternation on which information can be imposed by increasing signal
strength, varying the base frequency, varying the wave phase, or other means. This
variation is called modulation and such transmission is called carrier transmission

Transmission media is a communication channel that carries the information from the
sender to the receiver. Data is transmitted through electrical and electromagnetic
signals. Transmission media is of two types are wired media and wireless media. The
three types of wired media are fiber-optic, coaxial and twisted pair

Bandwidth describes the maximum data transfer rate of a network or Internet

connection. It measures how much data can be sent over a specific connection in a given
amount of time. For example, a gigabit Ethernet connection has a bandwidth of 1,000
Mbps (125 megabytes per second)

Transmission capacity (TC) is a performance metric for wireless networks. The

transmission capacity of a transmission system is its capacity of transmitting the
the number of bits per second
 Noise

In perspective of signaling in communication system, noise may be defined as an

unwanted form of energy which tend to interfere with the transmission and
reception of the desired signals
There are four types of noise that can disrupt communication. These four types of
noise are physical, physiological, psychological and semantic. Physical noise is
interference that is external to both speaker and listener; it hampers the physical
transmission of the signal or message. Examples of physical noise:
loud party at the neighbors while you’re trying to record
loud kids who don’t want to take their nap
irritating hum of your computer, air conditioner, or heater

Physiological noise is created by barriers within the sender or receiver.

Examples of physiological noise on the podcaster’s side:
articulation problems
mumbling
talking too fast
talking too slow
forgetting to pause
forgetting to breathe
An example of physiological noise on the listener’s side: hearing problems. Maybe the
listener can’t hear high tones as clearly as they used to. For some, low tones are the
problem. Their difficulty in literally hearing words and sounds becomes physiological
noise

Psychological noise is mental interference in the speaker or listener. Three examples

of psychological noise are wandering thoughts, preconceived ideas and sarcasm

Wandering thoughts can be a kind of psychological noise. This is primarily a

listener problem. Preconceived ideas can be a kind of psychological noise. This
type of psychological noise is when people think they already know something.
That noise interferes with a listener’s willingness to hear a new perspective.

Sarcasm can be a kind of psychological noise. If you don’t care to actually

persuade someone to see things your way, then sarcasm is the easy way. Sarcasm
is noise to your listener unless your listener already agrees with you.

Semantic noise is interference created when the speaker and listener have
different meaning systems. Maybe when I use a word, you have a slightly
different meaning in mind. This can cause confusion
 signal to noise ratio
Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR or S/N) is a measure used in science and engineering that
compares the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise. SNR is defined
as the ratio of signal power to the noise power, often expressed in decibels
Analog Modulation and Demodulation

Amplitude modulation (AM) is a

modulation technique used in electronic
communication, most commonly for
transmitting messages with a radio
carrier wave. In amplitude modulation,
the amplitude (signal strength) of the
carrier wave is varied in proportion to
that of the message signal, such as an
audio signal.
Modulating signal

Carrier signal

Amplitude modulated signal

 This is double side band full carrier(DSBFC) signaling used in AM radio broadcasting
is the modulation index

Amax and Amin are the maximum and minimum values of AM modulated signal
Bandwidth (BW) is the difference between the highest and lowest frequencies of the signal
Sideband
A Sideband is a band of frequencies, containing power, which are the lower and higher
frequencies of the carrier frequency. Both the sidebands contain the same information. The
representation of amplitude modulated wave in the frequency domain is as shown in the
following figure.

Both the sidebands in the image contain the same information. The transmission of such a signal which
contains a carrier along with two sidebands, can be termed as Double Sideband Full Carrier system
DSB-SC
Double-sideband suppressed-carrier transmission (DSB-SC) is transmission in which frequencies
produced by amplitude modulation (AM) are symmetrically spaced above and below the carrier
frequency and the carrier level is reduced to the lowest practical level, ideally being completely
suppressed
DSB-SC is generated by a mixer. This consists of a message signal multiplied by a carrier signal. The
mathematical representation of this process is shown below, where the product-to-sum trigonometric
identity is used

DSB-SC waveform

For DSBSC, Coherent Demodulation is done by multiplying the DSB-SC signal with the
carrier signal (with the same phase as in the modulation process) just like the modulation
process. This resultant signal is then passed through a low pass filter to produce a scaled
version of the original message signal.
The equation above shows that by multiplying the modulated signal by the carrier signal,
the result is a scaled version of the original message plus a second term. Since
this second term is much higher in frequency than the original message. Once this signal passes
through a low pass filter, the higher frequency component is removed, leaving just the original
message

This DSBFC mode is frequently used in Amateur radio voice communications, especially on
High-Frequency bands.

Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of radio frequency spectrum for
purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training,
private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communication
 SSB
In radio communications, single-sideband modulation (SSB) or single-sideband suppressed-
carrier modulation (SSB-SC) is a type of modulation used to transmit information, such as an
audio signal, by radio waves. A refinement of amplitude modulation, it uses transmitter power
and bandwidth more efficiently. Amplitude modulation produces an output signal the
bandwidth of which is twice the maximum frequency of the original baseband signal. Single-
sideband modulation avoids this bandwidth increase, and the power wasted on a carrier, at
the cost of increased device complexity and more difficult tuning at the receiver
Advantages of SSB modulation
 Bandwidth or spectrum space occupied is lesser than AM and DSB signals
 Transmission of more number of signals is allowed
 Power is saved
SSB-FC waveform
 High power signal can be transmitted
 Less amount of noise is present
 Signal fading is less likely to occur

Disadvantages of SSB modulation

 The generation and detection of SSB signal is a complex process
 Quality of the signal gets affected unless the SSB transmitter and receiver have an excellent
frequency stability
Applications of SSB modulation
For power saving requirements and low bandwidth requirements
In land, air, and maritime mobile communications
In point-to-point communications
In radio communications
In television, telemetry and radar communications
In military communications, such as amateur radio etc
Vestigial Sideband (VSB)
In case of SSB modulation, when a sideband is
passed through the filters, the band pass filter
may not work perfectly in practice. As a result of
which, some of the information may get lost.
Hence to avoid this loss, a technique is chosen,
which is a compromise between DSB-SC and
SSB, called as Vestigial Sideband (VSB)
technique. Both of the sidebands are not required
for the transmission, as it is a waste. But a single
band if transmitted, leads to loss of information.
Hence, this technique has evolved. Vestigial
Sideband Modulation or VSB Modulation is the
process where a part of the signal called as
vestige is modulated, along with one sideband. A
VSB signal can be plotted as shown in the figure.
Along with the upper sideband, a part of the lower sideband is also being transmitted in this
technique. A guard band of very small width is laid on either side of VSB in order to avoid the
interferences. VSB modulation is mostly used in television transmissions
Advantages of VSB Modulation
Highly efficient
Reduction in bandwidth
Filter design is easy as high accuracy is not needed
The transmission of low frequency components is possible without difficulty
Possesses good phase characteristics
Disadvantages of VSB Modulation
Bandwidth when compared to SSB is greater
Demodulation is complex

Quadrature modulation

Modulation is fundamental to electronic communications. The modulating signal might

be analog in nature (voice or music) or digital bit streams. Most modern
communication systems are digital, using discrete levels of amplitude or phase to
represent the data being transmitted. The more unique conditions that can reliably
travel from a transmitter to a receiver, the more data you can send in a given period of
time. Quadrature modulation is widely used in digital communications systems up to
and including 5G.
The basic idea behind modulation is to control one or more parameters of an RF carrier
by the modulating signal. Mathematically, we can express this as follows:

Where:
a(t) is the amplitude modulation (AM) term
Θ(t) is the phase modulation (PM) term
fc is the carrier frequency
Using the trig identity:

We can express the modulated signal in this form

which can be reformed to pull out the I and Q components:

where
The amplitude and phase of the modulated signal are related to the I and Q components by these
equations

A quadrature modulator uses sine and cosign functions to modulate the oscillator’s carrier
 Envelope detection

An envelope detector is an electronic circuit that takes a (relatively) high-frequency

amplitude modulated signal as input and provides an output, which is the
demodulated envelope of the original signal. An envelope detector is sometimes called
as a peak detector
 AM Synchronous detection/demodulation

Synchronous AM demodulation provides some significant improvements over the simple diode
detector. The improvement in performance of synchronous detectors requires the use of
additional components and sophistication and in turn this increases the cost. As a result
synchronous detectors are generally only used in high performance receivers where cost is less of
an issue.
For synchronous demodulation, a mixer is used. The
incoming signal is fed into the signal input of the
mixer, and a local oscillator signal on the same
frequency as the carrier of the incoming signal is fed
into the other. This mixing process converts the
carrier to a 0 Hz signal and the sidebands to their
base band frequency band, i.e. it reconstitutes the
audio. As the carrier has a frequency of 0Hz, it
appears as a DC voltage on the output - the DC level
will depend on the phase between the carrier and the
local oscillator. The sidebands of the AM signal will
appear relative to zero frequency, i.e. as the original
audio or other modulating signal
 Advantages of synchronous AM detection

Reduced effects of selective fading : For HF communications, and in particular broadcasting, a

particular annoyance is the fading that occurs. In some circumstances this can affect different
sections of the bandwidth of an AM signal differently. It is possible for the level of the carrier to
fade by ten to fifteen dB relative to the sidebands, and this makes envelope detection difficult and it
gives rise to significant levels of distortion. As synchronous demodulation techniques generate their
own carrier, the effects of selective fading are considerably reduced making for a much better
listening experience
Reduce levels of distortion : The diode AM demodulator provides very high levels of distortion.
Synchronous AM demodulation offers much lower levels of distortion and as a result provides a
much better rendering of the original modulation. Distortion arises from many factors including
the turn on voltage required for the diode in an envelope detector, selective fading as mentioned
above and poor tuning
Signal level : When diode detectors are used it is necessary to have a sufficient level of signal
present to overcome the diode forward bias. For synchronous detectors this is not an issue because
the mixer used within the detector can operate down to very low levels

Improved signal to noise ratio : In view of the use of synchronous methods, the circuit is
able to provide an improvement in sensitivity.
 Angle Modulation

The other type of modulation in continuous-wave modulation is the Angle Modulation. Angle
Modulation is the process in which the frequency or the phase of the carrier varies according to
the message signal. This is further divided into frequency and phase modulation.

Frequency Modulation is the process of varying the frequency of the carrier signal linearly
with the message signal.
Phase Modulation is the process of varying the phase of the carrier signal linearly with the
message signal
Frequency Modulation

In amplitude modulation, the amplitude of

the carrier varies. But in Frequency
Modulation (FM), the frequency of the
carrier signal varies in accordance with
the instantaneous amplitude of the
modulating signal. The amplitude and the
phase of the carrier signal remains
constant whereas the frequency of the
carrier changes. This can be better
understood by observing the figures
The frequency of the modulated wave remains constant as the carrier wave frequency when the
message signal is at zero. The frequency increases when the message signal reaches its maximum
amplitude which means, with the increase in amplitude of the modulating or message signal, the
carrier frequency increases. Likewise, with the decrease in the amplitude of the modulating signal,
the frequency also decreases.
Mathematical Representation
Let the carrier frequency be fc
The frequency at maximum amplitude of the message signal = f c + Δf
The frequency at minimum amplitude of the message signal = f c − Δf
The difference between FM modulated frequency and normal frequency is termed
as Frequency Deviation and is denoted by Δf.
The deviation of the frequency of the carrier signal from high to low or low to high
can be termed as the Carrier Swing.
Carrier Swing = 2 × frequency deviation = 2 × Δf
The FM equation can be written as

s(t)= Ac sin[c t+(Δf/ fm )sinm t]

Ac =amplitude of the carrier, Δf= Frequency Deviation ,
fm =frequency of modulating signal, m and c are the
angular frequencies of the modulating signal and
carrier signal. Modulation index, mf = Δf/ fm
 Transistor Reactance FM modulator

RC capacitive reactance transistor modulator with tuned collector Colpitts or Hartley

oscillator
FM can be divided into Narrowband FM and Wideband FM

Narrowband FM
Features of Narrowband FM
This frequency modulation has a small bandwidth.
The modulation index is small.
Its spectrum consists of carrier, USB, and LSB.
This is used in mobile communications such as police wireless, ambulances, taxicabs, etc.
Wideband FM
Features of Wideband FM
This frequency modulation has infinite bandwidth.
The modulation index is large, i.e., higher than 1.
Its spectrum consists of a carrier and infinite number of sidebands, which are located around
it.
This is used in entertainment broadcasting applications such as FM radio, TV, etc.
Phase Modulation

In frequency modulation, the frequency of the carrier varies. But in Phase Modulation (PM),
the phase of the carrier signal varies in accordance with the instantaneous amplitude of the
modulating signal. The amplitude and the frequency of the carrier signal remains constant
whereas the phase of the carrier changes. This can be better understood by observing the
following figures
 modulating signal, em (t)=Em sinm t
Carrier signal, ec (t)=Ec sinc t

Phase modulated signal

s(t)= Ac sin[c t + Kp em (t) ]

Where, Kp is the constant of

proportionality for phase
modulation

Modulation index,
mp= Kp Em rad

Phase modulation is widely used for transmitting radio waves and is an integral part of many
digital transmission coding schemes that underlie a wide range of technologies like Wi-Fi, GSM
and satellite television.
Spectral analysis
 Demodulation of FM

FM demodulation is a key process in the reception of a frequency modulated signal. Once the
signal has been received, filtered and amplified, it is necessary to recover the original
modulation from the carrier. It is this process that is called demodulation or detection.
The following two methods demodulate FM wave.
Frequency discrimination method
Phase discrimination method

Frequency discrimination method

Block diagram of FM demodulator using frequency discrimination method

The FM demodulator using frequency discrimination method consists of the differentiator and the
envelope detector. Differentiator is used to convert the FM wave into a combination of AM wave
and FM wave. This means, it converts the frequency variations of FM wave into the corresponding
voltage (amplitude) variations of AM wave. We know the operation of the envelope detector. It
produces the demodulated output of AM wave, which is nothing but the modulating signal.
 Phase Discrimination Method

Block diagram of FM demodulator using phase discrimination method

The FM demodulator using phase discrimination consists of multiplier, low pass filter and
Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO). The VCO produces an output signal voltage whose
frequency is proportional to the input signal. In case of zero input voltage, The VCO is
adjusted to produce an output signal having a carrier frequency with -90 degree phase shift
as compared to FM signal. The multiplier produces an output, having a high frequency
component and a low frequency component. Low pass filter eliminates the high frequency
component and produces only the low frequency component as its output his low frequency
component contains only the term-related phase difference. Hence, we get the modulating
signal from this output of the low pass filter
 Demodulation of PM

From previous slide, we have seen that the general expression of Phase modulated signal can
be written as
s(t)= Ac sin[c t + Kp em (t) ]
Where, Carrier signal, ec (t)=Ec sinc t and modulating signal, em (t)=Em sinm t and
modulation index, mp= Kp Em

s(t)= Ac sin[(t)] where , (t) is the instantaneous phase that varies according to the
modulating signal em (t). A phase modulated signal of form s(t) can be demodulated by
forming an analytic signal by applying Hilbert transform and then extracting the
instantaneous phase. The instantaneous phase is linear to c t . This linear offset needs to be
subtracted from the instantaneous phase to obtained the information bearing modulated
signal
If we express the real-valued phase modulated signal x(t) as an analytic signal, it is expressed
in complex plane

where, (HT[.]) represents the Hilbert Transform operation. Now, the required
parameters are very easy to obtain
The instantaneous amplitude (envelope extraction) is computed in the complex plane as

The instantaneous phase is computed in the complex plane as

The instantaneous temporal frequency is computed in the complex plane as

 Radio transmitter Radio System
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device
which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency
alternating current which is applied to the antenna
Classification of Radio Transmitter
Classification of Radio Transmitters According to the Carrier Frequency
1) Long Wave Transmitters: These transmitters operate on long waves i e on frequencies below
300 kHz. Such long wave radio transmitters are used for broadcast in temperate countries,
where atmospheric disturbances on long waves are not severe. Since long wave radio signals
travel along the surface of earth and are rapidly attenuated, for reasonably high signal strength
at the distant receiving aerial, the carrier power radiated from the transmitting aerial must be
very large typically 100 kW or more.
2) Medium Wave Transmitters: These transmitters operate on frequencies in the range of 550 to
1650 kHz and are usually used for broadcast. Hence the band of frequency extending from 550 to
1650 kHz is commonly referred to as the Broadcast Band. The carrier power may vary from as
low as 5 kW to as high as 500 to 1000kW.
3) Short Wave Transmitters: These transmitters operate on frequencies in the short wave range of
3 to 30MHz. In practice, frequencies beyond 24 MHz’ are not used. Ionosphere propagation of
electromagnetic waves takes place at such short waves. The attenuation of radio waves travelling
from the transmitting aerial to the distant receiving aerial though the ionosphere is small Hence
carrier power required to be radiated from the transmitting aerial is small. For national broadcast
the carrier power used may vary from about 1 to 10 kW For overseas broadcast certain amount of
beaming of power is required to be done But in spite of such a beaming of energy; because of the
large distance involved, the carrier power generally used is 10 to 1 00 kW. For radio telephone
working over long distances on short waves, highly directive transmitting and receiving antennas
are used so that carrier power required may be relatively small; of the order of 5 kW or so
Classification of Radio Transmitters According to the Type of Service involved:
[1]Radio Telegraph Transmitters: A radio telegraph transmitter transmits stele graph
signals from one radio station to another radio station. It may use either amplitude
modulation or frequency modulation. When point-to-point radio communication is involved,
the transmitting antennas are highly directive so that the electromagnetic energy is beamed
into a narrow beam directed towards the receiving antenna at the receiving radio station.
2)Television Transmitters: Television broadcast requires two transmitters one for
transmission of picture and the other for transmission of sound. Both operate in very high
frequency of in ultra high frequency rang. The picture transmitter is amplitude modulated
by the picture signal occupying a band of about 5 5MHz Vestigial transmission is used i e
one full sideband and only a vestige or a part (about 0 75 MHZ) of the other sideband
together with the carrier are radiated from the transmitting aerial. The total bandwidth
occupied by one television channel is about 7 MHz. The sound carrier is frequency
modulated.
3) Radar Transmitter: Radar (abbreviation for Radio Detection and Ranging)
may be of two types:
(i) Pulse Radar and
(ii) C.W. (Continuous Wave Radar)
Pulse radar transmitter uses pulse modulation of carrier. It uses high output power typically 100
kW peak and operates at microwave frequencies typically 3000 MHz (10 cm wavelength) or
10,000 MHz (3 cm wavelength). The C.W. radar transmitter may use frequency modulation of
the carrier voltage or may utilize Doppler Effect.
4)Navigation Transmitters: A number of navigational aids using special types of radio
transmitters and receivers are used these days for sea and air navigation. Also radio aids are
used for blind landing of aircrafts. Typical radio aids of landing are (a) I.L.S. (Instrumental
Landing System) and (b) G.C.A. (Ground Controlled Approach). In addition to these, several
other radio means are provided at air port for surveillance. Accordingly a large number of
radio transmitter of varied types, frequency and power are required depending upon the
operation desired.
Classification of Radio Transmitters According to the Type of modulation:

[Link] Modulation Transmitters

2. Frequency Modulation Transmitters
3. Pulse Modulation Transmitters
AM transmitter takes the audio signal as an input and delivers amplitude modulated wave to
the antenna as an output to be transmitted. The block diagram of AM transmitter is shown in
the following figure

The working principle of AM transmitter can be explained as follows.

The audio signal from the output of the microphone is sent to the pre-amplifier,
which boosts the level of the modulating signal.
The RF oscillator generates the carrier signal.
Both the modulating and the carrier signal is sent to AM modulator.
Power amplifier is used to increase the power levels of AM wave. This wave is
finally passed to the antenna to be transmitted.
 Elements of AM transmitter
 Carrier oscillator
 Buffer amplifier
 Frequency multiplier
 Power amplifier
 Audio chain
 Modulated class C power amplifier
The carrier oscillator generates the carrier signal, which lies in the RF range. Further, a
crystal oscillator can be used in this stage to generate a low frequency carrier with the best
frequency stability.
A buffer amplifier provides electrical impedance transformation from one circuit to the
other circuit, to prevent the signal source from being affected by whatever currents that
the load may be produced with. A master oscillator in the AM transmitter generates a
stable sub harmonic carrier frequency.
In electronics, a frequency multiplier is an electronic circuit that generates an output signal
whose output frequency is a harmonic (multiple) of its input frequency. Frequency
multipliers consist of a nonlinear circuit that distorts the input signal and consequently
generates harmonics of the input signal. In AM transmitter, the frequency multiplier
generates higher harmonics of carrier oscillator frequency. The frequency multiplier is a
tuned circuit that can be tuned to the requisite carrier frequency that is to be transmitted.
The class C amplifier is used to amplify the power of the AM signal to the reacquired
transmitting power. In audio chain, the audio driver amplifier amplifies the audio signal obtained
from the microphone and such amplification is necessary to drive the audio power amplifier.
 FM Transmitter
FM transmitter is the whole unit, which takes the audio signal as an input and delivers FM wave
to the antenna as an output to be transmitted. The block diagram of FM transmitter is shown in
the following figure.

The working principle of FM transmitter can be explained as follows.

 The audio signal from the output of the microphone is sent to the pre-amplifier, which
boosts the level of the modulating signal.
 This signal is then passed to high pass filter, which acts as a pre-emphasis network to
filter out the noise and improve the signal to noise ratio.
 This signal is further passed to the FM modulator circuit
 The oscillator circuit generates a high frequency carrier, which is sent to the modulator
along with the modulating signal.
 Several stages of frequency multiplier are used to increase the operating frequency. Even
then, the power of the signal is not enough to transmit. Hence, a RF power amplifier is
used at the end to increase the power of the modulated signal. This FM modulated output
is finally passed to the antenna to be transmitted
 Elements/Components of FM transmitter
 Micro-phone
 Audio pre-amplifier
 RF oscillator
 Amplification stage
 Antenna

A microphone is a device or a transducer – that converts sound into an electrical signal

The purpose of a audio preamplifier is to amplify low level audio signals to the standard
operating level
Crystal oscillators are the most common type of linear oscillator, used to stabilize the
frequency of most radio transmitters
Radio Frequency Power Amplifiers
Wireless transmissions require modulated waves to be sent over long distances through air.
The signals are transmitted using antennas and the range of transmission depends on the
magnitude of power of signals fed to the antenna. For wireless transmissions like FM
broadcasting, antennas require input signals at thousands of kilowatts of power. Here, Radio
Frequency Power amplifiers are employed to increase the magnitude of power of modulated
waves to a level high enough for reaching the required transmission distance.
Dipole antennas are often used is for the reception of VHF FM broadcasts. The FM dipole
antenna is most likely to provide greatly improved reception over many other improvised
solutions that may be used
 SSB transmitter
In radio communications, single-sideband modulation (SSB) or single-sideband suppressed-
carrier modulation (SSB-SC) is a type of modulation used to transmit information, such as an
audio signal, by radio waves. A refinement of amplitude modulation, it uses transmitter power
and bandwidth more efficiently.. A single-sideband (SSB) transmitter differs from an AM
transmitter in that it only transmits either the upper or lower sideband—not both. Thus, an SSB
transmitter uses less bandwidth than an AM transmitter
 Pulse Modulation Transmitters

Pulse modulation is a type of modulation in which the signal is transmitted in the form of
pulses. It can be used to transmit analogue information. In pulse modulation, continuous
signals are sampled at regular intervals

Pulse width modulated Transmitter

Pulse width modulation (PWM) or pulse-duration modulation (PDM) is a method of

reducing the average power delivered by an electrical signal by effectively chopping it up
into discrete parts
Pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM) is a form of signal modulation where the message
information is encoded in the amplitude of a series of signal pulses. It is an analog pulse
modulation scheme in which the amplitudes of a train of carrier pulses are varied according to
the sample value of the message signal.

PAM signal generation

Pulse Position Modulation
In this type of modulation, both the amplitude and width of the pulse are kept constant. We vary
the position of each pulse with reference to a particular pulse. Here a single pulse is transmitted
with the required number of phase shifts. So we can say that pulse position modulation is an
analogue modulation scheme where the amplitude and width of the pulse are kept constant,
while the position of the pulse with respect to the position of a reference pulse is varied
according to the instantaneous value of message signal.

Generation of PPM signal

The carrier originates in the master oscillator stage where it is generated as a constant-
amplitude, constant-frequency sine wave. The carrier is not of sufficient amplitude and must be
amplified in one or more stages before it attains the high power required by the antenna

In electronics, a mixer, or frequency mixer, is a nonlinear electrical circuit that creates new
frequencies from two signals applied to it. Mixers are widely used to shift signals from one
frequency range to another, a process known as heterodyning, for convenience in transmission or
further signal processing

A radio frequency power amplifier (RF power amplifier) is a type of electronic amplifier that
converts a low-power radio-frequency signal into a higher power signal. Typically, RF power
amplifiers drive the antenna of a transmitter

pre-emphasis and de-emphasis circuits

Pre-emphasis circuit is a high pass filter or differentiator which allows high frequencies to
pass, whereas de-emphasis circuit is a low pass filter or integrator which allows only low
frequencies to pass
Pre-emphasis should be used when the signal loss in the transmission channel between
Transmitter and Receiver is heavy and the signal observed at the end of Receiver is less than
the receiving sensitivity required for Receiver
The pre emphasis and de-emphasis circuits are widely used in FM transmitter and receiver to
effectively increase the output SNR.
 Classification of Radio Receiver
In radio communications, a radio receiver, also known as a receiver, a wireless or simply a
radio, is an electronic device that receives radio waves and converts the information carried
by them to a usable form. It is used with an antenna
The first vacuum tube receivers; Regenerative (autodyne) receiver; Super regenerative
receiver, TRF receiver, Neutro dyne receiver, Reflex receiver, Super heterodyne
receiver.
SSB receiver
Reinserted carrier
Noise limiter
an electronic circuit that cuts off all noise peaks that are stronger than some specific maximum
for the desired input signal, thus limiting atmospheric and other interference
AM Receiver circuit
FM transmitter circuit
FM Receiver circuit