EE341 Communication Systems

Tutorial 1
Signals and Systems
4 Feb 2020

1. Consider the first 3 harmonics in the Fourier series expansion of a square wave.
a. Use Matlab to plot all the harmonics and their sum on the same figure.
b. Change the amplitudes of the harmonics and generate the resultant sum. This simulates the
effect of a channel whose magnitude response varies with frequency.
c. Add equal phase delays to the harmonics you have selected and plot the resultant signal.
d. Play the individual signals and their combinations to get a feel for the signals. Do the signals
sound musical? How could you improve the quality of the notes?

2. Work out by hand, the Fourier transform of the signal ℎ(𝑡) = 𝑒 ()* 𝑢(𝑡) for a > 0.
a. Use the expression for |H(f)| and arg H(f) to generate Matlab plots for two very different
values of ‘a’.
b. Compare the values of the “-3dB bandwidth” of the two plots.
c. Write your observation regarding any differences you see in the phase plots. This will be
important later.
d. Use Parseval’s theorem to calculate the total energy of the signal.
e. A very simple modification of the function ℎ(𝑡) would result in the description of the sound
of a plucked guitar string. Use a stretched rubber band if you don’t have a guitar. Could the
same (or at least similar) function be used to describe a drop of water falling on a still pond?

3. Consider the multipath systems shown below. These are also known as feedforward and feedback
system configurations. Here T denotes a time delay and 𝛼 denotes the gain of that path. The input
is x(t) and the output is y(t).

a. Obtain an expression for magnitude response of these systems.

b. Plot |H(f)|2 of both systems in MATLAB for different values of T. What do you observe on
changing the delay (T).
c. The frequency spacing between two consecutive peaks is known as the free spectral range
(FSR). Plot the variation of FSR with the delay.
d. Plot |H(f)|2 of both systems in MATLAB for four different values of 𝛼 (0.9, 0.75, 0.5, 0.25).
What do you observe on changing the gain 𝛼.