EE 321

Introduction to Communication
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

EE 321: Fuad Alsaadi, KAU Introduction: 0

 What is Communication?
• Communication = Transfer of Information
• Old Forms of Communication (Non-Electrical)
– Using Couriers; human messengers, carrier pigeons, post
– Using sound; drumbeats, gun shots
– Using Fire; torches, smoke
– Using light; flashlight, flags
– Etc
• Non-Electrical Communication: Slow and over short distances
• Electrical Communication = Using electrical signals
– Long distances
– Fast
– Reliable
– Economical

EE 321: Fuad Alsaadi, KAU Introduction: 1

 A General Block Diagram for a Communication System
Input Input Input Transmitted Received Output Output Output
Source Transmitter Channel Receiver Destination
Message Transducer Signal Signal Signal Signal Transducer Message

Channel Impairments
· Delay
· Attenuation (loss of power)
· Distortion (system imperfections)
· Noise (usually from natural
sources)
· Interference (non-hostile human
sources)
· Jamming (hostile human sources)
Input
Message
• Source: Transducer

– Generates a message (often in a non-electrical form) Human Microphone

Voice
• Human voice (acoustic signal)
• Printed page Printed Scanner
Page
• Photograph
• Video Photograph Digital Camera
• Text message Video Video Camera
• Input Transducer Text Keyboard
– Converts the non-electrical message into an Message
electrical waveform that is called a baseband signal.
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 A General Block Diagram for a Communication System
Input Input Input Transmitted Received Output Output Output
Source Transmitter Channel Receiver Destination
Message Transducer Signal Signal Signal Signal Transducer Message

Channel Impairments
· Delay
· Attenuation (loss of power)
· Distortion (system imperfections)
· Noise (usually from natural
sources)
· Interference (non-hostile human
sources)
· Jamming (hostile human sources)

• Transmitter:
– Modifies the baseband signal into a form suitable for the channel, for
efficient transmission
• Channel
– is the medium of transmission
• e.g. wire, coaxial cable, optical fiber, air, free space, etc.
– Can cause many types of impairment to the signal

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 A General Block Diagram for a Communication System
Input Input Input Transmitted Received Output Output Output
Source Transmitter Channel Receiver Destination
Message Transducer Signal Signal Signal Signal Transducer Message

Channel Impairments
· Delay
· Attenuation (loss of power)
· Distortion (system imperfections)
· Noise (usually from natural
sources)
· Interference (non-hostile human
sources) Output
· Jamming (hostile human sources) Message
Transducer
• Receiver: Human
Loudspeaker
– “Recovers” the input signal from the received Voice
signal by undoing the signal modifications made Printed
Printer
by the transmitter and the channel Page
• Output Transducer Photograph
Printer/Still
Monitor
– Converts the output electrical signal into its
original form (message) Video
Video
Monitor/TV
• Destination
Text Text Printer, e.g.
– The unit to which the message is communicated, Message telex machine
e.g., the user of the information
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 Noise
• Noise is a random and unpredictable signal, usually, from natural sources
– External noise; lightning, solar noise, interference
– Internal noise; thermal motion of electrons in conductors, random emission,
diffusion and recombination of electrons and holes.
• Proper care can minimize or even eliminate external noise
• Proper care can reduce the effect of internal noise but can never
eliminate it
• Noise is one of the basic factors that fundamentally limits the
communication rate
• Other factors are power and bandwidth
• The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is defined as the ratio of signal power to
noise power
• The SNR is continuously decreasing along the length of the channel.
• Amplification of the received signal to compensate for attenuation cannot
help improve the SNR, because the noise will be amplified in the same
proportion. On the contrary, an amplifier may decrease the SNR.

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 Analog and Digital Messages
• Messages are digital or analog.
• Digital Messages are constructed with a finite number of
symbols.
• For example, printed English consists of 26 letters, 10
number, a space and several punctuation marks. Thus, a text
document written in English is a digital message constructed
from about 128 symbols.
• A digital message constructed with M symbols is called an
M-ary message.
• Analog messages are characterized by data whose values
vary over a continuous range of time.
• For example, a particular speech waveform has amplitudes
that vary over a continuous range.
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 Modulation
• Modulation is the process by which the baseband signal is included in the
properties of a high-frequency carrier.
• A carrier is a high-frequency sinusoid and it has the following parameters:
– Amplitude
– Frequency
– Phase
• Modulation is performed by varying one of the carrier parameters in
proportion to the baseband signal.
• Accordingly, we have
– Amplitude Modulation (AM)
– Frequency Modulation (FM)
– Phase Modulation (PM)
• At the receiver, the inverse operation is performed. This is called
“Demodulation.”
• Demodulation is the process of recovering the baseband signal from the
modulated carrier.

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 Modulation
Carrier

Baseband Signal=Modulating Signal=Message Signal=Information Signal

Amplitude-Modulated Carrier

Freqency-Modulated Carrier

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 Why do we need modulation?
• We need modulation for three main reasons:
1. Efficient Radiation:
• For efficient radiation, the length of the antenna must be at least one
tenth of the wavelength
• For practical antenna size, the signal frequency must be “high”
• For speech signal, most of the power is concentrated in the frequency
range of 100-3000 Hz. Audible signals have content in the frequency range
of 20-20000 Hz. These frequencies correspond to wavelengths in the range
of 15 km to 1500 km. Thus, a speech signal cannot be radiated from an
antenna of a practical size.
• Using a carrier frequency of 500 kHz (MW range), an antenna of length 60
m is needed (AM Broadcast Station). Frequency Wavelength Minimum Antenna
Length
• Using a carrier frequency of 800 MHz, 60 Hz 5000 km 500 km
an antenna of length 3.8 cm is needed 20 kHz 15 km 1.5 km
(Mobile Phone) 450 kHz 666 m 66.6 m
1 MHz 300 m 30 m
100 MHz 3m 30 cm
1 GHz 30 cm 3 cm

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 Why do we need modulation?
• We need modulation for three main reasons:
2. Simultaneous Transmission of Several Signals:
• To transmit several signals using the same channel without interference,
these signals must occupy separate frequency bands
• This can be achieved by modulating the signals using different carrier
frequencies, so that the modulated carriers occupy separate frequency
bands.
• This can allow many users to share the same channel.
• This is called Multiplexing or Multiple Access.
• In multiplexing, all the signals are modulated, combined and then
transmitted using the same transmitter. This is used in telephony systems.
• In multiple access, the signals are modulated and transmitted using
separate transmitters. The modulated signals are then combined in the
channel. This is the case in radio broadcasting.

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 Why do we need modulation?
• We need modulation for three main reasons:
3. Obtaining Better Tradeoff between SNR and B:
• Modulation can be used to obtain better SNR at the expense of bandwidth.
• Some types of modulation provide better SNR vs. bandwidth tradeoff.

• More reasons:
– Moving the signal to a better frequency slot (e.g. for lower attenuation
or interference)
– Shifting the signal to a more suitable frequency (e.g. optical range for
optical fibers)
– etc.

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