COMM 1208 Unit 2 Signals

Signals
1. Introduction to Signals..........................................................................................................................2
2. Frequency...............................................................................................................................................3
3. Definition of a Sinusoidal Signal...........................................................................................................4
4. Cosine Wave...........................................................................................................................................5
5. Time Domain and Frequency Domain Representations......................................................................6
6. Filtering..................................................................................................................................................8
6.1 Low pass filter.................................................................................................................................8
6.2 High pass filter................................................................................................................................9
6.3 Band pass filter..............................................................................................................................10
6.4 Band stop filter..............................................................................................................................10
7. Power Levels.........................................................................................................................................10
8. Fourier Analysis...................................................................................................................................11

Page 1 of 14 1
 COMM 1208 Unit 2 Signals

1. Introduction to Signals

There are various forms of electrical signals that are encountered in communications systems.
Examples include:

Continuous analogue Discrete digital

Square wave Sinusoidal

Noise Signal Pulsed Signal

 The continuous analogue signal varies continuously between a minimum level and a maximum
level. It could be representative of a speech or audio signal for example.
 The discrete digital signal assumes a finite number of logic levels. A 2 level signal is shown in
the example above. Typically a high voltage corresponds to a logic 1 level and a low voltage as
a logic 0 level. The digital signal could be data from a computer or it might be a digital
representation of an analogue signal that has been passed through an analogue to digital
converter.
 The square wave is a 2 level signal that has a 1 0 1 0 1 0 ….. sequence. It could be used as a test
signal or it could represent a data clock.
 A sinusoidal signal has a specific frequency and amplitude. It is often used for testing analogue
systems.
 A noise signal is random in nature. This signal is found as an interference. It tends to derate the
performance of a system.
 A pulsed signal is similar to a square wave except that the duration of the high and low levels
are not equal. This type of signal can be used to produce sampling of analogue signals.

Page 2 of 14 2
 COMM 1208 Unit 2 Signals

2. Frequency

Frequency = For a periodic function, the number of cycles or events per unit time.

Hertz = The SI unit of frequency, equal to one cycle per second.

Frequency = 1
Time

1 Second = 1 Hertz

1 Hertz
1,000 Hertz = 1 kHertz
1,000,000 Hertz = 1,000 kHertz = 1MHertz
1,000,000,000 Hertz = 1,000,000 kHertz = 1,000 MHertz = 1 GHertz
1,000,000,000,000 Hertz = 1,000,000,000 kHertz = 1,000,000 MHertz = 1,000 GHertz = 1 THertz

1 kHertz = 1 kilo Hertz

1MHertz = 1 Mega Hertz
1 GHertz = 1 Giga Hertz
1 THertz = 1 Tera Hertz

Page 3 of 14 3
 COMM 1208 Unit 2 Signals

3. Definition of a Sinusoidal Signal

A continuous analogue sinusoidal signal is defined by:

The amplitude of this sinusoidal signal or tone is A and the frequency is f1.
The frequency is specified in cycles per second or Hertz. The frequency can also be specified in
radians per second or rads. This is the term where:

1 kHz Tone of amplitude 10 V

10

4
A mplitude (V )

-2

-4

-6

-8

-10
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Time ms

This plots is an example of a single tone of amplitude A=10, and of frequency f1=1 kHz. Note that
the period of this signal is 1 ms.

Page 4 of 14 4
 COMM 1208 Unit 2 Signals

4. Cosine Wave

A cosine wave is a signal waveform with a shape identical to that of a sine wave, except each point
on the cosine wave occurs exactly 1/4 cycle earlier than the corresponding point on the sine wave.
A cosine wave and its corresponding sine wave have the same frequency, but the cosine wave leads
the sine wave by 90 degrees of phase. The cosine wave is known as an even function because the
curve is symmetrical about the vertical axis. A sine wave is an odd function because the curve is
skew-symmetrical about the vertical axis.

S(t) = A Cos(2πf1t)

A more general expression is

S(t) = A Cos(2πf1t - τ)
In terms of a phase angle this can be written

S(t) = A Cos(2πf1t + φ)

Where φ = -2π τ/T1

A numerically negative value of φ results in a lagging phase angle, and a positive value a leading
phase angle.

For a Sine wave τ = T1/4

Page 5 of 14 5
 COMM 1208 Unit 2 Signals

5. Time Domain and Frequency Domain Representations

The previous representation of the analogue tone is said to be a time domain representation. It
corresponds to the plot of the amplitude of the signal as a function of time. This plot can be
obtained by computer simulation, or it could also be obtained by using a cathode ray oscilloscope
(CRO) to display a real sinusoidal signal.

Another way to view this signal is in the frequency domain. This plots the amplitude of each
frequency component of a signal against a horizontal axis of frequency rather than time. The
advantage of the frequency domain representation is that it can display clearly the various frequency
components that exist in a signal. The frequency domain representation or spectrum of the single
tone is shown in the diagram below.

AV

f1 Frequency (Hz)

Page 6 of 14 6
 COMM 1208 Unit 2 Signals

Consider the following analogue signal:

This signal consists of the addition of 2 frequency components. The time domain and frequency
domain representations of this signal are shown below.

1 kHz Tone + of 3 kHz Tone of amplitude 3 V and 1 V resp

3

1
A m p litu d e (V )

-1

-2

-3
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Time ms

3V

1V

f1 3f1 Frequency (Hz)

Page 7 of 14 7
 COMM 1208 Unit 2 Signals

6. Filtering

The process of filtering is to allow various frequencies within a signal to pass through the filter and
to block others. An example of a filter is a camera filter that allows certain light frequencies only to
pass through the camera lens. Typical filter responses are:

Low-pass
High-pass
Band-pass
Band-stop

6.1 Low pass filter

A low-pass filter allows low frequencies through, but removes or attenuates sufficiently medium
and high frequencies. The characteristics of a filter can be shown in an amplitude response plot of
the filter. This is a plot of the amplitude that will occur at the output of the filter for a range of input
frequencies. This is called the filter frequency response. The frequency response is obtained by
applying a sinusoidal signal to the input of the filter and plotting the output level for various
frequencies.

Sinusoidal
Sinusoidal Output Digital
Generator Filter Voltmeter
Variable

Measuring the frequency response of a filter

Amplitude

Frequency
Low-pass filter frequency response

Sometimes a filter is assumed to be ideal for the sake of simplifying the analysis of a system. The
ideal low-pass filter for example, passes all frequencies up to its cut-off frequency and completely
rejects all frequencies above this frequency.

Page 8 of 14 8
 COMM 1208 Unit 2 Signals

Amplitude

Cut-off frequency

Frequency
Ideal Low-pass filter frequency response

Composite Signal

If the composite signal previously analysed consisting of the 2 frequency components of 1 kHz and
3 kHz is connected to the input of an ideal low-pass filter of cut-off frequency 2 kHz or 2f1, then the
output signal will be a single 1 kHz frequency component whose amplitude is 3 V. The output
would therefore be:

6.2 High pass filter

Ideal filter response

Amplitude

Stops frequencies
below the cutoff Allows frequencies above
frequency the cutoff frequency to pass

Frequency

Cutoff frequency
Ideal High-pass filter frequency response

Page 9 of 14 9
 COMM 1208 Unit 2 Signals

6.3 Band pass filter

Stops frequencies
Amplitude either side of fstart
and fstop
Allows freqs
above fstart and
below fstop to pass

Ideal filter response

frequency
fstart fstop
Ideal Band-pass filter frequency response

6.4 Band stop filter

Allows freqs
below fstart and
above fstop to pass
Amplitude

Stops freqs in
between

Ideal filter response

frequency
fstart fstop
Ideal Band-Stop filter frequency response

7. Power Levels
The peak power level of a sinusoidal signal is obtained by dividing the square of the peak amplitude
by the resistance. For example, if the above tone is connected to a 600Ω load resistance the peak
power level across the load is

The RMS power level (type of average) is obtained by squaring the root-mean squared voltage
(rms) instead of the peak level.

Page 10 of 14 10
 COMM 1208 Unit 2 Signals

8. Fourier Analysis

A mathematical process known as Fourier Analysis shows that any waveform can be treated as if it
is made up of a number of sine waves of different frequencies, amplitudes and phase relationships.

For example a square wave which has amplitude Vm and frequency f is made up of a series of sine
waves with frequencies, f, 3f, 5f etc. and can be described by the following equation:

Vm
t

Where …indicates that the sum goes on for ever.

This can also be written as

A closer approximation to a square wave is obtained by adding in more and more terms and can be
seen in the diagram.

Page 11 of 14 11
 COMM 1208 Unit 2 Signals

sin x sin x + 1/3 sin3x

1 1
0.8
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.2
0 0
1

26

36

41

21
16

21

31

16

26

31

36

41
-0.2

11
11
-0.4
-0.5
-0.6
-0.8
-1 -1

sin x + 1/3 sin 3x + 1/5 sin 5x sin x+sin3x/3+sin5x/5+sin 7x/7

1 1
0.8
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.2
0 0
1

16

21

26

31

36

41
-0.2
1

21

26

31

36

41

11
16
11

-0.4
-0.5
-0.6
-0.8
-1 -1

5 terms to sin 9x/9 6 terms to sin11x / 11

1 1
0.8 0.8
0.6 0.6
0.4 0.4
0.2 0.2
0 0
1

21

26

31

36

41

16

21
16

26

31

36

-0.2 -0.2 41
11
11

-0.4 -0.4
-0.6 -0.6
-0.8 -0.8
-1 -1

7 terms to sin13x/13 8 terms to sin15x/15

1 1
0.8 0.8
0.6 0.6
0.4 0.4
0.2 0.2
0 0
21

26

31

36

41

16

21
1

16

26

31

36

41

-0.2 -0.2
11
11

-0.4 -0.4
-0.6 -0.6
-0.8 -0.8
-1 -1

Page 12 of 14 12
 COMM 1208 Unit 2 Signals

A triangular wave can be described by

Or

Vm

A sawtooth wave is described by

V(t) = 2 * Vm/ (Sin t - 1/2 Sin 2t + 1/3 Sin 3t - 1/4 Sin 4t + 1/5 Sin 5t + ….)

The diagrams above show the time representation of a signal, or it shows the time domain of the
signal i.e. how the voltage of the signal varies with time. Alternatively we can produce a frequency
diagram of the signal, also called a diagram in the frequency domain, or a frequency spectrum of
the signal. The frequency spectrum of a square wave is shown below. For a simple signal, such as a
square wave both the time and frequency domain diagrams give all of the information about the
signal. For a more complex waveform, such as music, speech or a digitised signal the frequency
domain diagram will give only a very rough impression of the signal in the time domain.

A square wave has an amplitude of 10 volts and a frequency of 1 kHz

Vm
t

In the time domain

Page 13 of 14 13
 COMM 1208 Unit 2 Signals

Vm in Volts
12.73 V

4.24 V

2.54 V
1.81 V
f in kHz
In the frequency domain

Page 14 of 14 14