Objectives ‘After studying this chapter, you should be ale t: understand amplitude and frequency modulation and comment on the relative advantages of AM and Fi transmission Cidescribe digital transmission systems in terms of analogue-to-digital (ADC) and digital-to-analogue (DAQ) conversion and sampling rate Communications today Radio waves “The person listening to the radio in Figute 33.2 is at the end of a communication system. The system starts with sound or music passing into a microphone. The sound signal is converted into a radio signal and at the cend of che communication system the radio signal is converted back again into a sound signal. Sound waves and radio waves are completely different types of wave; amongse other differences they have different frequencies, wavelengths and speeds, ‘A radio wave cannot be the same frequency and shape as the sound signal it carries. Audio frequencies Ses em Cldescribe and compare different networks or channels of communication Dealculate signal attenuation in dB and dB per unit length Cexplain the principal features of a mobile-phone system, including the mobile-phone handset “The ability to communicate is an important feature of modem life. We can now speak direcly to others right around che world and generate vast amounts of information every day. The invention of the mobile phone has increased our ability to talk to one another and to find out what is happening around us. This chapter looks briefly at how some communication systems ‘work. Communication engineers have applied the principles of physics to change the present and shape the future. Figure 33.1 A communications satelite. cover the range from 50 Hz to 20000Hz. The: aerial needed to receive radio waves at these frequencies would be so large it would not fir inside a radio receiver, More importantly, if more than one radio station transmitted waves of these frequencies Your radio receiver would pick them all up at the same time, Imagine listening co a radio receiver where) hear every radio station at once! Different radio signals must be separated in some "7 ‘This is achieved by giving each different radio signal 2 different carrier wave frequency. You can only he#t one station at a time because when you sune # 4°3.2 Part of a communication system. fe ceccver it only receives a carrer wave of one frequency. Carer wave Frequencies in the radio spectrum are such higher than the frequencies of sound signals. “The informacion, for example a sound signal, is cated by modulating ot altering the carrier wave Modulation isthe variation of either the amplitude ocihe frequency of the earrier wave, The modulated wvaveis the actual wave transmitted. The signal is proent in either the changing amplitude or the changing frequency of the modulated wave. Amplitude modulation Figue 33.3 shows amplitude modulation (AM). The terms show the carrier wave, the signal and modulated wave, In each case, the horizontal axis “sens ie shown onthe ai the bottom. The Ped wave isthe carer wave ut is amplitude = te to match the value of the signal ar any 3k at che amplitude-modulated wave on its the canes wave (no modulation) the signal the amplitude: modulated wave Figure 33.3 Amplitude modulation. own, and notice how the amplitude variation at top and bottom has the same pattern as the signal. "The amplitude of the signal must be les chan bal of the amplitude of the carrier waves otherwise the variation in the amplitude atthe top will be confused swith the variation in amplitude at the bortom of the wave. 1. Caleulate the frequencies of the carrier wave and signal shown in Figure 33.3. Step 1 For the carrier wave, there are 10 complete waves in 100 ps. Hence: time for one complete cartier wave, T=10ps=1%10%s carrier wave frequency f= 7 = 100000 Hz Step 2 For the signal, chere is one complete wave in 100 ps. Hence: frequency of the signal ff “TF = 10000Hz ‘A radio wave of 100 000 He is in the long wavelength, low-frequency region of the radio electromagnetic spectrum. A sound frequency of 10000 Hr isa very high frequency note but is audible. GGG conmicsionsysens EBel If. radio station carries music, the wave transmitted by the radio station will differ from the wave shown in Figure 33.3. There is only one signal frequency present in the signal in Figure 33.3. Music consists of many, changing frequencies superimposed so that it has a more complex wave pattern. The ampliaude of the carrier wave will change as the music pattern changes. ‘The cartier wave frequency does not change but the amplitude of the trace will change wich time, In amplitude modulation (AM), the frequency of the modulated wave is constant. The amplitude of the modulated wave is proportional to, and in phase with, the signal. 1. Imagine that all the numbers on the time axis in Figure 33.3 are doubled, so that 100 becomes 200 and 200 becomes 400. Calculate the frequency of the carrier wave and the frequency of the signal. 2 Draw an amplitude-modulated wave with a ‘carrier wave of frequency 1.0MHz and a signal frequency of 100 kHz. The time axis on your ‘graph should be from 0 ro 10s. On your graph, mark the time for one complete wave of the signal and for one complete wave of the carier. 3. Explain how an amplitude-modulated wave changes when the inpuc signal: 2 increases in loudness ' increases in frequency. Frequency modulation In frequency modulation (FM) the frequency of the modulated wave varies with time. Without any signal, the frequency of the modulated wave is equal to the frequency of the carrier wave. The size of the input signal at any instant causes the frequency of the modulated wave to change. When the input signal is positive, the frequency of the modulated wave is increased so that itis larger than the frequency of the carrier wave. The larger the signal, the greater is the increase in the frequency. ‘When the signal is negative, the frequency of the modulated wave is less than the frequency of the carrier wave. Figure 33.4 shows frequency modulation. In frequency modulation (FM), the modulate has a constant amplitude. Ii the frequency of _ modilaed wave that changes as che signal changes The frequency deviation of the carrer wave may be given a value, for example, 25kHz2V". This means that for every LOV change inthe voage ofthe signa the frequency of the carrier wave changes by 254d, In some countries, the maximum allowed change in frequency during FM is set as 75 kz, in order that the frequency of one station does not overlap the fequeney of the next station. If the frequency deviation is 25kHzV" and the maximum change is 75 kHz, then the maximum signal producing the FM is 3.0V, Yn signal signal weve the cartier wave (no modulation) the signal frequency frequency higher lower the frequency: modulated wave Figure 33.4 Frequency modulation, 2 A cartier wave of frequency 300 kz and litude 5.0 is frequency modulated by a sinusoidal signal of frequency 6kHz and amplitude 2,0V. The frequency deviation of the carrier wave is 30kHzV-", Describe the ‘modulated carrier wave produced. Step 1 Consider the amplitude of the ‘modulated signal. The amplitude of the carvie™ continued?\ 11 5.0V during frequency signal alvers che frequency of «its amplitude Now consider hove the signal will Fae caer requ. "he frequency im produced by the signal is #2 30 = shila, so che cartier wave varies in 260 py beeween 240 and 360 kHz "This maton in frequency occurs 6000 times every “a as the signal vats at this Frequency, {¢ Beplhin how a frequeney-modulated wave changes. when the input signal: 1 increases in loudness; b increases in frequency. 5, Asignal of frequency 16kFtz and amplitude 3,0 is used for frequency modulation of a carrier wave of frequency 500 kHz. The frequency deviation of the carrier wave is 8.0kH2V". a What is the maximum frequency shift produced? b What is the maximum frequency of the modulated cartier wave? ¢ How many times per second does the modulated cartier wave increase and decrease in frequency? Sidebands and bandwidth Acarrier wave contains only one frequency, the carrier vrave frequency f. When the carrier wave is modulated ‘namplitude by a single frequency f., then the carrier ‘ares found to contain wo more frequencies, known ‘sideband frequencies, one at a frequency (f'-f,) andthe other at (f+). Figure 33.5 shows these Tequencies, ‘When music or speech is transmitted, the carrier modulated by a range of frequencies which change With time. Bach frequency f. present in the signal Ses tite to an extra pair of frequencies in the Modulated wave, ‘The result is a band of frequencies, ‘led the upper and lower sidebands stretching above z (ef) fe e+ fed) Frequency bandwidth a Figure 33.5 The frequency spectrum of a carrier wave modulated in amplitude by a signal of one frequency. and below the carrier frequency by the value of the highest modulating frequency. Figure 33.6 shows the frequency spectrum for a carrier wave of frequency 1 MHz modulated with frequencies between 0 and f= 15kH2=0,015 MHz. The highest Frequency present in the spectrum is (f +.) = 1.015 MHz and the lowest frequency is (f =f.) ~0.985M He. ‘The actual shape of the sidebands in Figure 33.6 will vary at any instant as the signal changes. The maximum and minimum values are important, as these must not overlap the sidebands from any other radio station. “The value of f, needed depends on the quality red in the signal. High-quality music only needs frequencies up 10 15 kH¥z, even though the ear can hear frequencies up t0 20 kHz. Speech only needs frequencies up to 3.4kHz for people to understand one another. carrier lower sideband upper sideband Signal power \ 0.985, 1.000 1.015 Frequency/ MHz Figure 33.6 The frequency spectrum for an amplitude: ‘modulated wave, You can see that the modulated carrier wave occupies a region of the spectrum from 0.985 MHz 10 1.015 MHz, The bandwidth of a signal is the range of frequencies that the signal occupies. In other words, it is the difference becween the highest-frequency signal component and the lowest-frequency signal component. (GIS Sereno arene ithe BrIn Figure 35.6 the bandwidth is 1.015 - 0.985 = O.030MElz. In Figure 33.5 the bandivideh i (f +f) - Lhe Yo The frequency spectrum ofa frequency-modulated (EM) cartier wave is more complex. In particular, there are often more than rwo sideband frequencies for each signal frequency. This means that frequency modulation requires a greater bandwidth for each radio station. | Worked ‘example 3. Radio stations, which broadcast in the long- wave (LW) region of the electromagnetic spectrum, use a carrier frequency between 140 kFtz and 280 kHz. The sidebands are within 4.5 kHz on either side of the carrier frequency. State the bandwidth of each radio station in the LW region of the spectrum and calculate the maximum number of radio stations which can transmie in the LW region. ‘Step 1 The bandwidth of an individual station is ewice the wideh of an individual sideband: bandwidth =2x4.5=9.0 kHz Step 2 The LW region is divided into regions of width 9.0kHz. Hence: number of stations « alowed frequency range iber of stations Gaia __ (280-140) “9.0 1Sstations Suppose a country decides to increase the quality of music transmitted by each radio station. What happens to the bandwidth and the ‘maximum number of stations in the INV region? Berter sound quality requizes an increase in the ‘maximum frequency of the signal that modulates the carrier wave, and so the bandwidth needed increases. This decreases the number of available stations in the [WW region of the spectrum, Comparing AM and FM transmissions You may have noticed crackle on a radio when you switch lights in your house on and off or when there isa lightning strike nearby. The lightning strike or switching a current on or off creates a butst of radio waves. These radio waves produce unwanted electriga interference and change the amplitude of the radia dd by a radio. Since the amplitude of the wave carries the signal, when amplitude modulation is used the ourput of the radio is affected. Most clectrical interference does not affect the frequency of the radio wave received by a radio and thus electrical interference affects FM less chan AM. EM radio was actually invented to overcome the electrical interference and noise problems of AM radio and this remains an important advantage today. FM came lter than AM and had to use higher frequencies than AM. Although there was extra cost in developing the electronics to work at these higher frequencies, it was still an advantage. ‘The greater range of frequencies available means that each station can use a higher bandwidch (about 200 kHz, compared to 9kHz for AM). FM signals eypically contain frequencies of 15kHz or higher and the quality of sound produced is much higher when using FM transmission. However, AM transmission has a number of advantages. +The bandwidth needed for each AM transmission isles than for FM transmission and this means thar more stations can be included in any given frequency range of the electromagnetic spectrum. The actual receiver and transmitter used for AM are les complicated and cheaper chan for EM transmission. + AM transmissions use lower Frequencies and have higher wavelengths than FM. ‘This means that these radio waves can diffract some way around the Earth, whereas FM is line-of-sight only. Thus AM can cover a larger area than FM transmissions, for the same power ourput, wave recei ‘The relative advantages of FM and AM are summarised. in Table 33.1. /Advaninges FFM ‘Advantages of AM less electrical interference | greater area covered by. jandns ne transmitter avert praces stab tanh nes Sberterqualiypofsoued | more stations aval any Frequency range cheaper radio sets ‘Table 33.2 The relative advantages of FM and AM broadcasting.shows te Fequencyspectum of *t from a radio transmitter, A cartier deband frequencies are present, gue rhe sie gd ovo pS Frequency/kHe que 37 For Test yourself 6. Whats the name ofthe type of modulation thar produces ewo sideband frequencies? tp What is the carrier frequency? € what isthe frequency ofthe signal used to modulate the cartier wave? 4 Whar isthe bandwidth of the transmitted signal? 7 a Calculate the number of separate AM radio sations of bandwideh 9 kHz that are possible inthe frequency spectrum available for AM berween 530 and 1700 kHz. b Suggest why FM stations of bandwideh 200kHz are not used for this range of frequencies. 8 Is the greater bandwidth available on FM an advantage or a disadvantage? 9 FM is used largely in towns and AM in rural settings. Suggest why. Analogue and digital signals {tatdegue quantity is one that can have any vals "eanple the height ofa person. A digital quantity fea few values, usually just ovo; for example a 2 ether mal o female. took Ce signals we have dealt with in this been analogue signals: For examples + fee signal generated by a microphone is Tipe Hgpals the output voltage from the ‘one can have any value, within limits, and is an exact representation of the pressure variation ina sound wave. ‘A digital signal on the other hand looks completely different and consists of a series of zeros (0) and ones (1). A1 in a digital signal is just the presence of voltage pulse, usually a voltage value of a few volts AO inva digital signal is the absence of a pulse and is a voltage close co OV. A typical digital electronic system will interpret any voltage below about 0.3 380 and any voltage above about 1.5V asa 1. Small Auctuations in voltage will not be noticed: Figure 33.8 shows an analogue and a digital signal. “The digital signal is che number 0101001 101, which is actually a pulse of OV followed by a pulse of 3V and so on. Voltage/V ‘owl id dl Time 010200 1201 Figure 33.8 Analogue and digital signals. ‘Advantages of digital signals ‘Most devices such as microphones or thermistors produce analogue voltage signals. However, digital signals have advantages and ic is often worthwhile co change an analogue signal into a digital signal. “The major advantage is thac digital signals can deal swith ‘noise’ produced over long distances, All signals, both analogue and digital, become weaker as they travel and they pick up electrical noise. The decrease in strength is known as atenuation, and can be corrected by amplifying the signal ac regular intervals, during long-distance transmission. Noises electrical interference, caused in a number of differene ways; by the spark from a car ignition, by jnduced voltages from the magnetic fields caused by cerrents around the home by the radio signals emitved by a mobile phone nearby, and even by the random thermal motion of electrons in a wire or by vibrating atoms. You may have noticed a background hiss on telephone conversations. This alo isan example of nose Noise is the random, unwanted signal that adds to sand distorts a transmitted signal, Amplification of a signal amplifies te noise atthe same time asthe signal GE coowners BaVoltage/V ae Figure 33.9 Weakened and noisy signals. Figure 33.9 shows the signals from Figure 33.8 after they have travelled a long distance. You will see that they are lower in amplitude and have unwanted variations, or noise. There is little improvement possible for the analogue signal; amplification will not remove the n However, regeneration will remove the noise from a digital signal. ‘The signal is ‘cleaned’ of the noise and returned to its initial shape. Ac the end of a long-distance transmission, an electronic circuit, the regeneration amplifier, receives the digital signal. This electronic circuit expects to receive a pulse of a few volts or no pulse at all: any ns added to the pulse or the OV make no difference. The regeneration amplifier can only give a0 ora 1 as an output. As long as the noise does not completely change the shape of the signal, then the regeneration amplifier returns the digital signal shown in Figure 33.9 back into the perfect pulses shown in Figure 33.8. Other advantages of using digital signals are: small variaci + digital signals are compatible with modem technology and can be stored and processed more easily, for example in a computer or on a compact disc (CD); + digital electronic systems are, in general, more reliable and easier to design and builds « digital signals build in safeguards so thac if there is an ‘error in reception itis noticed and parts of the signal can be sent again, Analogue to digital conversion ‘The key to the digital revolution has been the ability to change speech and music from analogue into digital form in analogue-to-digital conversion (ADC) and then convert them back again into analogue form in digital-to-analogue conversion (DAC), In order to understand this process, you need to be able to count using binary numbers as well as ordinary decimal numbers. The decimal system has base 10 and the number of digits increases by one when going from the number 9 to the number 10. The number has only one digit whereas the number 10 has two digits. ‘The binary number system has base 2 and the umber of digits increases when going up from the number 1; so the next number above 1 is 10, not the same asthe d ing in the binary number 10 i number 10, Table 33.2 compares decimal system and in the binary system, Decimal | Binary Decimal [Binary number [number | number __| number 0 0 6 110 1 U 7 nn 2 10 8 1000 3 i 9 Toor 4 100 10 1010 3 101 1 10) Table 33.2 Binary and decimal numbers. For example: * in the decimal system, the number 243 is a combination of 2x 100, 410 and 315 + in che binary system, the number 111 is a combination of 1x4, 1x2 and Ix 1. ry system is very similar to counting in the decimal system except that there are only che digits O and 1. Each digit in the binary number is known asa bit. ‘The bit on the left-hand side of a binary number is the most significant bit (MSB) and has the highest value. Large numbers require more bits. Table 33.2 shows numbers containing 4 bits, alchough 0011 is the correct way of writing a 4-bit number, rather than writing 11. A digital telephone system commonly transmits numbers containing 8 bits and there are 25=256 different 8-bit binary numbers. Changing an analogue signal into a digical signal involves sampling, In analogue-to digital conversion (ADC), sampling is the measurement of the analogue signal at regular time intervals. ‘The value of the sampled signal is used to produce a binary number. Each time chat the signal is sampled the ADC produces a binary number ofa certain number of bits, Since the sample is taken many times per second, many binary numbers are created, onejes of OS and Is becomes. ued. igure 33.10 where debi a om a s oon 3 ° se © 200 400 G00 Bo 1000 Time/ ns 5 goo 400 600 B00 1000 Time/us awe33t0 Analogue to digital conversion. When the time #=0 the numerical value of the voltage Sgn is9 8a decimal number. When converted into binary this number is 1001. When ¢= 100 ps the voltage is asa decimal number and 1010 as. binary number. You will notice that at some values of tthe signal is toca whole number on the voltage axis. The nearest umber i chosen, When the output is sampled every 100 ps, a set of binary numbers is produced: (1001) then (1010) then (1GG1) then (1000) then (1000) and so on, These sets of bit numbers are transmitted one after the other. ey are transmitted a long distance, a regeneration amplifier is used along the way to keep the same Fatten of pulses. A digital-to-analogue converter ‘hunges the digital signal back into analogue form at ‘heend ofthe transmission, Figure 33.11 shows the resule of this conversion : eh analogue form, ‘The blue circles show mela ofthe voltage, which are each a decimal ht formed from a 4-bit binary number, ‘The spa 2 dn through the czls isthe ompu ste gn lestonie systems contain extra filer raat ae able to smooth the ouput and hey “Thecs the blue ine as the final output. elite. the ourpu,i cel nor exe the «original signal. ‘There are two reasons for this. a Figure 33.11 Digltal to analogue conversion. Firstly, che sampled signal is not always a whole umber. For example, in Figure 33.10 when ¢= 3001s the actual voltage is 8.3V but only the number 8 can be sent, nor 8.3. “To improve the sampling, the voltage that corresponds to the difference between 0 and 1 must be decreased. [nthe above example, the difference beeween 0 and 1 in binary is 1V and so the signal is “accurate to only 1, If the difference between 0 and. Tis made to be 0.1V then ‘accuracy’ is improved. ‘Adding an extra bit is similar to having an extra ficant figure when measuring a voltage as 8.3 rather than BV, Integers up 0 10 need a 4-bic binary number. [fhe system handles numbers to within 0.1 then 10.0 requires an 8-bit number, which has 128 different possible levels. “the other problems is thac the sampling rare is not high enough. The sampling rate is the number of samples ) made per second, In the example in Figure 33.10, the sample is taken every 100s and so the sampling rate is += 10000 times a second. If the signal 1 0.0001 changes between one sample and the next then no record is made of that change, Obviously the higher the sampling rate, the closer the final signal will be to the original signal, The maximum sampling rate - required is only ewice the highest frequency present in the signal (this is known as Nyquist’ theorem), “The human car can hear up to 20H and so the maximum sampling rate needed is 40kHz. for music. For every second of music on a compact disc storing ight-bit numbers sampled 40000 times a second, GE Gimnations systems320000 separate binary digits are stored. The sampling rate required for a telephone system will be less, since only frequencies up to about 3400 Fz. are required for basic speech recognition. Many digital elephone systems sample the input signal 8000 times a second and so only transmit frequencies below 4kH2. 10 Convert the following decimal numbers into binary numbers: al4 biG 11 Convert the following binary numbers into decimal numbers: allll b 0001011 12 The diagrams re 33.12 show a digital Bers ache nate of lang able and sr end of the cable. Both diagrams are drawa to the same horizontal scale (time) and vertical scale (voltage). before transmission at the end of a long cable Figure 33.12 For Test yourself Q 12. a Explain what feature of the top diagram shows that the signal is digital b State and explain two advantages of digital transmission rather than analogue ‘transmission of data. ¢ State and explain ewo reasons why the signal at the end of the long cable differs from the signal atthe start. Channels of communication The term channel of communication refers 10 the medium, the path or even the actual frequency range used to convey information from a transmitter to a receiver. When you listen to a radio, the radio signal may have travelled through the air by a number of different routes. When you talk to someone on a telephone in a different country then the signal may have passed along a wire-pair, a coaxial cable, through the air by a microwave link or been converted into pulses of light and then transmitted down an optic fibre. These are all different channels of communication. Before comparing, the different channels you will need to understand another technical term, cross- linking, and be able to calculate signal attenuation, You may have experienced cross-talk or cross- linking when using a radio or a telephone. If you tune your radio set to one radio station, sometimes ‘you can also hear another station. When talking ‘on the telephone you can suddenly find yourself listening to a completely different telephone conversation; the telephone network has connected your telephone to someone you have not dialled. inking occurs when a signal, transmitted on ‘one circuit oF channel, creates an undesired effect in another circuit or channel. Signal attenuation “Artenuation is the gradual decrease in the power of a signal the further it travels. The causes of energy loss depend on the type of signal. + Asan electrical signal passes along a wire, there is a voltage drop across the resistance of the wire itself. This reduces the voltage ofthe signal that arrives at the end of the wire. The energy loss in the wire causes electrical heating in the resistance of the wire (72R). * 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, + Light travelling through an optic fibre may he scattered or absorbed by irregularities in the glass structure. “The decrease in signal power from the transmitted value P, to that received P, can be very high. The ratio P, to P, is measured using a logarithmic scale rather than by the simple ratio of the two powers. The logarithm to base 10 of the ratio gives us the umber of bels (B). When multiplied by 10 we obsain the number of decibels (dB). Your calculator may show logarithms to base 10 as log,,. They are written here as Ig and must not be confused with logarithms to base ¢, which are usually written as In,~ BR gumer of B=I8| 7 & gasne(8) can SP , isa 1000 times greater than P; ste number is postive because there san increase in cra he signal is amplified. Attenuation produces Five numberof decibels; for example, an jmmpaion of -30dB means that the received signal is ino simes less than the signal transmitted You may be much more familiar with logarithms to suse than with logarithms to base 10. All logarithms che the same rules; some, which you should know, are: logofa product log(ab) =log(a)+log(6) log ofa ratio log) tote let logofa power log (a) =mlog(a) 4. Asignal of power 18.0m\W passes along one cable, where the artenuation is 20dB, Ie then passes along, another cable, where the attenuation is 304B. ‘Whac is the power ar the end of the two cables? Step 1 Apply the decibel equation to each cable in turn, In the first cable, output P,, then: =101g( A z ifthe input is P, and che , Seren tage eat iu nos MS ase wo contioued > Inthe second cable, the input is P, the output of the fist channel. Ifthe output is 2, then: somos) ; Step 2 Add the two equations; this gives: soli) (3) Applying the ‘log of a product rule’ gives: so-tol( xB] -r0¥ 2) AB , ‘This shows that the toral attenuation of the two cables is 50_— pars the sigal-to-nolse ratio when the we dnd the noise have equal power? és of .0mW passes through an amplifier (dB and chen along a cable where the ons 1848 2 phase overall gain ofthe signal in €B2 + hats the ourput power a the end of the cable? oasienal ofgain 3 comparison of different channels tuch ype of signal channel has its good points and its dacantages, which we will now consider, Wire-pairs and coaxial cables Teeulest telephones used a pair of wires strung on dither side of a pole (Figure 33.13). As the use afclectrcity became more common, the amount of deri interference increased, causing crackle and fe Pew. 3343 An early telegraph pole. = hiss on the line. The potential difference between the 60 Wires is the signal. Each wire acts as an aerial, picks up unwanted electromagnetic waves and distorts the signal. When owo wires are close together, each wire picks up che same amount of electrical interference. “There is no additional potential difference berween the two wires and so having the wires close together reduces the interference. Figure 33.14 shows a twisted wire-pair with the wires close together. The connection from your telephone to a socket nearby is likely to use ewo insulated copper wires placed close together or, more likely, a ewisted pair of wires Figure 33.24 Twisted wire-pairs in a computer network, [A wire-pair is by far the cheapest transmission medium bur i does have some disadvantages The changing currents in the wires themselves produce electromagnetic (EM) fields and this makes, the wires act as aerials, radiating EM waves. The energy to emit these waves reduces the strength of the signal sent along the wire. As the frequency of the changing current increases, the emission of EM waves increases and so the bandwidch of wire-pairs is low. Energy is also lost in the wire due to electrical heating in che resistance of the wires. Wire-pairs are often close together in a telephone system and EM waves pass from one wire-pair to another. This is the origin of some forms of cross-talk, where you can hear another telephone conversation. “Wire-pairs are easily ‘tapped’. A connection made to ‘each wire allows an unwanted person to hear a telephone ‘conversation. The security of a wire-pait ‘Coaxial cable, as shown in Figure 33.15, reduces the amount of cross-talk in wire-pairs when transmission ‘occurs at high speed. The copper core and the finely woven copper wire of braid are the rw conductors Oethac transmit the signal The braid is usually connected to earth, so, ideally, the potential of this wire docs not chany sctromagnetic (EM) waves do not pass casily through metal and so the braid provides a screen or barrier that reduces the interference that reaches the copper core. An ideal coaxial cable also prevents any emission of EM waves at radio frequencies and has less attenuation than a wire-pair, Although coaxial cable is ‘more expensive than a wire-pair, it can transmic data faster, over longer distances, and with less electrical interference. Coaxial cable often connects a tadio transmitter to an aerial, as coaxial cable has a high bandwidth, which can exceed 100 MHz with a cable 30m in length. Ics also slightly more difficult to ‘tap’ into a coaxial cable than into a wire-pair. ‘Table 33.3 summarises the advantages and disadvantages of wire-pairs and coaxial cable, 6S ae copper insulation insulation finely woven copper wire (raid) Figure 33.15 Coavial cable. ‘Wire pairs Coaxial cable fare cheap and convenient | ismore expensive ‘strongly aenuate a signal | isless attenuating have low bandwidth thas higher bandwidth pick up some nolzeand | has less electrical interference interference and noise suffer from crosealk fas lide crosstalk have low securiyy is more secure Table 33.3 Comparison of wire-paits and coaxial cable, Radio waves and microwave links Radio waves can travel by a number of different paths from a transmitter to a receiver, as shown in Figure 33.16. Sky waves greater than ome aie Known os space waves, They ps through the Fonosphee. aaa onasphere Shy waves up to 3oMH? ae reflected by the Figure 33.16 Radio wave transmissions, Surface (ground) waves travel close to the surface ofthe Earth. Lower frequencies, up to 3MHz, diffact around the surface of the Earth because of their long wavelengths; this gives them a long range of up to 1000km. AM broadcasts in the medium-wave (MW) band and long- wave (LW) bands travel efficiently as surface waves. Sky waves are waves above 3 MHz in frequency which are diffracted only a little by the Earth and travel almost in straight lines. Some waves at these frequencies travel fora short distance as surface waves, but they can only travel about 100 km in this way. Sky waves thar travel in the atmosphere may be reflected from a layer of charged particles, known as the ionosphere. When these reflected waves reach the Earth's surface they may be reflected back to the ionosphere. Through multiple reflections by the ionosphere and the ground, sky waves can travel for large distances around the Earth, Because the density of charged particles in the ionosphere is constantly changing, the reflection of sky waves is not reliable. Short-wave (SW) radio uses frequencies in the high- frequency (HF) band that reflect from the ionosphere. Your radio set can receive distant SW radio stations at night, when the frequencies reflected by the ionosphere are not absorbed by other regions in the atmosphere. Space waves are sky waves with a frequency greater than 30 MHz which pass through the ionosphere. ‘The transmission is line-of-sight so, ifthe receiver and ‘transmitter are on the Earth’ surface, there must be a clear line between the receiver and the transmicter (nor blocked by hills or mountains), Some police and emergency services, as well as television transmissions,ve ange] Communication method Frequency range | veband Distance travelled Lge [ops [Land MW eine and ‘upeo 1000km se psu [ow 7 in he HE band worldwide by efetion 7 io in the VHF band, TV and mobile ce wave [90-30 phones inthe UHF band LineoF sieht microwave, satellite links and Wi-Fi in the iaove [1-300GH: | spechih-eqene (HP and righ linet sight emepe shen Frequency (EHF) bands ‘retransmirted by sacellite sae Date for radio and microwaves. gespace waves with frequencies above 30 MHz in the sgh frequency (VHF) and ultarhigh-fequency {uA bands. The boundary berween rao waves and Hooves is not ceaty defined, although frequencies “je GHz are generally described as microwaves. Mowaves are able co pass through the ionosphere ‘preach satelite in space. Bluetooth technology and ‘WeFi use microwaves for communication around the fone, Using Wi-Fi, microwaves link your laptop t0 the main computer in your home. Tle 33.4 shows a summary of the frequencies used forte diferent radio transmissions and the distances teveled. The wavelength of any radio wave can be found using the formula c= fA where ¢= 3.0% 10° ms", hich isthe speed of the radio wave and the speed of light, So, for example, a wave of frequency | GHz has wavelength of: 30x10" 1 110" 0.3m Theradio wave given our by a transmitting aerial ‘tals in all ditections, The atmosphere absorbs the ‘ave, the amount of absorption depending on the "i frequency. The distance travelled by a radio wave Serr varies with Fequeney. In sore css the wy focuses the radio waves towards the receiver ‘sing an aerial shaped as a dish, as shown in REP 33.17, Widhou such a dish the srength of the hy eres strongly with distance arnt tower shown in Figure 33.17 holds ramet of parsblic electors or dishes. Each sh ad here adish on another tower some miles away they, T2RsMie microwaves back and forth between fae ge anassion is line-of-sight and the height wer increases the distance of transmission. “The bandwidth available increases as the frequency ofthe wave increases. As microwaves have a high bandwidth, they can carry many telephone conversations at once. They ae also very secure and difficult o tap {nto asthe beam of microwaves that travels berween the ‘wo dishes is narrow and does not spread out. Until bre optic cable was available, microwave links carried the os majority of long-distance telephone conversations.] ED To summarise, high-frequency radio waves and microwaves: + have high bandwideh and can carry a huge amount of information + can be transmitted as narrow beams which are are line-of-sight and often use a satellite oor microwave link, Satellites and optical fibres ‘Transmissions on the LWW and MW bands use a surface wave and do nor travel further than about 1000km. For long-distance communication, itis possible co transmit using a sky wave or using a space wave and a satellite. Figures 33.1 and 33.18 both show a communications satellite in space. The satellite receives a space wave from a transmitter on Earth, the uplink, with a carrier frequency in the microwave region. Because the satellite can only reflect a tiny fraction of the signal sent from Earth, the reflected signal received back on Earth would be far too small. Instead, the satellite re-transmits the signal it reesives as the downlink back to Earth, ‘on another frequency and with more power than ic received. If the downlink and uplink Frequencies were the same, then the much larger signal sene from Earth ‘would swamp the signal sent from the satellite, 0 different frequencies are used, The sacellce transmits the signal back to an individual satellite dish back on Earth co to many dishes, over a wide area, particularly when broadcasting television programmes. satellite dish satellite dish Figure 33.38 A satelite system “The first communications satellites used a frequency of 6 GHz for the uplink and 4GHz for the downlink, er frequencies are used, but now even hi Here are som satellite rather than by sky wave: vantages of communication by +The concentration of ions in the ionosphere is constantly changing and reflection of the sky wave is not ahvays possible; sometimes layers in the ionosphere even absorb radio frequencies. * The satellite boosts the signal for ies return to Earth and provides a stronger signal than is obtained by reflection from the ionosphere. + Satellite communication uses higher frequencies, which have highcr 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 ifa satellite uses higher frequencies, In order to obtain a constant link between the sate and the sacellite dish on Earth, it is essential that the satellite dish always points towards the satellite. Ifthe satellite moves across the sky, the dish must move to track the movement of the satellite. To avoid this problem many communications satellites rotate around the Earth in a geostationary orbit. ‘They orbie the Earth in the same direction as the Earth rorates, ata height of 36000km above the Earth's surface. Ac this height, each satellite has a period of rotation of 24 hours. This means that each satellite naturally takes 1 day to orbit the Earth, exactly the time that it takes a point on the surface of the Earth to make ‘one complete rotation. A geostationary satelite is also in orbit above the equator and it never appears to move when viewed from any point on the Earth. The satellite does not rotate with the same speed as a point con the Earth because its orbit is far larger than the circumference of the Earth, ‘There are many other satellites around the Earth. Some of these are in polar orbit. These satellites commonly travel above the North and South Poles in a time much shorter than a day. They are usualy closer to the Earth than geostationary satellites and are used for surface observation and as weather satellites. Ata commonly used height of 1000km above the Earth’ surface, the period of rotation around the Earth is only 100 minutes. Being closer to the Earth, polar-orbit satellites can see smaller detail when used for observation and espionage. As they orbit from the North to the South Pole, the Earth rotates underneath them and so they pass over the whole Earth in a 24-hour period.adelay in sending a message 10 re he satelite high above the i eay an be annoying hen talking by sath TSS example, if the satellite is dicey cdghOn® che signal travels a distance of 72000km otha Melte and then down tothe other peron, ipo Hy is 0.245. The reply from the other ihe takes 0.24 and so chere always seems to pes ay ofa east 0.485 in the conversation, ve gcatonary satellites used for communication peansnito eachother around the word but Maanot always receive from regions close tothe ots the curvature of the Earth blocks the signal She dehy when communicating with a polar satellite snuck smaller but you may have to wait until the crete is overhead to transmit oF receive, “he features of a geostationary satellice are: ssi «che satelite rotates with the same period as the Earth; «the sellite isin orbit above the equator with a period of | days, « he scllite appeass to remain fixed in position above a point on the equator and so satellite dishes do not need tobe moved. Compared to a geostationary satellite, a satelite in polar orbit: * tael from pole to pole, with an shorter period of o *isata smaller height above the Earth and can detect, abjecs of smaller details *isnotalways in the same position relative to che Earth and so dishes must be moved; *hassmaller delay times ‘An akernative for long-distance communications is the optic fibre, a very thin glas or plastic fibre that carries light or infrared. Optic fibres use glass and infrared for long distances, rather than plastic or light, as the glass Snbevery pure and does not absorb or scatter infrared, optic bres have very low signal attenuation, the Tut between repeater amplifiers can be high. ouiftt© 33.19 shows a photograph of a number of tha fibres and the internal structure of one fibre. The one YS oF ight are totally internally reflected from Ad of the fibre to the other. casey St for communication, an electrical signal emit hee ora light-emitting diode (LED) to Mt Pulses of light or infrared, with a frequency "© order of 2x 19! Hz or 2x 10*MHz. Because a the frequency is so high, the potential bandwideh available is also very high. The pulses of light or infrared provide the digital signal chat passes along the fibre, With a cable contai ing more than a hundred fibres and each fibre carrying a large number of pulses Per second, the whole cable can carry ten million telephone conversations at the same ti 1. optic fibre cladding Fibre optic cables have replaced the usc of satellites for long-distance transmission. Just a few fibre optic cables running across the oceans and from city to city link almost the whole world and make the internet possible, transmission and reception is less than with a satellite as the distances travelled round the world by the signal axe less than up to a satellite and back down again. ‘The disadvantages of optic fibre are that an electri signal must first be converted to pulses of light and the optic fibres are difficult to connect to one another as two fibres cannot just be glued together.Compared to.a metal cable, a fibre optic cable: ‘has much greater bandwidch and can carry more information per second; + has les signal attenuation, so repeater and regeneration amplifiers can be further apart; impossible to tap, making the daca it carries more secure; + does nor suffer from electrical incerference and cross-talk + weighs less and so large lengths can be handled more easily; +is immune to lightning and the effects of nearby power lines; can be used in flammable sicuations as no sparks are produced; *is cheaper than the same length of copper wire. signal can be transmitted coaxial cable co pass an analogue signal, using a space wave in the UHF band, using a sky wave linked to a satellite of using fibre optic cable and the internet. 4 Explain what is meant by the terms in bold type. b State approximate values for the frequencies and wavelengths used by the cartier wave in cach case. ¢ Give one advantage and one disadvantage of each of these four methods, The public switched telephone network (PSTN) The first telephones had no network but were just connected together in pairs. Without a network, you would need a different telephone in your house for every person that you call. Nowadays each telephone connects to a network of other telephones, which cover cities, countries, and whole continents and make up the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Each telephone has a ‘fixed’ line connected to a local exchange and, ifthe call is not local, the exchange switches the connection toa trunk exchange. High-speed electronic circuits enable the actual switching. When the connection is toa telephone in another country, an international gateway exchange makes the connection. ‘The cable to the local exchange is usually a wire-paie but connections to trunk exchanges and international gateways are more likely to use fibre optic cable, because of the increased bandwidth, Figure 33.20 illustrates the system. country A country 8 international international gateway gateway exchange exchange trunk. ‘trunk exchange | | exchange local exchange dnt Figure 33.20 The public switched telephone network (PSTN). The mobile or cell phone network A mobile phone (or cell phone) contains a low- powered radio transmitter and receiver with a range of no more than 10km. The system works with a network of small ‘cells’ covering the country. each containing a base station, somewhere near the centre of the cell, as shown in Figure 33.21. Each base station can contact any mobile phone within its own cell on a number of frequencies. ‘The mobile phone uses different frequencies to transmit a signal co the base station and to receive a signal back from the base station. This allows you to talk and listen at the same 1¢ when using a mobile phone. The number of frequencies is limited and this limits the number of different calls one base station can handle at any time. ‘The size of each cell varies according co the geography of the area, as buildings and hills may block the signals and according to the expected number of users.aa that 700 different frequencies ate available sr Ne actual number of frequencies used eae larger if digital technology and high ante ms are used. Without a mobile-phone Fe nly 700 mobile phones can connect at xn ‘ery small number. However, mobile phones cng that ar fr ftom each other can share the uencies. hel ina hexagonal array has six adjacent cell, spfthe 700 frequencies are shared between seven diferent cells, each cell has ae =100 frequencies srilble. As the base station transmits on one feqency and the mobile phone on another, the number of different calls possible within one cell is 100 £50. The power used in transmission is low andthe radio wave does not travel far outside a call, paricalaly as UHP and microwave frequencies are used. This means that frequencies used in one cell can beused in other cells, as long as the cells sharing the tune fequencies are not adjacent. In Figure 33.21, cals ofthe same colour can use the same frequencies, Inthe system shown there are only four different slurs and so all the available frequencies can be shared beoween four different cells hare thousands of cells and connec tones, although each base station ‘mal proportion of the calls at one A large city can ¢ many mobile only handles a time. base station Fit "33.21 The celular network, Rg he be jah.2! shows the connection beoween afew yb 24 the cellular exchange. In reality, “ation connecis directly co the cellular h EE) exchange. Computers in th the allocation of frequenci Phones switched on at on station is nearest to each ‘When you first switch a mobile phone on, the mobile phone sends an idemtifying signal and ontinues to do so at regular intervals. The cellular exchange selects the base station with the strongest Signal and allocates a pair of frequencies for the mobile Phone to transmit and receive using that base station, Each base station monitors the strength of signals from within its cell and adjacent cells. When a mobile Phone moves into another eel, the cellular exchange Fecognises that the base station in the next cell is receiving a stronger signal and switches the connection to the next cel ‘When a mobile phone starts to make a call © another mobile phone, the cellular exchange not only allocates the pair of frequencies that are used but also provides the link beeween the two base stations involved. Thus a connection is made from one mobile ‘0 its base station to the cellular exchange to the other base tation and finally to the other mobile, Acconnection also links the cellular exchange and the PSTN. When a mobile phone calls a celephone on a fixed line, the cellular exchange just connects the call diecdly co the PSTN. Modern mobile phones use digital technology. The analogue voltage produced by the microphone passes through the stages shown in the block diagram in Figure 33.22, ‘The audio amplifier amplifies the signal and passes it ‘oan analogue-to-digical converter. The analogue-to- digital converter samples the signal at regular intervals and, foreach sample, produces an 8-bit binary number. The parllel-to-seres, or parallel-to-serial, converter takes the 8 bits from one sample and places them after the 8 bits fiom the previous sample to produce a continuous series of binary digits. An oxcillator provides the carrier wave a a frequency selected by the cellular exchange from the available frequencies a the base station. The digical signal modulates the cartier wave and the final signal passes to the aerial chrough the Reception ofthe signal is the reverse process, except that a tuning circuit selects only the one frequency e cellular exchange handle ies and know all the mobile time and which base phone. =allocated by the cellular exchange for that mobile phone. ‘The radio-frequency amplifier provides the amplification before demodulation produces a series of bits, which represent the signal in binary form. The series-to-parallel converter and digital-to-analogue converter produce an analogue signal. Amplification ‘ado radio of the audio signal occurs and the final signal passes t0 Frequency Freqseney ample plier a loudspeaker to produce sound. transmission reception 18 Explain why it is better to use a low-power ‘transmitter in a mobile phone than a high- power transmitter that can reach all the cells in the mobile-phone neowork. 19 Desctibe the process of connecting one mobile phone to another. audio frequency amplifier audio frequency ampiler microphone loudspeaker Figure 33.22 Block diagram of a mobile-phone handset. Summary ‘C Modulation varies either the amplitude or frequency of a carrier wave to carry information in the signal. ‘(C Bandwidth is the range of frequencies present in a broadcast signal. | OFM broadcasts have higher bandwidth and sound quality. CD Analogue and digital signals transmit information. CD Analogue-to-digital conversion (ADC) turns analogue signals into conversion (DAC) turns them back again. | OC Regeneration removes noise and interference from digital signals. Oi for good reproduction of a signal, the sampling rate and number of bits should be high. OWire-pairs, coaxial cables, radio waves, microwaves and optic fibres transmit signals. z igital signals and digital-to-analogue | DAttenuation of a signal is measured in dB, where number of dB=10lg, Pe CD Satellites for communication are often in geostationary or polar orbits. Ci The public switched telephone network (PSTN) connects fixed telephones and the cellular exchange of the rmobile-phone network. DIA mobile-phone network divides an area into cells, each having a base station, 3 O the cellular exchange selects frequencies for use by the base station and mot . © DD phone.End-of-chapter questions 1a Drawasketch graph of an AM yave and use forme fom the carter wave and a signal, Refer tothe fequencesinelved your graph to explain how the AM wave has been bb Drawasketch graph of an FM wave and use your graph a graph co explain how th ve formed fom a cartier wave anda signal, Refer tthe fequenca imoheds 2 The ourput of a microphone isan analogue signal witha bandwidth of 34k a Explain what is meant by i analogue ii bandwidth, b Compare the bandvvidth of the microphone with the typical range of frequencies that can be heard by the human car. Comment on the difference beneoriewocaae “me 3. An LED provides input power of 1.26m\W to an optic fibre of length 60m, ‘The output atthe other end of the fibre is 1.12mW. a Calculate the attenuation in the optic fibre. b Caloulate the attenuation per unit length in che optic fibre. 4 The signal attenuation per unit length of an optic fibre is 0.30dBkm'', An input signal ro the optic fibre is 100dB above the noise level. The level ofthe noise remains constant along the optic fibre at 6.0 pW. Calculate: the power of the input signal 1o the optic fibre 'b che maximum length of the optic fibre used, ifthe signal atthe end ofthe fibre isco remain atleast 304B above the noise level. 5 a Describe the orbit ofa geostationary satellite. States typical wavelength for communication berween the Earth surface and a geostationary satellite © Stare one advantage and one disadvantage ofthe use of geostationary satelite rather than satellite in polar orbit for telephone communication. 6 Figure 33.15 shows a coaxial cable, sever bid. 4 State and explain the purpose ofthe fine woven copper wire or braid. 1b Opvical lve has a lager bandwviddh than acai eal. Exp why inceased bandwideh has reduced the cost of telephone calls to distant countries © i Explain what is meant by electrical noise. i. State two causes of the noise in a copper cable sand) waves, by space waves and by sky waves. State a typical 7 : : Radio signals may transmit by sue (Grn ne ee each Ope of ave value for the frequency and the maximum making the call moves from one cell tothe next © Whit makinga cl sng amet phone ih pon signals ro and from the mobile phone. Explain how the cellular exchange enables continuous reception of 9 Why does a mobile-phone handsec havea runing ceeit fr reception but not for eansmission? Es Comics ystemsExam-style questions 1 The graph shows an amplitude-modulated radio wave carrying a signal. a Determine the radio frequency of the carrier wave. Q) b Calculate the frequency ofthe signal. RI € Draw the frequency spectrum of the modulated radio wave 8) 2 The diagram shows the variation with time ofa signal voltage, Vfovera 5-hour period. vv I 5 3 ° 1 2 3 4 Time/hours a State the name of the ype of signal shown in the diagram, 0) b ‘The signal is euzned into a digital signal with 4-bic binary numbers, The value of Vis (0000) when Vis 3V and each subsequent binary unit represents an extra 0.2V. Copy and fill in the table to give the value of Vas a decimal and a binary number for times of 0,2 and 4 hours. p) Time/hours VIN (decimal) VIN (binary) 0 2 4"OO ee) cc The digital signal chat is produced cannot be of the original signal. i Explain why this is the case, ii Explain how the sampling process can be improved, used to produce a perfect reproduction Acable of length 20m signal transmits a signal rom one end to the other, ‘The attenuation per unit length of the cable is 10< along the cable, each have a gain of 40dB, a Caleulae: i the total attenuation caused by the cable ithe total gain caused by the amplifiers. b The input signal has power 200 mW. Calculate from the cable. € Caloulate the power output of the signal from the cable if repeater amplifiers are not used. Bk, Four repeater amplifies the ourput power of the signal Acommunication satellite in geostationary orbit receives an uplink signal at a Frequency of 14GHz and transmits a downlink signal back to Earth ata frequency of 11 GHz. a Describe the key features of a geostationary satellite. Suggest a reason why different frequencies are used for the uplink and the downlink. € The uplink signal has a power of 2kW and the downlink signal 20'W. Suggest why the power in the two signals isso different. 4 Suggest and explain why the mobile-phone network divides the country into a number of cells, 'b Describe the role of the base station and the cellular exchange when a mobile-phone handsets frst switched on, without a cll being made. © The block diagram of a mobile-phone handset during transmission contains number of components. Stare the name ofthe two components which are connected to the parllel-to-series converter and explain ther functions. d Suggest why the radio-frequency connection from a mobile phone toa base station is a space wave on the UHF band or at microwave frequencies, rather than a ground wave. Q) 2) a) a) (2) O) 2] a) ul 2] (3) 4) 2