Communication System

BY : NIKHIL CHHONKAR
• Communication
Communication is a two way process in which exchange of information
takes place either in verbal or written form.

• Elements of communication system: There are three essential

elements of communication transmitter, medium/channel and receiver.
Communication System
• Transmitter transmits the signals through channel which is a physical
medium and the receiver receives the signals.
• The two basic types of communication modes are point-to-point and
broadcast.
• Transducer: A device which transforms the energy from one form into another. Example:
Loudspeaker.

• Signal: An information transformed into electrical form for suitable transmission is termed
as signal. Signals can be of two types: analog or digital.

• Noise: The unwanted signals which have a tendency to create the disturbancein the
transmission and processing of message is called noise.

• Transmitter: The device that processes the incoming message signal in order to make it
suitable for transmission through a channel and subsequent reception is known as
transmitter.
• Receiver: In order to extract the appropriate message signals from the
received signals at the channel output, receiver is used.
• Attenuation: When signals are propagated through a medium, some
of their strength is lost which is known as attenuation.
• Amplification: The process of increasing the amplitude and the
strength of a signal using an electronic circuit is called amplification
• Range: The largest distance between a source and a destination is
called range up to which the signal is received with sufficient strength.
• Bandwidth: The range of frequency over which an equipment
operates or the portion of the spectrum occupied by the signal is
called bandwidth.

• Repeater: A combination of transmitter and receiver is the repeater

which amplifies the signals picked up from the transmitter and then
retransmits those signals to the receiver. In order to extend the range
of the communication system, the repeaters are used.
• Bandwidth of signals: The difference between the upper and lower
frequencies of the signals is termed as bandwidth of signals. The
different bandwidths of the different kinds of signals is shown in the
following table:
• Bandwidth of transmission medium: Free space, wire, fibre optic cable and
optical fibre are the common transmission media. The bandwidths are
different for various transmission media.
• Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves: In radio waves communication,
the EM waves are radiated at the transmitter by antenna.
• Ground wave propagation: The ground wave propagation is also termed as
surface wave propagation.The radio waves are travelled along the earth
surface in this type of propagation. It is necessary for the antenna to be of
a size which is comparable to the wavelength of the signal so that the
signals can be radiated with high efficiency. As the frequency increases,
the attenuation also increases.
• Sky wave propagation: It is used for long distance communication in
the frequency range from few MHz to 40MHz. It uses the
phenomenon of bending of EM waves so that they are diverted
towards the earth is similar to total internal reflection in optics.

• Space wave propagation: For long distance transmission, antennas are

used to radiatesignals into space. In order to travel from transmitting
antenna to the receiving antenna, space wave takes the straight line
path.They are useful for line-of-sight (LOS) communication and
satellite communication
• Modulation

• Modulation is the process by which a low frequency is superimposed

on a high frequency carrier signal so that the low frequency can be
transmitted to long distance.

• Demodulation: The reverse process of modulation is called as

demodulation in which the information from the carrier wave is
retrieved at the receiver.
• Need of Modulation: As there is a need of a very large antenna for
low frequency signals, signals from different stations mixes up and the
attenuation is large, so the modulation is needed.
• The size of antenna is given by (λ/4) and low frequency implies larger
wavelength so the size of antenna is not achievable.
• There are 4 types of modulation: Amplitude modulation, Frequency
modulation, Pulse modulation and Phase modulation
• Amplitude Modulation: The alteration of the amplitude of the carrier
in accordance with the information signal is amplitude modulation.
The following expression represent the AM of a carrier wave having
amplitude and frequency fc: