INTRODUCTION TO

COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

LECTURE NOTES
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS
• It refers to the transmitting, receiving and processing of information (also
called intelligence) between two or more locations using electronic circuits.
(over wires or radio)

MODERN COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

• Itis first concerned with the sorting, processing, and storing of information
before its transmission. The actual transmission then follows, with further
processing and filtering of noise. Finally, we have reception, which may include
processing steps such as decoding, storage and interpretation.
BRIEF HISTORY OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS
• began in the form of hand gestures, facial expressions, body languages and
sign languages, which gradually evolved to verbal grunts and groans.
• Verbal communications using sound waves, however, was limited by how loud
a person could yell.
• Long – distance communications probably began with smoke signals or tom
– tom drums
• Using electricity began in 1837 when Samuel Finley Breese Morse invented
the first telegraph.
BRIEF HISTORY OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS

• He used electromagnetic induction to transfer information in the form of

dots, dashes, and spaces between a simple transmitter and receiver
using a transmission line consisting of a length of metallic wire.
• Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas A. Watson were the first to
successfully transfer human conversation using a device called the
telephone.
• In 1894, Marchese Guglielmo Marconi successfully transmitted the first
wireless radio signals through the Earth’s atmosphere
BRIEF HISTORY OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS

• In 1906, Lee DeForest invented the triode vacuum tube, which provided
the first practical means of amplifying electrical signals.
• Commercial radio broadcasting began in 1920 when radio station
KDKA began broadcasting amplitude modulated (AM) signals out of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• Major Edwin Howard Armstrong patented frequency modulation (FM) in
1931. Commercial broadcasting of monophonic FM began in 1935.
ELEMENTS OF A COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
INFORMATION (SOURCE)

• That which is conveyed

• The original source information can be in analog form, such as human voice or
music, or in digital form, such as binary coded numbers or alphanumeric code.
• All forms of information, however, must be converted to electromagnetic
energy before being propagated through an electronic communications
system.
 INFORMATION (SOURCE)
• ANALOG SIGNALS – are time – varying voltages or currents that are
continuously changing, such as sine and cosine waves. An analog signal contains
an infinite number of values.
• DIGITAL SIGNALS – are voltages or currents that change in discrete steps or
levels. The most common form of digital signal is binary, which has two levels (1
or 0).
• BASEBAND SIGNAL – a signal in its base/raw form (not modulated)
• INPUT TRANSDUCER – converts the message to a signal, a time – varying
electrical quantity such as voltage or current.
TRANSMITTER

• A collection of one or more electronic devices or circuits that

converts the original source information to a form more suitable for
transmission over a particular transmission medium.
• Couples the message onto the channel in the form of a transmitted
signal.
TRANSMITTER

• ANTENNA – a metallic conductor system capable of radiating and capturing

electromagnetic energy.
- Capable of transmitting and receiving information signal
• MODULATION – a process designed to match the transmitted signal to the
properties of the channel through the use of a carrier wave.
• The process ofimpressing low – frequency information signals onto a high –
frequency carrier signal.
COMMUNICATIONS CHANNEL/LINK/TRANSMISSION
MEDIUM

• Provides a means of transporting signals between a transmitter

and a receiver and can be as simple as a pair of copper wires or
as complex as sophisticated microwave, satellite or optical fiber
communications systems.
RECEIVER

• a collection of electronic devices and circuits that accepts the

transmitted signals from the transmission medium and then converts those
signals back to their original form.

DEMODULATION – the reverse of transmitter’s modulation process where

the received signals are transformed back to their original form.
SYSTEM NOISE

• an undesired electric disturbance or sound that tends to interfere

with the normal reception of processing of a desired signal
• random and unpredictable electric signals from natural causes
both internal or external to the system
• unwanted energy, usually of random character present in a
transmission system due to any cause
SYSTEM NOISE

• DISTORTION – signal alteration due to imperfect response of the system to

the desired signal itself.
• INTERFERENCE – is contamination by extraneous signals, usually man – made
of a form similar to the desired signal.
TYPES/FORMS OF COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM
(RADIO SYSTEMS)

1. SIMPLEX
- means transmission in one direction at a time.
- the most basic type of radio communication
- consists of radio units operating on a single frequency. Because everyone
transmits and receives on the same frequency, users cannot talk and listen at
the same time.
SIMPLEX COMMUNICATION
• Television Channel and Radio Channel (FM or AM) are using simplex
communication type? Which mean we can receive at our television and radio
only, while we cannot make respond.
• Other ex: telegram/telegraph/pager/beepers/ missile guidance systems,
where the launcher needs only to command the missile where to go, and the
launcher does not need to receive any information from the missile.
 HALF-DUPLEX/SEMI-DUPLEX COMMUNICATION
• Semi-duplex communication uses two frequencies: one for receive and one for
transmit. A radio operating in semi-duplex mode can only transmit or receive at
any particular time.
• Eg. Walkie Talkie, which only able to transmit 1 way, while another end can
transmit after the other end stop.
 DUPLEX/ FULL-DUPLEX COMMUNICATION

• Duplex communication uses different frequencies simultaneously, one to

transmit and the second to receive.
• Also called full-duplex, this type of operation is used to indicate that the
equipment can receive and transmit at the same time. Normally, fixed
equipment (a base station) operates in full-duplex mode while mobile
equipment typically operates in half-duplex mode.
• Eg. Cell Phone and Mobile Phone that able to communicate in both ways at
the same time, landline phones
FULL - FULL DUPLEX COMMUNICATION

• the primary has the capability of transmitting to one secondary

while simultaneously receiving from a different secondary.
• multipoint system, more than two
• ex: internet cafe
 TYPES OF TRANSMISSION
1. Baseband Transmission
- Baseband information is sent directly and unmodified over the
medium
2. Broadband Transmission
- Takes place when a carrier signal is modulated by the
information
signal before transmission
 TYPES OF TRANSMISSION

1. Baseband Transmission
- Baseband information is sent directly and unmodified over the
medium
2. Broadband Transmission
- Takes place when a carrier signal is modulated by the information
signal before transmission
 TYPES OF TRANSMISSION

https://images.app.goo.gl/AAECqNXKzyvbaVGY7
 THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FREQUENCY SPECTRUM
• Frequency - is simply the number of times a periodic motion, such as a sine
wave of voltage or current, occurs in a given period of time. Each complete
alternation of the waveform is called a cycle.
Transmission Frequencies
• International Telecommunications Union (ITU) – an international agency in
control of allocating frequencies and services within the overall frequency
spectrum.
• Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – assigns frequencies and
communications services for free – space radio propagation in the United States.
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FREQUENCY SPECTRUM

• The total usable radio – frequency (RF) spectrum is divided into narrower
frequency bands, which are given descriptive names and band numbers, and
several of these bands are further broken down into various types of services.
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FREQUENCY SPECTRUM
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FREQUENCY SPECTRUM
 THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FREQUENCY SPECTRUM

• Infrared Frequencies – 0.3THz to 300THz range, EM radiation

associated with heat. Infrared signals are used in heat – seeking
guidance systems, electronic photography and astronomy.

• Visible Light – 0.3PHz – 3PHz range, used in optical fiber systems.

• UV rays, X rays, gamma rays and cosmic rays have little application
to electronic communications and therefore will not be described.
BANDWIDTH LIMITATIONS

• That portion of the EM spectrum occupied by a signal

• The bandwidth of an information signal is simply the difference
between the highest and lowest frequencies contained in the
information, and the bandwidth of a communications channel is the
difference between the highest and lowest frequencies the channel
will allow to pass through (passband).
WHAT IS BANDWIDTH AND BANDWIDTH LIMITATIONS?

• Bandwidth is amount of data you can shove through a circuit in a given time.
• Bandwidth limitation is when you need to download a 10 gigabyte file, and
you’re in a location that only has ISDN or 56k modem, or maybe they have a
faster DSL or T1 connection, but have too many people trying to use it at
same time. Result is the download becomes so slow that other methods of
getting same data are preferable, or you just do without, then you've hit a
bandwidth limitation.
 WAVE CHARACTERISTICS

• Amplitude – maximum displacement of the wave

• Frequency – number of cycles of a repetitive wave that occur in a
given period of time
- measured in cycles per second (cps, Hz)
 WAVE CHARACTERISTICS

• Period - duration of one cycle

- measured in seconds
 WAVE CHARACTERISTICS

• Wavelength – is the distance occupied by one cycle of a wave and

is usually expressed in meters the distance travelled
by
an electromagnetic wave during the time of one cycle
WAVE CHARACTERISTICS

𝑣
=
𝑓
Where: v – velocity of propagation, m/s
f – frequency of signal, Hz
 SAMPLE PROBLEMS:
a) A sinusoidal signal completes 2,000 cycles in 0.25 seconds.
1. Calculate the frequency of the signal in Hz.
2. Determine the period of the signal in milliseconds.
3. If the signal propagates through free space at a speed of 3 x108 m/s, calculate its wavelength.

b) A red laser emits light with a frequency of 4.74 x 1014 Hz

1. Calculate the wavelength of the light in nanometers (nm), given c = 3 x 108 m/s

2. If the frequency increases by 2.5%, what will be the new wavelength?

SAMPLE PROBLEMS:
c) A 50 Hz alternating current (AC) signal is supplied to a household appliance.

1. Find the period of the signal in milliseconds.

2. How many cycles does the signal complete in 2 minutes?

3. If the signal is transmitted through a medium where its speed is 2 x 108 m/s,

calculate the wavelength.

SAMPLE PROBLEMS:
d) An ultrasound wave used in medical imaging has a wavelength of 0.15 mm
and propagates through human tissue at a speed of 1.54 x 103 m/s.
1. Calculate the frequency of the ultrasound wave in MHz.
2. What is the period of this wave in microseconds?
SAMPLE PROBLEMS:
e) A system transmits two signals simultaneously: one at 2 kHz and the other at 2
GHz.
1. Calculate the period of each signal in seconds.
2. Assuming both signals propagate through free space, determine the
wavelength of each signal.
3. If the signals travel through a medium where the propagation speed is
reduced to 2.5 x 108 m/s, what are the new wavelengths of each signal?