UCCN2043 Lecture Notes

Page 1 of 7

1.0 Basics of Communication Systems

We begin the journey into the exciting field of telecounications by studying the basic
building bloc!s of a telecounication syste" We #ill study the $arious ty%es of
counication and ho# the electrical signal is i%aired as it tra$els through the transission
ediu" With the ad$ances in digital electronics& digital counication systes slo#ly are
re%lacing analog systes" We #ill discuss the differences bet#een analog counication
and digital counication"

1.1 Basic Telecommunication System

' $ery si%le teleco syste is sho#n in (igure )")" 't the transitting end& there #ill be a
source that generates the data and a transducer that con$erts the data into an electrical signal"
*he signal is sent o$er a transission ediu and& at the recei$ing end& the transducer again
con$erts the electrical signal into data and is gi$en to the destination +sin!," (or exa%le& if
t#o %eo%le #ant to tal! to each other using this syste& the transducer is the icro%hone that
con$erts the sound #a$es into e-ui$alent electrical signals" 't the recei$ing end& the s%ea!ers
con$ert the electrical signal into acoustic #a$es" .iilarly& if $ideo is to be transitted& the
transducers re-uired are a $ideo caera at the transitting side and a onitor at the recei$ing
side" *he ediu can be co%%er #ire" *he %ublic address syste used in an auditoriu is an
exa%le of such a si%le counication syste"







(igure )")/ 0asic telecounication syste"

What is the %roble #ith this syste1 's the electrical signal %asses through the ediu& the
signal gets attenuated" *he attenuated signal ay not be able to dri$e the transducer at the
recei$ing end at all if the distance bet#een the sender and the recei$er is large" We can& to
soe extent& o$ercoe this %roble by using a%lifiers bet#een" *he a%lifier #ill ensure
that the electrical signals are of sufficient strength to dri$e the transducer"

0ut #e still ha$e a %roble" *he transission ediu introduces noise" *he noise cannot be
eliinated at all" .o& in the abo$e case& #e a%lify the signal& but at the sae tie& #e also
a%lify the noise that is added to the actual signal containing the inforation" '%lification
alone does not sol$e the %roble& %articularly #hen the syste has to co$er large distances"

Note/ 's the electrical signal %asses through the transission ediu& the signal gets
attenuated" 2n addition& the transission ediu introduces noise and& as a result& the
signal gets distorted"

*ransission
3ediu

.ource

*randucer

*randucer


.ource

LI
E E g
UCCN2043 Lecture Notes
Page 2 of 7

*he objecti$e of designing a counication syste is for the electrical signal at the
transitting end to be re%roduced at the recei$ing end #ith inial distortion" *o achie$e
this& different techni-ues are used& de%ending on issues such as ty%e of data& ty%e of
counication ediu& distance to be co$ered& and so forth"


(igure )"2 sho#s a counication syste used to interconnect t#o co%uters" *he
co%uters out%ut electrical signals directly +through the serial %ort& for exa%le,& and hence
there is no need for a transducer" *he data can be %assed directly through the counication
ediu to the other co%uter if the distance is sall +less than )00 eters,"



(igure )"2/ PC4to4PC counication"

Note/ *he serial %orts of t#o co%uters can be connected directly using a co%%er cable"
5o#e$er& due to the signal attenuation& the distance cannot be ore than )00 eters"


(igure )"3 sho#s a counication syste in #hich t#o PCs counicate #ith each other
o$er a tele%hone net#or!" 2n this syste& #e introduced a ne# de$ice called a ode
+odulator4deodulator, at both ends" *he PCs send digital signals& #hich the ode
con$erts into analog signals and transits through the ediu +co%%er #ires," 't the
recei$ing end& the ode con$erts the incoing analog signal into digital for and %asses it
on to the PC"



(igure )"3/ PC4to4PC counication o$er tele%hone net#or!"


(igure )"4 sho#s a generic counication syste" 2n this figure& a bloc! 6ediu access
%rocessing6 is introduced" *his bloc! has $arious functions& de%ending on the re-uireent" 2n
soe counication systes& the transission ediu needs to be shared by a nuber of
users" .oeties the user is allo#ed to transit only during certain tie %eriods" .oeties
the user ay need to send the sae data to ulti%le users" 'dditional %rocessing needs to be
done to cater to all these re-uireents" 't the transitting side& the source generates
inforation that is con$erted into an electrical signal" *his signal& called the baseband signal&
is %rocessed and transitted only #hen it is allo#ed" *he signal is sent on to the transission
ediu through a transitter" 't the recei$ing end& the recei$er a%lifies the signal and does
the necessary o%erations to %resent the baseband signal to the user" 'ny telecounication
syste is a s%ecial for of this syste" Consider the follo#ing exa%les/
M W M
% _ _ _
W
E
UCCN2043 Lecture Notes
Page 3 of 7





(igure )"4/ 7eneric counication syste"


2n the case of a radio counication syste for broadcasting audio %rogras& the electrical
signal is transfored into a high4fre-uency signal and sent through the air +free s%ace," '
radio transitter is used to do this" ' re$erse of this transforation 8 con$erting the high4
fre-uency signal into an audio signal 8 is %erfored at the recei$ing station" .ince it is a
broadcasting syste& any recei$ers can recei$e the inforation"

2n a counication syste on #hich t#o %ersons counicate #ith t#o other %ersons
located soe#here else& but only on one counication lin!& the $oice signals need to be
cobined" We cannot ix the t#o $oice signals directly because it #ill not be %ossible to
se%arate the at the recei$ing end" We need to 6ulti%lex6 the t#o signals& using s%ecial
techni-ues"

2n a obile counication syste& a radio channel has to be shared by a nuber of users"
9ach user has to use the radio channel for a short tie during #hich he has to transit his
data and then #ait for his next turn" *his echanis of sharing the channel is !no#n as
ulti%le access"

5ence& de%ending on the ty%e of counication& the distance to be co$ered& etc"& a
counication syste #ill consist of a nuber of eleents& each eleent carrying out a
s%ecific function" .oe i%ortant eleents are/

Multiplexer/ Cobines the signals fro different sources to transit on the channel"
't the recei$ing end& a deulti%lexer is used to se%arate the signals"

Multiple access/ When t#o or ore users share the sae channel& each user has to
transit his signal only at a s%ecified tie or using a s%ecific fre-uency band"

Error detection and correction/ 2f the channel is noisy& the recei$ed data #ill ha$e
errors" :etection& and if %ossible correction& of the errors has to be done at the
recei$ing end" *his is done through a echanis called channel coding"
E lna hind I~ . l: n: i| . m A r . : : : : = : s
55"; Pm . 115;; q Tr ar um nr
P| ': : | | | : iuhg hum
{ a] Tr ans r r 1it I. lI1q Sid:
Bunhlr ld D BC = l: l: h1g
Sign ul c n F t : : : = L m u
Pr uuas ailm D am
[ t a] Ruc uivhq E ldn
UCCN2043 Lecture Notes
Page 4 of 7

Source codin/ 2f the channel has a lo#er band#idth than the in%ut signal band#idth&
the in%ut signal has to be %rocessed to reduce its band#idth so that it can be
accoodated on the channel"

S!itc"in/ 2f a large nuber of users has to be %ro$ided #ith counication
facilities& as in a tele%hone net#or!& the users are to be connected based on the
nubers dialed" *his is done through a echanis called s#itching"

Sinalin/ 2n a tele%hone net#or!& #hen you dial a %articular tele%hone nuber& you
are telling the net#or! #ho you #ant to call" *his is called signaling inforation"
*he tele%hone s#itch +or exchange, #ill %rocess the signaling inforation to carry out
the necessary o%erations for connecting to the called %arty"

Note/ *#o $oice signals cannot be ixed directly because it #ill not be %ossible to se%arate
the at the recei$ing end" *he t#o $oice signals can be transfored into different
fre-uencies to cobine the and send o$er the ediu"


1.2 Types #f Communication

0ased on the re-uireents& the counications can be of different ty%es/

$oint%to%point communication/ 2n this ty%e& counication ta!es %lace bet#een t#o end
%oints" (or instance& in the case of $oice counication using tele%hones& there is one calling
%arty and one called %arty" 5ence the counication is %oint4to4%oint"

$oint%to%multipoint communication/ 2n this ty%e of counication& there is one sender and
ulti%le reci%ients" (or exa%le& in $oice conferencing& one %erson #ill be tal!ing but any
others can listen" *he essage fro the sender has to be ulticast to any others"

Broadcastin/ 2n a broadcasting syste& there is a central location fro #hich inforation is
sent to any reci%ients& as in the case of audio or $ideo broadcasting" 2n a broadcasting
syste& the listeners are %assi$e& and there is no re$erse counication %ath"

Simplex communication/ 2n si%lex counication& counication is %ossible only in one
direction" *here is one sender and one recei$er; the sender and recei$er cannot change roles"

&alf%duplex communication/ 5alf4du%lex counication is %ossible in both directions
bet#een t#o entities +co%uters or %ersons,& but one at a tie" ' #al!ie4tal!ie uses this
a%%roach" *he %erson #ho #ants to tal! %resses a tal! button on his handset to start tal!ing&
and the other %erson<s handset #ill be in recei$e ode" When the sender finishes& he
terinates it #ith an o$er essage" *he other %erson can %ress the tal! button and start
tal!ing" *hese ty%es of systes re-uire liited channel band#idth& so they are lo# cost
systes"

'ull%duplex communication/ 2n a full4du%lex counication syste& the t#o %arties8the
caller and the called 8 can counicate siultaneously& as in a tele%hone syste" 5o#e$er&
note that the counication syste allo#s siultaneous transission of data& but #hen t#o
%ersons tal! siultaneously& there is no effecti$e counication= *he ability of the
counication syste to trans%ort data in both directions defines the syste as full4du%lex"

UCCN2043 Lecture Notes
Page ( of 7

:e%ending on the ty%e of inforation transitted& #e ha$e $oice counication& data
counication& fax counication& and $ideo counication systes" When $arious ty%es
of inforation are clubbed together& #e tal! of ultiedia counications" 9$en a fe#
years ago& different inforation edia such as $oice& data& $ideo& etc" #ere transitted
se%arately by using their o#n res%ecti$e ethods of transission" With the ad$ent of digital
counication and 6con$ergence technologies&6 this distinction is slo#ly disa%%earing& and
ultiedia counication is becoing the order of the day"

1.3 Transmission )mpairments

While the electrical signal is tra$ersing o$er the ediu& the signal #ill be i%aired due to
$arious factors" *hese transission i%airents can be classified into three ty%es/

+a, 'ttenuation distortion
+b, :elay distortion
+c, Noise

1.3.1 *ttenuation +istortion

*he a%litude of the signal #a$e decreases as the signal tra$els through the ediu" *his
effect is !no#n as attenuation distortion"

1.3.2 +elay +istortion

:elay distortion occurs as a result of different fre-uency co%onents arri$ing at different
ties in the guided edia such as co%%er #ire or coaxial cable"

1.3.3 ,oise

Noise can be di$ided into the follo#ing categories/
*heral noise
2nterodulation
Crosstal!
2%ulse noise

T"ermal noise/ *heral noise occurs due to the theral agitation of electrons in a conductor"
*his is distributed uniforly across the s%ectru and hence called #hite noise" *his noise
cannot be eliinated and hence& #hen designing teleco systes& #e need to introduce soe
ethod to o$ercoe the ill effects of theral noise" *heral noise for a band#idth of ) 5> is
obtained fro the forula/
N
0
? !*
#here
N
0
is noise %o#er density& in #atts %er 5>
! is 0olt>ann<s constant& #ith the $alue )"3@03 x )0
423
ABC
and * is te%erature in Cel$in +C,"
UCCN2043 Lecture Notes
Page - of 7

*heral noise for a band#idth of 0 5> is gi$en by
N ? !*0 +#atts,

2f N is ex%ressed in d0 +decibels,
N ? )0 log ! D )0 log * D )0log 0 d0 #atts
? 422@"E D )0 log * D )0 log 0

Using this forula& theral noise for a gi$en band#idth is calculated


Note/ *heral noise for a band#idth of 0 5> is gi$en by N ? !*0 +#atts, #here ! is
0olt>ann<s constant and * is te%erature" N is generally ex%ressed in decibels"


)ntermodulation noise/ When t#o signals of different fre-uencies are sent through the
ediu& due to nonlinearity of the transitters& fre-uency co%onents such as f) D f2 and f)
f2 are %roduced& #hich are un#anted co%onents and need to be filtered out"

Crosstal./ Un#anted cou%ling bet#een signal %aths is !no#n as crosstal!" 2n the tele%hone
net#or!& this cou%ling is -uite coon" 's a result of this& #e hear other con$ersations"
Crosstal! needs to be eliinated by using a%%ro%riate design techni-ues"

)mpulse noise/ *his is caused by external electroagnetic disturbances such as lightning"
*his noise is un%redictable" When the signal is tra$ersing the ediu& i%ulse noise ay
cause sudden bursts of errors" *his ay cause a te%orary disturbance in $oice
counication" (or data counication& a%%ro%riate ethods need to be de$ised #hereby
the lost data is retransitted"

Note/ 2%ulse noise occurs due to external electroagnetic disturbances such as lightning"
2%ulse noise causes burst of errors"

Noise is the source of bread and butter for teleco engineers= 2f there #ere no noise& there
#ould be no need for teleco engineers 8 for #e can then design %erfect counication
systes" *eleco engineering is all about o$ercoing the effects of noise"


UCCN2043 Lecture Notes
Page 7 of 7

1.4 *nalo /ersus +iital Transmission

*he electrical signal out%ut fro a transducer such as icro%hone or a $ideo caera is an
analog signal; that is& the a%litude of the signal $aries continuously #ith tie" *ransitting
this signal +#ith necessary transforations, to the recei$ing end results in analog
transission" 5o#e$er& at the recei$ing end& it has to be ensured that the signal does not get
distorted at all due to transission i%airents& #hich is $ery difficult"

*he out%ut of a co%uter is a digital signal" *he digital signal has a fixed nuber of
a%litude le$els" (or instance& binary ) can be re%resented by one $oltage le$el +say& F $olts,
and binary 0 can be re%resented by another le$el +say& 0 $olt," 2f this signal is transitted
through the ediu +of course #ith necessary transforations,& the recei$ing end needs only
to detect these le$els" 9$en if the signal is slightly i%aired due to noise& still there is no
%roble" (or exa%le& #e can say that if the signal is abo$e 2"F $olts& it is ) and if it is belo#
2"F $olts& it is >ero" Unless the signal is badly daaged& #e can easily find out #hether the
transitted bit is a ) or a 0"

*he $oice and $ideo signals +out%ut of the transducer, are al#ays analog" *hen ho# do #e
ta!e ad$antage of the digital transission1 .i%le" Con$ert the analog signal into the digital
forat" *his is achie$ed through analog4to4digital con$ersion" 't this %oint& let us assue
only that it is %ossible to con$ert an analog signal into its e-ui$alent digital signal" We #ill
study the details of this con$ersion %rocess in later cha%ters"

:igital transission is uch ore ad$antageous than analog transission because digital
systes are co%arati$ely iune to noise" :ue to ad$ances in digital electronics& digital
systes ha$e becoe chea%er& as #ell" *he ad$antages of digital systes are/

3ore reliable transission because only discriination bet#een ones and >eros is
re-uired"
Less costly i%leentation because of the ad$ances in digital logic chi%s"
9ase of cobining $arious ty%es of signals +$oice& $ideo& etc","
9ase of de$elo%ing secure counication systes"

*hough a large nuber of analog counication systes are still in use& digital
counication systes are no# being de%loyed" 'lso& the old analog systes are being
re%laced by digital systes" 2n this course& #e focus ainly on digital counication
systes"

Note/ 'll the ne#ly de$elo%ed counication systes are digital systes" Gnly in
broadcasting a%%lications& is analog counication used extensi$ely"