Jor’Don Daigle

QAM Project

Part 1: Creating two Signals

Problem Statement:
Using Simulink (or Matlab), create two different binary sequences waveforms. It doesn’t really matter at this point
what kind of line coding you choose. (NRZ is the most basic) The two binary waveforms represent the information
that we want to transmit. The signals need to be different. One represents audio (𝑡), and the other video (𝑡). They
should each be at least 5 bits in length, and have about the same number of 1’s and 0’s. The total time of these
signals should be 5 seconds. (one second per bit).

My work to solve the problem:

For the first section of my project I used a random number generator that generated numbers between 1 and 0. Since
my information had to be binary I used a signal level detector that would cause numbers that were (.5) or higher to
be a binary 1 and all numbers below (.5) were set to a binary 0. My sequence that I created was 6 bits long. The only
error that I ran into was that when I originally created my two signals in Simulink my Random Number Generators
were set to the same seed which caused an issue because they would generate the exact same sequence. I simply
changed the seed of one of the generators to give me different random sequences.

These were my specifications.

I(t) : video signal Q(t): audio signal

After applying these specifications, I produced these plots.

I(t)

Q(t)
Conclusion:
These two signals were made to simulate two random signals that could possibly be a model for audio and video of a
television. The goal after this point is to manipulate these signals to obtained the desired output that simulates the
process of QAM

Part 2: Created the Transmitting Signal

Problem Statement:
2. Combine the information with the quadrature signal to create the transmitting signal 𝑠 (𝑡), in the following way.

𝑠 (𝑡) = 𝐼 (𝑡) cos(2𝜋𝑓𝑡) – 𝑄 (𝑡) sin(2𝜋𝑓𝑡)

The only requirement (in this project) is that the initial modulating frequency should be a few orders of magnitude
higher than the “frequency” of the baseband information. In our case, a modulating frequency of 100 Hz should
work. In reality, this modulating frequency is equal to the broadcasting channel. (Local Channel 2, WBRZ
broadcasts at 57 MHz). Plot 𝑠 (𝑡). The signal is transmitted on an antenna and sent to people’s homes.

My Work to solve the problem:

Ok so for the second part the first steps I decided to take was to create the sine and cosine wave. The only issue I
had was that I could not find a useful cosine wave in the Simulink toolbox I was using. Therefore, the approach I
decided to take was to create one regular sine wave with a phase shift of 0 degrees and one sine wave with a phase
shift of 90 degrees, which essentially is a cosine wave. The next step was to multiply I(t) by the cosine wave and to
then multiply Q(t) by the sine wave. The last step was to subtract Q(t) from I(t).

These were my Specifications.

Cosine Wave (Left)

Sine Wave (Right)

Those specifications produced these waves

Cosine Wave

Sine Wave
After creating the Sine and cosine wave the next step was to multiply the Sine and Cosine waves by Q(t) and I(t)
respectively.

I(t) * Cosine wave

Q(t) * Sine Wave

The next step was to subtract Q(t) from I(t)
Part 3: Receive the transmitted signal
Problem Statement:

1. For now, we will simply try to receive the transmitted signal (𝑡) . It takes two steps. We need to split 𝑠(𝑡)
into two different signal paths. Each path is then multiplied by its quadrature function. One path results in
𝑟(𝑡) and the other 𝑥(𝑡) where:

𝑟(𝑡) = 𝑠(𝑡)cos(2𝜋𝑓0 𝑡)
𝑥(𝑡) = 𝑠(𝑡)sin(2𝜋𝑓0 𝑡)

Compute the results by hand. You should get 3 terms.

My Work To Solve The Problem:

(Simulink)

My first step for this section was to add in random noise to my signal. This needed to be done because in real world
applications it is almost impossible to transmit information wirelessly without having some type of interference. The
tool I used to apply noise was a Random noise generator. When I originally put the tool into my design, it generated
one number of random noise per bit but that was not realistic at all. I then had to increase the tool to generate 1000
points of noise per bit. The next step was to split my signal into two parts. Once I split it apart, I then multiplied the
two parts by their respective quadrature signals.

These were my Results

I(t): Q(t):
The results I computed by hand are below.

My Schematic at this point

Subtraction of
one signal from
the other

Adding in noise
Part 4: Filtering the transmitted signal

Problem Statement:
Now that the signal has been received, it needs to be filtered to remove the noise that is within the signal. As the
signal moves from its origin to its destination, it can encounter noise anywhere. The term “Noise” is normally used
for unpredicted modifications of a signal, but it can sometimes be used to refer to signals that carry useless
information. To remove the noise that was inside of my signal I needed to use a low pass filter.

My Work To Solve The Problem:

To filter the signal I used a low pass filter. The original low pass filter that I designed was decent but it had lots of
room for improvement. One of the biggest issues that we discovered when I analyzed my filter with Professor
Scalzo was that my Cut-off frequency was too low. My original cut-off frequency was √10 = 3.16227766 Hz this
was extremely too low. We arbitrarily chose to increase the cut-off frequency to √200 = 14.14213562 Hz

Original cut-off frequency Modified cut-off frequency

= 𝑠 2 + 2𝑠 + 10 = 𝑠 2 + 40𝑠 + 200
1 1
= (s 2 + 2s + 10) * ( ) = (s 2 + 40s + 200) * ( )
10 200

1 1
= ( 𝑠 2 + .2𝑠 + 1) =( 𝑠 2 + .2𝑠 + 1)
10 200

1 1
∴ 𝑅𝐶 2 = ∴ 𝑅𝐶 2 =
10 200

1 𝟏
∴ 𝑅𝐶 = = 𝟑. 𝟏𝟔𝟐𝟐𝟕𝟕𝟔𝟔 𝑯𝒛 ∴ 𝑅𝐶 = = 𝟏𝟒. 𝟏𝟒𝟐𝟏𝟑𝟓𝟔𝟐 𝑯𝒛
√10 √𝟐𝟎𝟎

Filtering Process

Transmitting Low Pass Signal Level Original

Signal with Filter Detector Signal
Noise
 This is the signal after the noise has
been implemented, the next step will
be to low pass filter the signal to
remove un-wanted noise from the
signal.

When I originally filtered my I(t)

signal this is the response that I
received. If you look at the signal
response between t = 0 and t = 1
you will notice that the signal
gradually rises to the peak at t = 1.
This created a problem when I
attempted to convert this data back
into binary form. So some
adjustments were needed

After adjustments this is what my

filter response produced. The issue
was with my cutoff frequency as
describe on the page before. Once I
increased my cut off frequency it
allowed the derivative of my signal
between t = 0 and t = 1 to increase
significantly

 Note: This Filtering application was Applied to I (t) and Q (t) separately this is only the I (t) pictures.
Part 5: Signal Level Detector

Problem Statement:
Once the signal has been filtered it will not be in the proper form to be considered binary information. Converting
this information back into binary information will be the final step in completing this project. Since the information
is currently in sinusoidal form we need to use a device to measure the level of a signal and make the decision to
classify it as a logic (0) or a logic (1).

My Work To Solve The Problem:

After the signal was filtered it resembled a sine wave. In order to convert the information back into binary
information I needed to use a signal level detector. A signal level detector works by reading every single point in a
signal and doing a simple greater than or less than comparison. If the signal is higher than a certain set value then the
signal will automatically be set to a logic 1. If the signal is below a certain value it will automatically be set to a
logic 0.

Signal level detector design

This is
the input
signal

This is the
Comparison
value

After the Detector

After the Detector
this is what the plot
this is what the plot
produced For Q(t)
produced For I(t)
Part 6: Project overview
As I compared my Original signal to the new signal I notice that there was some filter delay. The type of delay that
was experienced was group delay. This is to be expected with the filter because the process cannot happen instantly.
The group delay it applied evenly throughout the entire signal, Group delay does not impacts the time the output
happens rather than the shape of the output

Example of group delay

Delayed

Original

Original I (t) New I (t)

There is about a
(0.2) second delay

Original Q (t) New Q (t)

Full Schematic

Works Cited
1.) “Group Delay and Phase Delay in Filters .” pp. 185–189. (Online PDF )

2.) Poole, Ian. “Active Op Amp Low Pass Filter.” Op Amp Low Pass Filter | Active Filter Circuit | Radio-
Electronics.Com, www.radio-electronics.com/info/circuits/opamp_low_pass_filter/op_amp_lowpassfilter.php.