Operational Diagrams

of
Radio Transmitters & Receivers

Professor Lance Breger and Professor Kenneth Markowitz

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 - 5

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 - 7

Operation of Adder-Antenna Transmitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Operation of AM Transmitter in General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Operation of AM Transmitter Showing AM Modulator in Detail. . . . . . 11

Operation of TRF AM Receiver. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Operation of Superheterodyne AM Receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Operation of PM Transmitter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Operation of FM Transmitter in General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Operation of FM Transmitter with Indirect Modulation. . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Operation of FM Transmitter with Direct Modulation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Operation of FM Receiver. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 - 19

Operation of PM Receiver. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Copyright 2004 Lance Breger

3
 PREFACE
The purpose of these diagrams is to graphically explain the overall operation of AM, PM, and
FM communications systems using very little mathematics. This explanation is accomplished by tracing a
simple sinusoidal signal through all stages of each system. Although students who are "mathematically
challenged" will find these diagrams very helpful, most students who are beginning the study of electrical
communications systems can benefit from these same diagrams. More advanced courses can also use
these diagrams as a basis on which to organize and present abstract mathematics.
The unique features of these diagrams are the following:
● presenting the signal in both the time domain and frequency domain together at each stage of the com-
munication process
● using a color code to show the distribution of information in the signals in both the time domain and
frequency domain simultaneously.
These diagrams were produced by translating the statements and logic from the following two
textbooks into simple graphics:
Modern Electronic Communication, 6th edition,
by Gary M. Miller, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1999.
Electronic Communication Techniques, 4th edition,
by Paul H. Young, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1999.
Graphing calculators were used to plot equations, and some of the particularly difficult steps were
checked by simulation using Multisim or by TIMS (Telecommunications Instructional Modeling Systems)
The history of preparing this booklet is a long one. Before beginning the arduous work of produc-
ing these diagrams, we inspected about 70 standard textbooks on electrical communications to determine
whether we could save ourselves a lot of effort by simply using their diagrams; but none of those books
contained the above simultaneous diagrams. Some of the basic ideas underlying these diagrams were pre-
sented by us in 2001 at a conference of FIE (Frontiers In Education) in Reno, Nevada. Completion of this
booklet took about three more years of devoted labor, research, and collaboration.
●  tudents: M. B. Suranga Perera, Nikolay Ostrovskiy and Johnny Lam. They produced the professional
S
graphics in these vector art diagrams and created the pages.
To pay these students, the following persons or organizations at NYCCT generously offered financial
advice or funds:
● Former Dean Phyllis Sperling of the School of Technology & Design
● Former Dean Annette Schaefer of the School of Arts and Sciences
●P
 rofessor Joseph Rosen, head of the Freshman Year Program at NYCCT and
current acting Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences
● Ms. Jewel Escobar, Executive Director of NYCCT Foundation
● Federal Work Study Program administered by the Department of Financial Aid at NYCCT.
●  he Department of Architectural Technology deserves thanks for allowing almost all of the computer
T
drawings to be done on their computers using Adobe Illustrator.
● Dean Robin Bargar
●  rofessor Joel Mason, Chair of the Department of Advertising Design and Graphic Arts (ADGA), for allow-
P
ing the intermediate and final color prints to be produced on the ADGA Print Laboratory's DocuColor 2060
press under a grant by Xerox.
Your comments will be used to produce an improved second edition of this booklet. We, the authors, would
greatly appreciate being informed of any mistakes or of other comments about this booklet by emailing me:
bookletauthor@hotmail.com

During the preparation of this booklet, many others at the New York City College of Technology
(NYCCT) aided us. Helpful technical suggestions were offered by several of our colleagues:
● Professor Aron Goykadosh

● Professor John Fehling

● Professor Misza Kalechman

● Professor Mohammed Kouar

● Professor Mohammad Razani.

●  rofessor Lloyd Carr, who initiated and directed the vector file production, page imposition for printed
P
versions and the final pdf files. Professor Carr also helped to edit the final text.

4 5
INTRODUCTION
To help the reader use this set of diagrams of AM, PM, and FM efficiently, two sets of comments
have been added to the diagrams to elucidate them. The first set of comments applies generally to all the
diagrams and is included in this introduction. The second set of comments applies specifically to individual
diagrams, and each of these comments is inserted in the main text adjacent to the diagram that it explains.
GENERAL COMMENTS
The main objective of these diagrams is to help students understand the operation of transmitters and
receivers of various types by showing how the signal changes as it propagates through each stage in a series
of cascaded stages, whose electrical operating characteristics are also usually shown in the diagrams. For
simplicity the information signal is assumed to be a sinusoid. The signal itself is shown in two adjacent forms:
• in time domain,
i.e., how the signal changes in time as it would be observed on an oscilloscope inserted at a particular
point in the system
• in frequency domain,
i.e., how the signal changes in sinusoidal composition as it would be observed on a spectrum analyzer
inserted into the system at the same point as the above oscilloscope. [The diagrams on the FM receiver
and the PM receiver violate this rule slightly by showing noise separately.]
Being able to relate these two views of the signal is a major lesson in communications, since beginners usu-
ally think only in the time domain; but experts in communications usually think in the more abstract frequency
domain. In addition, the mathematical equations for important signals in the time domain have also been
inserted to help the student correlate this information with the two graphic forms of the signal.
The general structure of each diagram is as follows. In the left-most column, the various cascaded
stages are arranged vertically from top to bottom. Arrows represent the signal flow between the stages. To
the right of each arrow and at the same level are the two graphic representations of the signal itself, i.e., first
in the time domain and then in the frequency domain. Thus, the three columns of the diagram are arranged
from left to right from most concrete to most abstract. In addition, the operating characteristics of some
devices, e.g., amplifiers and filters, are also shown. These characteristics are shown in the domain where
their operation is most easily represented. For example, the operation of filters is most easily described in
the frequency domain; while the operation of a limiter in an FM receiver is most easily described in the time
domain.
(continued on page 7)
6 7
A color code has been used to draw the various signals in these diagrams mainly to help students
trace the flow of information, which is vital to understanding the operation of a communications system. Of
course, the real signals or waves are invisible, i.e., colorless, to our eyes; but the colors arbitrarily assigned
to the signals in these diagrams show their content of information.
● Blue signals in the time domain or in the frequency domain indicate the pure information signal.
● Red signals indicate the pure carrier wave.
● Purple signals show that the information signal and the carrier wave have been mixed, just as blue and red
colors mix to form the color purple.
● Green indicates the operating characteristic in graphs of various devices, like amplifiers and filters.
● Black signals indicate noise.
A somewhat different color code has been used for the arrows showing signal propagation in the left-most
column. As above, red arrows mean the carrier wave; and blue arrows mean the information signal. However,
the mixed state of carrier plus information is indicated by the split arrow, half being red and half being blue.
In symbols and equations used these diagrams, the red carrier wave is symbolized by "c;" and the blue
information signal is symbolized by "m" (not "i" as is used by many texts) since "m" stands for the modulating
signal, i.e., the information.
The scale of the vertical voltage axis in the time domain differs from voltage scale in the frequency
domain because otherwise the size of the bars in the frequency domain would have been too small to have
been read easily. To remind the student that these scales are different, an arrow has been drawn and labeled
as "amplitude" in the earliest sinusoid in the time domain in each diagram. ["Amplitude" in all these drawings
means the amplitude of a sinusoid, not of any other function.] This arrow then reminds the reader of how big
the amplitude in the frequency domain really is in the time domain.
In general, the wave forms and operating characteristics shown in these diagrams are mere "car-
toons," or idealizations, of reality, not exact pictures. This approximation is appropriate because exact repre-
sentations would be difficult to understand. For example, in the case of FM as seen in the frequency domain,
if the various sidebands were drawn to scale, the sidebands could not easily be distinguished from the carrier
in the size of diagrams drawn here.
Finally, the amount of detail shown varies from diagram to diagram.
For example, some diagrams show the operating characteristics of ideal amplifiers; others do not. In each
case, our aim was to show as much detail as possible without cluttering the diagram.
 OPERATION OF ADDER-ANTENNA TRANSMITTER
This diagram shows a transmitter that does not work to emphasize the reason that real transmitters do work. That is, this trans-
mitter leaves the information, which is shown in blue, at low frequencies so that it can not be radiated; the radiating antenna only
broadcasts high frequencies. This implies that only the high-frequency carrier wave is broadcast, which is useless. The aim of a
communications system is to broadcast information, not to broadcast the pure carrier wave!

fm fc
Amplitude (Volts)

Voltage (Volts)
Em Ec
Time
(Sec.)

Low Frequency High Frequency

Information Carrier fm fc Frequency
(Hz)

Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts)

Em Ec
Time
(Sec.)

Combined Signal
fm fc Frequency
(Hz)
(fm << fc )
Antenna Gain
1

Antenna removes low frequencies

0
Frequency
(Hz)

Amplitude (Volts)

Voltage (Volts)
Ec
Time
(Sec.)

High Frequency
Carrier fm fc Frequency
(Hz)

8 Copyright © 2004 Lance Breger 9

 OPERATION OF AM TRANSMITTER IN GENERAL OPERATION OF AM TRANSMITTER SHOWING AM MODULATOR IN DETAIL
This transmitter works, while the previous one fails, because the AM modulator raises the information, shown in blue, to high This diagram differs from the previous one only in that it shows the details of the AM modulator. The operation of the modula-
frequencies so that it can be broadcast along with the carrier by the high-pass antenna. The AM modulator automatically raises tor consists of two stages. First, the information signal and carrier are passed through a nonlinear device, e.g., a transistor or
the frequency of the information when encoding information by changing the amplitude of the carrier sinusoid. diode, to generate the required upper and lower sidebands along with unnecessary sinusoids of many other frequencies. [The
diagram mentions an "ideal" nonlinear device; "ideal" means that most of the unnecessary harmonics have been omitted for
clarity.] Second, a high-frequency bandpass filter removes the unnecessary sinusoids and passes only those in the required
AM-modulated carrier.
fm fc
Amplitude (Volts)
Voltage (Volts) Em Ec
Amplitude Time fm fc
(Sec.) Amplitude (Volts)
Voltage (Volts)
Em Ec
Amplitude Time
Low Frequency High Frequency fm fc Frequency (Sec.)
Information Carrier (Hz)
Low Frequency High Frequency fm fc Frequency
AM Information (blue) Carrier (red) (Hz)
MODULATOR Amplitude (Volts) AM MODULATOR
Voltage (Volts) IDEAL
NON-LINEAR
Ec DEVICE
Voltage (Volts)
Time Amplitude (Volts) Ec
(Sec.) Em/2 Em/2 Em/2 Em/2
Time
Combined Signal (Sec.)
dc fm (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) Frequency
(fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) Frequency (Hz)
fm
(fm << fc ) (Hz) Gain of Filter 1
BAND-PASS Filter selects carrier and sidebands.
FILTER 0
Amplifier Gain Frequency
K>1 (Hz)
Voltage (Volts)
AMPLIFIER Amplifier gain = constant K>1. Amplitude Input (Volts) Ec
Time
Frequency (Sec.) Em/2 Em/2
(Hz) Combined Signal
Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts) (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) Frequency
fm
(Hz)
(fm << fc )
Amplifier Gain
K>1
Amplifier gain = constant K>1.
Time AMPLIFIER
(Sec.) Frequency
Voltage (Volts) (Hz)
Amplitude (Volts)

Combined Signal fm (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) Frequency Time

(Hz) (Sec.)
Antenna Gain

ANTENNA Antenna passes only high frequencies. Combined Signal

fm (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) Frequency
0 (Hz)
Frequency Antenna Gain
1
(Hz)
Voltage (Volts) ANTENNA Antenna passes only high frequencies.
Amplitude (Volts) 0
Frequency
Voltage (Volts) (Hz)
Amplitude (Volts)
Time
(Sec.) Time
(Sec.)

Combined Signal
Combined Signal fm (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) Frequency fm (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) Frequency
(Hz)
(Hz)
Copyright © 2004 Lance Breger

10 Copyright © 2004 Lance Breger Copyright © 2004 Lance Breger 11

 OPERATION OF TRF AM RECEIVER
The main point of interest here is the structure of the AM detector. The basic structure of the AM detector and of the AM modulator
are the same: a nonlinear device followed by a bandpass filter. In the detector, the nonlinear device reproduces the original signal
sinusoid from the AM-modulated carrier and also produces many unnecessary sinusoids of other frequencies; the filter removes
these unnecessary sinusoids and passes the original information signal. The main difference between the AM modulator and
the AM detector is the frequency band passed by the filter: the modulator passes a band at high radio frequencies; the detector
passes a band at low audio frequencies.
ANTENNA
Amplitude (Volts)
OPERATION OF SUPERHETERODYNE AM RECEIVER
The structure of this receiver and that of the TRF receiver are very similar. The main difference is the frequency range in which
most of the signal amplification is done. The TRF receiver amplifies the signal at the same high radio frequencies at which it is
received initially by the antenna. Unfortunately, amplification at these high frequencies is inefficient, i.e., the amplifier gains are
low. To correct this error, the superheterodyne receiver does most of its signal amplification at a lower "intermediate frequency"
band for greater efficiency. Since this intermediate frequency band is the fixed passband of the filter in the IF amplifier, each
incoming signal must be lowered to this fixed intermediate frequency band by using a frequency converter, which consists of
a mixer (which is a nonlinear device) connected to an oscillator of variable frequency. This is called the "local oscillator." By
changing the oscillator frequency appropriately, any station's signal can be lowered to the given intermediate frequency range
for efficient amplification.

Voltage (Volts) ANTENNA

Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts)

Time Time
(Sec.)
(Sec.)
(fc-fm) fc (fc+fm)Frequency
(Hz)

(fc-fm) fc (fc+fm)Frequency RF AMP. &

RF AMP. & (Hz) bandpass filter Amplitude (Volts) fLO
Voltage (Volts)
bandpass filter Amplitude (Volts)
Voltage (Volts) LO
Time
(Sec.)

(fc-fm) fc (fc+fm)Frequency
(Hz)
Time
(Sec.) NON-LINEAR Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts)
(fm < fi < fc < fLO) fLO
DEVICE (mixer)
Time
(Sec.)
(fc-fm) fc (fc+fm)Frequency
DETECTOR (Hz) (fi-fm) fi (fi+fm) (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm)Frequency
(Hz)
IDEAL Gain
NON-LINEAR Amplitude (Volts) IF amplifier
Filter selects band around fi
1

DEVICE Voltage (Volts) FILTER the intermediate frequency. 0

Frequency
(Hz)
Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts)
Time
Time (Sec.)
(Sec.) (fi-fm) fi (fi+fm) Frequency
(Hz)
dc fm (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) Frequency IF AMPLIFIER
Amplitude (Volts)
PER SE Voltage (Volts)
(Hz)
Gain
Time
1 (Sec.)
BAND-PASS
Filter selects information signal.
FILTER
0 (fi-fm) fi (fi+fm) Frequency
(Hz)
DETECTOR
Frequency IDEAL Amplitude (Volts)
Voltage (Volts) (Hz) NON-LINEAR Voltage (Volts)
Amplitude (Volts) DEVICE

Amplitude Time Time

(Sec.) (Sec.)
dc fm (fi-fm) fi (fi+fm) Frequency
(Hz)
Gain
1
fm Frequency BAND-PASS Filter selects information signal
AUDIO (Hz) FILTER 0
AMPLIFIER Frequency
(Hz)
Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts)
Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts)
Amplitude Time
(Sec.) fm Frequency
(Hz)

Time AUDIO
AMPLIFIER
(Sec.) Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts)

Amplitude
fm Frequency Time
(Sec.)
(Hz)
SPEAKER
fm Frequency
(Hz)
SPEAKER

Copyright © 2004 Lance Breger Copyright 2004 Lance Breger

12 Copyright © 2004 Lance Breger Copyright © 2004 Lance Breger 13

 OPERATION OF PM TRANSMITTER
Both the FM transmitter and PM transmitter have similar structures. The main difference between them is the kind of modulator
used. FM modulators encode information by changing the frequency of the carrier wave. PM modulators encode information by
changing the phase of the carrier wave.
OPERATION OF FM TRANSMITTER IN GENERAL
FM transmitters differ from PM transmitters in yet another way: before the information signal is applied to the modulator, only
in the FM transmitter is the signal passed through a preemphasis stage. Preemphasis distorts the signal by amplifying high fre-
quencies more than low frequencies, i.e., the high frequencies are "emphasized" before modulation. The purpose of this signal
distortion in the FM transmitter is to facilitate later on in the FM receiver the detection of these high frequencies of the signal in
the presence of much high-frequency noise generated in the FM demodulator in the receiver.

fm fc
Amplitude (Volts) fm

Amplitude (Volts)
Voltage (Volts) Em Ec
Voltage (Volts)

Amplitude Time
Amplitude Time (Sec.)

(Sec.) Low Frequency fm Frequency

Information (Hz)

Gain
Low Frequency High Frequency
Information Carrier
fm fc Frequency PREEMPHASIS
Preemphasis amplifies high frequencies
to overcome high-frequency noise
(Hz) in FM receiver 1
Frequency
PM Amplitude (Volts)
(Hz)

MODULATOR Voltage (Volts) Em

Time
Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts) EcJ0(m) (Sec.)

Low Frequency
Information fm Frequency
Time EcJ1(m) EcJ1(m) fc (Hz)

(Sec.) EcJ2(m) EcJ2(m)

Amplitude (Volts)

... ... Voltage (Volts)

Em Ec
Combined Signal
fm (fc-2fm) (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) (fc+2fm) Frequency Time
(Sec.)
(Hz)
Low Frequency High Frequency
(fm << fc ) Amplifier Gain Information Carrier fm fc Frequency
(Hz)
FM
K>1
AMPLIFIER Amplifier gain = constant K>1. MODULATOR

Amplitude (Volts)
Voltage (Volts)
Frequency
Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts) (Hz) Time EcJ0(m)
(Sec.)
EcJ1(m) EcJ1(m)
Combined Signal
...
EcJ2(m) EcJ2(m)
...
fm (fc-2fm) (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) (fc+2fm) Frequency
Time (fm << fc ) (Hz)
(Sec.) AMPLIFIER

... ... Amplitude (Volts)

Voltage (Volts)
Combined Signal fm (fc-2fm) (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) (fc+2fm) Frequency
(Hz)
Antenna Gain Time
(Sec.)
1
... ...
ANTENNA Antenna passes only high frequencies. Combined Signal fm (fc-2fm) (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) (fc+2fm)Frequency
(Hz)
0 Antenna Gain

Frequency 1

Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts) (Hz) ANTENNA Antenna passes only high frequencies.

0
Frequency
Voltage (Volts) (Hz)
Amplitude (Volts)
Time
(Sec.) Time
(Sec.)

... ...
Combined Signal (fc-2fm) (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) (fc+2fm) Frequency Combined Signal ... ...
fm fm (fc-2fm) (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) (fc+2fm)Frequency
(Hz) (Hz)

14 Copyright © 2004 Lance Breger Copyright © 2004 Lance Breger 15

 OPERATION OF FM TRANSMITTER WITH INDIRECT MODULATION
There are two general types of FM modulators. In the first type, i.e., those with indirect modulation, the carrier wave is pro-
duced by a very stable oscillator located outside the modulator itself, as is also done in PM modulation. The indirect FM modu-
lator is just a PM modulator preceded by a special stage that integrates the information signal; this integration is carried out by
passing the signal through an amplifier whose gain is inversely proportional to frequency.
OPERATION OF FM TRANSMITTER WITH DIRECT MODULATION
In the second type of FM modulation, i.e., direct modulation, the oscillator producing the carrier wave, is actually incorporated
into the FM modulator itself. Otherwise, FM transmitters with direct modulation and those with indirect modulation are essentially
the same.

fm fm
Amplitude (Volts)
Amplitude (Volts)
Voltage (Volts) Voltage (Volts)
Amplitude Time
(Sec.) Amplitude Time
(Sec.)
Low Frequency Information Low Frequency
fm Frequency Information
(Hz)
Gain
fm Frequency
(Hz)
Preemphasis amplifies high frequencies
PREEMPHASIS to overcome high-frequency noise Gain
in FM receiver. 1 Preemphasis amplifies high frequencies
Frequency PREEMPHASIS to overcome high-frequency noise
Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts) (Hz)
in FM receiver. 1

Frequency
Time (Hz)
(Sec.) Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts)
Em
Low Frequency Information fm Frequency
(Hz) Time
Gain (Sec.)
FM Modulator
Integrator multiplies amplitude by 1/f Low Frequency
INTEGRATOR 1 Information
and phase-shifts sinusoid by -900. f
fm Frequency
Frequency (Hz)
(Hz) FM
fc Voltage (Volts)
Amplitude (Volts) MODULATOR
Em Ec
-90 Amplitude (Volts)
0
Time Voltage (Volts)
(Sec.)
Low Frequency High Frequency EcJ0(m)
Time
Information Carrier fm fc Frequency (Sec.) EcJ1(m) EcJ1(m)
(Hz)
PM Combined Signal ...
EcJ2(m)
...
EcJ2(m)

MODULATOR fm (fc-2fm) (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) (fc+2fm) Frequency

(Hz)
Amplitude (Volts) (fm << fc )
Voltage (Volts)
EcJ0(m)
Time Amplifier Gain
(Sec.)
EcJ1(m) EcJ1(m)
Combined Signal ... EcJ2(m)
...
EcJ2(m) AMPLIFIER Amplifier gain = constant K>1. K>1

fm (fc-2fm) (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) (fc+2fm) Frequency

(fm << fc ) (Hz) Frequency
Amplifier Gain (Hz)
Voltage (Volts)
K>1 Amplitude (Volts)
AMPLIFIER Amplifier gain = constant K>1.

Frequency
Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts) (Hz) Time
(Sec.)

... ...
Time
(Sec.) Combined Signal fm (fc-2fm) (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) (fc+2fm) Frequency
(Hz)
... ... Antenna Gain
Combined Signal
fm (fc-2fm) (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) (fc+2fm)Frequency
1
(Hz)
Antenna Gain ANTENNA Antenna passes only high frequencies.
1
ANTENNA Antenna passes only high frequencies. 0
Frequency
0 Voltage (Volts) (Hz)
Frequency Amplitude (Volts)
Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts) (Hz)

Time
Time (Sec.)
(Sec.)

... ... ... ...

Combined Signal Combined Signal
fm (fc-2fm) (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) (fc+2fm)Frequency fm (fc-2fm) (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) (fc+2fm) Frequency
(Hz) (Hz)

16 Copyright © 2004 Lance Breger Copyright © 2004 Lance Breger 17

 OPERATION OF FM RECEIVER ANTENNA
Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts)
external noise

The FM receiver is very similar to the superheterodyne AM receiver. The main difference is that the FM Time
(Sec.)
receiver uses an FM demodulator; while the superheterodyne AM receiver uses an AM demodulator. ... external noise
... ... ...
fc Frequency
RF AMP. & (Hz)
In addition, the FM receiver has two stages for noise control that the AM receiver lacks. First, just bandpass filter Voltage (Volts) external noise Amplitude (Volts)

ahead of the demodulator, there is a limiter to clip off and thereby remove external noise. [This cannot be LO Time
fLO

done in AM because clipping the noise would also remove the information, that is encoded in the amplitude (Sec.)
external noise
... ...
of the carrier wave.] Second, after demodulation in the FM receiver, there is a deemphasis stage, that is Combined Signal
Frequency
NON-LINEAR (Hz)
involved in combating internal noise. The deemphasis stage corrects the earlier distortion of the signal in DEVICE (mixer) Amplitude (Volts)
the preemphasis stage of the FM transmitter, where high-frequency sinusoids are amplified more than low- fLO
Mixer and local oscillator copy
frequency ones. Fm signal and noise to lower
intermediate frequency range. external noise
... ... ... ...
(fm < fi < fc < fLO) (fi-2fm) (fi-fm) fi (fi+fm) (fi+2fm) (fc-2fm) (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) (fc+2fm) Frequency
In the FM transmitter, the purpose of distorting the signal is to facilitate the FM receiver's detecting Gain
(Hz)
IF amplifier 1
the signal's high frequencies in the presence of high-frequency noise. This noise is generated inside the Filter selects band around f i 0
FILTER
FM demodulator in the receiver. Basically the deemphasis stage in the receiver is also a nonuniform ampli- the intermediate frequency. Frequency
(Hz)
fier which corrects the initial distortion in the transmitter by emphasizing the low frequencies over the high Voltage (Volts)
external noise
Amplitude (Volts)

frequencies (i.e., deemphasizes the high frequencies) which were preferentially amplified (i.e., emphasized) Time
(Sec.)
by the preemphsis stage in the FM transmitter. ... ... external noise
Combined Signal
(fi-2fm) (fi-fm) fi (fi+fm) (fi+2fm) Frequency
IF AMPLIFIER (Hz)
PER SE
In contrast to the AM receivers, the diagram of the FM receiver also shows a noise signal although Voltage (Volts) external noise
Amplitude (Volts)

noise is really present in both types of receivers. However, noise is only shown in the FM case because only
Time
FM receivers have special stages to combat noise, i.e., the limiter for external noise and the deemphasis (Sec.)
... ... external noise
stage for internal noise. AM receivers have no special stages to combat noise. Combined Signal
(fi-2fm) (fi-fm) fi (fi+fm) (fi+2fm) Frequency
Vout (Hz)

Limiter produces constant output voltage

To simplify the description of the operation of the FM receiver in the presence of noise, we consider LIMITER
450 Vin
for input voltage above a critical value.
that the external noise is white noise (i.e., noise consisting of sinusoids of all frequencies and all with the Amplitude (Volts)
Voltage (Volts)
same amplitude) generated by an impulse and that this noise can be treated separately from the modulated external noise

FM signal. This latter simplification is justifiable when all of the modulated FM signal passes through a filter Time
(Sec.)
but only the portion of the noise in the passband of the filter passes. Combined Signal
... ... external noise
(fi-2fm) (fi-fm) fi (fi+fm) (fi+2fm) Frequency
(Hz)
DEMODULATOR FM demodulator introduces Demodulator noise power
Note that in contrast to all preceding diagrams, in the diagram of this FM receiver and of the following PM (detector,
discriminator)
increasing noise power
at higher frequencies.
receiver, the graphs of the time domain and of the frequency domain are not exactly the same as the output of an actu- Frequency
(Hz)
Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts)
al oscilloscope or of an actual system analyzer. This is because only in these diagrams noise is not combined with
Amplitude
the FM or PM signals to produce the total signal that the real instruments display in Time
(Sec.) demodulator noise
different forms. fm Frequency
Gain (Hz)
De-emphasis circuit attenuates
DE-EMPHASIS higher frequencies
to balance them
with lower frequencies. Frequency
(Hz)
Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts)

Amplitude Time
(Sec.)
demodulator noise

fm Frequency
(Hz)
AUDIO
AMPLIFIER

Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts)

Time
(Sec.) demodulator noise

fm Frequency
(Hz)
SPEAKER

18 Copyright © 2004 Lance Breger 19

 OPERATION OF PM RECEIVER CONCLUSION
The PM receiver and the FM receiver are basically the same except that the PM receiver has no deemphasis stage, since there
is no need for one. This is because in the PM transmitter there is no preemphasis stage to initially distort the signal. Therefore, It is hopeful that the above comments will help the reader to better understand and use the associ-
there is no need in the PM receiver for a deemphasis stage to correct this non-existent distortion.
ated diagrams. These relevant graphics can in a simple way give a student a global view of the complex
subject of radio transmitters and receivers.

ANTENNA
Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts) The communications circuits that are diagrammed here can also be simulated on a computer, e.g.,
external noise
by using Multisim. However, our diagrams have the following advantages over simulation alone:
Time
(Sec.)
... external noise
... ... ... 1) global view:
(fc-2fm) (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) (fc+2fm) Frequency
RF AMP. &
bandpass filter Voltage (Volts) external noise Amplitude (Volts)
(Hz) The form of the signal can be seen simultaneously at all stages in the cascade instead of only at a few
stages at time as in the simulations. Thus, the overall operation of the system is much easier to grasp
Time fLO
LO (Sec.) in these diagrams than by simulation alone.
external noise
Combined Signal ... ...
Frequency
NON-LINEAR
(fc-2fm) (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) (fc+2fm)
(Hz) 2) operational characteristics:
DEVICE (mixer) Amplitude (Volts)
The diagrams show the operational characteristic of the filters, amplifiers, and other parts of the circuit.
Mixer and local oscillator copy
Fm signal and noise to lower
fLO
Simulation does not.
intermediate frequency range.
external noise
(fm < fi < fc < fLO) ... ... ... ...
(fi-2fm) (fi-fm) fi (fi+fm) (fi+2fm) (fc-2fm) (fc-fm) fc (fc+fm) (fc+2fm) Frequency
(Hz)
3) distribution of information:
IF amplifier Gain 1
By using a color code, these diagrams show where in the signal the information lies; simulation does
FILTER
Filter selects band around f i
the intermediate frequency. 0 not. Knowing the location of the information is critical to understanding the operation of the communica-
Frequency
Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts)
(Hz) tion system
external noise

Time
(Sec.) ... ... external noise Hence, these diagrams support and enhance the use of simulation by providing a more comprehen-
Combined Signal (fi-2fm) (fi-fm) fi (fi+fm) (fi+2fm) Frequency
(Hz) sive view, operational characteristics of devices, and color coding to locate the information.
IF AMPLIFIER
PER SE
Amplitude (Volts)
Voltage (Volts) external noise

Time
(Sec.)
... ... external noise
Combined Signal
(fi-2fm) (fi-fm) fi (fi+fm) (fi+2fm) Frequency
Vout (Hz)
Limiter produces constant output voltage
LIMITER 450 Vin for input voltage above a critical value.

Amplitude (Volts)
Voltage (Volts)
external noise

Time
(Sec.)
... ... external noise
Combined Signal
(fi-2fm) (fi-fm) fi (fi+fm) (fi+2fm) Frequency
(Hz)
DEMODULATOR
(detector,
discriminator)
Amplitude (Volts)
Voltage (Volts)
Amplitude Time
(Sec.) demodulator noise

fm Frequency
(Hz)
AUDIO
AMPLIFIER

Voltage (Volts) Amplitude (Volts)

Time
(Sec.) demodulator noise

fm Frequency
(Hz)
SPEAKER

20 Copyright © 2004 Lance Breger 21

 The purpose of these diagrams
is to graphically explain the overall operation of
AM, PM, and FM communications systems
using very little mathematics.

Copyright 2004 Lance Breger