Introduction to Communications Systems

Professor Andrea Goldsmith

Next-generation
Cellular
Wireless Internet
Access
Wireless Multimedia
Sensor Networks
Smart
Homes/Spaces
 Communication
Systems
Define telecommunication

The science and technology of sending and

receiving information.
Example : sound, visual images, or computer
data over long distances through the use of
electrical, radio, or light signals.
Using electronic devices to encode the
information as signals and to decode the signals
as information.
 Communication
Systems
Provide for electronic exchange of multimedia
data
Voice, data, video, music, email, web pages, etc.

Communication Systems Today

Radio and TV broadcasting
Public Switched Telephone Network (voice,fax,modem)
Cellular Phones / Handphone
Computer networks (LANs, WANs, and the Internet)
Satellite systems (pagers, voice/data, movie
broadcasts)
Bluetooth
 Communication
Systems
Communication systems are designed
to transmit information.
Communication systems Design
concerns:
Selection of the informationbearing waveform;
Bandwidth and power of the waveform;
Effect of system noise on the received information;
Cost of the system.
 Communication
Systems
Modes of Channel Operation

1.Simplex
2.Half Duplex
3.Full Duplex

Introduction

This section briefly discusses the modes of channel operation, namely, simplex, half-duplex and full-duplex operation. Each is suited a
particular type of application, and has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Simplex
Data in a simplex channel is always one way. Simplex channels are not often used because it is not possible to send back error or control
signals to the transmit end.

It's like a one way street. An example of simplex is Television or Radio

 Communication
Systems
Half Duplex

A half-duplex channel can send and receive, but not at the same time. It's like a one-lane bridge where two way traffic must give way in order to
cross. Only one end transmits at a time, the other end receives.

In addition, it is possible to perform error detection and request the sender to retransmit information that arrived corrupted.

In some aspects, you can think of Internet surfing as being half-duplex, as a user issues a request for a web document, then that document is
downloaded and displayed before the user issues another request .

Another example of half-duplex is talk-back radio. You might have seen movies where truckies (drivers of very big trucks) communicate to each
other, and when they want the other person to speak they say "over". This is because only one person can talk at a time.
 Communication
Systems
Full Duplex

Data can travel in both directions simultaneously. There is no need to switch from transmit to receive mode like in half duplex.
Its like a two lane bridge on a two-lane highway.

Have you ever watched these television talk shows where the host has a number of people on the show, and they all try to talk at once. Well,
that's full duplex!

Of course, in the world of data communications, full duplex allows both way communication simultaneously.

An example can be a consumer which uses a cable connection to not only receive TV channels, but also the same cable to support their phone
and Internet surfing. All these activities can occur simultaneously.
 Communication
Systems
Summary:

The three modes of channel operation are simplex, half-duplex and full-duplex.

Simple is a one way communication and there is no means of informing the sender to retransmit data in
case of errors. There is however a good example of the retransmission of data, and that is TeleText,
which sends text based data on top of a Television signal. A special decoder displays the Teletext data as
a series of pages. These pages are sequenced and repeated, so if a page arrives corrupted, the user just
needs to wait a little while till it is resent.

Half-duplex and full-duplex are the other two methods. As telephone companies become more aware
of the added services that customers require, such as Internet access and Television, it is probable that a
single connection to your home will provide you with a range of services, which you can use. This
would require a full-duplex connection.
 Local Area Networks
(LANs)

01011011

0101
0101
1011
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1011

LANs connect local computers

Breaks data into packets
Packet switching (no dedicated channels)
Proprietary protocols (access,routing, etc.)
 Wireless Local Area
Networks (WLANs)
01011011 0101 1011

Internet
Access
Point

WLANs connect local computers

(100m range)
Breaks data into packets
Channel access is shared (random
access)
 Wide Area Networks:
The Internet
01011011 Internet
1011

LAN Bridge MAN Bridge LAN

0101 Satellite and

Fiber Lines

Many LANs and MANs bridged together

Universal protocol: TCP/IP (packet
based).
Guaranteed rates or delays cannot be
provided.
Hard to support user mobility.
 Satellite Systems

Cover very large areas

Different orbit heights
Optimized for one-way transmission
Radio and movie broadcasting
Most two-way satellite systems went bankrupt
Expensive alternative to terrestrial system
Niche applications (airplane Wifi; paging; etc.)
 Bluetooth

Cablereplacement for electronic

devices
Cell phones, laptops, PDAs, etc.
Short range connection (10-100 m)
1 data (721 Kbps) and 3 voice (56 Kbps)
channels
 Future Wireless
Networks
Ubiquitous Communication Among People an

Next-generation
Cellular
Wireless Internet
Access
Wireless Multimedia
Sensor Networks
Smart
Homes/Spaces
 Multimedia Throughout
the Home
Without Wires
Performance burden also on the
(mesh) network
802.11n Wifi
(Gigabits/sec)

Streaming video
Blazing-fast data rates
Seamless connectivity
Wireless HDTV
Coverage in every roomand Gaming
Wireless Sensor Networks
Smart homes/buildi
Smart grid
Search and rescue
Homeland security
Event detection
Surveillance

Energy (transmit and processing) is the driving

constraint
Data flows to centralized location (joint compression)
Low per-node rates but tens to thousands of nodes
 Distributed Control
over Wireless Links
Automated Vehicles
- Cars
- UAVs
- Insect flyers

- Different design principles

Control requires fast, accurate, and reliable feedback.
Networks introduce delay and loss for a given rate.
- Controllers must be robust and adaptive to
random delay/loss.
- Networks must be designed with control as the
Comm in Health, Biomedicine and
Neuroscience

Body-Area
Networks

Doctor-on-a-chip
-Cell phone info repository
-Monitoring, diagnosis,
The brain as a wireless
intervention and services
network
- EKG signal reception/modeling
- Signal encoding and decoding
- Nerve network (re)configuration
Cloud
Digital and Analog Sources and Systems

Basic Definitions:
Analog Information Source:
An analog information source produces messages which are
defined on a continuum. (E.g. :Microphone)

Digital Information Source:

A digital information source produces a finite set of possible
messages. (E.g. :Typewriter)

x(t) x(t)

t t
Analog Digital
 Digital and Analog Sources and Systems

Elements of Communication system

Explain the uses of alternating current wave in telecommunication

According basic physic theory, a radio wave can be generated by making current flow through
a wire.
As the current flows through a wire an electromagnetic field is generated.
This is a basic aspect of Faraday's Law. This field can be made into a wave through the use of
alternating currents.
Asthe current is alternated and it flows through a wire, it changes the field which makes
waves.
Every time the current alternates the field strength varies accordingly.
If current is varied in a periodic manner, it sets up a wave.
Digital and Analog Sources and Systems

A digital communication system transfers

information from a digital source to the
intended receiver (also called the sink).
An analog communication system
transfers information from an analog
source to the sink.
A digital waveform is defined as a
function of time that can have a discrete
set of amplitude values.
An Analog waveform is a function that has
a continuous range of values.
Digital and Analog Sources and Systems
Digital and Analog Sources and Systems
 Digital Communication

Advantages
Relatively inexpensive digital circuits may be used;
Privacy is preserved by using data encryption;
Data from voice, video, and data sources may be merged and
transmitted over a common digital transmission system;
In long-distance systems, noise dose not accumulate from
repeater to repeater. Data regeneration is possible
Errors in detected data may be small, even when there is a large
amount of noise on the received signal;
Errors may often be corrected by the use of coding.

Disadvantages
Generally, more bandwidth is required than that for analog
systems;
Synchronization is required.
 Encoding and Decoding for Digital
Communication

Coding involves adding extra (redundant) bits to data to reduce or

correct errors at the output of the receiver.

The disadvantage of these extra bits is to increase the data rate

and the bandwidth of the encoded signal.

General Digital Communication

System
Basic Block Diagram of A Communication
System

All communication systems contain three

main sub systems:
1. Transmitter
2. Channel
3. Receiver
Detailed Block Diagram of A
Communication System
 Communication System
Block Diagram
Text
Images
Video
Source Source
Encoder Transmitter Channel Receiver Decoder

Source encoder converts message into message signal or bits.

Transmitter converts message signal or bits into format

appropriate for channel transmission (analog/digital signal).

Channel introduces distortion, noise, and interference.

Receiver decodes received signal back to message signal.

Source decoder decodes message signal back into original

message.
 Main Points
Communication systems send information
electronically over communication channels

Many different types of systems which convey many

different types of information

Design
challenges include hardware, system, and
network issues

Communication systems recreate transmitted

information at receiver with high fidelity

Focusof this class is design and performance of analog

and digital communication systems
 Master Antenna Television
(MATV)
MATV stands for Master Antenna Television. It is the means by which
many apartments houses, hotels, schools and other multi-unit
buildings distribute TV and FM signals to a number of television
outlets. In order to accomplish this without a loss of signal quality,
these systems must be carefully planned and engineered through the
effective use of MATV equipment and techniques.

An MATV system is basically a network of cables and specially

designed components that process and amplify TV and FM signals and
distribute them from one central location. If there were 100 TV sets in
a building, it would be extremely expensive to install and maintain l00
separate antennas. Not only would It be unsightly, but reception
would suffer because that many antennas would interact with each
other, causing interference problems.
 Master Antenna Television
(MATV)
The majority of commercial premises including hotels,
offices, housing developments and holiday parks, utilize
some form of structured cable system to supply an array
of different programs and information services to their
end-user customers.
Most MATV systems can carry both analogue and digital
television signals and FM radio.
Some MATV systems in use today are over 25 years old
and the many are unsuitable for carrying digital
television signals. These will need to be surveyed and
may require modification or replacement.
 Master Antenna Television
(MATV)
In a typical MATV system:
The aerial is a conventional VHF and separate UHF TV aerial,
receiving both analogue and digital TV signals.
Signals received by the aerial are then processed. In systems that
have not been modified to carry digital, it is usually this processing
that restricts or prevents the digital signals from being handled
correctly, as the processors are only designed to handle analogue
TV signals.
A distribution network then delivers all television signals to a
socket outlet in each household. There can be more than one outlet
per unit.
How the distribution network is configured will depend on the
number of dwellings and floors in the building.
 Antenna Selection
The quality of TV reception can be no better than the quality of the signal from the
antenna. It is therefore vital to select the correct antenna for the intended location.
Antenna manufacturers produce geographic maps detailing preferred antenna types
based on the geographic location. In addition, professional antenna installers carry test
equipment to optimize antenna placement and orientation.
The antenna installation should provide at least 60 dB of picture signal per channel at
the amplifier input.
In strong signal areas this will be relatively easy to obtain. In weak signal areas a larger
antenna with a high gain will usually be necessary. It may also be necessary to stack
two or more antennas.
Stacking two antennas will provide an additional 3 dB of gain above the gain of a single
antenna. Although a pre-amplifier may be used, stacking before pre-amplification is
preferable, as it delivers a cleaner signal to the system.
Antenna directivity is important. Directivity is a measure of how well an antenna will
reject signals from any direction other than the front. The front-to-back ratio is one way
of measuring an antennas directivity. This is the ratio of the amount of signal received
by the front of the antenna to the amount of signal received by the rear. A highly
directional antenna will generally have a high front-to-back ratio.
 Quality and Strength of
Signal
The quality and strength of any signal received is determined by the
following:-

Proximity to the transmission tower.

Power of the transmitter.
Quality of the transmission.
Line of sight to the transmission tower.
Weather conditions.
Interference from power lines.
Directional characteristics and orientation of the antenna.
Level of gain of the antenna
 Determine Signal Levels
Determining signal levels is one of the most important steps in Head-End
design and a signal survey before installing the system will avoid many
potential problems.
An antenna, several sections of mast, a field strength meter and a portable
colour TV is the equipment required for a signal survey. The field strength
meter measures the amount of signal received on each channel. Carefully
selected antennas can also do much to overcome certain types of interference.
The portable TV allows the quality of the signal received on each channel to
be determined.
In weak signal areas, it is often necessary to amplify the signal before the
distribution amplifier. This will ensure a signal of sufficient strength and
acceptable quality. This is achieved using a Masterhead Amplifier.
It is important to choose a Masterhead Amplifier with a low noise figure. The
noise figure of the Masterhead Amplifier establishes the noise figure of the
entire system, therefore the amplifier should always increase the signal more
than it increases the noise.
 MATV Distribution
A well-designed distribution system is necessary to guarantee an
adequate signal at every receiver connected to the system. The
distribution of MATV is the role of a combination of splitters and taps.
Splitters and taps provide a pre-determined signal level and maintain
the correct impedance to each of the outputs. Calculation of losses
associated with splitters, drop taps and cable are required. Each
outlet has a defined amount of signal level required, and there is a
recommendation for maximum cable runs. Splitters and taps provide
the same signal quality to each outlet, as long as design
recommendations are adhered to.
If there is a poor signal received from the antenna, this same poor
signal will be output to each of the TV outlets. To guarantee a good
signal at each of the TV outlets, a good quality signal needs to be
received at the antenna.