PHYSICS

CLASS-XII

Er. S.P.SINGH

M-9828012787

COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
Elements of Communication System-Communication is the act of transmission of information.
Communication system has three essential elements
transmitter, medium/channel, and receiver.

Receiver and transmitter are located at different places

and the channels connect them. Transmitter converts the
message signal produced by the source of information
into a form suitable for transmission through the channel.
MODES OF COMMUNICATION
(i) point to pointTakes place over a link between a
single transmitter and receiver. ExampleTelephone
(ii) Broadcast There are a large number of receivers
corresponding to a single transmitter. ExampleRadio
and television.
Some important terms--Transducer It converts one form of energy into
another. For example microphone converts sound signal
to electrical signal and loudspeaker converts electrical
signal to sound signal.
Signal It is information converted into electrical forms,
which is suitable for transmission. Two types of Signals(i) Analogue signal - It has single valued function with
continuous variation. Example - sine wave
(ii) Digital signal - It is of discrete stepwise value having
two levels 0 (low level) and 1 (high level).

Noise It refers to the unwanted signal that tends to

disturb the transmission and processing of message signal
in a communication system.
Transmitter It processes the incoming message signal
and makes it suitable for transmission through a channel
to the receiver.
Receiver It extracts the desired message signal from the
received signal at the output of the channel.
Attenuation It is the loss of strength of a signal while
propagating through a medium.
Amplification Process of increasing the amplitude of a
signal using an electronic circuit called the amplifier.
Range It is the largest distance between a source and a
destination up to which the signal is received with
sufficient strength.
Bandwidth It is the portion of the spectrum occupied
by the signal (frequency range over which equipment
operates. Signal spreads over a range of frequencies
called bandwidth.
Modulation It is a process of superimposing a high
frequency wave (carrier) on the low frequency message/
information/Base band signal, which cannot be
transmitted to long distance without carrier wave.
Demodulation It is the process of retrieval of
information from the carrier wave at the receiver.
Repeater It is a combination of receiver and a
transmitter. A repeater picks up signal from the
transmitter, amplifies and retransmits with a change in
carrier frequency. It is used to extend the range of a
communication system. Satellite is also a repeater in
space.

Bandwidth of Signals--Bandwidth refers to the

frequency range over which an equipment operates or the
portion of the spectrum occupied by the signal.
Bandwidth of an analogue signal Range over which
frequencies in an analogue signal vary is called the band
DIGITAL AND ANALOG COMMUNICATION
width. In telephonic communication system, frequency
SYSTEM - The advantages associate with digital
communication systems include (i) A common format for range of speech signals is from 300 Hz to 3100 Hz.
Bandwidth of speech signal = 3100 300 = 2800 Hz.
encoding different kinds of message signals (e.g., speech
Bandwidth of a digital signal - A digital signal is in the
signal, video signal, computer data, etc.) for the purpose
form of rectangular wave. It is a superposition of
of transmission. (ii) An improved security of message.
(iii) Increased immunity to noise & external interference. sinusoidal waves of different frequencies. The exact
rectangular shape of the digital signal will be reproduced
(iv) Flexibility in configuring digital systems.
Disadvantages--The disadvantages associate with digital when all the infinite number of harmonics is added to the
fundamental frequency. It implies that the bandwidth of a
communication systems include
digital signal is infinite.
(i) Increased transmission (ii) Increased system
Some important wireless communication frequency
complexity
Although digital communication is becoming increasingly bands- Type of communication system depends on band
of frequencies of these signals.
attractive for practical use, it is a fact that analog
communication systems are still in existence. Most of the Speech signals- telephone bandwidth 2800 Hz (3003100 Hz).
broadcasting systems and a large part of telephone
Music-bandwidth 20 KHz (high frequency-pleasing
networks in use today are analog in nature.
effect),
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PHYSICS
CLASS-XII

Er. S.P.SINGH

M-9828012787

COMMUNICATION

T.V. signal have both Audio/Video signal generally

6
MHz bandwidth allocated. (54 -72 MHz for VHF),
(76-88 MHz for T.V.) , (174-216 MHz for UHF),
(430-890 MHz T.V.)
(Mobile 896 - 901MHz mobile to base station & 840935 MHz base station to mobile)) (Satellite 5.9- 6.4 GHz
uplink and 3.7- 4.2 GHz downlink.)
Bandwidth of Transmission Medium - Wire, free space,
and fibre optic cable are the commonly used transmission
media. Coaxial cable offers a bandwidth of approx 750
MHz. Free space communication takes place over a wide
range of frequency from few hundred kHz to a few GHz.
Optical fibre offers a transmission bandwidth in excess
of 100 GHz. Frequency range 1THz to 1000 THz (microwave to ultraviolet rays). These channels / bandwidth
/spectrum allocation is govern by International telecom
union (ITU).
Antenna- It plays an important role in communication. A
straight conductor of length equal to the half wavelength
/2 (for dipole antenna) of radio signal to be transmitted
or received. Usually length is /4. Transmitting antenna
converts the electrical energy into electromagnetic waves
whereas receiving (pick up) antenna converts electromagnetic waves into electrical energy. When transmitting
antenna is placed vertically it produces vertically
polarized wave. The microwave/ dish antenna is used in
radar system or for receiving broadcast directly from
satellites. Such an antenna has a parabolic reflector with a
dipole at the focus of reflector (dish). Microwave antenna
can transmit waves in a particular direction and can
receive waves which are directed towards it.
NEED OF MODULATION/Factors affecting the
transmission of signals - Factors which affect the
transmission of an electronic signal in the audio
frequency range over a long distance directly are:
Size of the antenna or aerial - Antenna should be
comparable to the wavelength of signal. For electromagnetic wave of frequency 20 kHz, Size of antenna =
/4, for 20 Khz (audible frequency) => =15 km so height
of antenna=3.75 km (impossible to construct as height of
qutub minar =141 m only) . So the low frequency base
band signal has to be converted to high/radio frequencies.
Effective power radiated by an antenna-- Power
radiated by antenna is (l/)2. Power radiated increases
with decrease in i.e., increasing frequency. Good
transmission requires high powers. Therefore, the
frequency of transmission should be high.
Mixing up of signals from different transmittersmixing up of signal from different transmitters. If many
baseband, audio signals are mixed together so to
distinguish them separately at lower bandwidth is very
difficult. But if we communicate at higher frequencies
allot a band of frequency to each signal. It is possible if
baseband signal is mixed with high frequency signal
(carrier wave) without affecting the original signal and
then it is transmitted. This process of superimposing
baseband signal to carrier wave is called modulation. The
carrier wave may be continuous (sine wave) or in the

C (t ) A sin( t )

C
C
form of pulses.
In the process of modulation, three parameters

( AC , C , ) can be controlled. There are three types of

modulation amplitude modulation, frequency

modulation, and phase modulation.
Amplitude Modulation-

C (t ) AC sin C t and Modulating signal

m(t ) Am sin mt where m 2 f m is the angular
is
C (t )
frequency of the massage signal. Modulated signal m
Carrier wave is

is given as

Cm (t ) AC Am sin mt sin C t

A
AC 1 m sin mt sin C t
AC

Cm (t ) AC sin C t AC sin mt sin C t

A
m
AC =
Where

Amplitude change of carrier wave

is the
Normal carrier wave (unmodulated )
modulation index. 1 to avoid distortion.

AC
A
cos(C m )t C cos(C m )t
2
2
(C m ) and (C m ) are the lower side and upper

Cm ( t ) AC sin C t

side frequencies. Bandwidth of AM wave,

USB frequency LSB frequency = 2 m
Broadcast/carrier wave frequencies are sufficiently
spaced out so that sidebands do not overlap, different
stations can operate without interference/ confusion with
each other. Average power /cycle for unmodulated carrier

PC

EC2
2 R where R is the resistance of antenna.

wave
Total power /cycle for modulated wave

m 2
P
m 2
I
m2
Pt PC 1 a t 1 a t 1 a
2
PC
2
IC
2

Production of Amplitude Modulated Wave---

x (t ) Am sin m t AC sin C t
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PHYSICS

Er. S.P.SINGH

CLASS-XII

M-9828012787

COMMUNICATION

The signal is passed through a square law device, which

is a nonlinear device that produces an output.

y (t ) Bx (t ) Cx 2 (t )
y (t ) BAm sin mt BAC sin C t

according to biasing modulating voltage. This is the

amplitude modulated wave.
Demodulation of Amplitude Modulated wave
Transmitted message gets attenuated in propagating
through the channel.

C Am2 sin 2 mt AC2 sin 2 C t 2 Am AC sin mt sin Ct

y (t ) BAm sin mt BAC sin C t
2
m

2
c

2
m

2
C

CA
CA CA
CA

cos 2mt
cos 2C t
2
2
2
2
CAm AC cos C m t CAm AC cos C m t

Receiving antenna is followed by an amplifier and

detector, which is followed by intermediate frequency
(IF) stage to change the carrier frequency to lower
frequency. In this process, the modulated signal is
detected.

When the above output is passed through the band pass

filter, the wave obtained is an AM wave.

Emax Emin
E Emin
EC max
2
2
and
, In AM, the

degree of modulation is defined by a as

Em

Em Emax Emin

EC Emax Emin

, modulation index or factor

a value lies between 0 and 1. The value of a is more,

audio signal on reception becomes clearer.

modulator is followed by a power amplifier, which

provides the necessary power and then the modulated
signal is fed to an antenna of appropriate size for
radiation.

At the receiving end, the signal is generally quite weak

due to attenuation in the channel. So amplification is
needed first. It has unwanted signals (noise) also, so
receiver select the desired signal and reject others. Finally
demodulation is performed by receiver to recover the
original signal. The modulated signal is passed through a
rectifier to produce output. Envelop signal is produced. It
is the message signal.
To retrieve m (t), the signal is passed through an envelope
detector. So receiver performs following function:
(i) selecting the desired signal and rejecting the unwanted
signals. (ii) amplifying and demodulating the desired
signal. (iii) displaying the original modulating signal in a
desired manner. Rectified output is fed to parallel

X/

1
C / is low

combination of C/ and R. Reactance

for carrier wave and high for modulating signal. So audio
frequency modulating signal voltage appears across R,
sending current through headphone and original
speech/music is reproduced. Essential condition for
demodulation is 1/fc << RC (time constant) where fc is the
frequency of carrier wave.

Basic circuit of AM is shown. CE amplifier is used for

carrier wave signal. Base bias voltage is sum of D.C. and
modulating signal.
Amplification changes with base biasing voltage. Output
voltage will be a carrier wave varying in amplitude
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PHYSICS
CLASS-XII

Er. S.P.SINGH

M-9828012787

COMMUNICATION
km) and (iv) Thermosphere-F2 (300 400 km). In
middle of ionosphere where max ions lie reflects waves
of frequency range 3 30 MHz. EMW of more than 30
MHz can penetrate ionosphere. It reflect wave as total
internal reflection.
Very high frequency (highest value) which is reflected
back by ionosphere (actually it penetrate) is called

Advantage of F.M. over A.M.---(i) FM is far is more

efficient than AM transmission as in FM total power
transmitted is useful but in AM transmission, most of the
power is wasted. (ii) Noise level is very low in FM
transmission. (ii) Chances of interference with other
waves is less.
Disadvantage of FM ---(i) Band width is more so
channel is more complex and costly. (ii) Equipments used
in FM is more complex and costly. (iii) FM reception is
limited to line of sight so area of reception is much
smaller than AM transmission.
Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves-- An antenna at
the transmitter radiates the electromagnetic waves, which
travel through the space and reach the receiving antenna
at the other end.
Ground wave - When the radio waves from the
transmitting antenna propagate along the surface of the
earth so as to reach the receiving antenna. Frequency
range is less than a few MHz. For efficient radiation of
signal, size of antenna should be comparable to the
wavelength of the signal, atleast /4 For low frequency
or high wavelength as in A.M. broadcasting antenna size
is very large so vertical towers are located at ground level
for transmission. It induces current in the ground over
which it passes. As a result it is attenuated (loss of power)
due to large energy absorbed by the ground. Power loss
(attenuation) increases upto large extent with increase in
frequency. So ground wave is confined to low frequency
transmission. Maximum coverage range depends on
transmitted power and wave frequency. Very high towers
cannot be made.
SKY WAVES- In this wave propagation, radio waves
from the transmitting antenna reach the receiving antenna
after reflection from the ionosphere. Long distance
communication can be achieved by the use of ionosphere
reflection in the frequency ranges from 30 to 40 MHz.
The ionosphere has a presence of large number of ions
(charged particles). It extends at altitude range of 65 km
to 400 km above the earths surface. Ionisation occurs
due to absorption (by air molecules) of UV rays other
high energy radiations from sun. The ionospheres can be
divided as few layers. Tropospheres (altitude 10 km- a
lower part of atmosphere below ionosphere),
Stratosphere has two layers (i) lower part D (65-75km)
(ii) upper part- E(100 km), (iii) Mesosphere F1 (170 190

max
critical frequency fc = 9
where Nmax is the max
electron density and fc ranges from 5 10 MHz.
Maximum usable frequency (MUF)- It is the highest
frequency of radio waves which when sent at some angle
towards the ionosphere, gets reflected from and return to
earth. MUF = fc /cos i [ fc is critical frequency and i ,
incident angle]

Space wave The radio waves from the transmitting

antenna reach the receiving antenna directly travels in
straight line. It is used for line of sight communication
LOS as well as satellite communication. Frequency range
is above 40 MHz. As frequency is quite high so the size
of antenna required at these frequencies is very small. But
the curvature of earth blocks the direct wave propagation
at some tangential point beyond which signal cannot be
intercepted by the receiving antenna directly. So, if the
signal is to be received beyond the horizon then the
receiving antenna must be high enough to intercept the
line of sight waves.

Let hT = Height of transmitting antenna, dT = Its distance

d 2 Rh

T
to the horizon, R= Radius of earth, so, T
where hR = Height of receiving antenna, Maximum line

d 2 Rh 2 Rh

T
r
of sight distance = M
2
The population can be covered = d x population
density. Distance dM is quite short so for large distance
repeater transmitting stations at regular interval are
required as discussed earlier.
RELATION BETWEEN HEIGHT OF
TRANSMITTING ANTENNA AND COVERAGE
DISTANCE-If the broadcast is made from a height h above the
ground, no reception by direct signals is possible beyond
the points A and B. The distance arc OB or arc OA up to
which signals can be received can be calculated in terms
of h and the radius R of the Earth. In the right-angled
triangle CBP,
CP2 = CB2 + BP2
But, CP = R + h => (R+h)2 = R2 + d2
=>

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PHYSICS

Er. S.P.SINGH

CLASS-XII
2

M-9828012787

COMMUNICATION
2

R + h + 2Rh = R + d => d = h + 2Rh [PBOB=d]

REMOTE SENSING--can be defined as obtaining

information about an object by observing it from a
distance and without coming to actual contact with it. In
It is clear from this equation that if h is large, d will be
fact when we see an object and understand what it is.
large. This explains as to why the television broadcasts
The orbit of a satellite used for remote sensing is such
are made from tall antennas.
Example: A TV tower has a height of 100 m. How much that the satellite passes over a particular latitude at
approximately the same local time. In other words, the
population is covered by the TV broadcast if the average
-2
population density around the tower is 1000 km ? Given position of the Sun with respect to a point on the Earth
remains approximately the same as the satellite passes
radius of earth = 6.37 x 106m.
6
Solution h = 100 m, R= 6.37 x 10 m, Average population over it. Such orbits are called Sun-Synchronous orbits.
These are different from Geostationary orbits.
density = 1000 km-2 = 1000 (103)-2 m-2 = 10-3 m-2
Distance up to which the transmission could be viewed, d A remote sensing satellite takes photographs of a
= 2hR , so total area over which transmission could particular region with nearly the same illumination every
time it passes through that region. The most useful of
be viewed = d2 = 2 h R , Population covered = 10-3 x
-3
6
remote-sensing technology is that it makes possible the
2hR = 10 x 2 x 3.14 x 100 x 6.37 x 10 = 40 lakh
repetitive surveys of vast areas in a very short time, even
if the areas are inaccessible. Application of the data
SATELLITE COMMUNICATION: The satellite
received from these satellites in the following important
communication is almost same as that of the line of sight
communication. The only difference is that instead of the fields.(i) Agriculture (ii) Forestry (iii) Water harvesting
(iv) Mineral prospecting (v) Urban planning (vi) Land
use of antenna, the modulated wave is sent to a satellite.
use (vii) Land cover planning. Some important remote
The most important consideration of satellite
communication system is to choose the orbit in which the sensing applications are listed below:
(1) In Geology: Geology has a long history of remote
satellite communication system is to choose the orbit in
which the satellite is to be placed. For steady and reliable sensing applications. (2) In Agriculture: Remote sensing
provides important data for crop identification and area
transmission and reception, the satellite should be
measurement under different types of crops.. Remote
geostationary.
sensing can help raise the productivity of food grains.
A communication satellite is orbiting around earth
(3) In Forestry: Remote sensing helps in providing
carrying Radio Transponder which is used for the
information about the extent of forest cover. It also gives
transmission and the reception of the microwaves. The
a general idea of the types of forest cover. (4) In Land
transmitted signal is up-linked and received by the
use mapping: Remote sensing data can be used to great
satellite which downlinks it with the ground station
through its transmitter. The frequencies of the uplink and advantage in up-to- date land use pattern of large areas at
any given time. (5) Remote sensing can also provide
the down link are kept quite different from one another
data related to ocean and coastal zones: The potential
so that there would be no confusion between the uplink
area of fish concentration can be identified. (6) Remote
and the downlink. Transponders govern both uplink and
sensing has become a valuable tool in monitoring
downlink actions.
environmental conditions: (7) Satellite-based remote
Basic requirement of Geostationary satellite are (i) time
sensing has helped to capture details of the Earth's surface
period of revolution of satellite around earth = 24 hrs
to understand the distribution and status of biodiversity.
(ii) sense of rotation is west to east (iii) orbital plane of
(8) Remote sensing helps us in planning pipeline routes,
satellite is concentric and coplanar with equatorial plane
ring roads and urban settlements.(9) Flood damage
of earth (iv) height of geostationary satellite above the
assessment: (10) A specialized application of remote
equator is nearly 36000 km and orbital velocity is 3.1
km/s. Minimum 3 satellites must be there to cover whole sensing is in the field of defense, both for gathering
intelligence information and for spying. (11) Remote
earth for communication.
sensing satellite information helps to minimize losses in
times of natural calamities by early warning systems.
MODEM---The 'modem' is a contraction of the term
modulator-demodulator. It is a conversion that facilitates
the transmission and reception of the data over the public
switched telephone network (PSTN). The data of interest
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PHYSICS
CLASS-XII

Er. S.P.SINGH

M-9828012787

COMMUNICATION

may be digital signals generated by computers or service

providers. In such an application, the modulator portion
of the modem converts the incoming digital into a
standard form suitable for transmission over a telephone
channel is the PSTN. The demodulator portion of the
modem receives the channel output and reconverts in into
the original digital signal format.
MODEM WITH REFERENCE TO COMPUTER---A
modem (a modulator/demodulator) lets you connect your
computer to a standard telephone line so that you can
transmit and receive electronically transmitted data. It is
the key that unlocks the world of the Internet and its
World Wide Web, electronic mail (E- mail),etc. TYPES
OF MODEM---Depending upon how your computer is
configured and your preferences, you can have n external,
internal or PC modem card.

THE RADIO SPECTRUM

The table below gives the radio spectrum indicating
frequency band, frequency range, wavelength range and
typical uses.

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PHYSICS
CLASS-XII

Er. S.P.SINGH

M-9828012787

COMMUNICATION

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PHYSICS
CLASS-XII

Er. S.P.SINGH

M-9828012787

COMMUNICATION

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PHYSICS
CLASS-XII

Er. S.P.SINGH

M-9828012787

COMMUNICATION
a

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