Laboratory Report №4

COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS
ASK MODULATION

Contributors list:
Sanzhar Askaruly ID 201100549
Yernar Bainazar ID 201102372

Date:
23rd of April, 2015
LESSON 978: ASK MODULATION

Introduction

The aim of this laboratory is to describe the ASK (Amplitude Shift Keying) modulation and
demodulation. We are also to carry out an ASK connection, with and without Manchester data coding.
And finally the noise effect on the connection is to be examined.

Equipment used:

• Oscilloscope

Theory

Amplitude shift keying - ASK - in the context of digital communications is a modulation process, which
imparts to a sinusoid two or more discrete amplitude levels. These are related to the number of levels
adopted by the digital message.

For a binary message sequence there are two levels, one of which is typically zero.

Thus the modulated waveform consists of bursts of a sinusoid. Figure 1 illustrates a binary ASK signal
(lower), together with the binary sequence which initiated it (upper). Neither signal has been band
limited.

Figure 1: an ASK signal (below) and the message (above)

There are sharp discontinuities shown at the transition points. These result in the signal having an
unnecessarily wide bandwidth. Bandlimiting is generally introduced before transmission, in which case
these discontinuities would be ‘rounded off’. The bandlimiting may be applied to the digital message, or
the modulated signal itself.

The data rate is often made a sub-multiple of the carrier frequency. This has been done in the waveform
of Figure 1.

One of the disadvantages of ASK, compared with FSK and PSK, for example, is that it has not got a
constant envelope. This makes its processing (eg, power amplification) more difficult, since linearity
becomes an important factor. However, it does make for ease of demodulation with an envelope detector.
 Figure 2: the two stages of the demodulation process

It is apparent from Figures 1 and 2 that the ASK signal has a well defined envelope.

Thus it is amenable to demodulation by an envelope detector.

With bandlimiting of the transmitted ASK neither of these demodulation methods (envelope detection or
synchronous demodulation) would recover the original binary sequence; instead, their outputs would be a
bandlimited version. Thus further processing - by some sort of decision-making circuitry for example -
would be necessary.

Thus demodulation is a two-stage process:

1. recovery of the bandlimited bit stream

2. regeneration of the binary bit stream

Modulation

We keeped the last conditions (J1c-J3d-J4-J5-J6a; SW2=Normal,SW3=24_bit, SW4=1200, SW6=ASK,

SW8=BIT, ATT=min, NOISE=min. Then have set an alternated data sequence 00/11 and push START.
Connected the oscilloscope to TP16 and TP20, to examine the ASK, signal before and after the
communication channel. In addition, note the effect of the communication channel on the ASK signal. As
the communication channel is limited band (the frequency response if low pass), the ASK output signal is
slightly beveled. The effect is the more evident if a 1800-Hz carrier is used (switch SW4). Take SW4 to
the position 1200 again

978.2 EXERCISES

Q2 What kind of signal can you detect across TP23 ?

ASNWER: 3) the ASK signal rectified in positive half-waves

Figure 3. TP 23.

Q3 Why is the ASK much sensible to signal amplitude variations ?

ASNWER: 4) because the information is associated to the signal amplitude, too

Q4 The data across TP29 are not correct. Which is the reason why ?

ASNWER: 4) the 1200-Hz generator does not supply the carrier

Q6 The following statements are referred to the ASK modulation. Which of them is true ?

ASNWER: 2) the carrier is a sine-wave, which is transmitted with data bits "1" and reset with data bits
"0"; the modulation can be carried out with a balanced modulator; the carrier must be regenerated in the
receiver if a coherent demodulator is used; it is actually used not much for low speed data transmission
systems

Q7 The following statements are referred to ASK modulation. Which of them is false ?

ASNWER: 1) the square-wave carrier takes 2 or more amplitude values; the demodulation can be
differential or absolute; it is used for data transmissions at speeds over 9600 bit/s; it is slightly affected by
noise

Q8 Which is the purpose of data Manchester coding ?

ASNWER: 2) to ease (in transmission) the data clock recovery

LESSON 981: 4-PSK MODULATION (I)

Theory

Figure below shows the block diagram of the mathematical implementation of 4-PSK.
At the input of the modulator, the digital data’s even bits (i.e., bits 0,2,4 and so on) are stripped from the
data stream by a “bit-splitter” and are multiplied with a carrier to generate a BPSK signal (called PSKI).
At the same time, the data’s odd bits (i.e., bits 1,3,5 and so on) are stripped from the data stream and are
multiplied with the same carrier to generate a second BPSK signal (called PSKQ). However, the PSKQ
signal’s carrier is phase shifted by 90o before being modulated.

The two BPSK signals are then simply added together for transmission and, as they have the same carrier
frequency, they occupy the same portion of the radio frequency spectrum. While this suggests that the
two sets of signals would be irretrievably mixed, the required 90o of phase separation between the
carriers allows the sidebands to be separated by the receiver using phase discrimination.

The constellation diagram of QPSK is as shown below:

Figure 2. QPSK Signal Constellation

Each adjacent symbol only differs by one bit, sometimes known as quaternary or quadriphase PSK or 4-
PSK, or 4-QAM. QPSK uses four points on the constellation diagram, equispaced around a circle. With
four phases, QPSK can encode two bits per symbol shown in the diagram to minimize the BER- twice the
rate of BPSK. Analysis shows that this may be used either to double the data rate compared to a BPSK
system while maintaining the bandwidth of the signal or to maintain the data rate of BPSK but half the
bandwidth needed. The implementation of QPSK is more general than that of BPSK and also indicates
the implementation of higher order PSK. Writing the symbols in the constellation diagram in terms of
sine and cosine waves used to transmit them. This yields the four phases π/4, 3π/4, 5π/4 and 7π/4 as
needed. This results in a two dimensional signal space with unit basis functions. The first basis function is
used as the in-phase component of the signal and the second as the quadrature component of the signal.
Hence the signal constellation consists of the signal- space 4 points.

Figure below shows the block diagram of the mathematical implementation of QPSK demodulation.
 Figure 3. QPSK demodulation.

It is to be noticed that the arrangement uses two product detectors to simultaneously demodulate the two
BPSK signals. This simultaneously recovers the pairs of bits in the original data. The two signals are
cleaned-up using a comparator or some other signal conditioners then the bits are put back in order using
a 2-bit parallel to serial converter.

Modulation

Set the circuit in 4-PSK absolute mode, with 24-bit data source and without data coding (connect J1b-J3c-
J4-J5-J6c; set SW2=Normal, SW3=24_bit, SW4=1200, SW5=1200/90°, SW6=QPSK Then, set a cyclic
data sequence 11.00.01.10 (this facilitates the identification of the phases on the wave-form detected by
the oscilloscope), and push START. In addition, connect the oscilloscope to TP4 and TP16 and examine
the Data signal and the 4-PSK signal. Adjust the PHASE to obtain phase shifts of the carrier at
0/90/180/270°. You get wave-forms similar to those of fig.981.6

981.2 EXERCISES

Q1 Examine the wave-forms on TP4, TP6 and TP7. What can you say ?

ANSWER: 3) there is the signal “I” across TP6 and the signal “Q” across TP7 both supplied by the Dibit
generator. Considering the input data signal (TP4) divided into pair of bits, the signal “I” takes the value
of the first bit of the pair and the signal “Q” takes the value of the second bit
 Figure 3. TP 3 for 0, 90, 180 ad 270 phases.

Figure 4. TP 6.

Figure 5. TP 7.

Q2 Examine the modulated signal (TP16). What can you state ?

ANSWER: 4) the modulated carrier takes 4 phase values. Each phase is a transmitted symbol. There is a
determinate phase (symbol) for each pair of bits. The symbol transmission speed (Baud) is half the data
transmission speed (bit/s)
 Figure 6. TP16 (blue), TP20 (yellow)

Q3 Examine the wave-forms across TP14 and TP15. What can you state ?

ANSWER: 1) TP14 is the output of the modulator 1, TP15 the output of the modulator 2. There is a 2-
PSK signal across TP14, a FSK signal across TP15. The sum of the two produces a 4-PSK signal

Figure 7. TP14, FSK modulation

 Figure 8. TP15, PSK modulation.

LESSON 982: 4-PSK MODULATION (part II)

982.2 Exercises

Q1 How are the regenerated carriers examined across TP21 and TP22?

ANSWER: 4) 1200-Hz rectangular waves shifted of 90° between them

Q2 On which measurement point you get the received data signal?

ANSWER: 5) in TP9, after the circuit recombining the Dibit (signals “I” and “Q”) into bit flow.

àTP9-RX-DATA on circuit board

Q3 The data received in TP9 are not correct. Which is the reason why?

ANSWER: 6) the demodulator “Q” supplies no signal

It was checked and measured that no signal in Q, while I operates, other operates too

Q4 The received data are not correct in TP9. Which is the reason why?

ANSWER: 5) the low pass filter of the channel “I” supplies no signal

Q5 Why do the constellation points move when there is noise?

ANSWER: 3) the noise causes amplitude and phase variations of the 4-PSK signal. The phase variation
moves the points sideways, the amplitude variation moves the points diagonally

Figure 18 shows 4-PSK and Figure 19 shows 4-PSK with noise.

Figure 18: 4-PSK Figure 19: 4-PSK with noise

Q6 Which reception circuit are negatively affected by noise?

ANSWER: 3) only the demodulators “I” and “Q”

Conclusion

As it was mentioned in the introduction, the aim of this laboratory was to describe the ASK (Amplitude
Shift Keying) modulation and demodulation. There is also ASK connection, with and without Manchester
data coding, performed. Finally the noise effect on the connection was examined. In conclusion, this
laboratory helped us to learn more about ASK modulation, by obtaining the figures with the help of
oscilloscope.