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1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 FREQUENCIES
Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz), equivalent to cycles per second: thus
1 Hz is 1 c/s. The SI measurement system is used to designate frequency
ranges. The common frequency ranges with their SI symbols are given in
Table 1.1.
Frequency SI symbol
1 Hz 1 Hz
1000 Hz I kHz
1000 000 Hz 1 MHz
1000 000 000 Hz 1 GHz
2 Definition of terms
+2
+1
-1
-2
Sine wave
+2
+1
-1
-2
Cosine wave
+2
+1
-1
-2
Sinusoidal waveform
+2
+1
-1
-2
Typical speech waveform
f=l_ Hz
t
where t = time in seconds
The time t is the duration of one complete cycle, i.e. one wavelength.
The formula used to determine the wavelength A in free space (vacuum) is as
follows:
r
A=ym
where c = velocity of light in a vacuum
= 3 x 108 m / s
The waveforms shown in Fig. 1.1 are shown in the time domain, which means that
the amplitude is plotted against time.
A sine wave and a cosine wave consist of a single frequency. A sine wave can be
described as having a start phase of 0 ~ and an initial amplitude of zero. The wave
then starts to move towards the positive maximum amplitude. A cosine wave can
be described as having a start phase of 90 ~ and an initial positive maximum ampli-
tude. The wave then starts to move towards the zero amplitude point. A sinusoi-
dal wave has a start phase anywhere from 0 ~ to 360 ~ and an initial amplitude
anywhere between the positive maxima and the negative maxima. However, the
sinusoidal wave follows the shape of a sine wave.
A complex wave is a wave that consists of a number of different frequencies.
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+3
+2
+1
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0 II, , II L
to t~ t2 t3 t4 t5 t6
Theoretical digital signal
Positive edge, Negative edge, trailing edge,
leading edge lagging edge
+4
+3
+2
+1
0
to
,
tl
Practical digital signal
l
t6
+'I
+4
+3
+2
+1
90% of Vss
10% of Vss
Vss = Steady-state voltage
0
'-" tl --,
Leading edge expanded
90% of Vss
+3
+4
+2 -t
+l 10% of Vss
0
t ! -----~',
A digital signal has a pulse repetition time (PRT) which is the duration of one
full cycle (one wavelength). The fundamental frequency (i.e. the lowest frequency
in the wave) is determined by means of the following formula:
1
f = P R T Hz
1.6 WAVEFORMS
Different waveforms are produced using different harmonically related frequen-
cies. The harmonic frequencies are those frequencies which are directly related
to the fundamental frequency.
A fundamental frequency is the lowest frequency that exists in the complex
wave and its frequency is determined by the inverse of the duration of one
cycle. Some of these harmonic frequencies are given in Table 1.2.
Waveforms 5
f~ 2nd 23q
3rd 3./i
4th 43q
5th 5fl
50th 50~
200th 200./]
+1
0
-2
Fundamental frequency
+1
0
-1
L-x--:-- v
Third harmonic frequency
+2
+1
0
-1
-2
Fundamental + 3rd harmonic
+1
0
-1 I_ L-'a Fith harmonic frequency
+2
+1
0
-1
-2
Fundamental + 3rd harmonic +5th harmonic
must be as follows:
max. amplitude off1
nth harmonic amplitude =
This wave is also a complex wave consisting of a fundamental frequency and all the
harmonic frequencies. Again the fundamental frequency and the harmonic frequen-
cies are all sine waves. The amplitude relationship between the fundamental and the
harmonic frequencies is given by the equation in Section 1.6.1. The only difference
is that n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc.
+2
+I
-1
-2 Fundamental frequency
+1
-1
-2
+1
0,, ~ ,-'N
-1
-2 -
The construction of a sawtooth wave is shown in Fig. 1.4. This figure shows the
resultant of a fundamental frequency and the second harmonic frequency as well
as the resultant of a fundamental frequency, a second harmonic frequency and a
third harmonic frequency.
If more and more harmonic frequencies are added then a true sawtooth wave
results.
1.6.3 N o i s e spikes
In any communication system one of the biggest problems is noise. Noise can be
caused by sudden current surges due to drastically changing loads in the supply
leads. A typical noise spike is created by a fundamental frequency and all the har-
monic frequencies. Again all the frequencies are sine waves but all the harmonic
frequencies have the same amplitude as the fundamental frequency. This results in
very narrow spikes of large amplitude.
Figure 1.5 shows the fundamental frequency, and the second, third and fourth
harmonic frequencies. In this figure the fundamental and harmonic frequencies all
+2
+1
-1
-2
Fundamental frequency
+2
+1
-1
-2
Second harmonic frequency
+2
+1
-1
-2
Third harmonic frequency
+2
+1
-1
-2
Fourth harmonic frequency
have the same amplitude. Figure 1.6 shows the resultant wave when these frequen-
cies are added together. By adding more and more harmonic frequencies the spike
increases in amplitude and it is reduced in width; also the ripple between the
positive and negative spikes is reduced.
These noise spikes can occur in the electricity supply in the early morning when
workers in heavy industry switch on their equipment, causing a sudden surge of
current in the supply, and in the late afternoon or early evening when the
equipment is switched off, creating a sudden drain in the current.
Other causes of noise spikes are induced voltages and currents due to lightning
strikes.
The loss or gain NRati o of the network shown above is given as follows:
Pout
NRati~ Pin
The above equation yields a ratio as both the output power and the input power
are in watts.
To enable a unit of measurement to be attached to this ratio, the following
formula is used:
Pout
N = 10 logl0 ~ dB
The advantage of using the decibel as a unit of measurement is that the individual
gains of the individual networks can be added together instead of being multiplied
together.
Example 1.1
Determine a formula for the overall gain of the three cascaded networks shown
below as a ratio and in dB.
Pio i ,1 P' Poo,
PI P2 Pout
NRatio = K X ~11 x p"-~
This yields the following as a ratio:
N = Pout
Pin
To convert this into dB the following results:
N-
( P, x EP2• -Pout
10 log,o ~ ~2
)
PI /)2 Pout
N = 10 log10 ~ + 10 logl0 ~ + 10 logl0 ~ dB
Example 1.2
Calculate the gain or loss of each of the following networks in dB:
1. Input power is 4 ~tW and output power is 16 ~tW.
2. Input power is 4 mW and output power is 16 mW.
3. Input power is 4 W and output power is 16 W.
10 Definition of terms
Solution
Pout 16 ~tW
N = 10 logl0 ~ = 10 logI0 4 laW
N = 10 lOgl0 4 = 10 x 0.602 = 6 dB
Pout 16 mW
.
N = 10 log10 ~ = 10 logl0 4 mW
N = 10 log10 4 = 10 x 0.602 = 6 dB
Pout _ 16 W
,
N = 10 lOgl0 ~ - 10 logl0 4 W
In this example it can be seen that the equation yields the same answer for each
of the three networks. Hence the dB gives no indication of the input power or
output power. In all three examples the network has a gain of 6 dB.
If the input voltage to a network and output voltage from the network are given
then the equation becomes
Vo Zi
N = 20 logl0 -~i + 10 log10 Zo dB
N - 20 log10 ~
Zo dB
Example 1.3
Determine the signal level for each of the following signal powers in dBm:
1. 4laW
2. 16~tW
3. 4mW
4. 16mW
P =101oglo41aW
1. N = 10 logl0 1 m-----W 1mW
P =101ogl016~tW
2. N = 10 logl0 1 m-----W 1mW
N = 10 logt0 4 = 6 dBm
P = 10 loglo 16 m W
4. N = 10 logl0 1 m W 1m W
N = 10 loglo 16 = 12 dBm
As can be seen in the above example the level in dBm indicates the actual
power in the signal relative to 1 roW. Table 1.3 illustrates this relationship
more clearly.
F r o m this it can be seen that the dBm is used to measure the amount of power
at a point in a system.
Refer to Fig. 1.7; the input signal power at the origin of the system is 100 I~W,
which is a level of - l0 dBm. The origin of the system is also referred to as the zero
test level point (0 TLP). The total loss of the local telephone exchange and the
Table 1.3 Relationship between power and d B m
16 +12
8 +9
4 +6
2 +3
1 0
0.5 -3
0.25 -6
0.125 -9
0.0625 -12
-10 dBmO
-10 dBr -37 dBr -42 dBr -65 dBr Test point
88
-20 dBm -47 dBm -52 dBm -75 dBm Signal level
I 4332 kHz
Loss = 23 dB
national dial exchange is 10 dB. The resultant signal power at the audio-in point is
10 ~tW, which is equivalent to a signal level o f - 2 0 dBm.
The channel presents a loss of 27 dB and as a result the signal power at the
output of the channel translation stage is 19.95 nW, which equates to a signal
level o f - 4 7 dBm. The group translation stage presents a loss of 5 dB and as a
result the signal power at the output of the group translation stage is 6.31 nW,
which equates to a signal level o f - 5 2 d B m . The supergroup translation stage
presents a loss of 23 dB, which means that the output signal power from this
stage is 31.62 pW, which equates to a signal level o f - 7 5 dBm.
As can be seen in the above equation, it is the difference between the level in dBm
and the level in dBr. It should be the same at every test point in a system for the
same signal. A practical example of its usage is the half-power points of a filter.
These points are often referred to as the 3 dB down points; a more correct way
to designate these points is as the - 3 dBmO points.
By referring to Fig. 1.7 it can be seen that the dBmO level at each test point is
exactly the same. This unit of measurement is often used in fault finding to isolate
a faulty piece of equipment in a system.