Introduction to

Electronic
Communications
 Learning Objectives

• Name the four main elements of any communications

system and state what each does.
• List six examples of common simplex and duplex
communications systems in wide use today.
• List the twelve major segments of the electromagnetic
spectrum and give the frequency ranges of each.
• Convert between measures of frequency and
wavelength.
• Define bandwidth and compute the bandwidth of a
given piece of spectrum given the upper and lower
frequency range.
The Field of Electronics

Electronics

Computers Communications Control

 Computer Field
• The largest field in terms of the sales of
equipment and services and number of
employees.

• It is concerned with the development of

computer hardware and software used by
business, industry, and government for the
processing, storage, and retrieval of data.
 Communications Field
• It is the second largest in size and is most
certainly the oldest since electronics really
started with radio communications.

• It is concerned with electronic equipment

used for the transfer of information between
two or more points.
Control Field
• It is concerned with electric power
as well as various kinds of
electronic components and circuits
used to operate lights, heating
elements, electric motors, and other
devices.
Importance of Communications

• Communication is the basic process of

exchanging information.

• It is what humans do to convey their thoughts,

ideas, and feelings to one another.

• Most humans communicate through the spoken

word however, body movements, facial
expressions and written communication are also
effective communication tools.
Two Main Barriers to Human
Communication

• Language – when humans of different

tribes, nations, or races come together,
they often find that they do not speak the
same language.

• Distance – Most human communication in

the beginning was limited to face-to-face
conversations.
The Elements of a
Communication System
 The Elements of a
Communication System
• Transmitter - a collection of electronic
components and circuits designed to convert the
information into a signal suitable for
transmission over a given communications
medium.

• Communications channel - is the medium by

which the electronic signal is sent from one
place to another.
• The communications medium may simply be
a pair of wires, a fiber optic cable, or radio.
Wireless Communication
• Radio is the broad general term applied
to any form of wireless communication
from one point to another.

• Radio makes use of the electromagnetic

spectrum where signals are
communicated from one point to another
by converting them into electric and
magnetic fields that propagate readily
over long distances.
• Receiver - another collection of electronic
components and circuits that accept the
transmitted message from the channel and
convert it back into a form understandable
by humans.

• Noise - random, undesirable electric

energy that enters the communications
system via the communicating medium and
interfere with the transmitted message.
Electronics Communications
System
 Types of Electronic
Communications
• 3 classifications of electronic
communications:
• one-way or two-way transmissions
• analog or digital signals
• baseband or modulated signals.
 2 Basic Types of Electronic
Communications

1. Simplex – simplest, one-way

communications
- the information travels in one
direction only.
(e.g. AM, FM, TV broadcasting, facsimile,
telemetry )

2. Duplex – two–way communications

- the bulk of electronic communications
 Two Types of Duplex
Communications
• Full Duplex – two-way simultaneous
communication
(e.g. telephones)

• Half-Duplex – two-way communications

where only one party transmits at a
time
(e.g. e-mails, text messages, radar,
sonar)
 Two Types of Signals

• Analog Signal – a continuously varying voltage

or current.
(e.g. sine-wave tone, voice and video
signals)
• Digital Signal – changes in step or discrete
increments, it also uses binary or two-state codes
e.g. Morse code, Serial Binary Code
Continuous Wave Code
• Baseband signals – refers to the original
information signal regardless whether it is
an analog or digital signal

• Baseband Transmission – process of

putting the original voice, video, or digital
signals directly into the communications
medium
 Modulation
• - process of having a baseband voice, video or
digital signal modify another, higher-frequency
signal called the carrier.

• The carrier is usually a sine wave that is higher

in frequency than the highest intelligence signal
frequency.

2 most common methods of modulation:

• Amplitude Modulation (AM)
• Frequency Modulation (FM).
• In AM, the baseband signal varies the
amplitude of the higher frequency carrier
signal.
• In FM, the baseband signal varies the
frequency of the carrier.

• Shifting the phase of the carrier in

accordance with the intelligence signal
produces phase modulation (PM).

• PM, in turn, produces FM, so a PM signal

looks like the FM signal.
Frequency Modulation
Electromagnetic Waves
• - also referred to as radio frequency (RF)
waves.

• - signals that oscillate; that is, the

amplitudes of the electric and magnetic
fields vary at a specific rate.

• - frequency is measured in cycles per

second or hertz.
The Electromagnetic
Spectrum

• - refers to the entire range of

frequencies.
• - divided into segments for the
purpose of classifying the various
portions and how they are used.
The Electromagnetic
Spectrum
The Electromagnetic
Spectrum
Extremely Low
Frequencies
• - range of frequencies from 30- to 300
Hz.

• These include ac power line

frequencies (60 Hz) and those
frequencies in the low end of the human
hearing range.
Voice Frequencies
• - frequencies in the range of 300 to
3000 Hz.
• - normal range of human speech.
• - although human hearing extends
from approximately 20 to 20,000 Hz,
most intelligible sound occurs in the
VF range.
Very Low Frequencies
• - include the higher end of human
hearing range up to 15 or 20 KHz.
• - many musical instruments also
make sounds in this range as well as
in the ELF and VF ranges.
• - also used in some government and
military communications.
 Low Frequencies
• - frequencies in the 30 – 300 KHz range.

• - primary communications services are those

used in aeronautical and marine navigation.

• - frequencies in this range are also used as

subcarriers, the signals which carry the
baseband modulating information but which, in
turn, modulate another HF carrier.
Medium Frequencies

• - MFs are in the 300 to 3000 KHz.

• - major application is AM radio

broadcasting (535 to 1605 KHz).

• - other services include various marine

and aeronautical communications
applications.
High Frequencies
• - frequencies in the 3 to 30 MHz range,
generally known as short waves.

• - include all kinds of two-way radio

communications as well as some shortwave
radio broadcasting.

• - Voice of America and Radio Free Europe

broadcasts occur in this range.

• - used by government & military services for

two-way communications.
 Very High Frequencies

• - covers the 30 to 300 MHz range.

• - an extremely popular frequency range

used by many services including:
• mobile radio
• marine & aeronautical communications
• FM radio broadcasting (88 to 108 MHz)
• Television channels 2 to 13
• TV channel frequencies are assigned in 54 to 806
MHz frequency band divided into 68 TV channels
with each occupying 6MHz bandwidth.

• To calculate picture carrier value, add 1.25MHz

to the lower frequency range. To derive sound
carrier value, add 4.5 MHz to the picture carrier
obtained.

• Example: channel 6 which has band from 82 to 88

MHz:
Picture carrier = 82 + 1.25 = 83.25 MHz
Sound carrier = 83.25 + 4.5 = 87.75 MHz
 Ultra High Frequencies
• - covers the 300 to 3000 MHz range.
• - includes the UHF TV channels 14 to 83.
• - also widely used for land mobile
communications and services such as
cellular telephones.
• - radar and navigation services occupy this
portion of the frequency spectrum.
Super High Frequencies

• SHFs are those in the 3 to 30 GHz

range.
• These are microwave frequencies that
are widely used for satellite
communications and radar.
• Some specialized forms of two-way
radio communications also occupy this
region.
 Extremely High
Frequencies
• It extend from 30 to 300 GHz.

• Equipment used to generate and receive

signals in this range is extremely complex
and expensive.

• Presently there is only a limited amount of

activity in this range, but it does not include
satellite communications and specialized
radar.
 Infrared
• - sandwiched between the highest radio
frequencies and the visible portion of the
electromagnetic spectrum.

• - occupies the range between approximately

0.01 mm and 700 nm, (0.7 to 10 microns).

• - often given in microns, where a micron is 1

millionth of a meter.
 2 Areas of Infrared
• long infrared (0.01 mm to 1000 nm)
• short infrared (1000 to 700 nm).

• - refers to radiation generally associated

with heat.

• Anything that produces heat generates

infrared signals.

• - used in astronomy to detect stars and

other physical bodies in the heavens.
• - used for guidance in weapon systems
where the heat radiated from airplanes or
missiles can be picked up by infrared
detectors and used to guide missiles
toward these targets.

• - used in most TV remote control units

where special coded signals are
transmitted by infrared to the receiver
 The Visible Spectrum
• - ordinarily referred to as light.

• Light - a special type of electromagnetic

radiation that has a wavelength in the 0.4
to 0.8 m range.

• Light wavelengths are usually expressed in

terms of angstroms.

• An angstrom is one ten-thousandth of a

micron.
• The visible range is approximately 8000
angstroms (red) to 4000 angstroms (violet).

• Light is widely used for various kinds of

communications.

• Light waves can be modulated and

transmitted through glass fibers just as
electric signals can be transmitted over
wires.
 Ultra Violet Rays
• - invisible solar radiation that lies just beyond the violet
end of the visible spectrum that ranges from 10 to 400
nanometers (just below the x-ray range) and
can harm living tissue.

• - much of it is absorbed by the ozone molecules in the

upper atmosphere (stratosphere)
• - a potentially dangerous amount passes through
the ozone hole to cause cataracts, skin
cancer (melanoma), suppression of the immune system,
leaf damage, and reduced yields in some crops.

• - generated also during electric (arc) welding.

Uses for UV
• Our skin and UV
• - skin exposed to UVB stimulates the production
of vitamin D, which our bodies need.

• - window glass absorbs UVB, so people need to

go outside to gain the benefit.
• - too much exposure to UVB can cause skin
cancers

• - UV lamps are used in sun beds to give the users

a sun tan, but this use of UV is controversial.
•Sterilisation and disinfection
• - exposure to UVB inactivates bacteria present in
washed clothes

• - helps to protect us from infection and is another

reason to dry washing outside

• - artificially produced UVC is used to sterilise

surfaces of things such as medical equipment.

• - UVC is called “germicidal UV” because it is able

to directly disable the strands of DNA in bacteria
and viruses and make them inert.
•Astronomy
• - observing and recording the UV from astronomical
objects such as planets in our solar system, stars, nebulae
and galaxies enables us to gain extra information such as
the temperature and chemical composition of these
objects.

• - these observations need to be made outside the Earth’s

atmosphere. On board the Hubble Space Telescope, the
Faint Object Spectrograph (FOS) and the Goddard High
Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) are used to collect and
analyse UV light from interesting targets.

• - the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is a

spacecraft that was launched in 1995 to study the Sun.
• Fluorescence and lighting

• A number of substances are able to absorb the

energy in UV light and immediately convert it
into visible light. This effect is
called fluorescence.

• The ink in highlighter pens contains a

fluorescent dye that enables the ink to reflect
vividly in sunlight and to glow strongly in the
dark when a UV lamp is shone on it.
Bandwidth
• - the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum
occupied by a signal.

• - also the frequency range over which an

information signal is transmitted or over which
a receiver or other electronic circuit operates.

• - the difference between the upper and lower

frequency limits of the signal or the equipment
range.
Federal Communications
Commission (FCC)
• - a regulatory body whose sole purpose is
allocating spectrum space, issuing
licenses, setting standards, and policing
airwaves in the US

• - controls all telephone and radio

communications in the US, and in
general, regulates all electromagnetic
emissions
National Telecommunications
Commission (NTC)
• - primarily responsible for the
regulation and quasi- judicial functions
relative to the supervision, adjudication,
and control of radio communications,
telecommunications, and broadcast,
including cable television (CATV) facilities
and services in the Philippines
International Telecommunications
Union (ITU)
• - an international organization which all
countries belong, an agency of the United
Nations

• - its various committees set standards for

various areas within the communications field.

• - it brings together the various countries to

discuss how the frequency spectrum is to be
divided up and shared.