Amplitude Modulation and Single-Sideband Modulation Chapter Objectives This chapter will help you to: Recognize an AM signal in the time domain (oscilloscope display), the fre- quency domain (spectral display), or in trigonometric equation form. 2. Calculate the percentage of modulation of an AM signal given waveform measure: ments. 3. Calculate the upper and lower sidebands of an AM signal given the carrier and ‘modulating signal frequencies. Calculate the sideband power in an AM wave given the carrier power and the per- centage of modulation. Define the terms DSB and SSB and state the benefits of SSB over an AM signal. 5. ne of the principal techniques used in electronic communications is modu- lation. Modulation is the process of having the information to be transmitted alter a higher-frequency signal for the purpose of transmitting the information somewhere in the electromagnetic spectrum via radio, wire, or fiberoptic cable. Without modulation, electronic communications would not exist as we know it today. Communications elec- tronics is largely the study of various modu- 2-1 Amplitude Modulation Principles Information signals such as voice, video, or bi- nary data are sometimes transmitted directly from one point to another over some commu- nications medium. For example, voice signals are transmitted by way of wires in the tele- hone system. Coaxial cables carry video sig- nals between two points, and twisted-pair ca- ble is often used to carry binary data from one point to another in a computer network ‘However, when transmission distances are far, cables are sometimes impractical. In such ‘Amplitude Modulation and Single-Sideband Modulation Chapter 2 Jation techniques and of the modulator and demodulator circuits that make modulation possible. The three principal types of elec- tronic communications are amplitude modus lation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), and phase modulation (PM). The oldest and simplest form of modulation is AM. In this cchapier we will cover AM along with a derivation known as single-sideband modula- tion. Chapter 3 will cover amplitude modula- tor and demodulator circuit. cases, ratio communications is used. To carry out reliable long-distance radio communica- tion, a high-frequency signal must be used. It s simply impractical to convert the informa- tion signal directly to electromagnetic radi tion. Excessively long antennas and interfer ence between signals would result if information signals were transmitted directly For this reason, it is desirable to translate the information signal to a point higher in the elec- tromagnetic frequency spectrum. It is the process of modulation that ereates a higher- frequency signal containing the original infor- mation. wx@ o Fig. 2-1 Amplitude modulation. (a) The modulating or information signal. {b) The modulated carrier. About <= Electronics [Does your Internet browser have trouble showing you a Web page? Here are some common strategies for troubleshooting problems you encounter as you do research on the Internet. * Retype the Web address. Most errors will be cleared up by retyping. + Try to start from the home page. Some browsers will not be able to bring up a page that includes frames of text, for ‘example, unless you start from the home page. Hf, for exam- ple, you want to see the Motorola listing of acronyms at (mot -COM/MIMS/SG/howto/acrolist), first try mot.com and then navigate through the Web site to the glossary you want. + Did you remember to type http//www. before the address? Some browsers will automatically add this, but others will not. Modulation Defined Modulation Modulation isthe process of modifying the char- acteristic of one signal in accordance with some Erwelope characteristic of another signal. In most cases, the information signal, be it woice, video, binary data, or some other information, is normally used to modify a higher-requency signal known as the carrier. The information signal is usually called Modulating signal the modularing signal, and the higher-frequency Cartier signal which is being modulated is called the car- rier or modulated wave. The carver is usually a sine wave, while the information signal can be of any shape, permiting both analog and digital sig- nals to be transmitted. In most cases, the carrier frequency is considerably higher than the highest information frequency to be transmitted. Time domain amplitude Modulation with Sine Waves AM In AM, the information signal varies the ampli- tude of the carrier sine wave. In other words, the instantaneous value of the carrier amplitude changes in accordance with the amplitude and frequency variations of the modulating signal. Figure 2-1 shows a single-frequency sine wave modulating a higher-frequency carrier signal. Note that the carrier frequency remains constant during the modulation process but that its am- plitude varies in accordance with the modulat- ing signal, An increase in the modulating signal amplitude causes the amplitude of the earrier to increase. Both the positive and negative peaks of the carrier wave vary with the modulating signal, An increase or decrease in the arn of the modulating signal causes a corresponding inerease or decrease in both the positive and negative peaks of the carrier amplitude. If you interconnect the positive and nega- tive peaks of the carrier waveform with an imaginary line (shown dashed in Fig. 2-1), then you re-create the exact shape of the modulat- ing information signal. This imaginary line on the carrier waveform is known as the envelope, and it is the same as the modulating signal Because complex waveforms like that shown in Fig, 2-1 are difficult to draw, they are usually simplified by representing the high- frequency carrier wave as simply many equally spaced vertical lines whose amplitudes vary in accordance with a modulating signal. Figure 2-2 shows a sine wave tone modulating a higher-frequency carrier. We will use this method of representation throughout this book. ‘The signals illustrated in Figs. 2-1 and 2-2 show the variation of the carrier signal with re spect to time, Such signals are said to be in the time domain. Time-domain signals are the ac- tual variation of voltage over time. They are what you would sce displayed on the sereen of ‘an oscilloscope, In this section we show the time-domain signals created by the various 22 @ Chapter 2 Amplitude Modulation and Single-Sideband ModulationFig. 2-2 A simplified method of representing an AM high-frequency sine wave. types of modulation. Later you will sce that modulated signals can also be expressed in the frequency domain. Mathematical Representation of AM Sinusoidal alternating current (ac) signals ean be represented mathematically by (riganomet- ric functions. For example, we can express the sine wave carrier with the simple expression ve = Ve sin 2rrfr In this expression, ve represents the instanta- neous value of the sine Wave voltage at some specific time in the cycle. The Ve represents the peak value of the sine wave as measured between zero and the maximum amplitude of either the positive- or negative-going alterna- tions. See Fig. 2-1. The term feis the frequency of the carrier sine wave. Finally, # represents some particular point in time during the ac cycle In the same way, a sine wave modulating sig- nal can also be expressed with a similar formula: Vie = Vin Sin 28h where fa = the frequency of the modulating signal Referring back to Fig, 2-1, you can see that the modulating signal uses the peak value of ‘You may recall that a sine wave reaches 70.7, percent.of its maximum value at a phase an- gle of 45*, in general, the instantaneous value of a sine wave can be found by y= Vinx sn where v= the instantaneous value Yn the maximum value = the phase angle | Example: A MHz sine wave: has a peak or | maximum value of 18 V. What is its instanta- [neous ‘ralue at a phase angle of 45°7 F sin 45° 0.707 , wn 18Vx 0707 = 127 ‘in. communications, the phase angle may be stated in ant equivalent way using the frequency ‘of the signal and some time of interest. This is. ‘know a radian measure. For example, the in- ‘Santaneous value of a signal can be found with a © v= Vm X sink , ‘where f= the frequency of the signal * to the time of interest DEGREE VERSUS RADIAN MEASURE OF ANGLES AAMH2 signal fas’a period of 1 ys, One pe- ried equals one cycle with 360°, A phase angle of 45° corresponds to 45/360 oF Ye qycle, which is a time of tps divided by (0.125 is). Example: Use the second equation fer finding the instantaneous value of a 1-MH2 sine signal with a peak value of 18 volts (V) at a time of 6,125 ys. (Your calculator must be in the radian mode.) vm 18 VX sin (6.28 X 1 MHZ % 0.125 us) =17V CConclusfon: The two: equations for finding Ware equivalent: The firs is based on angular measure, and the second Is based con radian measure. Keep in tind that 1 rad = 57,3. in our example, 45° = 459573 = 0.785 rad. sip 0.785 = 0,707 ‘Amplitude Modulation and Single-Sideband Modulation Chapter 2 qi 23‘Multiplication Modulator eC) © (5 radio applications, keep resistor leads short to minimize inductive and capacitive effects. the carrier rather than zero a5 its reference point. The envelope of the, modulating signal varies above and below the peak Pe = 1686 — 1200 = 486 W Since the sideband powers are equal, the power in each sideband is 486/2 = 243 W, In practice, 100 percent modulation is diffi- cult to maintain, The reason for this is that typical information signals, such as voice and video, do not have constant amplitudes, The complex voice and video signals vary over a wide amplitude and frequency range, so 100 percent modulation only occurs on the peaks of the modulating signal. For this reason, the average sideband power is con- siderably less than the ideal. 50 percent pro: duced by full 100 percent modulation. With less sideband power transinitted, the received signal is weaker and communication is less reliable. Despite its inefficiency, AM is still widely used because it is simple and effective, It is wed in AM radio broadeasting, CB radio, TV bbroadeasting, aircraft communications, and computer modems. that there are three basic ways to calculate the power dissi- pated in a load. These are: PV) Ps VaR P=PR Simply select the formula for which you have the values of current, voltage, or resis- lance. In an AM radio transmitting station, Ris the load resistance, which is an antenna, To a transmitter, the antenna looks like a resistance. Although an antenna is not actually a physical resistor, it does appear to be one. This resis- tance is referred to as the characteristic resis- tance of the anterinit, You will learn more about it in a later chapter, Power Calculations Acommon way to determine modulated power iston easure antenna current, Current in an na can be measured because accurate radiv-frequeney current meters ate available. For example, if you know that the unmodu- lated cartier produces a current of 2.5 Ain an antenna with a characteristic resistance of 73 2), the power is: P= PR = (2.5)(73) = 6.25(73) = 436.25 W If the carrier is modulated, the antenna cur- rent will be higher because of the additional power in the sidebands, The total antenna cur- at Iris le WL + mR ire where J. = unmodulated carrier current ov = modulation index Ithe unmodulated carrier current is 4 A and the percentage of modulation is 70 percent, the total output current is Wa 4 VG + O72) = 4V 1245 = $(LL16) = 4.46.0 Amplitude Modulation and Single Sideband Modulation‘The total AM power then is Pr= (rR To determine the total power, monitor the total modulated antennis current and make the calculation above, given the antenna resistance. If you measure bath the modulated and the unmodulated carrier antenna currents, you can compute the percentage of modulation by us- ing this formula: m= Vil i Assume that you measured the unmodulated carrier current and found it to be 1.8 A. With modulation, the total current was 2.A. The per- centage of modulation is: VAP vaya = = VX0.234) = V0468 = 0.684 of 68.4% TEST. Choose the letter which best answers each question. 31. The total sideband power is what perceat- age of the carrier pawer for 100 percent modulation? a. 25 percent b. SO percent €, 100 percent d. 150 percent 32, Information in an AM signal is conveyed in the «a. Carver. >. Sidebands, . Both together. Supply the missing information in each stare- met 33. The load into which the AM signal power is dissipated is a(n) 34. The total transmitted power is the sum of the and powers, 35. A S-kW carrier with 60 percent modula tion produces KW in each sideband. 36. Iman AM signal with a cartier of 18 W and a modulation percentage of 75 per- cent. the total power in the sidebands is 37. An AM signal with a carer of 1 kW has 100 W in each sideband, The percentage ‘of modulation i percent 38. An AM transmitter has a cartier power of 200 W. The percentage of modulation is ‘Amplitude Modulation and Single-Sideband Modulation Chapter? qj 33 ‘60 percent, The total signal power is Ww. 39. The total AM signal power is 2800 W, ‘The carrier power is 2000 W. The power in one sideband is 1 The percentage of modulation is 40. The unmodulated carrier current in an an- enna is 1.5 A. When the carrier is modus lated by 95 percent, the total antenna cur- rentis 2-5 Single-Sideband Communications Its obvious from the previous discussion that ‘AM is a inefficient and, therefore, wasteful method of communications. Two-thirds of the transmitted power appears in the carrier which itself conveys no information, The real infor- mation is contained within the sidebands. One way to overcome this problem is simply to suppress the carrier. Since the carrier does not provide any useful information, there is no rea- son WAY it has to be transmitted. By suppress- ing the cartier, the resulting signal is simply the upper and lower sidebands. Such a signal is referred to as a double-sideband suppressed carrier (DSSC or DSB) signal. The benefit, of course, is that no power is wasted on the car- fies and that the power saved can be put into the sidebands. Double-sideband suppressed carrier modulation is simply a special case of AM with no carrier: Double and Single Sidebands Amplitude modulation generates two sets of sidebands, each containing the same informa tion, The information is redundant in an. AM or a DSB signal. Therefore, all the information can be conveyed in just one sideband. Eliminating one sideband produces a single- sideband (SSB) signal, Eliminating the carrier and one sideband produces a more efficient AM signal A typical DSB signal is shown in Fig. 2-12. This signal is simply the algebraic sum of the two sinusoidal sidebands. This is the signal produced when a carrier is modulated by @ single-tone sine wave information signal. During the modulation process, the cartier is suppressed, but the two sideband signals re- main. Even though the carrier is suppressed, Double- sideband suppressed carrierTee — Fig. 212 A time-domain displsy of a 058 AM signal. the time-domain DSB signal is a sine wave at the cartier frequency varying in amplitude as shown. Note that the envelope of this wave- form is not the same as the modulating signal as it is in a pure AM signal with carricr. A frequency-domain display of a DSB sig- nal is giveo in Fig. 2-13. Note that the spec trum space occupied by a DSB signal is the same as that for a conventional AM signal, Double-sideband suppressed carrier signals are generated by a circuit ealled a balanced modulator. The purpose of the balanced mod- ulatar is to produce the sum and difference fre- quencies but to cancel or balance out the car- er. You will learn more about balanced ‘modulators in Chap. 3. ‘When DSB AM is used, considerable power is saved by eliminating the carrier. This powet can be put into the sidebands for stronger sig- nals over longer distances, Although a DSB AM signal is relatively easy to generate, DSB Supereases Fig. 2-43. A frequency-domain display of a DSB: signal © £05558 transmissions, it does not matter whether the upper or lower side- band is used, since the information is contained in both. is rarely used because the signal is dif recover at the receiver. Single Sideband Benefits Ina DSB signal, the basic information is trans- mitted twice, once in each sideband. Since the sidebands are the sum and difference of the carrier and modulating signals, the information ust be contained in both of them, As it turns out, there is absolutely no reason to transmit both sidebands in order to convey the infor- mation, One sideband may be suppressed. The remaining sideband is called a single-sideband suppressed carrier (SSSC or SSB) signal. ‘The SSB signal offers four major benefits. First, the spectrum space occupied by the SSB jgnal is only half that of AM and DSB signals. ‘This greatly conserves spectrum space and al- lows more signals to be transmitted in the same frequency range. It also means that there should be less interference between signals. ‘The second benefit is that all the power pre- viously devoted to the carrier and other side- band can be channeled into the signal side- ‘band, thereby producing a stronger signal that should camry farther and be more reliably re- ‘ceived at greater distances, ‘The third benefit is that there is less noise ‘on the signal. Noise gets added to all signals in the communications medium or in the receiver itself. Noise is a random voltage made up of an almost infinite number of frequencies. If the signal bandwidth is restricted and the receiver sircuits are made with a narrower bandwidth, a great deal of the noise is filtered out. Since ‘the SSB signal has less bandwidth than an AM ‘or a DSB signal, logically there will be less noise on it. This is a major advantage in weak signal long-distance communications ‘The fourth advantage of SSB signals is that they experience less fading than an AM signal Fading means that a signal alternately increases and decreases in strength as it is picked up by 34 -W Chopter 2 Amplitude Modulation and Single-Sideband Modulationthe receiver. It occurs because the carrier and sidebands may reach the receiver shifted in time and phase with respect to one another. ‘The carrier and sidebands, which are on sepa- rate frequencies, are atfeeted by the ionosphere in different ways. The ionosphere bends the carrier and sideband signals back to earth at slightly different angles so that sometimes they each the receiver in such a way that they can- cel out one another rather than adding up to the desired AM wave. The result is fading, With SSB there is only one sideband, so this kind of fading does not occur. ‘An SSB signal has some unusual character istics. First, when no information or modulat- ing signal is present, no RF signal is transmit- ted. In a standard AM transmitter, the cartier is, still transmitted even though it may not be modulated. This is the condition that might oc- cur during a voice pause on an AM broadcast station, But since there is no easrier transmil- ted in an SSB system, no signals are present if the information signal is zero. generated only during the modu such as when someone speaks into a micro~ phone, Figure 2-14 shows the frequency- and time- domain displays of an SSB signal produced when a steady 2-kHz sine wave tone mod lates a 14,3-MHz cartier, Amplitude modut tion would produce sidebands of 14.298 and 14,302 MHz. In SSB, only one sideband is used, Figure 2-14(a) shows that only the upper sideband is generated. The RF signal is simply 4 constant-power 14.302-MHz sine wave. A time-domain display of the SSB signal appears in Fig, 2-144), OF course, most information signs mitted by SSB are -not pure sine wai ‘common modulation Voice signal will ereate a complex RF SSB ‘nal which varies in frequency and amplitude ‘aver the narrow spectrum defined by the voice signal bandwidth. ‘SSB Power A voice signal with a frequency range af 200 to 4000 Hz modulates a 14.3-MHz carrier. A. DSB AM modulator produces the following, sidebands: 14.3 MHz = 14,300 kHz = 14,300,000 He PN Let) eel eee} Ptolemy was an astronomer in ancient Egypt, and Ptolemy is, also. the name of a digital signal processing modeler. This software product can aid in design, in the generation of assembly code, and in making prototypes of new digital sig- naling processors. Perhaps you will use a program like Ptolemy at your job sit Upper side frequencies: 14,300,000 + 200 = 14,300,200 Hz 14,300,000 + 4000 = 14,304,000 Hz Lower side frequencies: 14,300,000 ~ 200 = 14,299,800 Hz 14,300,000 ~ 4000 = 14,296,000 Hz ‘The upper sideband extends from 14,300,200 to 14,304,000 Hz and occupies a bandwidth of BW = 14,304,000 ~ 14,300,200 = 3800 Hz 558 spat (2) Time coma Fig, 2-14 An SSB signat produced by a 2-kHz sing wave modulating @ 14.3-MHz sine wave carrier, ‘Amplitude Modulation and Single-Sideband Modulation Chapter? @ 35Peak envelope power (PEP) 36 Chapters ‘The lower sideband extends from 14,296,000 to 14,299,000 Hz and occupies « bandwidth of BW = 14,299,800 — 14,296,000 = 3800 Hz ‘The DSB signal consumes a total bandwidth of 4000 x 2 = 8000 Hz (8 kHz). If we transmit only one sideband, the bandwidth is 3800 Hz, ‘The SSB signal may be either the upper side- band (USB) or the lower sideband (LSB). In practice, an SSB transmitter generates both sidebands and a switch is used to select either the USB or the LSB for transmission. ‘When the voice or other modulating signal is zer0, no SSB signal is produced. An SSB RF signal is produced only when modulation oc- curs. In AM. with no modulating signal, the carrier would still be transmitted. This explains. why SSB is so much more efficient than AM. In conventional AM, the transmitter power is distributed among the cartier and two side- bands. If we assume a carrier power of 100 W and 100 percent modulation, each sideband will contain 25 W of power. The total transmitted power will be 150 W, The communication ef- fectiveness of this conventional AM transmitter is established by the combined power in the sidebands, or 50 W in this example, ‘An SSB transmitter sends no earrier, so the carrier power is zero. Such a transmitter will have the same communication effectiveness as a conventional AM uait running much more power. A 50-W SSB transmitter will equal the performance of an AM transmitter running a total of 150 W, since they both show 50 W of total sideband power. The power advantage of SSB over AM is 3:1 In SSB, the transmitter output is expressed in terms of peak envelope power (PEP). This is the maximum power produced on voice am- plitude peaks. The PEP is computed by the fa- miliar expression P als where P = output power V-= root mean square (rms) output voltage R = load resistance (usually antenna characteristic impedance) ‘As an example, assume that a voice signal proxduces a 120-volt (V) peak-to-peak signal across a 50-ohm (() load. ‘The rms voltage is 0,707 times the peak value, The peak value is one-halt the peak-to-peak voltage. In this ex- ample, the rms voltage is 120) ovran( )= sary The peak envelope power then is -¥ PEP = & 42)2 50. = 36W the PEP input power is simply the direct current (de) input power of the transmitter fi nal amplifier stage at the instant of the voice envelope peak. It is the final amplifier stage de supply voltage multiplied by the maximum am- plifier current that occurs at the peak or PEP = Vilma where V, = the amplifier supply voltage Jrway = the current peak ‘A 300-V supply with a peak current of 0.6 ampere (A) produces a PEP of PEP = 300(0.6) = 180 W It is important to point out that the PEP oc- curs only occasionally, Voice amplitude peaks are produced only when very loud sounds are generated during certain speech pattems or when some word or sound is emphasized, During normal speech levels, the input and output power levels are much less than the PEP level. The average power is typically only one-fourth to one- third of the PEP value with typical human speech, Pave 3 With a PEP of 180 W, the average power is only 45 10.60 W, Typical SSB transmitters are designed to handle only the average power level on a continuous basis, not the PEP. ‘The transmitted sideband will, of course, change in frequency and amplitude as a com- plex voice signal is applied. This sideband will ‘occupy the same bandwidth as one sideband in a fully modulated AM signal with carrier. Incidentally, it does not matter whether the Upper or lower sideband is used since the in- formation is contained in either. A filter is typ- ically used to remove the unwanted sideband, Amplitude Modulation and Single-Sideband ModulationDSB and SSB Applications Both DSB and SSB techniques are widely used in communications, Pure SSB signals are used in telephone systems as well as in two-way ra- dio. Two-way SSB communications is used in the military, in CB radio, and by hobbyists known as radio amateur The DSB signals are used in FM and TV broadcasting to transmit two-channel stereo signals, They are also used in some types of phase-shift keying which is used for transmit ting binary data, ‘An unusual form of AM is that used in television broadcasting. A TV signal consists of the picture (video) signal and the audio signal which have different carrier frequencies, The audio carrier is frequency-modulated, but the video information amplitude-modulates the picture carrier. The picture carrier is trans: mitted, but one sideband is partially sup: pressed, jeo information typically contains fre- quencies as high as 4.2 MHz. A fully amplitude- modulated television signal would then occupy 204.2) = 84 MHz, This is an exces amount of bandwidth that is wasteful of spec- trum space because not all of it is required to reliably transmit a TV signal. To reduce the bandwidth to the 6-MHz maximum allowed by the FCC or TV signals, a portion of the lower sideband of the TV signal is suppressed Jeaving only a small vestige of the lower side- band. Such an arrangement is know as a ves- tigial sideband signal. It is iMlustrated in Fig. 2-15. Wideo signals above 0.75 MHz (750 kHz) are suppressed in the lower sideband, and all video frequencies are transmitted in the upper sideband im TEST. Answer the following questions 41. An.AM signal without a carrier is called a(n) __ signal. 42, True or false. Two sidebands must be transmitted to retain all the information. 43, The acronym SSB means Tonme ¢ Taam asim fig. 2-15. Vestigial sideband transmission of a 45, 46. 47. 48. 49, 50. 30 TV picture signal, . Single sideband with eamrier, >. Single sideband with suppressed carrier. cc. Double sideband with no carrier. d. Double sideband with carrier. A major benefit of DSB and SSI 4, Higher power can be put into the side- ‘bandts), b, Greater power consumption, ¢. More carrier power. 4. Double the sideband power. List four benefits of SSB over AM and DSB. List two common uses of SSB. A.common use of DSB a. Two-way communication. 1b, Telephone systems, ¢. FMITV stereo, a, Satellite communications. ‘Truc or false. In SSB, no signal is trans- mitied unless the information signal is, present ‘The type of AM signal that is used in TV broadcasting is called trans- mission. An SSB signal produces a peak-to-peak voltage of 720 V on voice peaks across a 75-(1 antenna. The PEP output is Vestigial sideband An SSB transmitter has a 150-W supply. Voice peaks produce a current of 2.3 A, The PEP input is, ‘The average output power of an SSB transmitier rated at 12 W PEP iy in the 0 range. Amplitude Modulation and Single-Sideband Modulation Chapter2 #37eT) 1, Modulation is the process of having the infor- mation to be communicated modify a higher- frequency signal called a cartier. 2. Amplitude modulation (AM) is the oldest and simplest form of modulation, 3. In AM, the amplitude of the carrier is changed in accordance with the amplitude and frequency or the characteristics of the modulating signal, ‘The carrier frequency remains constant, 4. The amplitude variation of the carrier peaks has the shape of the modulating signal and is re- ferred 10 as the envelope. 5. A time-domain display shows amplitude versus time variation of AM and other signals. 6, Amplitude modulation is produced by a circuit called a modulator which has two inputs and an output. 7. The modulator performs a mathematical multi- plication of the carrier and information signals. The output is their analog product, 8. The carrier in an AM signal is a sine wave that may be modulated by either analog or digital __ information signals, ‘9, Amplitude modulation of a carrier by a binary signal produces amplitude shift keying (ASK). The ratio of the peak voltage value of the mod- ulating signal Vm to the peak value of the car- rier Vc is called the modulation index m (m Vn/Vc). Itis also referred to as the modulation Coefficient or factor and the degree of modula- tion, II, The ideal vatue for m is 1, Typically m is less than 1. The condition where m is greater than 1 should be avoided as it introduces serious dis- tortion of the modulating signal, This is called overmodulation. 12, When the modulation index is multiplied by 100, it is called the percentage of modulation. 13, The percentage of modulation can be computed from AM waveforms displayed on an oscillo- scope by using the expression 10. 38 Chapter? ‘where Vina is the maximum peak carrier ampli- tude and Vin is the minimum peak carrier am- plitude. 14. The new signals generated by the modulation process are called sidebands and occur at fre- ‘quencies above and below the carrier fre- quency. 15. The upper fuss and lower fisp sideband frequencies are the sum and difference of the earrier frequency f- and the modulating Frequency fm and are computed with the expressions fosa = fe + fra Fis ~ fo ~ fo 16. A display of signal amplitudes with respect to frequency is called a frequency-domain display. 17. An AM signal can be viewed as the carrier sig- nal added to the sideband signals produced by AM. 18, The total transmitted power in an AM signal is the sum of the earrier and sideband powers Py P. + Pusn + Pin) and is distributed among the carrier and sidebands. This power distribu tion varies with the percentage of modulation, ‘The total power is Pr= Pe(L + m2) ‘The power in each sideband is Pen) fee 19. The higher the percentage of modulation, the greater the sideband power and the stronger and more intelligible the transmitted and received signal, 20. Despite its simplicity and effectiveness, AM is a highly inefficient method of modulation. 21. In an AM signal, the carrier contains no infor mation. Any transmitted information lies solely in the sideband. For that reason, the cartier may bbe suppressed and not transmitted. 22. An AM signal with suppressed carrier is called , a double-sideband (DSB) signal, P, Amplitude Madulation and Single-Sideband Modulation23, Since the same transmitted information is con- tained in both upper and lower sidebands, one is redundant. Full information can be transmit- ted using only one sideband. |. An AM signal with no carrier and one sideband is called a single-sideband (SSB) signal, The up- per and lower sidebands contain the same infor- mation, and one is not preferred over the other. 5. The main advantage of an SSB AM signal over an AM or DSB signal is that it occupies one- half the spectrum space. . Both DSB and SSB signals are more efficient in terms of power usage. The power wasted in the useless cartier is saved, thereby allowing more pawer to be put into the sidebands. . Power in an SSB transmitter is rated in terms of peak envelope power (PEP), the power that is produced on voice peaks, PEP output is com- puted using the expression 28. 29. 30. w R where PEP is in watts and V is the rms vollage across the antenna load impedance R. The PEP input is computed using the expression PEP = Vi, X Jeux where Vs is the de supply voltage of the final amplifier stage and Jmax is the amplifier current on voice peaks. ‘The average output of an SSB transmitter is one-fourth to one-third of the PEP valve. DSB AM is not widely used. However, SSB is widely used in two-way radio communications. A special form of amplitude modulation is used in TV transmission. Known as vestigial side- band, this method filters out a portion of the lower video sidebands to decrease the overall bandwidth of the AM picture signal to 6 MHz, PEP Chapter Review Questions Choose the letter thas best answers each question. ‘2+1, Having an information signal change some characteristic of a carrier signal is called @. Multiplexing. 5. Modulation. c. Duplexing i. Linear mixing, 2-2, Which of the following is not true about AM? 4. The carrier ampluude varies. b. The carrier frequency remains constant. c. The carrier frequency changes, 4. The information signal amplitude changes the cartier amplitude, 2-3. The opposite of modulation is a. Reverse modulation. &. Downward modulation, c. Unmodulation, d, Demodulation, 2-4, The circuit used to produce modulation is called a @, Modulator, b, Demodulator. . Variable gain amplifier, . Multipleser. 2-5. A modulator cireuit performs what mathemati- cal operation on its two inputs? a. Addition b. Multiplication ‘Amplitude Modula 26, 27 28. 29, «. Division . Square root ‘The ratio of the peak modulating signal volt- age to the peak carrier voltage is referred to as 4. The voltage ratio b. Decibels. The modulation index. 4d. The mix factor. If m is greater than 1, what happens? 4a. Normal operation. b, Carrier drops to zero. ¢. Caner frequency shifts. 4, Information signal is distorted, For ideal AM, which of the following is true” am=0 bm=1 ams dm>l The outline of the peaks of a carrier has the shape of the modulating signal and is ealled the a. Trace, ». Waveshape. ¢. Envelope, 4. Carrier variation. 2-10. Overmodulation occurs when 4. Vm > Ve Vn < Ve jon and Single-Sideband Modulation Chapter2 @ 392-11. The valtes of Vane aid Vin ats read from at AM wave on an oscilloscope are 2.8 and (3. The percentag a. 107 percent bd percent ©. 8016 perwent 4.93.3 percent 2412. The mew sivmaly produced! by modulation se waited 4. Sprious emissions b. Han ¢. Intermodulstion products . Sidehands, 1B. A cartier of 880 My fs modula All2 sine wave. The LSB and USB re, respoe tively a. 873 and B87 Kt 4b, 876.5 anil 883.5 KH ind 876.5 KE, a 887 and 873 KH 2414, A dinplay of sign as called the: ct, Tine alo #, Frequency spectrum « Amplitude spectrum, d. Frequency domain. 2445, Most of the power in an AM signal isin the ai, Carrie. B. Upper sideband, ce. Lower sideband. dd, Modulating signal, 2-16. An AM signal has a carrier power of § W. The percentage of modulation is 80 percent, The total sideband power is a. 0.8 W. DOW. © 15W. d. 40W. 2-17. For 100 percent modulation, what percentage of power is in cael sidebiind? a. 25 percent 33.3 percent . 50 percent 100 percent 2-18, An AM transmitter has a percentage of modu- lation of 88. The carrier power is 440 W. The power in one sideband is a 85. W. b. 110 W. cc. 170 W. e610, none cit by a 3.5. anplitude versus frequency 40 @ Chapt 2.19, An AM transttitter antenna current is mea- sured with no modulation and found to be 2.6 ‘amperes. With modulation, the current rises to 2.9 amperes. The percentage of modulation is 35 percent b 70 percent 6 2 porven el 89 percent 2.20, Whol is the eatrier power in the problem aabowe if the antenna resistance is 75 ohms? i 19S W, 163 W. © 07W TDW. In an AM signal, the transmitted information is Fh, Modutnting signal Siukcbandly elope. An AM signal without the a SSB. +b, Vestigial sideband, © EM signa d. DSB. What iy the minimum AM signat needed to \wansmit infirrmation? a, Carrier plus sidebands bs Cartier only ©. One sideband d. Both sidebaanels 2-24, The main advantage of SSB over stan or DSB is (2, Lass spectrum space is used. '. Simpler equipment is used, ©. Less power is consumed. dA higher modulation percentage. In SSB, which sideband is the best to use? . Upper i Laver Neither Depends upon the use 2:26. The typical audio modulating frequency range used in radio and telephone communications is 4. 50 Hz oS kHz, 1b, SU Hz wo 15 KH. ©. 100 He to 10 KEL. 300 He to 3 kHz. 2:27, An AM signal with a maximum modulating signal frequency of 4.5 kHz has a total bande width of 0.45 kHz 6.75 KHe, rier is called a(n) 9 kHe. d. 18 kHz, 2 Amplitude Modulation and Single-Sideband Modulation2.28. Distortion of the modulating signal produces harmonics which cause an increase in the 4, a 3.8485-MHz sine wave. b, a 3,85-MHz sine wave, signal c. 3.85-, 3.8485, and 3.8815-MHz sine waves. a. Carrier power. , 3848.5- and 3851.5-MHz sine waves, 6. Bandwidth. 2-32, An SSB transmitter produces a 400-V peak-to- €. Sideband power. d. Envelope voltage. peak signal across a 52-02 antenna load, The PEP output is 2-29. In Fig. 2-4(6), the peak carrier value is 7 V. a, 192.2 W. ‘What is the percentage of modulation? b. 384.5 W. 0% ©. 769.2 W, 2, 50% 4.3077 W. © 15% 2.33. The output power of an SSB transmitter is 4. 100% usually expressed in terms of 2-30, fhe bandwidth of an SSB signal with a cartier frequency of 2.8 MHz and a modulating signal with a frequency range of 250 Hz to 3.3 kHz is @, Average power. b. RMS power. ¢. Peak-to-peak power. a. 500 Hz d. Peak envelope power. 6, 3050 Hz 2-34, An SSB transmitter has a PEP rating of | kW. ©. 66 kHz The average output power is in the range of 4. 7.1 RHE, a. 150 t0 450 W. 2.31. The output of an SSB transmitter with a 3.85- . 100 t0 300 W. ‘MHz carrier and a 1.5-kHz sine wave modulat- cc, 250 to 333 W. jing tone is do 3 tO4kW. Critical Thinking Questions 2-1. Explain why an overmodulated AM signal oc- Name two ways that can be used to prevent ccupies a lot of bandwidth. 2-2, Would it be possible to transmit one intelli ‘gence signal in the upper sideband and a dif- ferent intelligence signal in the lower sideband of an AM or a DSB signal? Explain. 2.3. Explain how a potentiometer could be con- nected to demonstrate AM. 2-4. What are the side frequencies produced by a carrier modulated with a signal equal to the ‘carrier frequency? 2-5, During a. weak AM signal transmission, wi talking louder produce a stronger and more in- telligible signal? Explain. 2.6. An AM communication system consists of 30 ‘channels spaced 5 kHz from one another. one station from interfering with adjacent channel stations. 2-7. An AM signal is restricted to a channel 4.5 kHz wide. What is the highest frequency that can be transmitted without going out of the channel? Could a voice signal (300-3000 Hz) be trans- mitted without modulation by amplifying the signal audio power amplifier and connecting its output to an antenna? Explain, What are the problems with this system? 2-9, A constant-amplitude signal of 8.361 MHz is received, It is known that the source of the sig- nal uses AM ar SSB. Name three possible con- ditions the signal may represent, 28, Ee Or Cd 1. translated 5. false 2. varies, cartier 6. envelope, modulating signal 3, modulator, carrier, modulating signal 7. time-domain 4. amplitude 8. Ve sin 2nfet Amplitude Modulation and Single-Sideband Modulation Chapter2 @ 419. true 10.¢ 11, amplitude shift keying 12, on-off keying 13.¢ 15, d 16, modulating signal, carrier 17, 43.4 18. 100 19,34 20. 66.67 21. 33,33 percent 22, sidebands 23, 635, 625 24. 10 25. time, oscilloscope 26, frequency, spectrum analyzer 27, sidebands 28. d 29. Carrier, upper sideband, lower sideband 30. true 3b 2b 33, antenna 34, carrier, sideband 35.045 36, 5.06 37, 63.25 38, 236 W 39, 400 W, 89.44 percent 40.1.8 41. DSB 42. false ab Ma 45. Jess spectrum space, more power in the sidebands ‘with greater efficiency, less noise, little or no fading telephone systems, two-way radio © kus . vestigial sideband |. 863.7 |. 345 52.340 46, 42 @ Chapter2 Amplitude Modulation and Single-Sideband Modulation