EEN 07 FUNDAMENTALS OF

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS
BSEE III

ENGR. JOEL ANTHONY L. SEVILLA

NOVEMBER 2024
Angle Modulation
There are three parameters of a sine-wave
carrier that can be varied to allow it to carry
a low-frequency intelligence signal. They are
its amplitude, frequency, and phase. The
latter two, frequency and phase, are actually
interrelated, as one cannot be changed
without changing the other. They both fall
under the general category of angle
modulation.
Angle modulation is defined as modulation
where the angle of a sine-wave carrier is
varied from its reference value. Angle
modulation has two subcategories, phase
modulation and frequency modulation, with
the following definitions:
Phase modulation (PM): angle modulation
where the phase angle of a carrier is caused
to depart from its reference value by an
amount proportional to the modulating
signal amplitude.
Phase modulation produces frequency
modulation. Since the amount of phase shift
is varying, the effect is as if the carrier
frequency is changed. PM is often referred to
as indirect FM. PM used extensively in data
communication.
Frequency modulation (FM): angle
modulation where the instantaneous
frequency of a carrier is caused to vary by an
amount proportional to the modulating
signal amplitude.

In FM, the carrier amplitude remains

constant while the carrier frequency is
changed by the modulating signal. As the
amplitude of the information signal varies,
the carrier frequency shifts in proportion. As
the modulating signal amplitude varies, the
carrier frequency varies above and below its
normal center frequency with no
modulation.
The amount of change in carrier frequency
produced by the modulating signal is known
as the frequency deviation.
Intelligence signal

Carrier signal
Standard FM broadcast band is from 88 MHz
to 108 MHz.
Although AM broadcast was dominant type
for many years, FM has been the most
popular since 1970s because it provides:
a) Much clearer signals
b) Much lower distortion
c) Less noise and static.
To gain an understanding of FM, consider the
system below. This is a very simple FM
transmitting system. It consists of an LC tank
circuit and with an oscillator circuit,
generates a sine-wave output.

Capacitor Microphone FM Generator

The capacitance section of the LC tank is not
a standard capacitor but is a capacitor
microphone. This popular type of
microphone is often referred to as a
condenser mike and is a variable capacitor.
When no sound waves reach its plates, it
presents a constant value of capacitance at
its two output terminals. When sound waves
reach the mike, however, they alternately
cause its plates to move in and out. This
causes its capacitance to go up and down
around its center value. The rate of this
capacitance change is equal to the frequency
of the sound waves striking the mike, and the
amount of capacitance change is
proportional to the amplitude of the sound
waves.
Broadcast FM
Standard broadcast FM uses a 200-kHz
bandwidth for each station. This is a very
large allocation when one considers that one
FM station has a bandwidth that could
contain many standard AM stations.
Broadcast FM, however, allows for a true
high fidelity modulating signal up to 15 kHz
and offers superior noise performance
Commercial FM bandwidth allocations for two adjacent stations.

The maximum allowed deviation around the

carrier is ±75 kHz, and 25-kHz guard bands at
the upper and lower ends are also provided.
The carrier is required to maintain a ±2-kHz
stability.
DIRECT FM GENERATION
Varactor Diode
A varactor diode may be used to generate
FM directly. All reverse-biased diodes exhibit
a junction capacitance that varies inversely
with the amount of reverse bias.
A diode that is physically constructed to
enhance this characteristic is termed as a
varactor diode.
The figure shows a
schematic of a varactor
diode modulator. With
no intelligence signal (Ei)
applied, the parallel
combination of C1, L1, and
D1 's capacitance forms
the resonant carrier
frequency. Varactor Diode Modulator
The diode D1 is effectively in parallel with L1 and
C1 because the - Vcc supply appears as a short
circuit to the ac signal. The coupling capacitor,
Cc, isolates the dc levels and intelligence signal
while looking like a short to the high-frequency
carrier. When the intelligence signal, Ei, is
applied to the varactor diode, its reverse bias is
varied, which causes the diode's junction
capacitance to vary in step
with Ei. The oscillator frequency is subsequently
varied as required for FM, and the FM signal is
available at Q1's collector.
Reactance Modulator
An amplifier designed so
that its input impedance
has a reactance that
varies as a function of the
amplitude of the applied
input voltage.
Reactance Modulator
VCO FM Generation
A voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) produces
an output frequency that is directly
proportional to a control voltage level. The
circuitry necessary to produce such an
oscillator with a high degree of linearity
between control voltage and frequency was
formerly prohibitive on a discrete component
basis they make FM generation extremely
simple.
VCO FM Generation
The circuit shown
provides a high-quality
FM generator with the
modulating voltage
applied to C2. The FM
output can be taken at The NE/SE566 VCO specifications

pin 4 (triangle wave) or

pin 3 (square wave).
VCO FM Generation
Feeding either of
these two outputs
Into an LC tank circuit
resonant at the VCO
center frequency will
subsequently provide a The NE/SE566 VCO specifications

standard sinusoidal FM signal by the flywheel

effect.
Crosby Modulator
FM systems utilizing direct generation with
automatic frequency control (AFC) to correct
any carrier drift by comparing it to a reference
crystal oscillator are called Crosby systems.
frequency multipliers are utilized to provide a x
18 multiplication up to a carrier frequency of
90 MHz (18 X 5 MHz) with a ±75-kHz (18 X 4.
167 kHz) deviation.
Crosby Modulator
Notice that both the carrier and deviation are
multiplied by the multiplier. Frequency
multiplication is normally obtained in steps of
x2 or x3 (doublers or triplers). The principle
involved is to feed a frequency rich in harmonic
distortion (i.e., from a class C amplifier) into an
LC tank circuit tuned to two or three times the
input frequency.
Crosby Direct FM transmitter
Crosby Modulator
After the x18 multiplication (3 x 2 x 3) the FM
exciter function is complete. The term exciter is
often used to denote the circuitry that
generates the modulated signal. The excited
output goes to the power amplifiers for
transmission and to the frequency stabilization
system. The purpose of this system is to
provide a control voltage to the reactance
Crosby Modulator
modulator whenever it drifts from its desired 5-
MHz value. The control (AFC) voltage then
varies the reactance of the primary 5-MHz
oscillator slightly to bring it back on frequency.
The mixer has the 90-MHz carrier and 88-MHz
crystal oscillator signal as inputs. The mixer
output accepts only the difference component
of 2 MHz, which is fed to the discriminator.
Crosby Modulator
A discriminator is the opposite of a VCO,
because it provides a dc level output based on
the frequency input. The discriminator output
will be zero if it has an input of exactly 2 MHz,
which occurs when the transmitter is at
precisely 90 MHz. Any carrier drift up or down
causes the discriminator output to go positive
or negative, resulting in the appropriate
primary oscillator readjustment.
STEREO FM
Stereo systems involve generating two separate
signals, as from the left and right sides of a
concert hall performance. When played back
on left and right speakers, the listener gains
greater spatial dimension or directivity.
A stereo radio broadcast requires that two
separate 30-Hz to 15-kHz signals be used to
modulate the carrier so that the receiver can
extract the left and right channel information
and amplify them separately into their
respective speakers.
Frequency Multiplexing is used to incorporate
the two required modulating signals into the
carrier frequency. Multiplex operation is the
simultaneous transmission of two or more
signals on one carrier.
FM is used in five major categories:
1. Noncommercial broadcast at 88 to 90 MHz
2. Commercial broadcast with 200-kHz channel
bandwidths from 90 to 108 MHz
3. Television audio signals with 50-kHz channel
bandwidths at 54 to 88 MHz, 174 to 216
MHz, and 470 to 806 MHz
4. Narrowband public service channels from
108 to 174 MHz and in excess of 806MHz
FM is used in five major categories:

5. Narrowband amateur radio channels at 29.6

MHz, 52 to 53 MHz, 144 to 147.99 MHz,
440 to 450 MHz, and in excess of 902 MHz
The output powers range from milliwatt levels
for the amateurs up to 100 kW for broadcast
FM.

FM is not used at frequencies below about 30

MHz because of the phase distortion
introduced to FM signals by the earth's
ionosphere at these frequencies. Frequencies
above 30 MHz are transmitted line-of-sight and
are not significantly affected by the ionosphere.
The limited range (normally 110 to 130 km) for
FM transmission is due to the earth's curvature.
FM RECEIVER BLOCK DIAGRAM
The basic FM receiver uses the super
heterodyne principle. In block diagram form,
it has many similarities to the AM receiver.
The only apparent differences are the use of
the word discriminator in place of detector,
the addition of a deemphasis network, and
the fact that AGC may or may not be used as
indicated by the dashed lines.
The discriminator extracts the intelligence
from the high-frequency carrier and can also
be called the detector, as in AM receivers. By
definition, however, a discriminator is a
device in which amplitude variations are
derived in response to frequency or phase
variations, and it is the preferred term for
describing an FM demodulator.
The deemphasis network following
demodulation is required to bring the high-
frequency intelligence back to the proper
amplitude relationship with the lower
frequencies. Recall that the high frequencies
were pre emphasized at the transmitter to
provide them with greater noise immunity.
The mixer, local oscillator, and IF amplifiers
are basically similar to those discussed for
AM receivers.
When higher frequencies are involved, the
universally standard IF frequency for FM is
10.7 MHz, compared to 455 kHz for AM.
Monophonic receiver

To stereo receiver
Stereophonic receiver