Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Principles of Communication Systems

Lab # 4
AM Modulation

Submitted by group:
Muhammad Ammar Adil (FA29-EPE-056)

Submitted to Lab Engineer: Usman Ali

Subject Teacher: SIR ATTIQ-UE-INAM

A P C
Total Marks 1 5 4
Obtained Marks
Experiment 4
AM Modulation
1.1Statement of problem:
Generate AM wave at different modulation index and verify whether the modulated index
affects the bandwidth and power of AM modulated signal.
1.2Literature Background:
Equations:
X ¿ AM =( 1+m∗X M ) . X C

VM
m=
VC

X ¿ M =V M ∗cos ( 2∗π∗f m∗t s + ph )

X ¿ C =V C ∗cos ( 2∗π∗f c∗t s + ph )

Block Diagram:

Message Signal Modulated Signal

Carrier Signal

1.3 Procedure:
Mat lab Code :
%%Lab 4
clc %Command window
clear all %Clearing work space
close all %Closing figures
fm=2e3; %Message frequency
t=0:1:100; %Time perod
fc=10*fm; %Carrier frequency
fs=10*fc; %Sampling frequency
Vm=8; %Message voltage
Vc=4; %Carrier voltage
MI=Vm/Vc; %Modulation index
ts=t/fs; %Sampling time
ph=90; %Phase
%%Generating the Message Signal
X_m=Vm*cos(2*pi*fm*ts+ph);
figure
plot(ts,X_m) %Plotting message signal
xlabel('Time') %Displaying Time Along X-axis
ylabel('amplitude') %Displaying amplitude Along Y-axis
title('Message Signal') %Displaying Title
grid on
%%generating the Carrier signal
X_c=Vc*cos(2*pi*fc*ts+ph);
figure
plot(ts,X_c) %Plotting carrier signal
xlabel('Time') %Displaying Time Along X-axis
ylabel('amplitude') %Displaying amplitude Along Y-axis
title('Carrier Signal') %Displaying Title
grid on
%%Generating the AM
X_am=(1+MI*X_m).*X_c;
figure
plot(ts,X_am) %Plotting modulated signal
xlabel('Time') %Displaying Time Along X-axis
ylabel('amplitude') %Displaying amplitude Along Y-axis
title('Modulated Signal') %Displaying Title
grid on
%%Taking the FFT

N=1024; %Window size

x_fft=abs(fftshift(fft(X_am,N))); %fourier of the carrier
signal
% x_fft=abs(ft);
f=linspace(-fs/2,fs/2,N); %independant frequency axis
for FFT
% f1=(1:length(x_fft));
figure
plot(f,x_fft)
xlabel('frequency') %Displaying frequency Along X-axis
ylabel('amplitude') %Displaying amplitude Along Y-axis
title('Modulated FFT Signal') %Displaying Title
grid on
%%Power of Modulated Signal
Power=(sum(X_am).^2)/length(t)
%%Bandwidth of Modulated Signal
BW=2*fm
%%Bandwidth of Single side band
powerSide=Power-((sum(X_c).^2)/length(t))
1.4 Analysis:

Figure Analysis:
After analyzing this figure and the corresponding code that helped us generate
such a signal we understood that the V ¿ M represents the amplitude of the message
signal and the figure verifies that as its amplitude varies from -8 to +8 . Secondly
the figure also tells us that it has a fundamental time period of 5∗10−4 to verify
1
this by code we have the f m set at 2∗103 and T= that gives us T=5∗10−4 s
f
Figure Analysis:
This figure represents the carrier signal. The amplitude of this signal is set at
4.The frequency of this signal is 10∗(2∗103 )Hz. The fundamental time period is
1
T and T= so that equates to T=5∗10−5s. Please note that the frequency of the
f
carrier signal is far greater (10x) than the frequency of message signal.

Figure Analysis:
Now this is the figure of most significance. This signal summarizes the experiment as it’s the
product of carrier signal and message signal. This figure helps us understand the modulation
better as we can see that the amplitude of the carrier signal adjusts itself according to the
amplitude of the message signal. Secondly the frequency has increased for the message signal
as compared to the previous signal. Now this signal is ready for transmission.100%
Modulation
Figure Analysis:
This figure basically shows nothing except the Fourier transform of the modulated signal.

TABLE
Modulation Index Power of AM signal Bandwidth of AM Power in side band
signal
0 1.6124e+03 4000 2.5428
0.5 6.4370e+03 4000 7.9754
1.0 4.0247e+04 4000 15.9665
2.0 4.6556e+05 4000 31.9488

Question and Answers:

1. What will happen to the power of side bands (increasing or decreasing)
with the increase of modulation index? Give mathematical reasoning?
Relationship between the power of side bands and modulation index:
P C ( M I )2
PS =
2
This equation clearly states that the power of side band signal is directly proportional to
the modulation index. With increase in modulation index the power of side bands also
increase and vice versa.
2. What will happen to the bandwidth of AM wave (increasing or
decreasing) with the increase of modulation index? Give mathematical
reasoning?
The bandwidth of the signal does not depend the modulation index
B=2∗f m

This relationship tells us that the bandwidth is dependent on the frequency of the signal.
3. Why the modulation index in AM should be greater than 1?
Maximum value of modulation index for AM waves is 1 because when the modulation
index is greater than 1 over modulation occurs and the information in the signal is lost
due to distortion and aliasing.
4. At what modulation index AM and DSB-SC are identical? Give
mathematical reasoning?
At the modulation index of 1 as 100% modulation with 100% recovery occurs at that
value.
VM
MI=
VC

5. What is Modulation?
In electronics and telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying one or more
properties of a periodic waveform, called the carrier signal, with a separate signal called
the modulation signal that typically contains information to be transmitted.
6. Why do we perform Modulation?
Modulation is important for the communication system. There are some needs for
modulation signals; it helps to spare the signal from the different transmitter, helps to
reduce the antenna height, and helps to transmit the signal over a long distance without
any interference.
7. Applications of AM modulation?
Amplitude modulation is mostly used in the form of electronic communication.
Currently, this technique is used in many areas of communication such as in portable
two-way radios; citizens band radio, VHF aircraft radio and in modems for computers.
8. Advantages and Disadvantages of AM modulation?
Advantages:
 The cost of amplitude modulation is low
 Amplitude modulated signals are reflected by the earth from the ionosphere layer
 Thus, they travel a long distance and cover a wider area
 Required carrier frequency is low
 It requires a simple transmitter and receiver
 Thus transmission and reception of an audio signal are less cumbersome
 Demodulation of amplitude-modulated signals is less complex due to the use of a circuit
having few components
Disadvantages:
  Amplitude modulated signals are highly susceptible to peripheral noises
 Receivers of these signals find it difficult to distinguish between signals and noises
 Thus, the quality of the audio signal is of poor standard
 If the amplitude modulated signal is weak, the receiver requires a complex arrangement
 Amplitude modulation is less efficient in terms of bandwidth usage
 The bandwidth of the modulated signal is twice the frequency of the signal wave
 Amplitude modulation is also less efficient in terms of power usage
 Only the power in the sidebands is used
9. Frequency Spectrum?

LAB Implementation of Hardware:

Figure Analysis:
This figure is displayed on the oscilloscope and this clearly shows us that 100% modulation
or perfect modulation has successfully taken place. The time/div setting is adjusted at 50 μs.

Conclusion:
Overall, amplitude modulation is a simple process compared to frequency and phase modulation.
Advanced techniques in communication systems are increasingly replacing it. But the principles
underlying amplitude modulation are still relevant for a theoretical understanding of the
transmission of signals and the practical improvement of advanced techniques. It is also a high-
scoring topic for intermediate students and aspirants preparing for competitive examinations if
adequately understood.