AM Reception
Principles of Communications
ECE 011
Learning Outcome
After studying this section, you should be able to:
❑ Analyze AM reception methods and circuits.
djaamora@[Link]
Balanced Modulators
A balanced modulator is a circuit that generates a DSB signal, suppressing the carrier and leaving
only the sum and difference frequencies at the output.
Ring or Balance Modulator
Carrier Positive Half cycle
Carrier Negative Half cycle
FILTERS Review
AM Reception
Receiver Parameters
[Link]
- measure the ability of the receiver
to accept a given band of frequencies
and reject all others
- give the bandwidth of the receiver
at the -3dB points or at two levels of
attenuation such as -3 dB and -60 dB
which ratio is known as shape factor
Tuned Circuits (Tank Circuits) Bandpass Filter
resonance is XL=XC
Q = quality factor
Rw = winding coil resistance
Example
L = 10 μH, R = 20 Ω, C = 101.4 pF, find
BW, f1 and f2
Solution:
upper and lower cut-off frequency
= 318 kHz / 2 = 159 kHz
upper cutoff = f2 = 5M + 0.159M = 5.159 MHz
lower cutoff = f1 = 5M – 0.159M = 4.841 MHz
check.: BW = f2 – f1 = 5.159 – 4.841 = 318 kHz
2. Sensitivity – minimum RF signal level that can be detected at the input to the receiver and still produce a
usable demodulated information signal
- also called receiver threshold
Usable information signal is arbitrary,
a. For AM broadcast-band receivers:
b. For broadband microwave receivers:
Typical sensitivity:
a. AM commercial broadcast:
b. Two-way mobile radio receiver:
3. Fidelity – measure of the ability of the communication system to produce, at the output of the receiver, an
exact replica of the original source information
Two (2) Kinds of AM Receivers
1. Tuned Radio-Frequency AM Receiver (TRF)
The tuned radio-frequency AM receiver (TRF) was one of the earliest types of AM
receivers and it is still probably the simplest design available.
Advantages: High Sentivity
Disadvantges: Instability, Poor
Selectivity, poor audio quality
2. Superheterodyne AM Receiver (Superhet)
• The superheterodyne receiver has remained
in use because its gain, selectivity, and
sensitivity characteristics are superior to
those of other receiver configurations.
• Heterodyne means to mix two frequencies
together in a nonlinear device or to translate
one frequency to another using nonlinear
mixing.
MISSION: Conversion of Radio Frequency to Intermediate Frequency to Audio Frequency
Example
• For an AM superheterodyne receiver that uses high-side injection, determine the IF carrier, upper
side freq. & lower freq. for an RF wave that is made up of a carrier and message freq. of 900
kHz and 5 kHz respectively.
Mixer/converter
Local Oscillator
*sideband inversion - RF upper side frequency translated to IF lower freq. and RF
lower side freq. translated to IF upper freq.
Audio Diode Detector
Image Frequency and Image Frequency Rejection Ratio
Image Frequency – any frequency other than the selected radio frequency carrier
that, if allowed to enter a receiver and mix with LO, will
produce a cross-product frequency that is equal to the IF
- Once an image frequency has been mixed down to IF, it cannot
be filtered out or suppressed
Image-Frequency Rejection Ratio (IFRR) – numerical measure of the ability of the receiver to reject image
frequency
High Side Injection Low Side Injection
frequency frequency
For an AM broadcast-band superheterodyne receiver with IF, RF and LO
Example frequencies o 455kHz, 600kHz and 1055 kHz, respectively, determine
a. Image frequency
b. IFRR for a preselector Q of 100
High Side Injection
Mixer/converter
RF=600kHz IF=455 kHz
Image=1510kHz
Local Oscillator
1055 kHz
Solution:
a.
b.
Note: the closer the RF is to the IF, the closer the RF is to the image frequency
