Course Websites

ECE 459 - Communications Systems

Last offered Fall 2023

Official Description

Analog underpinning of analog and digital communication systems: representation of signals and systems in the time and frequency domains; analog modulation schemes; random processes; prediction and noise analysis using random processes; noise sensitivity and bandwidth requirements of modulation schemes. Brief introduction to digital communications. Course Information: 3 undergraduate hours. 3 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ECE 313.

Related Faculty

Subject Area

  • Communications

Course Director

Description

Introduction to analog and digital modulation techniques, random processes, and power spectral density. Effects of noise on, and bandwidth requirements of, different modulation schemes.

Goals

To provide an introduction to the fundamentals of analog and sampled data communication systems with emphasis on system architectures, signal-to-noise ratios, and bandwidth requirements of amplitude, frequency, and pulse code modulations techniques.

Topics

  • Introduction to analog and digital communication systems
  • Signals and filters
  • Random signals and noise
  • Analog modulation techniques
  • Pulse code modulation techniques
  • Digital modulation techniques

Detailed Description and Outline

To provide an introduction to the fundamentals of analog and sampled data communication systems with emphasis on system architectures, signal-to-noise ratios, and bandwidth requirements of amplitude, frequency, and pulse code modulations techniques.

Topics:

  • Introduction to analog and digital communication systems
  • Signals and filters
  • Random signals and noise
  • Analog modulation techniques
  • Pulse code modulation techniques
  • Digital modulation techniques

Topical Prerequisites

  • Fundamental circuit analysis
  • Fourier transform
  • Probability theory

Texts

Fundamentals of Communication Systems, 2nd edition, by Proakis and Salehi, Prentice Hall.

ABET Category

Engineering Science: 2 credits or 67%
Engineering Design: 1 credit or 33%

Course Goals

This course provides an introduction to the fundamentals of analog and sampled data communication systems with emphasis on system architectures, signal-to-noise ratios, and bandwidth requirements of amplitude, frequency, pulse code modulation techniques. This is the first course in communication systems. It is closely related to and complements ECE 361, Communications II, which focuses on digital communications.

Instructional Objectives

A. By the time of Exam No. I (after 13 lectures), the students should be able to do the following:

1. Apply Fourier transform and its properties for signal transmission through a linear system (1)

2. Describe bandpass signals and systems (1)

3. Find the bandwidth of a signal or system (1, 7)

4. Identify baseband and modulated signals (1)

5. Write the expressions for amplitude modulated, double side band, single side band, vestigial side band modulated signals, identify their spectrums, and sketch the circuit diagrams for their modulation and demodulation (1, 2, 7)

6. Write the expressions for angle modulated signals, and phase and frequency modulated signals. Analyze their spectrums and drive expressions for the

transmission bandwidth. Sketch the circuit diagrams for generations and demodulation of frequency and phase modulated signals (1, 2, 7)

B. By the time of Exam No. II (after 23 lectures), the students should be able to do all of the items listed under A, plus the following:

7. Identify a random signal, obtain the mean, autocorrelation, and autocovariance functions of random processes (1)

8. Identify a stationary and wide sense stationary random process (1)

9. Find the response of a linear filter to a random process (1, 2, 6, 7)

10. Analyze Gaussian random processes through linear systems. (1, 6)

11. Describe power spectral density of random processes (1, 6)

12. Give the mathematical model of a narrow band random process (1)

13. Evaluate signal-to-noise ratios for analog modulation schemes (AM, DSB, SSB, VSB, FM and PM) and compare their performances (1, 2, 6, 7)

C. By the time of the Final Exam (30 lectures + two exams), the students should be able to do all of the items listed under A and B, plus the following:

14. Sample a continuous-time signal, and describe quantization noise in a process (1, 2, 6, 7)

15. Obtain a Pulse Code Modulated signal, compute signal-to quantization noise ratios for uniform and nonuniform quantizers (1, 2, 6, 7)

16. Obtain power spectral densities of different line coded signals (on-off, polar, bipolar, Manchester), and compare their bandwidths (1, 2, 6, 7)

17. Apply hypothesis testing in detection and estimation (1)

18. Obtain detection error probabilities of different line coded baseband signals, and compare these probabilities (1, 2, 6, 7)

19. Design an optimum receiver for a polar signal under Gaussian noise environment (1, 2, 6, 7)

TitleSectionCRNTypeHoursTimesDaysLocationInstructor
Communications SystemsONL70443OLC31000 - 1050 M W F    Juan Alvarez
Communications SystemsR29959LCD31000 - 1050 M W F  2015 Electrical & Computer Eng Bldg Juan Alvarez
Communications SystemsZJ178785LCD3 -    Juan Alvarez