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Traditional electronic communications course in ECET covers a wide range of topics in communications theory, with the focus on different modulation schemes and the respective receivers’ baseband structures and performances. However, it is often found that students do not necessarily grasp the essence of a communications system from a systematic perspective because of the wide coverage of content. This article presents a systems approach to teaching an introductory course of electronic communications that effectively helps students consolidate their knowledge in electronic circuits, to be better prepared for later communications theory course(s) in terms of how different technologies are applied to a communications system, and to accumulate hands-on experience at a communications system’s level. Introduction Traditionally, an electronic communications course in ECET covers a wide range of topics in communications theory, with the focus on different modulation schemes such as AM, FM, BPSK, QPSK, FSK, QAM, DS-SS, FH-SS, and the respective receivers’ baseband structures and performances. While these topics are essential in communications theory, it is often found that students do not necessarily grasp the essence of a communications system from a systematic perspective, because of the wide coverage of content. It is more effective if the students understand the communications systems from a systematic perspective, before they apply different modulation schemes to these systems. This article presents a system approach to teaching an introductory course in electronic communications. Instead of covering various kinds of modulation schemes, the systematic approach focuses on the functionality and analysis of each block of a communications system at the circuit level. This includes message generation (for example, QPSK signal generation), signal filtration, signal amplification, mixer/modulator/demodulator, up/down frequency conversion, and so forth. Lab experiments are being developed for each system block to provide students experiential knowledge. The system’s approach uses only two basic modulation schemes (for example, FM Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright c ©2004, American Society for Engineering Education P ge 913.1 and QPSK) to cover both analog communications and digital communications. At the end of the course, the students are expected to have an overall picture of a communications system. When they learn different modulation schemes in a traditional communications theory course, they will understand how these schemes can be applied at a systems level. The system approach to teaching ”electronic communications” is expected to achieve the following goals: 1) Help students understand communications concepts from a system perspective more effectively. 2) Provide students with a better understanding of functionality, design, and related issues of communication system blocks. 3) Help consolidate students’ knowledge in electronic circuits and their applications in communication systems. 4) Provide students with a more solid foundation for higher level communications courses. 5) Provide students with a better understanding of the issues caused by inter-connection of communications blocks. The Selected Modulation Schemes for System Approach Selection of modulation schemes for this systems approach is imperative. Our thoughts on the modulation scheme are based on the following factors: • The modulation schemes should cover both analog and digital communications. • The selected modulation schemes should be representative and widely used in communications systems. • It should be relatively straightforward to introduce important concepts in communications theory with these modulation schemes. • It should be relatively simple to design experimental labs for students to obtain hands-on experience. Based on the above thoughts, we decide to choose Frequency Modulation (FM) to introduce analog communications systems and Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) to represent digital communications systems. The following is a brief review of the characteristics of these two modulation schemes. (A) Frequency Modulation (FM) FM is an angle modulation where the amplitude of the modulated carrier is held constant and the time derivative of the phase of the carrier is varied linearly with the message signal m(t). A general expression of FM signal is given in (1). More detailed information about FM modulation and demodulation can be found in Stremler Tomasi. Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright c ©2004, American Society for Engineering Education P ge 913.2 xr(t) = Ac cos[2πfct + 2πfd ∫ t 0 m(τ)dτ ] (1) where Ac is the carrier amplitude fc is the carrier frequency fd is frequency deviation of FM signal m(τ) is the message signal The ratio of frequency deviation and the modulation peak frequency fm of the message signal fd fm is called ”modulation index” and is denoted by β. Phase Lock Loop (PLL) Demodulator, Slope Detector/Discriminator, and Quadrature Detector are the three most predominant methods of demodulating FM signals. Quadrature detector is used in our lab experiment. Its theory of operation is described as follows: The received signal xr1(t) is described in equation (2). Passing this signal through a 90 0 phase shifter and then a quadrature coil which introduces an additional phase shift φ(t) that is proportional to the message signal m(t) and thus produces a signal: xr2(t) = −Ac sin[2πfct + 2πfd ∫ t 0 m(τ)dτ + φ(t)] (2) Mixing (multiplying) xr1(t) and xr2(t) yields: y(t) = − A 2 sin[4πfct + 4πfd ∫ t 0 m(τ)dτ ] − A 2 sin[φ(t)] (3) Since φ(t) is proportional to the message signal m(t), original message can be reconstructed by filtering out higher ordered terms. (B) Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) QPSK is a digital modulation scheme where a binary bit stream is divided into an in-phase stream, dI(t), and a quadrature stream, dQ(t). Each stream is composed of the odd bits or the even bits of the original message signal, respectively. Each stream assumes half of the data rate of that of the original message signal. A typical QPSK waveform is achieved by amplitude modulating the in-phase and the quadrature data streams onto the cosine and sine functions of a carrier waveform, and can be mathematically expressed as follows: x(t) = 1 2 dI(t) cos(2πfct + π 4 ) + 1 2 dQ(t) sin(2πfct + π 4 ) (4) QPSK signal can be viewed as two orthogonally transmitted Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) streams. It is a bandwidth efficient modulation scheme which transmits 2bits/sec/Hz. Because of the orthogonality, a QPSK signal can be demodulated as two separate BPSK signals. The basic theory of a BPSK demodulator can be described as follows: Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright c ©2004, American Society for Engineering Education P ge 913.3 Suppose the received signal is r(t) = A cos(2πfct + θm), where A ∈ {−1, 1}, θm ∈ {0, π}, and a local reference oscillator signal is f(t) = B cos(2πfct + θτ ), where B is the reference signal amplitude, and θτ is a constant phase component. By mixing (multiplying r(t) and f(t)), the following result is obtained: y(t) = AB 2 cos(θm − θτ ) + AB 2 cos(4πfct + θm + θτ ) (5) Higher ordered terms can be filtered out using a low pass filter, and the resulting term AB 2 cos(θm−θτ ) is the desired demodulated BPSK signal, when θτ is sufficiently small. This can be achieved by using a PLL circuit to reduce the phase error. A low cost BPSK demodulator is presented in Benzel. Transmitter Side The systematic approach to teaching focuses on the functionality of system blocks of a communications system, and the important concepts of communications theory associated with each block. Corresponding labs are designed for students to gain hands-on experience for each block. A typical transmitter block diagram of a communications system is shown in Figure 1. Even though the system is set to transmit a passband signal, the aim is not to introduce issues related to RF transmission. Rather, the aim is to introduce important concepts in communications such as bandwidth. The following paragraphs will elaborate on the methods used for teaching, important concepts to be introduced, and potential bonuses associated with this system approach. Transmitted Signal Output Baseband Signal Generator Baseband Signal Filter Modulator /Mixer Passband Signal Filter Passband Signal Amplifier

A System’s Approach To Teaching “Introduction To Electronic Communications” For Ecet Students