IQ imbalance in transmitter
Typical communication systems use I-Q modulation and we had discussed the need for I-Q modulation in the past. In this post, let us understand I-Q imbalance and its effect on transmit signal.
Read More
GATE-2012 ECE Q3 (communication)
Question 3 on Communication from GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) 2012 Electronics and Communication Engineering paper. Q3. In a baseband communications link, frequencies upto 3500Hz are used for signalling. Using a raised cosine pulse with 75% excess bandwidth and for no inter-symbol interference, the maximum possible signaling rate in symbols per second is, (A)…
Quiz on IEEE 802.11a specifications
The IEEE 802.11a specifications are used by many to understand a wireless communication link built using OFDM. In this post, I have put together a set of 10 multiple choice questions based on 802.11a specifications. The questions are on the building blocks in 802.11a specifications, preamble structure and so on. Upon completion of the quiz,…
Approximate Vector Magnitude Computation
In this post, let us discuss a simple implementation friendly scheme for computing the absolute value of a complex number . The technique called (alpha Max + beta Min) algorithm is discussed in Chapter 13.2 of Understanding Digital Signal Processing, Richard Lyons and is also available online at Digital Signal Processing Tricks – High-speed vector…
Gradients for Binary Classification with Sigmoid
In a classification problem, the output (also called the label or class) takes a small number of discrete values rather than continuous values. For a simple binary classification problem, where output takes only two discrete values : 0 or 1, the sigmoid function can be used to transform the output of a linear regression model…
Download free e-book on error probability in AWGN
We have quite a few articles discussing bit and symbol error rates for popular digital modulation schemes in Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channel. This post summarizes the articles discussing the theoretical and simulated error rates for the digital modulation schemes like BPSK, QPSK, 4–PAM, 16PSK and 16QAM. Further, Bit Error Rate with Gray coded…
BER for BPSK in OFDM with Rayleigh multipath channel
Mr. Lealem Tamirat, in a comment on BER for BPSK in Rayleigh channel, wondered about the performance of an OFDM modulated system in a frequency selective Rayeligh fading channel. My response was that, Though the total channel is a frequency selective channel, the channel experienced by each subcarrier in an OFDM system is a flat…
Cylcic prefix in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
In a previous post (here), we discussed in brief, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) transmission. Let us know probe bit more into the motivation of cyclic prefix (aka guard interval) associated with each OFDM symbol. What is cyclic prefix? Let us consider one subcarrier (subcarrier +1 specified in IEEE 802.11a specification) alone. In the figure…
TETRA Air interface specifications – Overview
TETRA (TErrestrial Trunked RAdio) is a wireless specification intended to be used by government agencies, public health services, rail transport, military etc. TETRA specification comes from ETSI (European Telecommunication Standards Institute). We plan to start a post series on the building blocks of TETRA physical layer and radio specifications and this is the first post…
Comparing 16PSK vs 16QAM for symbol error rate
In two previous posts, we have derived theoretical symbol error rate for 16-QAM and 16-PSK modulation schemes. The links are: (a) Symbol error rate for 16-PSK (b) Symbol error rate for 16-QAM Given that we are transmitting the same number of constellation points in both 16-PSK and 16-QAM, let us try to understand the better…
IQ modulation and demodulation
Post describes about the need for I-Q modulation by comparing the spectral efficiency of passband PAM and passband QAM.
GATE-2012 ECE Q13 (circuits)
Question 13 on analog electronics from GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) 2012 Electronics and Communication Engineering paper. Q13. The diodes and the capacitors in the circuit shown are ideal. The voltage across the diode is (A) (B) (C) (D) Solution The first half of the circuit is a negative clamper circuit and the second half…
Bounds on Communication based on Shannon’s capacity
This is the second post in the series aimed at developing a better understanding of Shannon’s capacity equation. In this post let us discuss the bounds on communication given the signal power and bandwidth constraint. Further, the following writeup is based on Section 12.6 from Fundamentals of Communication Systems by John G. Proakis, Masoud Salehi
Comparing BPSK, QPSK, 4PAM, 16QAM, 16PSK, 64QAM and 32PSK
I have written another article in DSPDesginLine.com. This article can be treated as the third post in the series aimed at understanding Shannon’s capacity equation. For the first two posts in the series are: 1. Understanding Shannon’s capacity equation 2. Bounds on Communication based on Shannon’s capacity The article summarizes the symbol error rate derivations…