Lab Report ASK
Lab Report ASK
Instruments
• oscilloscope and MCM31 module.
THEORETICAL NOTIONS
Amplitude Shift Keying – ASK
In this form of modulation the sine carrier takes 2 amplitude values, determined by the binary data
signal. Usually the modulator transmits the carrier when the data bit is "1", it completely removes it
when the bit is "0" (fig 2.1). There are also ASK shapes called "multi-level", where the amplitude of
the modulated signal takes more than 2 values.
The demodulation can be coherent or non-coherent. In the first case, more complex as concerns the
circuits but more effective as against the noise effect, a product demodulator multiplies the ASK
signal by the locally regenerated carrier. In the second case the envelope of the ASK signal is
detected via diode. In both cases the detector is followed by a low pass filter, which removes the
residual carrier components, and a threshold circuit which squares the data signal (fig 2.2).
2
Fig 2.2: ASK Demodulation
ASK Modulator
The block diagram of the ASK modulator is shown in fig 2.3. The sine carrier (1200 or 1800 Hz) is
applied to an input of the balanced modulator 1; a data signal (indicated with I) is connected to the
other circuit. The circuit usually carries out the balanced modulator function, and multiplies the two
signals applied across the inputs. Unbalancing, though, the circuit with switch SW6 (in position
ASK/FSK), it operates as amplitude modulator generating in this way the ASK signal of fig 2.1. The
last, then, enters the adder used for FSK/QPSK/QAM modulations, and exits via a separator stage.
The 6dB attenuator cuts the signal amplitude into half, and is activated only with the QAM. To block
the operation of the balanced modulator 2 in ASK mode, the data input of the same modulator must
be set on ASK (J3=d).
3
ASK Demodulator
The filter, the clock extraction circuit and the data re-timing one are used to demodulate also other
kind of signals.
4
EXPERIMENT PROCEDURE
Disconnect all jumpers
MCM31 -Set all switches S "OFF"
5
the signal supplied by the ASK demodulator is filtered by a low-pass filter, which removes the
ASK carrier components. At the filter output (TP24, fig2.5) you get the detected data signal,
which shape is affected by the amplitude of the ASK carrier (and so by the conditions of the
communication channel)
in asynchronous data transmission, i.e. when no clock regeneration and data re-timing is required,
it is sufficient to square the signal supplied by the filter. The output of the squarer (threshold
circuit) can be detected across TP29. Note the correspondence between the transmitted (TP6) and
the received data (TP29)
introduce line attenuation (ATT), and see that the received data are not equal to the transmission
data anymore. The noise insertion (NOISE) causes an alternation of the received data, too
6
Fig 2.5: Waveforms ASK