Communication Principles

What you will learn

On successful completion of this course you will be able to:

• Identify the main functions of each of the component blocks in a communications system model, deriving suitable values for each of the system parameters,
• Describe the principles, implementation and theoretical background of the principal modulation schemes employed in communication systems,
• Evaluate the effects of a communications channel on a transmitted signal in terms of attenuation, time, frequency and phase dispersion,
• Analyse the performance of a communication system based on a link budget, using a standard propagation model,
• Propose a suitable communications architecture to meet a required specification given a particular application.

Core content

• Introduction: Transmitter and receiver communications system model
• Voice source coding: Pulse code modulation, delta modulation, CVSD, linear predictive coding, demonstrations
• Analogue modulation: Amplitude modulation, DSB/SSB. Frequency modulation, demonstrations
• Digital modulation: ASK, FSK, PSK, DPSK, QPSK, Offset QPSK, MSK, QAM, demonstrations
• Signal transmission: Pulse shaping and matched filters, digital signals in noise, baseband line coding, link budget analysis
• Communications channel: Atmospheric losses, multipath effects, small and large scale fading, plane earth model
• Transmitters and Receivers: superheterodyne systems, balanced and unbalanced mixers, frequency synthesisers, impairment correction.

Credits towards further study

Who should attend

The course is intended for military officers and defence industry scientists and technical officers. It is particularly suitable for those who will be involved with the specification, analysis, development, or technical management of military communications or information systems, where the emphasis is on an electronic warfare environment.

Speakers

Dr Peter Barker

Concessions

Location and travel

Cranfield Defence and Security (CDS) is a Cranfield School based at the Ministry of Defence establishment on the Oxfordshire/Wiltshire borders.

Shrivenham itself lies in the picturesque Vale of the White Horse, close to the M4 motorway which links London and South Wales. It is 7 miles from Swindon, the nearest town, which lies off the M4 at the hub of Britain’s motorway network.

Bath, Cheltenham, Bristol and Oxford are all within an hour’s drive and London less than two hours away by car.

All visitors must be pre-booked in at reception by the person they are visiting on the campus.

For further location and travel details