Diversity Receiver For Digital Radio Mondiale A Multi Year Design Project
- Conference
- Location
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Louisville, Kentucky
- Publication Date
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June 20, 2010
- Start Date
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June 20, 2010
- End Date
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June 23, 2010
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Computers in Education
- Page Count
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8
- Page Numbers
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15.426.1 - 15.426.8
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--16178
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/16178
- Download Count
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524
Paper Authors
Paul Leiffer LeTourneau University
PAUL R. LEIFFER is a professor in the Engineering and Engineering Technology Division at LeTourneau University, where he has taught since 1975. He received his B.S.E.E. from the State University of New York at Buffalo and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Drexel University. Prior to joining the faculty at LeTourneau, he was involved in cardiac cell research at the University of Kansas Medical Center. His
professional interests include digital signal processing, biomedical engineering, and appropriate technology.
Joonwan Kim LeTourneau University
JOONWAN KIM is an associate profesor in the Engineering Department at LeTourneau University, where he has taught since 2003. He received his B.S. degree from Daegu University in South Korea and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Dr. Kim's interest areas include speech processing and adaptive noise filtering.
R. William Graff LeTourneau University
R. WILLIAM GRAFF is a professor in the Engineering and Engineering Technology Division at LeTourneau University, where he has taught since 1975. He received his B.S., M.S., and PH.D. degrees from Purdue University in electrical engineering. Prior to joining the faculty at LeTourneau, he was assistant professor of electrical engineering at Drexel University for six years, and at Wilkes College for two years. His professional interests include antennas, microwaves, plasmas, and ethics.
Don Willcox LeTourneau University
DON WILLCOX is a senior at LeTourneau University, majoring in Electrical Engineering and Engineering Physics.
Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract
Diversity Receiver for Digital Radio Mondiale – A Multi-Year Design Project
Introduction
In nations where the Internet is a rare luxury, radio remains the most efficient way to spread important information to the majority of the populace. Non-profit radio pioneer HCJB, “The Voice of the Andes,” currently works at developing new transmitters and receivers from their technology center in Elkhart, Indiana. HCJB has sponsored the development of many broadcast stations in these less-developed countries, including parts of Africa and Indonesia. Citizens tune in to hear essential public health information, directions for disaster/relief aid, as well as "normal" programming including music, talk shows, and Christian programs. For many listeners this may be their only window to the outside world.
Unfortunately, due to the de-centralized and de-urbanized nature of these less-developed countries, many listeners live in isolated communities far from the main cities where the radio studios reside. Transmitting content to these remote listeners and their local radio stations is a major challenge for broadcasters. The preferred method of broadcast is FM, which provides good audio quality but only over short distances. One strategy used by some broadcasters is to "chain" FM repeater links together, stretching the effective transmission range of FM but losing quality in the process. AM radio provides the necessary range to cover entire countries, but its quality suffers in comparison to FM. Furthermore, in many regions, long-range AM transmissions are also hampered by signal degradation brought about by changes in the ionosphere. Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) is a European digital radio standard designed specifically for shortwave AM broadcasts, including those in the tropical-band frequency range. DRM allows broadcasters to transmit FM-quality audio over AM-grade ranges, and as such, is of particular interest to non-profit broadcasters such as HCJB. DRM Background The Digital Radio Mondiale system was developed by a consortium of over seventy broadcasters and broadcast organizations to satisfy the need for a digital broadcast standard for frequency bands below 30 MHz. 1, 2 It was approved by the European Telecommunication Standards Institute in 2001 and has been extended to frequencies up to 174 MHz. 3,4 A number of broadcasters began digital transmission in 2003, and seven DRM receivers were developed that year. 5 An advantage of DRM over analog radio, in addition to reception quality, is its ability to transmit both audio and data streams. DRM makes use of QAM mapping and Coded Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (COFDM), which utilizes a convolutional forward error- correcting code with a set of low-bitrate signals at closely spaced frequencies. 6 DRM Receiver as a Senior Design Project In 2007 engineers from HCJB discussed with our faculty the possibility of working with them on a project to develop a receiver which could be used as part of a studio-transmitter rebroadcast link, in which DRM signals from the primary broadcast would be received and demodulated for
Leiffer, P., & Kim, J., & Graff, R. W., & Willcox, D. (2010, June), Diversity Receiver For Digital Radio Mondiale A Multi Year Design Project Paper presented at 2010 Annual Conference & Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky. 10.18260/1-2--16178
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