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Session 1426

Laboratory Exercise on Demodulation Of PAM signal

Willie Ofosu - Penn State Wilkes-Barre James Garner, David Metz - Penn State Altoona

Abstract

Pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) is used extensively in telecommunications as an intermediate step of other techniques such as phase shift keying (PSK), quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) and pulse code modulation (PCM)1. PAM however is an amplitude modulated (AM) form of a pulse carrier2, and hence has all the advantages and disadvantages of the purely analog AM, a major disadvantage being noise. PAM can be time-division multiplexed (TDM), as can pulse code modulation (PCM) which is a digital signal. TDM is one of the multiplexing techniques used in telephony (the other is space- division multiplexing). PAM is used as a first step in converting voice signal to PCM in the public switched telephone network (PSTN), and is also used to produce high-level modulation schemes for data modems and digital radio. High-level modulation is done in the output circuit of the radio frequency (RF) power amplifier stage, and is more efficient than low-level modulation. PCM is used for long-distance telecommunications, making PAM an important pulse modulation technique in communications systems.

Introduction

Engineering Technology programs are characterized by hands-on experiential instructional processes that help students to understand the application of the technology. This method of instruction is particularly useful for graduates who seek employment in industries that are service and maintenance oriented. The hands-on experiential approach may not be sufficient in cases where the graduate intends to seek employment in a research establishment. It is generally believed that students preparing for employment in research establishments require a higher level of mathematical utilization than students in technology programs do. It is however, essential that technology students understand all the principles employed in any particular technology that is taught in their program.

The Telecommunications industry has both research, and service and maintenance companies. It can be stated that there are more service and maintenance oriented companies than there are research establishments. As such, the majority of graduates find jobs in the service and maintenance sector which is profit driven, and the more work that is completed, the higher the profits. This creates an environment where service is not taken to the component level where design may be needed, but to the card level where faulty cards are simply replaced. It is therefore essential for the personnel to know how a card in working order should perform and the correct signals to obtain from test points on the card. The personnel should also know how to technically interpret the signals to make correct diagnosis. This paper discusses a laboratory experiment used to supplement a

Proceedings of the 2001 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright  2001, American Society for Engineering Education. This project was sponsored by the Minority Office and SETCE of Penn State University.

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Garner, J., & Metz, D., & Ofosu, W. (2001, June), Laboratory Exercise On Demodulation Of Pam Signal Paper presented at 2001 Annual Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 10.18260/1-2--9494