Submitted By:
Shahrukh Javed
Topics:
Comparison of Fm and AM
Both AM and FM radio signal carriers are output at a single frequency (FM is
usually much higher than AM).
Receivers of either type are designed to detect those changes which are applied
to the carrier signal to retrieve the audio signal.
The major point of difference is with regard to how the "information" rides on the
carrier wave. AM is amplitude Modulation, and FM is Frequency Modulation. With
both AM and FM, a carrier wave must be broadcasted. The carrier wave is at a
particular frequency, which is singled out as you tune in your radio station. All
other frequencies are filtered out.
Working of AM and FM:-
Both AM and FM radio signal carriers are output at a single frequency (FM is
usually much higher than AM).
AM (amplitude modulation) carriers alter in amplitude to mimic the audio being
sent. The carrier signal frequency doesn't alter.
FM (frequency modulation) carriers alter in frequency to mimic the audio being
sent. The carrier signal amplitude doesn't alter.
Receivers of either type are designed to detect those changes which are applied
to the carrier signal to retrieve the audio signal.
The major point of difference is with regard to how the "information" rides on the
carrier wave. AM is amplitude Modulation, and FM is Frequency Modulation. With
both AM and FM, a carrier wave must be broadcasted. The carrier wave is at a
particular frequency, which is singled out as you tune in your radio station. All
other frequencies are filtered out.
Stations can theoretically be placed every 10 kHz, along the AM band. This means
that there are a total of 117 different channels available for AM radio stations. The
FM radio band goes from 88 to 108 MHz. FM stations must be 200 kHz
apart at these frequencies, which means that there's room for 200 FM
stations on the FM band.
There are many differences to consider between AM frequencies and inaccessible
Low-Power FM (LPFM) frequencies.
AM (LPAM) FM (LPFM)
2 May not mention business names and 2 May be underwritten by a sponsor and
must be voice only. named on the air; can play music.
3 May play a repeating loop of 3 May do that too but must also locally
information. originate a significant amount of
programming each week.
5 Applicants may apply for as many 5 Applicants may only apply for 1
stations as they like and locate them station for the first few years. FM
where they like, within limits. applicants also must be locally owned
and controlled.
6 Stations are all 0-10 watts, mono. 6 Stations are to be 0-10 watts and 0-100
watts, both stereo.
1. Analog
2. Digital
Analog Signals:-
Analog signals are continuous electrical signals that vary in time as shown in figure
a. Most of the time, the variations follow that of the non-electric (original) signal.
Therefore, the two are analogous hence the name analog.
Not all analog signals vary as smoothly as the waveform shown in Figure a. Analog
signals represent some physical quantity and they are a ‘MODEL’ of the real quantity.
Example:-
Telephone voice signal is analog. The intensity of the voice causes electric current
variations. At the receiving end, the signal is reproduced in the same proportion.
Hence the electric current is a ‘MODEL’ but not one’s voice since it is an electrical
representation or analog of one’s voice.
Digital Signals
Digital signals are non-continuous, they change in individual steps. They consist of
pulses or digits with discrete levels or values. The value of each pulse is constant,
but there is an abrupt change from one digit to the next. Digital signals have two
amplitude levels called nodes. The value of which are specified as one of two
possibilities such as 1 or 0, HIGH or LOW, TRUE or FALSE and so on. In reality, the
values are anywhere within specific ranges and we define values within a given range
as in fig b
Figure b: Digital Signal
Analog
Analog signals are signals with continuous values. Analog signals are used in
many systems, although the use of analog signals has declined with the advent of
cheap digital signals.
Digital
Digital signals are signals that are represented by binary numbers, "1" or "0". The
1 and 0 values can correspond to different discrete voltage values, and any signal
that doesn’t quite fit into the scheme just gets rounded off.
Analog
Analog systems are less tolerant to noise, make good use of bandwidth, and are
easy to manipulate mathematically. However, analog signals require hardware
receivers and transmitters that are designed to perfectly fit the particular
transmission. If you are working on a new system, and you decide to change your
analog signal, you need to completely change your transmitters and receivers.
Digital
Digital signals are more tolerant to noise, but digital signals can be completely
corrupted in the presence of excess noise. In digital signals, noise could cause a 1
to be interpreted as a 0 and vice versa, which makes the received data different
than the original data. Imagine if the army transmitted a position coordinate to a
missile digitally, and a single bit was received in error? This single bit error could
cause a missile to miss its target by miles. Luckily, there are systems in place to
prevent this sort of scenario, which tell the receiver when a bit has been corrupted
and ask the transmitter to resend the data. The primary benefit of digital signals is
that they can be handled by simple, standardized receivers and transmitters, and
the signal can be then dealt with in software (which is comparatively cheap to
change).
The Difference between Digital and Discrete
Digital quantity may be either 0 or 1, but discrete may be any numerical value i.e. 0,
1....9.
Which is Better?
There is no way to say which type of signal is better or worse. Modern digital systems
often require more expensive components (consider the difference in price between old
TV sets, and new HDTV sets), although lower-end digital systems can be moderately
priced. Analog systems need to be built with a complex array of Op Amps, resistors,
capacitors, diodes, etc, while a digital system can be implemented with a generic
microcontroller, and some quick programming.