EXPERIMENT 1:

GENERATION AND ANALYSIS OF AM AND FM WAVEFORMS

1) OBJECTIVE
To become familiar with the features and basic operations of the Agilent E4438C
Vector Signal Generator, Agilent DSO6034A Oscilloscope, and Agilent E4407
Spectrum Analyzer
To generate amplitude modulated (AM) and frequency modulated (FM) waveforms
To observe and analyze the modulated signals in both time and frequency domains

2) PRELAB
1. Please study Chapter 3 of the book Communication System Engineering by J. G.
Proakis and M. Salehi or the handout Review of Amplitude and Angle Modulation
based on the above mentioned book.
2. What is the importance of modulation?
3. Let W be the bandwidth of the message signal m(t ) . Compare the following
modulation schemes in terms of their bandwidth requirements:
a. DSB-SC AM
b. Conventional AM
c. SSB
d. Vestigial-sideband AM
e. FM with a modulation index
4. Consider a DSB-SC AM system. The message signal m(t ) defined as
t0
2, 0 t 3

t 2t
m(t ) 1, 0 t 0
3 3
0, otherwise


modulates the carrier c(t ) cos(2 f ct ) and the resulting modulated signal is denoted
by u(t). Let t0 0.18 sec and f c 300 Hz.
a. Obtain the expression for u(t).
b. Derive the spectra of m(t) and u(t).
c. Assuming that the message signal is periodic with period t0 , determine the
power in the modulated signal.

3) LAB WORK
3.1 Notes

The output of the signal generator can either be connected to the spectrum analyzer or
the oscilloscope; it can also feed the two instruments simultaneously via the T
connector. The cable used for connections is AGILENT 8120-1840 LM0521.
Note that the RF output impedance of the signal generator is 50 ohm and the input
impedance of the spectrum analyser is 50 ohm. The input impedance of the
oscilloscope is 50 ohm and 1 M ohm selectable.

1
3.2 Initial Set-ups

A. Initial Setup of the Signal Generator

1. Turn on the signal generator by pushing on the button on the left bottom corner ( ).
2. Press Preset to load factory settings, then press RF On/Off, so that RF On appears on
the screen.
3. Press Utility, then form the menu that appears to the right of the screen, press the soft
key Error Info, from the next menu press Clear Error Queue(s).
4. From the main key panel, press Frequency, then from the numeric keypad enter the
numerals of the desired frequency. In this particular experiment, enter 10 and then
select the MHz from the soft keys to the right of the screen, this way the frequency of
10 MHz will be selected.
5. Now press Amplitude, using the numeric keypad enter the numerals of the desired
amplitude, in this case enter -10, then select the dBm from the soft keys to the right of
the screen, this way the amplitude of -10 dBm will be selected.

B. Initial Setup of the Oscilloscope

Front-panel keys of the oscilloscope are shown below.

1. Turn on the oscilloscope by pushing on the button ( ) on the left bottom corner.
2. Connect the output of the signal generator to the CH1 of the oscilloscope, by pressing
the button related to this channel; observe that you see the waveform on the
oscilloscope screen. In case of any malfunction, press Auto-Scale button.
3. Measure the frequency and the amplitude of the RF signal coming from the signal
generator. In order to perform this, first press the Quick Meas button. Then press the
second soft key from the left (soft keys are on bottom of the screen). Then by pressing
the same soft key several times select the measurement type (here some existing
measurement types are Amplitude, Average, Frequency, RMS, etc.). After selecting
2
 the measurement type press the third soft key from the left to perform measurement.
Observe the measurement result on the right bottom of the screen. Record this value
into your lab report.
4. While taking these measurements, adjust appropriately the volts/div and time base so
that the waveform occupies good visible position on the screen. In order to adjust
volts/div use Vertical Sensitivity Knob. This knob is used to change the vertical
sensitivity (gain) of the channel and it is placed just above the channel selection
button. In order to adjust time base use Horizontal Sweep Speed Control Knob.
This knob is used to adjust the sweep speed and as a result to stretch out or squeeze in
the waveform horizontally. It is placed on the left most of the Horizontal menu.
5. If you want to save your graphs to USB mass storage device, you should follow these
steps:
a. Connect the device to the oscilloscope.
b. Press the Save/Recall key.
c. Press the Save softkey to display the Save menu.

d. Turn the Entry knob and press the far left softkey to select a directory on a
USB mass storage device.
e. To generate a file name, press the New File softkey.

f. Turn the Entry knob to select the first character in the file name.

g. Press the Enter softkey to enter the selected character and go to the next
character position.
h. To delete a character from the file name, press the Enter softkey until the
letter you want to delete is highlighted, and then press the Delete
Character softkey.
i. When you are done entering characters for the file name, press the Press to
Save softkey to save the file.
Two files, the trace and the setup files, will be saved to the USB mass storage device.
For the above example, these are SCOPE0.TRC and SCOPE0.SCP, respectively.
6. Change oscilloscope input impedance and take measurements. To make this change,
first press the Channel Selection Button to observe the Channel 1 Menu on the
screen. Then press the second soft key from the left to see the impedance choices.
7. Verify if these measured values match those coming from the signal generator.
Explain the differences.

3
C. Initial Setup of the Spectrum Analyzer

Front-panel keys of the spectrum analyzer are shown below.

[1] Viewing Angle keys adjust the display so that it can be optimally viewed from
different angles.
[2] Esc (escape) key cancels any entry in progress. Esc will abort a print (if one is in
progress) and clear error messages from the status line at the bottom of the display. It
also clears input and tracking generator overload conditions.
[3] Menu keys are the unlabeled keys next to the screen. The menu key labels are the
annotation on the screen next to the unlabeled keys. Most of the labeled keys on the
analyzer front panel access menus of keys having related functions.
[4] FREQUENCY Channel, SPAN X Scale, and AMPLITUDE Y Scale are the
three large keys that activate the primary analyzer functions and Access menus of
related functions. The secondary labels on these keys (Channel, X Scale, and Y Scale)
are used in some measurements.
[5] CONTROL functions access menus that adjust the resolution bandwidth, adjust
the sweep time, and control the analyzer display. They also set other analyzer
parameters needed for making measurements.
[6] MEASURE accesses a menu of keys that automate some common analyzer
measurements. Once a measurement is running, Meas Setup accesses additional menu
keys for defining your measurement. Meas Control and Restart access additional
measurement control functions.
[7] SYSTEM functions affect the state of the entire analyzer. Various setup and
alignment routines are accessed with the System key. The green Preset key resets the
analyzer to a known state. The File key menu saves/loads setups, traces, states, limit-
line tables, screens, measurement results, and amplitude correction factors to or from
analyzer memory or a storage device. The Save key immediately executes the Save

4
 Now function defined under File. The Print Setup menu keys configure hardcopy
outputs. The Print key immediately sends hardcopy data to the printer.
[8] MARKER functions control the markers, read out frequencies and amplitudes
along the analyzer trace, automatically locate the signals of highest amplitude, and
access functions like Marker Noise and Band Power.
[9] Media Door on the right side of the front panel accesses the 3.5 inch disk drive
and the Earphone connector. The earphone connector provides a connection for an
earphone jack which bypasses the internal speaker.
[10] Data Control Keys, which include the step keys, knob, and numeric keypad,
change the numeric value of an active function such as center frequency, start
frequency, resolution bandwidth, and marker position.
[11] VOLUME knob adjusts the volume of the internal speaker. The speaker is turned
on and off with the Speaker On Off key in the Det/Demod menu.
[12] EXT KEYBOARD connector is a 6-pin mini-DIN connector. The keyboard can
be used to enter screen titles and filenames.
[13] PROBE POWER provides power for high-impedance AC probes or other
accessories. (+15 V, 12.6 V, 150 mA maximum)
[14] LO OUTPUT provides the proper local oscillator signal for use with external
mixers (Option AYZ).
[15] IF INPUT connects to the IF OUTPUT of the external mixer (Option AYZ).
[16] Return key accesses the previously selected menu.
[17] AMPTD REF OUT provides an amplitude reference signal of 50 MHz at 20
dBm.
[18] Tab Keys are used to move around in the Limit editor, the Correction editor and
similar table-driven forms.
[19] INPUT 50 (INPUT 75 for Option 1DP) is the signal input for the analyzer.
[20] Next Window key can be used to select the active window in functions which
support split-screen display modes, such as Zone markers. In such modes, pressing
Zoom switches between the split-screen and full-sized display of the active window.
[21] Press the Help key and then any front panel or menu key to get a short
description of the key function and the associated SCPI command. The next key you
press will remove the help window from the display.
[22] RF OUT 50 for Option 1DN or RF OUT 75 (for Option 1DQ) is the source
output for the built-in tracking generator. Option 1DN or 1DQ only.
[23] The | (On) key turns the analyzer on, while the Standby key turns most of the
analyzer off. An analyzer alignment is performed (if Auto Align is on) every time the
analyzer is turned on. After turning on the analyzer, allow some warm-up time.

1. Now turn on the spectrum analyzer by pushing on the button ( ) on the left bottom
corner.
2. When the screen has come on, press the Preset button from the SYSTEM keypad to
return to factory settings.
3. Connect the output of the signal generator to the input of the spectrum analyzer. At
this stage, if you are using the T connector, leave the signal generator to oscilloscope
connection out.
4. On the control panel of the spectrum analyzer, press FREQUENCY Channel and
select Center Freq. from the buttons to the right of screen. By using the numeric
keypad, enter 10 and select MHz from the buttons to the right of screen. This way,
the central line of the spectrum analyzer screen will be set to 10 MHz.

5
 5. On the control panel of the spectrum analyzer, press FREQUENCY Channel and
select Start Freq. and set this to 9.5 MHz in the manner described above. Do the
same for Finish Freq. setting it to 10.5 MHz.
6. On the control panel of spectrum analyzer, press SPAN X Scale and enter 500 kHz.
7. After these settings, the spectrum of 10 MHz signal should appear on the screen of
spectrum analyzer. Pressing Peak Search from SYSTEM keypad causes the marker
to move onto the peak of the spectrum. From there, read and record the frequency and
the amplitude values, appearing in the top right corner of the screen. Verify if these
measured values match those coming from the signal generator. Explain the
differences.
8. Repeat these measurements, when the oscilloscope is connected to the other end of
the T connector, while the spectrum analyzer remains attached to one end. Explain
how the amplitude measurements are affected by this operation both on the
oscilloscope and spectrum analyzer sides.

3.3 Measurements

A. AM Generation and Measurements

1. From the Menus keypad of the signal generator, press AM. Then from the soft
keypad to the right of the screen, amongst the offered choices of modulation
waveforms, select Sine.
2. Again from the soft keypad to the right of the screen, press AM Rate, then by using
numeric keypad set the modulating frequency to 100 KHz.
3. Again from the soft keypad to the right of the screen, press AM Depth, then by using
numeric keypad set the modulating index to 30 %.
4. Finally from the soft keypad to the right of the screen, press AM Off On, this way, on
the screen, Modulation Status Information will display AM1 and the AM
waveform of desired settings will be generated.
5. While the signal generator is connected only to the oscilloscope, observe on the
oscilloscope screen, the AM waveform generated by the signal generator.
6. By keeping the oscilloscope input impedance at 1 M ohm, press CURSORS button,
then select Y (using the third soft key from the left) and thereby Y1 (using the third
soft key from the right). After selecting Y1 cursor select Y2 (using the second soft
key from the right). After this operation observe that two horizontal cursors of broken
lines appear on the screen.
7. By appropriately lowering and lifting the cursor lines via the control knob to the left
of CURSORS button, measure the modulation index of the AM waveform.
Modulation index is defined as the ratio of the difference between the peak
(maximum) and positive lowest (minimum) amplitudes to the sum of these maximum
and minimum amplitudes. Verify if this measured value matches the setting of
modulation depth shown by the signal generator.
8. Disconnect the link between the signal generator and the oscilloscope and connect the
signal generator to the spectrum analyzer. Observe that on the spectrum analyzer
screen carrier and two side bands should be clearly visible.
9. By using Marker function described above, measure and record in your lab report, the
frequency and the amplitude of the carrier and the two side bands. Comment how the
amplitudes of side bands may be related to modulation index. Comment if the
amplitude of carrier changes before and after modulation.

6
B. FM Generation and Measurements

1. From the Menus keypad of the signal generator, press FM/M. Make sure that FM
is selected.
2. From the soft keypad to the right of the screen, press FM Dev (denoted by the
term k f ) and using the numeric keypad, set FM deviation to 100 KHz.
3. From the soft keypad to the right of the screen, press FM Rate (denoted by the
term f m ) and using the numeric keypad, set FM modulating frequency to 50 KHz.
4. From the soft keypad to the right of the screen, press More, then amongst the offered
choices of modulation waveforms, make sure Sine is selected as default. Other FM
Waveform choices are Triangle, Square, Ramp, Noise, Dual-Sine and Swept-Sine.
5. From the soft keypad to the right of the screen, press FM Off On. At the end of these
operations, Modulation Status Information will display FM and the FM waveform
of desired settings will be generated.
6. While the signal generator is connected only to the oscilloscope, observe on the
oscilloscope screen, the FM waveform generated by the signal generator. For
effective viewing, timebase of the oscilloscope should be at 200 nanoseconds. Note
that FM means changes in frequency and constant envelope of the modulated carrier.
Since the oscilloscope uses a single timebase setting, the FM waveform on the screen
will appear as a fuzzy picture with respect to time axis. In this sense observe and
record in your lab report that the amplitude of the modulated waveform still
corresponds to the carrier amplitude setting of the signal generator, i.e. 10 dBm.
7. Disconnect the link between the signal generator and the oscilloscope and connect the
signal generator to the spectrum analyzer. Observe that on the spectrum analyzer
screen a carrier and multitude of side bands should be clearly visible.
8. By using Marker function described above, measure and record in your lab report, the
frequency of the carrier and the two side bands are located at 50 KHz intervals with
respect to each other.
9. Respective amplitudes for carrier and sidebands of FM waveform are determined by
Bessel functions in the manner of J n where k f / f m , in our case it is 2. The
order of Bessel function, i.e., n indicates the position of sideband with respect to
carrier such that n = 0 is the carrier itself and nth sideband is located at f n f c nf m
10. Bearing in mind the above explanations, find the values of Bessel functions (from a
table or MATLAB) at n = 0, , 5 and 2 . Then measure the amplitudes of carrier
and sidebands on the screen of the spectrum analyzer by using Peak Search and
marker. Tabulate these results into your lab report and verify if they agree. For both
cases, instead of the absolute values, use the relative levels, i.e. take Bessel function
values as J n / J 0 and the spectrum analyzer measured values as sideband
amplitude/carrier amplitude. Additionally, it should be kept in mind that Bessel
function values are in volts, whereas spectrum analyzer measured values are in dBm.
Hence necessary conversion should be carrier out in the following manner:

Jn / J0
10
0.1dBm of spectrum analyzer for nth sideband500.001 0.5

or
10
0.1dBm of spectrum analyzer for carrier500.001 0.5

10 log 10 J n 10 3 / 50 10 log 10 J 0 10 3 / 50
2 2
dBm of the spectrum
analyzer for the nth sideband dBm of spectrum analyzer for the carrier