Jayson J.

Becosacer Fourth Year / ECEng 4A September 15, 2017

Experiment No. 7
AM Receivers

Objective/s:
1. To analyze the basic operating principles of an AM receiver.
2. To investigate how station characteristics, detector characteristics, amplification, and
interference can affect the performance of an AM receiver.

Required Tools/ Equipment:

Digital Oscilloscope -1
Function Generator 1
Module C1-E
Multimeter 1
Harmonic Generator 1

Steps Performed:

1: Station Characteristics Set FG1 amplitude to maximum, frequency to 100 kHz, and FG2
to 90 kHz, zero amplitude. The signal in our antenna, measured at TP1, should be that of TxA
alone. View this signal on the oscilloscope [V/div: 20 mV, Time/div: 0.5 ms]. Measure its
maximum peak-to-peak voltage, and estimate its percentage modulation. With the wave
analyzer, measure the frequency of the carrier and the upper and lower sidebands. From this
data determine the exact modulation frequency. Next set FG1 to minimum, FG2 to maximum
amplitude, frequency to 90 kHz and repeat measurements.
2: Detector Characteristics Next we examine the characteristics of the two detectors using
TxA. Connect TxA directly to the diode detector , TP1 to TP8

Maintain FG1 at 100 kHz. and FG2 amplitude at zero, Connect the oscilloscope Channel A to
TP1 and Channel B to TP10, the detector outputs. Slowly increase he signal strength of TxA
(FG1) until the modulation signal appears on the scope with no distortion, Record Channel A as
diode VP-P. Next remove the TP1-8 connection, and connect the antenna to the transistor
detector, TP1 to TP9. and repeat the above measurement.

3: Additional amplification Next insert the amplifier, Amp , between the antenna and the
diode detector

Connect TP1 to TP2 and TP3 to TP8. Oscilloscope Channel A at TP1, Channel B at TP10.
Again increase the signal from TxA just sufficient to produce an un-distorted signal at TP10, the
detector output. Measure the sensitivity for this configuration. Repeat the sensitivity using the
transistor detector, TP3 to TP9.

4: Interference In the above measurements TxB was not broadcasting. We now investigate its
interference on the signal from TxA. Connect scope at TP1 and TP10

Use the TxA setting of the last step. Next gradually increase the signal strength of TxB from
zero ( FG2 frequency at 90 khz ) until either the sound or Channel A or Channel B pattern
changes, indicating interference from TxB. To determine the interfering TxB signal level, reduce
to zero the TxA signal so that only TxB signal is in the antenna, and measure its peak-to-peak
voltage at TP1.
Results and Discussions:

In the previous experiment, we discussed about the basic concept of AM transmission

which is basically modulating a high frequency signal using a low frequency intelligence signal.
In this experiment we will discuss its complement, the AM reception. On earlier experiments we
already encountered the concept of AM demodulation which is basically a part of AM reception
but we will start over by introducing the basic parts that constitute a basic AM receiver and how
these and other parameters can affect its performance.

(a)

(b)

Figure 1. (a) TxA Signal (b) FFT Graph of TxA signal

 The first activity was determining the characteristics of the two transmitters TxA and
TxB. As shown in figure 1-a, TxA transmits an AM signal while figure 1-b shows the frequency
content of the signal being transmitted. The same procedure was used in TxB and the following
results we recorded as follows:

TxA maximum VP-P : 4.36 V Modulation % : 61.48%

fc : 100 kHz fcfm : 99 kHz fc+fm : 101 kHz fm : 1 kHz

TxB maximum VP-P : 5.76 V Modulation % : 38.46%

fc : 90 kHz fcfm : 89 kHz fc+fm : 91 kHz fm : 1 kHz

The next activity was to examine the characteristics of a detector. TxA was used as the
sample transmitter of the signal and measurements were taken from both diode and transistor
detectors which both detected the same signal strength from the transmitter which is 4.72 V.
Another noticeable aspect is that there is a change in the sound especially when distortion is
obvious in the wave form on the oscilloscope.
Now we will talk about sensitivity. It is one of the parameters of an AM receiver where it
shows how sensitive the circuit is to small voltage signals. This is possible through the help of a
linear amplifier that boost the amplitude of the signal and making it stronger for the receiver to
distinguish from any other signals, especially noise.

(a) (b)

Figure 2. (a) Amplifier + Diode Detector Signal Output (b) Amplifier + Transistor Detector Signal
Output
 Figure 1-a shows the input signal and the output signal at two separate test points. We
slowly increase the signal of TxA until we achieve a desirable, undistorted output at TP10. At
the point where there is no distortion, the voltage signal at the antenna for both diode and
transistor detector sensitivity test were 1.84 V and 783 mV, respectively. Comparing it to the
result earlier which was 4.72 V, the receiver is much more sensitive. If we try to look more
closely on the results, the set up with the transistor detector is more sensitive than with the
diode detector. This is because the transistor itself is an amplifier with gain of more than one
although it is configured to operate at its cut off region, it is still able to amplify the positive half
of the signal while the diode only retains the positive half cycle of it since a diode only has a
maximum gain on one (for an ideal diode).
Another important aspect when dealing with AM receivers is interference. Interference
occurs when another signal other than the signal that we want to receive enters our receiver. In
the last activity, we simulated this by having TxA and TxB broadcast at the same time. One
factor to consider when talking interference is the signal strength and source distance which are
inversely proportional to each other.

Figure 3. TxB signal interfering with TxA signal.

Figure 3 shows us the signal of TxA being interfered by the signal of TxB. At zero signal
signal strength of TxB signal, the receiver does not detect any signal other than the signal of
TxA, but as we increase the amplitude of the signal in TxB distortion is visible on the
oscilloscope and audible on the speaker. The distortion made by the interference can be easily
detected using an oscilloscope. For stronger interference, the distortion is much more audible
since the difference in the sound is much more obvious. This can be worse when the receiver is
much more sensitive which means it can detect other signals when other transmitters send out
their own signal even if it is far because the small signal that they transmit can still be picked up
by the receiver with the help of its amplifier.

Problems Encountered:
There were no problem encountered in this experiment. All equipments were functioning
properly. All measurements taken from the modules and devices used in the activity were
accurate and results are significantly reliable.

Conclusion/s:
There are some AM receiver parameters and specifications that are not yet discussed
but few of them like station characteristics, detector characteristics, amplification, and
interference are already crucial when designing your own AM receiver. So far we know that an
AM receiver basically demodulates the signal coming from the transmitter and obtains the
intelligence signal that is needed for communication. However, this operation gets complicated
when we try to consider the following conclusions based on the activities made:
1. The signal being sent out by the transmitter should be relatively strong in order for
the receiver to detect it properly.
2. The sensitivity of the receiver can be improved by the use of an amplifier to make the
signal stronger, making the demodulation process easier since the signal is much
stronger and can be distinguished from the noise present in the signal. Choosing a
proper detector will also help. and;
3. We should always consider the effects of interference. In the actual set up,
interference can only be minimized but it is still possible for one transmitter to mess
up with the other transmitters making reception more complex. Increasing the
sensitivity can be a good thing but at some point, it could be a problem since an
increase in sensitivity would not only mean that the receiver can detect the desired
signal without a problem but it would also receive other signals from nearby
transmitters since the receivers high sensitivity also helps the small signal coming
from nearby transmitters to be easily detected.
Keeping these considerations in mind can be helpful when dealing with situational and design
problems pertaining AM receivers. Most of all, these observations can be a guide in carefully
planning and improving your receiver based on the situation that you will be dealing.