COLUMBAN COLLEGE

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
OLONGAPO CITY

RESAERCH WORK NO. 1

SUBMITTED BY: DATE DUE:

SUBMITTED TO: DATE SUBMITTED:

AM Receiver Block Diagram

In radio communications, a radio receiver, also known as a receiver, a wireless or simply a radio, is an
electronic device that receives radio waves and converts the information carried by them to a usable
form. It is used with an antenna. The antenna intercepts radio waves (electromagnetic waves) and
converts them to tiny alternating currents which are applied to the receiver, and the receiver extracts
the desired information. The receiver uses electronic filters to separate the desired radio frequency
signal from all the other signals picked up by the antenna, an electronic amplifier to increase the power
of the signal for further processing, and finally recovers the desired information through demodulation.

An AM receiver is made up of the major elements shown in the block diagram above. The system is set
up to receive and detect an Amplitude Modulated Signal. An Amplitude Modulation system varies the
amplitude of the carrier in step to the amplitude changes of a modulating signal. The variation in the
amplitude of the signal is the intelligence, while the carrier is used to transmit the information.

The Antenna of course receives the AM signal over the air waves. The received AM signal is then feed to
a low noise RF amplifier, which amplifies the signal. An RF amplifier is a wide-band amplifier operating in
the RF frequency range.

A Local Oscillator is used within the AM receiver to generate a fixed frequency which is feed to an RF
mixer along with the amplified RF signal. The Mixer combines the two signals and outputs an amplitude
modulated signal at the frequency of the IF carrier.

The IF carrier frequency is the difference frequency between the RF carrier frequency and the local
oscillator frequency [shown as Oscillator Wave]. The lower frequency IF signal is used to reduce the
complexity of the follow-on circuitry. The IF amplifier is again used to amplify the signal, now at a lower
frequency, which is then sent to the Detector.

The detector [or AM detector] is used to decode the signal envelope or amplitude modulation from the
incoming IF. Other names used for the detector include envelope detector and diode detector. In the
simplest form of an envelope detector only three components are required; a diode, resistor and a
capacitor. The diode only allows the positive portion of the signal through, rectifying the signal. The
capacitor filters signal removing the IF component or carrier. The result is the amplitude modulated
portion of the signal or the audio signal.

The audio signal this then input to an AF amplifier, or audio frequency amplifier. The Audio
Amplifier amplifies the signal to a point that will drive a speaker. Like any system, the Speaker will vary
depending on the needs of the device.

The most common receivers in use today are the super heterodyne type. They consist of:

 Antenna

 RF amplifier

 Local Oscillator and Mixer

 IF Section

 Detector and Amplifier

The need for these subsystems can be seen when one considers the much simpler and inadequate TRF
or tuned radio frequency amplifier.

TRF Amplifier

It is possible to design an RF amplifier to accept only a narrow range of frequencies, such as one radio
station on the AM band.

By adjusting the center frequency of the tuned circuit, all other input signals can be excluded.
The AM band ranges from about 500 kHz to 1600 kHz. Each station requires 10 kHz of this spectrum,
although the baseband signal is only 5 kHz.

Recall that for a tuned circuit:  . The center or resonant frequency in an RLC network is most
often adjusted by varying the capacitor value. However, the Q remains approximately constant as the
center frequency is adjusted. This suggests that as the bandwidth varies as the circuit is tuned.

For example, the Q required at the lower end of the AM band to select only one radio station would be
approximately:

As the tuned circuit is adjusted to the higher end of the AM band, the resulting bandwidth is:

A bandwidth this high could conceivably pass three adjacent stations, thus making meaningful reception
impossible.

To prevent this, the incoming RF signal is heterodyned to a fixed IF or intermediate frequency and
passed through a constant bandwidth circuit.

Super heterodyne Receiver

The other mixer input is a high frequency sine wave created by a local oscillator. In AM receivers, it is
always 455 kHz above the desired station carrier frequency. An ideal mixer will combine the incoming
carrier with the local oscillator to create sum and difference frequencies. .

A real mixer combines two signals and creates a host of new frequencies:

• A dc level

• The original two frequencies

• The sum and difference of the two input frequencies

• Harmonics of the two input frequencies

• Sums and differences of all of the harmonics

Since the RF amplifier passes several radio stations at once, the mixer output can be very complex.
However, the only signal of real interest is the difference between the desired station carrier frequency
and the local oscillator frequency. This difference frequency, also called the IF (intermediate frequency)
will always be 455 kHz. By passing this through a 10 kHz BPF (band pass filter) centered at 455 kHz, the
bulk of the unwanted signals can be eliminated.

Local Oscillator Frequency

Since the mixer generates sum and difference frequencies, it is possible to generate the 455 kHz IF signal
if the local oscillator is either above or below the IF. The inevitable question is which is preferable.

Case I the local Oscillator is above the IF. This would require that the oscillator tune from (500 + 455)
kHz to (1600 + 455) kHz or approximately 1 to 2 MHz. It is normally the capacitor in a tuned RLC circuit,
which is varied to adjust the center frequency while the inductor is left fixed.

Since 
solving for C we obtain 

When the tuning frequency is a maximum, the tuning capacitor is a minimum and vice versa. Since we
know the range of frequencies to be created, we can deduce the range of capacitance required.

Making a capacitor with a 4:1 value change is well within the realm of possibility.

Case II The local Oscillator is below the IF. This would require that the oscillator tune from (500 - 455)
kHz to (1600 - 455) kHz or approximately 45 kHz to 1145 kHz, in which case:

It is not practical to make a tunable capacitor with this type of range. Therefore, the local oscillator in a
standard AM receiver is above the radio band.

Image Frequency

Just as there are two oscillator frequencies, which can create the same IF, two different station
frequencies can create the IF. The undesired station frequency is known as the image frequency.

, SEAN MATTHEW L.

If any circuit in the radio front end exhibits non-linearities, there is a possibility that other combinations
may create the intermediate frequency. Once the image frequency is in the mixer, there is no way to
remove it since it is now heterodyned into the same IF band as the desired station.

AM Detection

There are two basic types of AM detection, coherent and non-coherent. Of these two, the non-coherent
is the simpler method.

 Non-coherent detection does not rely on regenerating the carrier signal. The information or
modulation envelope can be removed or detected by a diode followed by an audio filter.

 Coherent detection relies on regenerating the carrier and mixing it with the AM signal. This
creates sum and difference frequencies. The difference frequency corresponds to the original
modulation signal.

Both of these detection techniques have certain drawbacks. Consequently, most radio receivers use a
combination of both.

Envelope Detector
An envelope detector is simply a half wave rectifier followed by a low pass filter. In the case of
commercial AM radio receivers, the detector is placed after the IF section. The carrier at this point is
455 kHz while the maximum envelope frequency is only 5 kHz. Since the ripple component is nearly 100
times the frequency of the highest baseband signal and does not pass through any subsequent audio
amplifiers.

An AM signal where the carrier frequency is only 10 times the envelope frequency would have
considerable ripple:

Synchronous Detector

In a synchronous or coherent detector, the incoming AM signal is mixed with the original carrier
frequency.

If you think this looks suspiciously like a mixer, you are absolutely right! A synchronous detector is one
where the difference frequency between the two inputs is zero Hz. Of in other words, the two input
frequencies are the same. Let's check the math.

Recall that the AM input is mathematically defined by:

At the multiplier output, we obtain:

This technique has one serious drawback. The problem is how to create the exact carrier frequency. If
the frequency is not exact, the entire baseband signal will be shifted by the difference. A shift of only 50
Hz will make the human voice unrecognizable. It is possible to use a PLL (phase locked loop), but making
one tunable for the entire AM band is not trivial.

As a result, most radio receivers use an oscillator to create a fixed intermediate frequency. This is then
followed by an envelope detector or a fixed frequency PLL.

Squaring Detector

The squaring detector is also a synchronous or coherent detector. It avoids the problem of having to
recreate the carrier by simply squaring the input signal. It essentially uses the AM signal itself as a sort of
wideband carrier.

The output of the multiplier is the square of the input AM signal:

Since the input is being multiplied by the component, one of the resulting difference terms
is the original modulation signal. The principle difficulty with this approach is trying to create a linear,
high frequency multiplier.

REFERENCES:

http://www.interfacebus.com/Glossary-of-Terms-AM-Receiver-Definition.html#:~:text=An%20AM
%20receiver%20is%20made,in%20the%20block%20diagram%20above.&text=The%20Antenna%20of
%20course%20receives,in%20the%20RF%20frequency%20range.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_receiver#AM_and_FM

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Communication_Systems/AM_Receivers