NAME _____________ Solutions _____________________

ES 442 Homework #8 Solutions

(Spring 2018 – Due April 16, 2018 )
Print out homework and do work on the printed pages.
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Problem 1 ASCII Code (20 points)
The American Standard Code for Information Interexchange (ASCII) has 128 binary-
coded characters. ASCII codes represent text in computers, telecommunications
equipment, and other devices. If a computer generates 125,000 characters per second,
determine the following:

(a) The number of bits (binary digits) required per character.

For 128 levels we have L  2 , where n = number of bits in PCM symbol.
We must represent 128 characters which corresponds to
2n = 27 = 128 symbols (1 symbol = 1 character).  n = 7 bits. 

(b) The number of bits per second required to transmit the computer output, and the
minimum bandwidth required to transmit this signal.
We are told that we must transmit 125,000 characters per second.
For 7 bits per symbol, the bit rate will be
bits character
Bit rate = 7  125,000
character second
Bit rate = 875,000  8.75  10 bps (bits/ second)
5

But the bandwidth is one-half the bit rate, therefore,
BT = 437,500 Hz (note the units are hertz) 

(c) For single error detection capability, an additional bit (called a parity bit) is added to
the code for each character. Modify your answers for part (a) and (b) to accommodate
the addition of the parity bit to each character.
Now we add another bit (i .e., the parity bit) so we require
n  8 bits per character. 
This increases the bit rate to 1,000,000 bps (= 1 Mb/second)
Bandwidth calculation:
Therefore, BT = 500,000 Hz 
Homework 8

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Problem 2 CD Audio (30 points)
A compact disc (CD) records audio signals digitally using PCM. The audio baseband
signal’s bandwidth is 15 kHz.

(a) If the Nyquist samples are uniformly quantized into L = 65,536 levels and then
binary-coded; determine the number of binary digits (bits) n required to encode a
sample.

For 15 kHz as the upper frequency of signal m(t ), the Nyquist

sampling rate = 2  15 kHz = 30 KHz. This means we must take
30,000 samples/second. We have 65,536 levels which corresponds
to 16 bits of resolution (We get this from 65,536 = 2n ; so solving
for n gives n = 16 bits. Thus, the transmission rate is
16 bits/sample  30,000 samples/ second = 480,000 bits/second 

(b) If the audio signal has an average power of 0.125 watt and a peak voltage of 1 volt.
Find the resulting ratio of signal-to-quantization (SQNR) of the uniform quantizer output
in part (a).

Given the signal power to be Pm = 0.125 watt and mp  1 volt.

Using the equation for signal-to-quantization noise ratio,
Pm  m2  P   0.125 
SQNR   3L  2
2
  3L2  m2   3(65.536)2  2 
 1.61 109
Nq  mp  m   (1) 
   p
SQNR dB  
 10  log10 1.61 109  92.07 dB 

(c) Determine the number of binary digits per second (bps) required to encode and
transmit the audio signal.

Given the sampling rate to be 30,000 samples/second and with

16 bits, the bit rate becomes
Bit rate = fNyquist  Nbits  30,000 Hz  16 bits  480,000 bps 
Homework 8

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(d) In practice CD music is actually sampled at 44,100 samples/second, which is well
above the Nyquist rate. Still retaining the number of levels L to be 65,536 levels,
determine the bit rate needed to support this higher sampling rate. What is the
minimum bandwidth needed to support this higher data rate.

Bit rate = fNyquist  Nbits  44,100 Hz  16 bits  705,600 bps

Thus, the minimum bandwidth BT is one-half the sampling rate

BT  1
2 f
Nyquist  Nbits  
705,600
2
Hz  352,800 Hz 

Problem 3 Bit Rate and Baud Rate (10 points)

A multi-level digital communication system sends one of 32 possible levels over a
channel every 0.6 milliseconds.

(a) What is number of bits corresponding to each level?

32 levels corresponds to 25 levels, so the number of bits = 5 bits 

(b) What is the Baud rate?

The Baud rate corresponds to the number of symbols that can be sent
per unit time. If the symbol period is 0.6 milliseconds, the symbol
 1 
frequency is  3 
 1,666.7 Hz 
 0.6  10 

(c) What is the bit rate?

The bit rate corresponds to the number of bits that can be sent
per unit time. If 1,666.7 symbols can be sent each second,
and given that there are 5 bits/symbol, then 5  1,666.7 bps = 8,333 bps 

Problem 4 Delta Modulation (10 points)

Homework 8

Consider a sinusoidal signal m(t) = Acos(mt), where 2 fm = m, that is applied to a

delta modulator with step size . Show that slope overload distortion will occur when

3
    fS 
A   
mTS 2  fm 

where fS = 1/TS is the sampling frequency and TS is the period between samples.
dm(t )
Starting with m(t )  A  cos(m t); then  - A  m sin(m t)
dt
dm(t )
or  A  m because the maximum value of sin(mt) is unity.
dt max

When  A  m equals or exceeds the maximum slope of m(t ),
TS
slope overload does not occur. Slope overload occurs when below

this limit. Therefore, if A > , slope overload will occur. 
mTS 

Problem 5 Delta Modulation (10 points)

A delta modulation system is designed to operate at 3 times the Nyquist rate for a signal
with a 3 kHz bandwidth. The quantization step size is 250 mv. Find the maximum
amplitude of a 1 kHz input sinusoidal for which the delta modulator does not show slope
overload.


The threshold for slope overload is A = .
mTS 
For this problem the Nyquist sampling rate fS is 3 times 2B, where B is the
bandwidth 3 kHz; hence, fS  3  2  3 kHz  18 kHz.
The signal frequency m is 2  1 kHz = 6,283 radian/sec.
 0.25
Maximum amplitude A =  fS   18,000  0.716 volt 
m 6283
Homework 8

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Problem 6 Delta Modulation (20 points)
For this problem you have a delta modulation (DM) system for transmitting voice
signals. Assume the sampling frequency is 256 kHz and the voice bandwidth 3.4 kHz.
The system is designed to have a maximum signal amplitude of 10 volts. Find the
following parameters:

(a) What is the minimum quantization step size  allowed for this DM system?

m  2  3400 rad/sec = 21,363 rad/sec; Am  10 volts

fS  256 kHz implies TS  3.906  10 6 second
min  m AmTS  21,363  10  3.906  10 6  0.834 volt 

(b) Determine the average power of the granular noise.

2
We know that the granular noise power is given by Nq 
3
(0.834)2 0.696
Therefore, Nq    0.232 watt 
3 3
Remember this is normalized to a resistance of one ohm.

(c) Determine the minimum channel bandwidth *in bits per second) required to
transmit a DM signal using this system.

Finally we determine the channel bandwidth required.

bit samples
Transmission bandwidth BW = 1  256,000
sample second
bits
Transmission bandwidth BW = 256,000 
second
But bandwidth BT is one-half of this value.
Homework 8