In Circuit Cellar’s February issue, the Consummate Engineer column launches a multi-part series on wireless data links.
“Over the last two decades, wireless data communication devices have been entering the realm of embedded control,” columnist George Novacek says in Part 1 of the series. “The technology to produce reasonably priced, reliable, wireless data links is now available off the shelf and no longer requires specialized knowledge, experience, and exotic, expensive test equipment. Nevertheless, to use wireless devices effectively, an engineer should understand the principles involved.”
Part 1 focuses on radio communications, in particular low-power, data-carrying wireless links used in control systems.
“Even with this limitation, it is a vast subject, the surface of which can merely be scratched,” Novacek says. “Today, we can purchase ready-made, low-power, reliable radio interface modules with excellent performance for an incredibly low price. These devices were originally developed for noncritical applications (e.g., garage door openers, security systems, keyless entry, etc.). Now they are making inroads into control systems, mostly for remote sensing and computer network data exchange. Wireless devices are already present in safety-related systems (e.g., remote tire pressure monitoring), to say nothing about their bigger and older siblings in remote control of space and military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).”
An engineering audience will find Novacek’s article a helpful overview of fundamental wireless communications principles and topics, including RF circuitry (e.g., inductor/capacitor, or LC, circuits), ceramic surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators, frequency response, bandwidth, sensitivity, noise issues, and more.
Here is an article excerpt about bandwidth and achieving its ideal, rectangular shape:
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“The bandwidth affects receiver selectivity and/or a transmitter output spectral purity. The selectivity is the ability of a radio receiver to reject all but the desired signal. Narrowing the bandwidth makes it possible to place more transmitters within the available frequency band. It also lowers the received noise level and increases the selectivity due to its higher Q. On the other hand, transmission of every signal but a non-modulated, pure sinusoid carrier—which, therefore, contains no information—requires a certain minimum bandwidth. The required bandwidth is determined by the type of modulation and the maximum modulating frequency.
“For example, AM radios carry maximum 5-kHz audio and, consequently, need 10-kHz bandwidth to accommodate the carrier with its two 5-kHz sidebands. Therefore, AM broadcast stations have to be spaced a minimum of 20 kHz apart. However, narrowing the bandwidth will lead to the loss of parts of the transmitted information. In a data-carrying systems, it will cause a gradual increase of the bit error rate (BER) until the data becomes useless. At that point, the bandwidth must be increased or the baud rate must be decreased to maintain reliable communications.
“An ideal bandwidth would have a shape of a rectangle, as shown in Figure 1 by the blue trace. Achieving this to a high degree with LC circuits can get quite complicated, but ceramic resonators used in modern receivers can deliver excellent, near ideal results.”
Figure 1: This is the frequency response and bandwidth of a parallel resonant LC circuit. A series circuit graph would be inverted.
To learn more about control-system wireless links, check out the February issue now available for membership download or single-issue purchase. Part 2 in Novacek’s series discusses transmitters and antennas and will appear in our March issue.
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Circuit Cellar's editorial team comprises professional engineers, technical editors, and digital media specialists. You can reach the Editorial Department at editorial@circuitcellar.com, @circuitcellar, and facebook.com/circuitcellar
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