Course - Radio Communications - TTT4145
Radio Communications
About
About the course
Course content
In order to communicate everywhere and at all times, very flexible and cost-effective communication solutions are needed that can be offered by radio systems. In the course Radio Communication, students are given an overview of how radio communication systems are built, with detailed knowledge of essential system trade-offs and an in-depth understanding of radio propagation. The course describes which aspects of the radio channel are important for different types of radio systems, such as mobile radio and local area networks, and methods to improve communication quality. Most of the learning activities are part of the project.
In the project, you will design, implement, and test a radio communication system operating on ISM bands. The system is implemented on the ADLAM-PLUTO or NI USRP 2901 software-defined radio (SDR) platforms. The SDR is programmed with Matlab/Simulink/LabView/GNU radio or any other language you chose and can make work.
The course describes the construction of radio systems such as radio LAN, radio line, and mobile communication. The emphasis is on the lowest layers of digital radio communication, physical (PHY) and MAC layers, in the OSI model and how the radio channel affects design choices.
Learning outcome
The course gives the candidates introduction to radio technical topics that are important for communication systems based on the use of radio waves.
Knowledge
The candidate has: - In-depth knowledge of radio propagation (small-scale fading, large-scale fading and propagation loss). - Knowledge of the structure of radio systems for mobile communication, radio LAN, and radio line. - Good knowledge of what aspects of the radio channel are important for different types of radio systems (channel correlation and system functions). - Good knowledge of how fading can be overcome, understanding the behavior and the limitations of methods such as frequency hopping, diversity, interleaving and coding. - Detailed knowledge of trade-offs in the design of digital radio communication systems. Use of bandwidth, broadcast power, bitrate and bit error probability, as well as complexity. - Good knowledge of link budget. - Good knowledge of multiple access like FDMA and TDMA
Skills
The candidate can: - Design, implement and test a radio communication system on a Software Defined Radio. - Make design trade-offs for radio systems. - Set up a link budget.
General competence. The candidate can write a project report.
Learning methods and activities
The main emphasis in the course is on the project, where a radio system is implemented with SDR. The lectures provide information on the design of radio systems. Both ordinary lectures and video lectures are used. Exercises and labs provide the necessary skills for the project.
The course TTT4130 - Digital Communication, is an excellent companion to TTT4145 Radio Communications. The code developed in the exercises in TTT4130 can be used in the radio system developed for TTT4145.
Compulsory assignments
- Lab assignment
- Ling budget
Further on evaluation
Obligatory parts.
Lab assignment
Laboratory exercises demonstrating the ability to work with the SDR equipmentImplementing and testing of different blocks in the digital communications signal chain on SDR.
Link budget
Preliminary link budget with loss and gains for the signal (estimated and measured) and noises (estimated and measured). Measurements to verify the link budget. Evaluated in a peer-review session.
The grades are based on:
Project report 49/100
The project report should describe and motivate the chosen design of the implemented radio system and the components in the system.
The report has to contain sufficient information for any other engineer to implement a compatible transmitter and receiver to work with the proposed system.
Students receive feedback via joint assessment. Delivery deadlines are announced on Blackboard.
Oral exam 51/100
Includes three parts.
1. Demonstration of the implemented radio system. 11%
2. Questions related to the implemented radio system. 20%
3. General questions on radio communications. 20%
The obligatory assignments have to be passed to get the report evaluated and to take the exam. Once passed, the obligatory assignments do not have to be repeated if retaking the course.
Pass on both the project report and the oral exam is required to pass the course.
When retaking the course, with a previous pass on the project report, only the oral exam has to be retaken but a new report can be submitted. In case of retaking the course, without a previous pass on the project report, requires both a new report and retake of the oral exam.
For the re-sit exam before the start of the fall semester: A new project report can be submitted two weeks ahead of the oral exam.
Recommended previous knowledge
Knowledge equivalent to 3rd grade MTELSYS. Prerequisites in radio technology and digital communication are highly recommended. The subjects TTT4201 Radio System Design and RF / Microwave Measurement Techniques and TTT4130 Digital Communication provide sufficient background.
It is recommended that TTT4130 Digital Communication be taken in parallel with TTT4145 Radio Communications.
Required previous knowledge
No compulsory courses as prerequisites.
It is recommended to have a good understanding of signal processing, communication and programming to take this course.
Course materials
Online resources.
Credit reductions
| Course code | Reduction | From |
|---|---|---|
| SIE2040 | 7.5 sp |
Subject areas
- Electronics
- Telecommunication
- Signal Processing
- Telecommunications
- Communication and Information Science
- Technological subjects