EE 390 – Introduction to Communication Systems

Welcome to the Fall 2002 EE390 page. On this page, you’ll find notices, assignments, solution sets (in PDF format), and
other important documents. Please bookmark and check periodically.
Ray DeCorby, Assistant Professor.

Special Notices
Final Exam, Friday December 13, 9:00 AM, ETLE-013 (the lecture room), 2 hours. Bring your own two-sided 8.5”x11” formula
sheet.
Solutions for Asst # 5, 6 posted below. I decided to NOT post last year’s final.
Course Description
EE390 provides the basic introduction to communications systems for electrical and computer engineers.
Topics covered include review of signals and systems, communications channels, Fourier analysis, carriers
and modulation, and basics of digital encoding and error control. EE335 is a prerequisite. Follow-up
courses you may want to look at include EE571 (RF communication circuits), EE586 (fiber optics), EE588
(communication in noise), EE589 (telecommunication systems engineering), EE590 (wireless
communications), EE591 (antennas and propagation), and EE597 (microwave engineering).

Approximate Course Timeline

Weeks Broad Topic Concepts

1-2 Communication Analog and digital communications, power-bandwidth
systems tradeoffs, signal-to-noise ratio, channel capacity
3-4 Review of signals Classification and representation of signals, Fourier
and systems representation, energy and power spectral density, linearity,
 types of distortion
5-7 Amplitude Carriers and modulation, types of amplitude modulation,
modulation (AM) AM receivers
8-9 Angle modulation Instantaneous frequency, approximate analysis of angle
(FM and PM) modulation (bandwidth, spectral content), FM/PM
receivers.
10-13 Digital Sampling and pulse-code-modulation (PCM), line coding,
communications pulse shaping, error control, digital carrier systems and
multiplexing
Labs

The primary contact for the labs is Steve Drake: sdrake@ee.ualberta.ca

Proposed schedule: October, November.

Links
Link to Department course description page for EE390
Link to ECE course listings in U of A Calendar
Link to ECE timetables in U of A Calendar

Resources
Course notes will be provided. The following text book is also considered required material and is available in the bookstore:
1. Modern Digital and Analog Communication Systems, 3rd ed., B.P. Lathi, Oxford University Press, 1998.

Assignments

Assignment # 1
 Assignment # 2
Assignment #3 – Lathi 4.2-4, 4.2-8, 4.3-2, 4.3-3, 4.3-7. Due Friday, October 18, by 4 pm.
Assignment # 4 – Lathi 5.1-3, 5.2-1, 5.2-6. Due Thursday, November 7, by 4 pm.
Assignment # 5 – Lathi 6.1-3, 6.1-5, 6.2-3. Due Friday, November 22, by 4 pm.
Assignment # 6 – Lathi 6.2-7, 7.3-1, 7.3-5. Due Wednesday, December 4, by 4 pm.

Solution Sets
Assignment # 1 solutions
Assignment # 2 solutions
Assignment # 3 solutions (4.2-9 is a bonus solution)
Midterm solutions
Assignment # 4 solutions (oops; mislabeled as asst #5, don’t want to rescan )
Assignment # 5 solutions
Assignment # 6 solutions