Analog Signal
A voltage, current, or other physical quantity that fluctuates continuously and infinitely in response to a time-varying parameter is called an analog signal. Analog signals include, for instance, sound waves, television waves, and radio waves.
Communication systems use analog signals, which are continuous waves that carry data over time, to send speech, video, and other types of data.
Similar to electricity flowing over a wire, an analog signal transmits its information using a specific property of the medium. These signals use variations in voltage, current, or frequency to convey information.
There are two fundamental categories of analog transmission
- Modulation of amplitude
- Modulation of frequency
1. Modulation of amplitude
The technique known as amplitude modulation (AM) uses radio waves to send communications, including audio information, by altering the amplitude of a carrier wave.
How it operates
- The carrier wave's amplitude varies according on the message signal.
- Upper and lower sidebands, which are the sum and difference of the message and carrier signal frequencies, are produced by this procedure.
- Through demodulation, the baseband message signal can be retrieved.
2. Modulation of frequency
The technique known as amplitude modulation (AM) uses radio waves to send communications, including audio information, by altering the amplitude of a carrier wave.
How it operates
- The carrier wave's amplitude varies according to the message signal.
- Upper and lower sidebands, which are the sum and difference of the message and carrier signal frequencies, are produced by this procedure.
- Through demodulation, the baseband message signal can be retrieved.
- Frequency modulation (FM) is a method of encoding information by changing the frequency of a carrier wave.
- It's used in radio broadcasting, telecommunications, signal processing, and computing.
Advantages of Analog Signal
- Compared to digital signals, analog transmissions are less expensive.
- Accurate measurements and outputs are possible with analog signals.
- More detailed information can be presented using analog signals.
- Video and audio transmission work well with analog signals.
- Real-world facts and natural events are best represented by analog signals.
Disadvantages of Analog Signal
- Analog systems are more costly and need more complex signal processing than digital systems.
- Analog system scaling can be costly and time-consuming.
- Accurately interpreting analog signals without specialized equipment might be challenging.
- Electric motors, radio waves, and lightning strikes are examples of external sources that might interfere with analog signals.
- Digital systems may be difficult to combine with analog signals.
