PLL

PLL is an Electronic Module (Circuit) that locks the phase of the output to the input.
The operation of a phase locked loop, PLL, is based around the idea of comparing the phase of two signals. This information about the error in phase or the phase difference between the two signals is then used to control the frequency of the loop.

PLL basics
A phase locked loop, PLL, is basically of form of servo loop. Although a PLL performs its actions on a radio frequency signal, all the basic criteria for loop stability and other parameters are the same. A basic phase locked loop, PLL, consists of three basic elements:

Phase comparator: As the name implies, this circuit block within the PLL compares the phase of two signals and generates a voltage according to the phase difference between the two signals. Loop filter: This filter is used to filter the output from the phase comparator in the PLL. It is used to remove any components of the signals of which the phase is being compared from the VCO line. It also governs many of the characteristics of the loop and its stability.

Voltage controlled oscillator (VCO):

The voltage controlled oscillator is the circuit

block that generates the output radio frequency signal. Its frequency can be controlled and swung over the operational frequency band for the looP.

Phase locked loop operation

The concept of the operation of the PLL is relatively simple, although the mathematical analysis can become more complicated The Voltage Controlled Oscillator, VCO, within the PLL produces a signal which enters the phase detector. Here the phase of the signals from the VCO and the incoming reference signal are compared and a resulting difference or error voltage is produced. This corresponds to the phase difference between the two signals.

SIGNAL CONDITIONING
In electronics, signal conditioning means manipulating an analog signal in such a way that it meets the requirements of the next stage for further processing. Most common use is in analog-to-digital converters. In control engineering applications, it is common to have a sensing stage (which consists of a sensor), a signal conditioning stage (where usually amplification of the signal is done) and a processing stage (normally carried out by an ADC and a micro-controller). Operational amplifiers (op-amps) are commonly employed to carry out the amplification of the signal in the signal conditioning stage.

Inputs
Signal inputs accepted by signal conditioners include DC voltage and current, AC voltage and current, frequency and electric charge. Sensor inputs can beaccelerometer, thermocouple, thermistor, resistance thermometer, strain gauge or bridge, and LVDT or RVDT. Specialized inputs include encoder, counter or tachometer, timer or clock, relay or switch, and other specialized inputs. Outputs for signal conditioning equipment can be voltage, current, frequency, timer or counter, relay, resistance or potentiometer, and other specialized outputs. [edit]Signal

conditioning processes

Signal conditioning can include amplification, filtering, converting, range matching, isolation and any other processes required to make sensor output suitable for processing after conditioning. [edit]Filtering Filtering is the most common signal conditioning function, as usually not all the signal frequency spectrum contains valid data. The common example are 60 Hz AC power lines, present in most environments, which will produce noise if amplified. [edit]Amplifying Signal amplification performs two important functions: increases the resolution of the inputed signal, and increases its signal-to-noise ratio. For example, the output of an electronic temperature sensor, which is probably in the millivolts range is probably too low for an Analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to process directly.[citation needed] In this case it is necessary to bring the voltage level up to that required by the ADC. Commonly used amplifiers on signal conditioning include Sample and hold amplifiers, Peak Detectors, Log amplifiers, Antilog amplifiers, Instrumentation amplifiers or programmable gain amplifiers. [1] [edit]Isolation Signal isolation must be used in order to pass the signal from the source to the measurement device without a physical connection: it is often used to isolate possible sources of signal perturbations. Also notable is that it is important to isolate the potentially expensive equipment used to process the signal after conditioning from the sensor. Magnetic or optic isolation can be used. Magnetic isolation transforms the signal from voltage to a magnetic field, allowing the signal to be transmitted without a physical connection (for example, using a transformer). Optic isolation takes an electronic signal and modulates it to a signal coded by light transmission (optical encoding), which is then used for input for the next stage of processing.

[edit]Applications It is primarily utilized for data acquisition, in which sensor signals must be normalized and filtered to levels suitable for analog-to-digital conversion so they can be read by computerized devices. Other uses include preprocessing signals in order to reduce computing time, converting ranged data to boolean values, for example when knowing when a sensor has reached certain value. Types of devices that use signal conditioning include signal filters, instrument amplifiers, signal isolators,multiplexers, bridge conditioners, analog-to-digital converters, frequency converters or translators , voltage converters frequency-to-voltage converters

Satellite Communication
Introduction to Satellite Communication
Satellite is powerful long distance and point-to multipoint communication system. A communication satellite is an R.F (Radio Frequency) repeater. To overcome disadvantage of Line of sight communication which is only 45-55km, the transmitting antenna is placed on the satellite and the satellite is placed in the orbit high above the earth. The function of satellite is to communicate between different earth stations around the earth, thus with the help of satellite, it is easy to communicate over thousands of km, a com-satellite is a combination of ROCKET to put the satellite in the orbit, micro wave electronic devices for the communication, solar cells are used to convert the solar energy into a power supply (ELECTRICAL ENERGY) for the electronic equipment. The satellite placed in GEO- STATIONARY and placed at an altitude of 22300 miles or 35900km above the ground level. The satellite travels at the same speed at which the earth rotates around the sun. The rotation of satellite is synchronized with earth rotation as a result satellite appears to be stationary in the sky w.r.t the earth station is

constant. There are 3 satellites are placed at angle 120 in GEO-STATIONARY orbit, they provide 100% coverage from one earth station to any where on the earth, this concept is shown below

Block Diagram of Satellite Communication System

The uplink frequencies (5.9---6.4 GHZ) are used for T/N from the earth station to the satellite and down link frequencies (3.74.2GHZ). The above frequencies are used for T/N from the satellite to the earth station , the uplink frequencies are converted to lower frequencies by the mixer and local Osc, the com satellite acts as a repeater station it receives the signal, amplifiers it and then transmitted over a next frequencies to avoid interference between the uplink signal and down link , the two way communication is established with the help of transponder , a com satellite has multi transponders per satellite has in creased over the year ,a satellite with 2 transponders can support a signal T.V channel or 240 telephone lines , a satellite with 48 transponders can accommodate 4000T.P CKTS and 2 T.V channels now-a-days in satellite using a digital tech , due to which 0ne satellite can handle 120,000 T.P4 channels and more then 500 T.V channels.

Merits and Demerits of the Satellite Communication

Following are the merits and demerits of satellite communication system.

Merits
1. Geostationary satellites require no tracking. 2. Satellite communication has the ability of multiple access points. 3. With the help of satellite the 24hour communication can be achieved. 4. Satellite communication has a higher signal quality. 5. BROADBAND can be obtained to put more information on the carrier. 6. For long distance communication or across oceans a Satellite Communication is used. 7. Satellite in close elliptical orbits required low transmitting Power and low receiver sensitivity.

Demerits
1. Satellite communication need a large diameter antenna high power and most sensitive transmitter and receiver are required. 2. Satellite communication is disturbed by solar activities and cyclones in the space. 3. Satellite efficiency drops due to the ageing effect of the components. 4. The longer propagation times (APPOX,300ms)are a disadvantage of satellite communication. 5. Initial design and launching of the satellite in the orbit results in extremely high cost.