How does modulation work

Something oscillating 60 times per second has frequency 60 Hz. For our purposes, we are going to focus on audio waves oscillation of air pressure and how it gets broadcasted from a radio station to your car in the range of hundreds of kilohertz or any AM radio station. Any wave has a frequency — light, for example. Generally light and other higher frequency waves e. For example, green light is around nanometers.

Here is a picture showing the relationship of units on a traveling wave:. Basic units of a sine wave. Assuming constant speed of the signal, wavelength and frequency are interchangeable. That is outside the scope of this article, though.

Here is an image of a sine wave, with time on the X axis and voltage on the Y axis. This is Hz for reference. Single tone signal time domain. Okay, so why am I showing you this? Here is a two tone signal two tones, added together. It is the same sine wave above, added together with another sine wave with twice the frequency, Hz.

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We use trusted third-party analytics providers to help us improve your experience on this website. Radio Academy. Login Register Search. Topic Progress:. Course lessons. Introduction to Radio Communications Principles. What is Communication? What is a radio wave? What is propagation? How do repeaters work? Modulation and Radio Building Blocks. How does modulation work? Communications Systems. How do repeater systems work? Analog Different types of radio How does trunking work?

Final assessment. Frequencies, carrier waves and input signals all elements in how modulation works. Learn the different strategies for modulating a carrier wave by taking the Modulation and Radio Building Blocks: How does modulation work?

This lesson will answer questions such as what are the different types of modulation, why carrier waves need modulation at all and why input signals are not used directly. By the end of the lesson, you will be able to answer all these questions with confidence.

Additionally, if you are interested in learning more about the building blocks of radio, you can view other lessons in the Basic Radio Awareness course on the Tait Radio Academy for free.

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