Communication Systems

• Multiplexing and multiple access. FDM, TDM, statistical multiplexing, multiple access methods FDMA, TDMA and CDMA. Multiple-input, multiple-output systems
• Fibre-optic communications
• Error correction codes. Block, convolutional and trellis coding. LBPC and Turbo codes
• Wideband multicarrier techniques. Spread spectrum techniques, OFDM
• Cryptography. Terminology, secret key and public-key systems, authentication, OTAR
• GSM 1st and 2nd generation cellular radio systems. GSM system architecture, logical channels, frames and multiframes, handset activity cycle, frequency hopping
• GPRS and EDGE. Enhancements to GSM, evolution towards 3G
  • 3rd Generation and beyond.
  • Tetra and Tetrapol.
  • HF systems.
  • Scatter-based systems
  • Software Defined Radio
  • Satellite communications
  • GPS. System description, threats via GPS jamming. Nav war
    
• Military Communication Systems: Combat radio, tactical communications, battlefield networks
• Introduction to Communications Electronic Warfare: Electronic attack, surveillance and defence
• Electronic Attack. Jamming techniques and effects, calculation of SJNR, jamming of satellite and ground-based links
• Electronic Defence. ED methods (FCS, burst transmission, antenna null-steering, error control, spread-spectrum techniques). Frequency-hopping. Direct-sequence systems
• Comms EW receivers. Requirements, sensitivity and dynamic range of intercept receivers; communications ESM receiver types (swept superhet, channelised)
• FFT-based channelised receiver architecture: dynamic range, analysis frequency range, frequency resolution
• Direction-finding: DF techniques (DF loop, Adcock antenna, rotary DF systems, interferometers, time difference of arrival method, pseudo-Doppler techniques, amplitude comparison methods); errors in DF systems
• Commercial and military EW systems: Visiting lecturers from Rohde and Schwartz
• Military tactical data links: a case study of high-level EW protection applied to a military data network
• Adaptive Signal Processing. Adaptive FIR and spatial filters, error surface, Newton’s method, gradient search method, LMS algorithm, practical examples
• Spectral estimation. Classical and parametric methods, eigenvector-based methods, Matlab tutorial.

10 credit points

Cranfield credits are available for this short course which you can put towards selected Cranfield degrees. Find out more about .