Lab 8 Assignment

Question 1
Calculate the frequency of the first six aliases present in the sampled message. Tip:
The method for doing this is described in the preliminary discussion.
ANS
A 2 kHz sine wave (fundamental)
Sampling signals sampling frequency = clock / 8 (8-bit PCM encoder)
Clock = 100 kHz
Sampling signals sampling frequency = 12.5 kHz
Six harmonics (aliases) are calculated in pair.
1st harmonic = (1x12.5) 2 = 10.5 kHz, 2nd harmonic = (1x12.5) + 2 = 14.5 kHz
3rd harmonic = (2x12.5) 2 = 23 kHz, 4th harmonic = (2x12.5) + 2 = 27 kHz
5th harmonic = (3x12.5) 2 = 35.5 kHz, 6th harmonic = (3x12.5) + 2 = 39.5 kHz

Question 2
Recalculate the frequency of the first six aliases for a 4kHz message.
ANS
A 4 kHz sine wave (fundamental)
Sampling signals sampling frequency = clock / 8 (8-bit PCM encoder)
Clock = 100 kHz
Sampling signals sampling frequency = 12.5 kHz
Six harmonics (aliases) are calculated in pair.
1st harmonic = (1x12.5) 4 = 8.5 kHz, 2nd harmonic = (1x12.5) + 4 = 16.5 kHz
3rd harmonic = (2x12.5) 4 = 21 kHz, 4th harmonic = (2x12.5) + 4 = 29 kHz
5th harmonic = (3x12.5) 4 = 33.5 kHz, 6th harmonic = (3x12.5) + 4 = 41.5 kHz

Question 3
What happens to the frequencies of the aliases as the message frequency goes up?
ANS
As the message frequency goes up, the interval between a pair of aliases becomes larger
or in other words, the frequencies of aliases are increased by a bigger unit of increment.

Question 4
Recalculate the first six alias frequencies for a 72kHz clock. Note: A 72kHz clock
gives a 9kSa/s sample rate.
ANS
A 2 kHz sine wave (fundamental)
Sampling signals sampling frequency = clock / 8 (8-bit PCM encoder)
Clock = 72 kHz
Sampling signals sampling frequency = 9 kHz
Six harmonics (aliases) are calculated in pair.
1st harmonic = (1x9) 2 = 7 kHz, 2nd harmonic = (1x9) + 2 = 11 kHz
3rd harmonic = (2x9) 2 = 16 kHz, 4th harmonic = (2x9) + 2 = 20 kHz
5th harmonic = (3x9) 2 = 25 kHz, 6th harmonic = (3x9) + 2 = 29 kHz

Question 5
What happens to the frequencies of the aliases as the sampling frequency goes
down?
ANS
The frequencies of the aliases (harmonics) decrease accordingly as the sampling
frequency goes down, resulting in a left shift. However, the gap between aliases (harmonics)
remains unchanged.

Question 6
What happens to the lowest frequency alias once the sample rate drops to 4kSa/s?
ANS
Once the sampling rate drops to 4kSa/s, the lowest frequency alias would overlap with
the original input message signal; then even with the use of filtering, both signals cannot be
distinguished. Thus, the reconstruction of the original signal fails.

Question 7
As you have seen, setting the sample rate too low can cause aliasing. Whats the
other way of causing aliasing?
ANS
The other way of causing aliasing is that the attenuation beyond the cut-off frequency is
gradual rather than instantaneous (for low-pass filter).