Experiment 10

Sampling and Reconstruction

In this experiment we shall learn how an analog signal can be sampled in the time
domain and then how the same samples can be used to reconstruct the original signal.
Figure 10.1 shows the experiment board you will use in the laboratory. The board
consists of five internally connected card edge connectors to realize the block diagram
shown in Figure 10.2. The input signal to the board is supplied from the function
generator or from a music source. Stereo headphones or an audio speaker can be
connected to the output port of the circuit.
We shall test the components of the system one by one and then put them all
together to listen to the effects of different system parameters including the sampling
rate and the bandwidth of the reconstruction filter.
The experiment board requires the three supply voltages of +5 V, +15 V and -15
V. Set each voltage individually, disable the output and connect the power supply to
the experiment board. You will make four connections including the ground.

10.1 Antialiasing Filter

The first PC board shown in Figure 10.3 consists of two electronic circuits. The
first circuit is used to convert the stereo signal from an audio source to a mono
signal. This eliminates the need to duplicate the electronics for the two channels for
this experiment. In practice, digital signal processing is performed on both channels
using independent circuitry.
The second circuit is a 4th order Butterworth low-pass filter, which is used to
reduce the signal power above a cut-off frequency. The function of this filter can
be explained as follows: In the theory section, we have learned that for accurate
reconstruction of the original signal from its samples, the sampling rate must be
higher than twice the maximum frequency component of the original signal. As an
example, let’s suppose we wish to use a sampling rate of 20 kHz. We know that this

101
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Figure 10.1: Sampling and Reconstruction Board used in this experiment

rate can be successfully used only if the original signal contains negligible power above
10 kHz. On the other hand, we know that the music signals can have considerable
power at frequencies well above 10 kHz. Therefore, if we really have to use this low
sampling rate of 20 kHz, the frequencies above 10 kHz must be filtered out by a
low-pass, preconditioning filter prior to sampling.
We shall begin the experiment by measuring the cut-off frequency of the antialias-
ing low-pass filter. The cut-off frequency is commonly defined as the frequency where
the signal power drops to one half of its value in the filter pass-band. This corresponds
to a power gain of

Pout Pin /2
G = 10 log = 10 log = 10 log(0.5) (10.1.1)
Pin Pin
which yields - 3dB. For this reason, the cut-off frequency is sometimes referred to as
the 3 dB cut-off frequency.

Preparation:

• Disable the power supply output.

• Insert the antialiasing filter PC board into the card edge connector.
• Connect the antialiasing filter output to channel 2 of your oscilloscope.
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Figure 10.2: Building Blocks of the Sampling and Reconstruction System

Figure 10.3: Antialiasing Filter

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• Connect a BNC T-connector to the function generator’s BNC output connector.

• Connect one end of the BNC T-connector to the experiment board using a
BNC-to-1.4” Phono adapter cable.

• Connect the other end of the BNC T-connector to channel 1 of your oscilloscope.

• Enable the power supply output.

• Set the function generator to generate a 100 Hz sinusoid with a peak-to-peak

value of less than 500 mV. Note that this value is not critical. You can choose
any input voltage as long as the output signal is free of noise and it is not
distorted. Adjust the oscilloscope controls to display the input and output
signals to your satisfaction.

• Turn on the spectrum analyzer (FFT), Choose Channel 2. Set the frequency
span to 50 kHz and the center frequency to 25 kHz. You should see a single
spike at 100 Hz.

Measurements & Questions:

We will now measure the power gain of your filter at different frequencies to
generate its frequency response.

1. Measure the input and output signal power at different frequencies ranging from
100 Hz to 50 kHz. Note the following:

(a) As long as you do not change the peak-to-peak value of the sinusoid pro-
duced by the function generator, you do not need to measure the input
signal power at every frequency. It should remain constant throughout the
measurement range.
(b) In plotting the frequency response of an amplifier or a filter, it is customary
to use a logarithmic frequency axis. To do this, measure the signal power
at 100 Hz intervals up to 1000 Hz and then every 1000 Hz up to 10 kHz.
Depending on how quickly the output is dropping, you may increase the
increment even more above 10 kHz.

2. Calculate the power gain, G at each frequency.

3. Tabulate your results.

4. Use your measurement results to plot the frequency response of your filter.
Recall that the frequency response is just a plot of power gain versus frequency.
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Figure 10.4: The Sampling clock circuit capable of generating two rectangular pulse
trains with sampling rates of 10 and 20 kHz.

5. Use your plot to determine the 3 dB cut-off frequency of your filter.

6. Save the oscilloscope display at the 3 dB frequency to an image file to include

in your report.

7. Plot the output signal power as a function of frequency. Use a logarithmic scale
for the frequency axis.

8. Calculate the amplitude of the sinusoid in the pass-band and at the cut-off
frequency using the measured signal power in Table ??. Is the amplitude at the
cut-off frequency equal to 0.707 of its value in the pass-band?

10.2 Sampling Clock

In this part of the experiment we shall test the sampling clock circuit shown in Figure
10.4. The circuit generates a square pulse train with a duty cycle of approximately 5
percent. There are two possible sampling frequencies of 10 and 20 kHz selectable by
a toggle switch mounted on the PC board.

Preparation:

• Disable the power supply output.

• Insert the sampling clock into the card edge connector on the experiment board.

• Connect the board output to Channel 1 of your oscilloscope.

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• Enable the power supply output.

Measurements & Questions:

1. Set the toggle switch on the PC board to F1. This will set the sampling fre-
quency to a value around 10 kHz. The measured frequencies will be slightly
different for each laboratory station due to variations in the actual values of the
resistors and capacitors used in the circuit.

(a) Save the oscilloscope display to an image file to include in your laboratory
report.
(b) Measure the frequency F1 , of the sampling clock
(c) Measure the duty cycle of the sampling clock.

2. Set the toggle switch to F2, which will set the frequency to a value around 20
kHz.

(a) Save the oscilloscope display to an image file to include in your laboratory
report.
(b) Measure the frequency, F2 , of the sampling clock.
(c) Measure the duty cycle of the sampling clock.

10.3 Sampled Sinusoid in Time Domain

In this part of the experiment we shall use an electronic circuit, which operates similar
to the triac in the Electric Power experiment. Figure 10.5 describes the operation of
the circuit. The rectangular pulse train we have seen in the previous section decides
on the state of the switch. When the voltage from the sampling clock is high, the
switch closes and allows the analog signal to pass through. Otherwise, the switch
is closed and the output voltage is zero. As such, the output signal consists of the
samples of the original signal. The analog switch is a standard building block of
all analog-to-digital converter integrated circuits. The electronic circuit used in this
experiment is shown in Figure 10.6.

Preparation:

• Disable the power supply output.

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• Insert the Analog Switch PC board in its card edge connector. Now you should
have three boards on your experiment board: antialiasing filter, sampling clock
and analog switch.

• Connect Channel 1 of your oscilloscope to the input of the analog switch.

• Connect channel 2 of your oscilloscope to the output of the analog switch.

• Set the sampling frequency to F1 by setting the toggle switch to F1.

• Enable the power supply output voltage.

• Verify that the function generator is still connected to the experiment board.
If not make the connection.

• Adjust the horizontal and vertical scales of the oscilloscope so that the original
and the sampled sinusoid are displayed simultaneously. For triggering, use the
channel displaying the original sinusoid.

Measurements & Questions:

1. Set the function generator to produce a 100 Hz sinusoid with a peak-to-peak

voltage of 1 V. Adjust the oscilloscope controls to display the input and output
signals of the analog switch simultaneously. You should see a display of the
sampled version of the original sinusoid. Use the sinusoid for oscilloscope trig-
gering. If you are still having difficulty in obtaining a stable display, you can
freeze the display by pressing the Run/Stop button.

(a) Save the oscilloscope display to an image file to include in your laboratory
report.
(b) Measure the frequency and the pulse width of the samples.

2. Set the sampling frequency to F2 by flipping the switch on the sampling clock
PC board to F2.

(a) Save the oscilloscope display to an image file to include in your laboratory
report.
(b) Measure the frequency and the pulse width of the samples.
(c) Measure the RMS values of the analog signal and the sampled signal.
(d) Calculate the normalized signal power of the original sinusoid and the
sampled sinusoid in mW.
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3. Compare your measured values for sampled signal frequency and pulse width
with those of the sampling clock waveforms measured in the previous section.

4. Your measurements should indicate that the sampled signal power is consider-
ably less than that of the original signal power. What percentage of the original
power is retained in the sampled signal?

10.4 Reconstruction Filter

In this part of the experiment we shall test the reconstruction filter, which is a 2nd
order Butterworth filter. The cut-off frequency of the filter is adjustable between
3700 to 11200 Hz. In practice, the cut-off frequency of this filter is fixed at the
frequency corresponding to half the sampling rate. As mentioned, the filter used in
this laboratory is far from ideal and we will adjust the pass-band to study a variety
of effects. The PC board is shown in Figure 10.7.

Preparation:

• Disable the power supply output.

• Insert the ’reconstruction filter’ into its card edge connector.

• Set the sampling frequency to F1

• Connect the analog switch output to channel 1 of the oscilloscope and the output
of the reconstruction filter to channel 2.

• Turn the potentiometer on the reconstruction filter all the way counter-clockwise.
This sets the cut-off frequency of the filter to its lowest value.

• Enable the power supply output voltage.

Measurements & Questions:

1. Set the frequency of the sinusoid to 300 Hz and the peak-to-peak voltage to
1 V. You should now see the samples of the original sinusoid as well as the
reconstructed sinusoid displayed on your oscilloscope. Save the display to an
image file to include in your laboratory report. How is the quality of the re-
construction process? Do you have a pure sinusoid or a periodic waveform that
resembles a sinusoid?
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2. Increase the frequency of the input sinusoid as you continue to observe the re-
constructed signal. How is the reconstructed signal changing as you increase
the frequency of the input signal? Is the reconstruction getting better or worse?
Save the display at a higher sinusoid frequency to help you explain your obser-
vations in your lab report.
3. Set the frequency of the sinusoid back to 300 Hz. Slowly turn the potentiometer
knob on the reconstruction filter clockwise. You are increasing the cut-off fre-
quency of the low-pass filter. Is the reconstruction becoming better or worse?
How is the reconstructed signal changing as you do this?
4. Turn the potentiometer on the reconstruction filter all the way clockwise. Save
the display to an image file to include in your report.
5. Change the sampling rate to F2 ∼ 20kHz by flipping the switch on the sampling
clock to F2. Save the oscilloscope display to an image file to include in your lab
report.
6. Suppose the sampled waveform is applied to an RC circuit and we are measuring
the voltage across the capacitor.
(a) Speculate on the shape of the voltage waveform across the capacitor.
Would the resulting waveform resemble what he have at the output of
the reconstruction filter?
(b) Is there a similarity between changing the RC time constant and the cut-off
frequency of the reconstruction filter?

10.5 Audio Amplifier

The fifth and the last circuit is an audio amplifier, which you have used in previous
experiments. It amplifies the reconstructed signal and serves as a power amplifier to
drive a pair of headphones or an audio speaker.

Preparation:

• Turn off the spectrum analyzer.

• Disable the power supply output.
• Insert the ’audio amplifier’ into its card edge connector.
• Connect the reconstruction filter output to channel 1 of the oscilloscope and
the audio amplifier output to channel 2.
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RMS Voltage Normalized Power (mW)

Antialiasing Filter Output
Analog Switch Output
Reconstruction Filter Output
Audio Amplifier Output

Table 10.1: RMS values and Signal Power of the original sinusoid and the recon-
structed sinusoid before and after amplification

• Turn the potentiometer on the reconstruction filter all the way counter-clockwise
to set the cut-off frequency of the filter to its lowest value.

• Set the sampling frequency to F2 .

• Set the frequency of the input sinusoid to 300 Hz.

• Enable the power supply output voltage.

Measurements & Questions:

1. Display the input and output signals of the audio amplifier and save the display
to an image file to include in your report.

2. Determine the voltage gain of the amplifier.

3. To understand the function of the audio amplifier we shall first measure the
RMS value of the signals at different points of the sampling and reconstruction
block diagram. We shall then use these voltages to determine the signal power
at those points. Use the quick measurement feature of your oscilloscope to
measure the RMS value of the signals at the following points:

(a) Output of the antialiasing filter switch.

(b) Output of the analog switch.
(c) Output of the reconstruction filter.
(d) Output of the audio amplifier.

4. Enter the measurement results in Table 10.1. Calculate the normalized signal
2
power for each voltage according to P = VRM S and enter the results in the same
table.

5. Consider the following questions in your lab report:

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(a) Why is the signal power of the sampled signal less than that of the original
signal?
(b) How much of the original signal power is retained in the sampled signal?
Could you relate this percentage to the duty cycle of the sampling clock?
(c) Compare the signal power of the original signal with that of the recon-
structed signal before and after amplification. Write a short paragraph
describing the function of the amplifier.

10.6 Sampled Signal in Frequency Domain

In this part of the experiment, we shall examine the power spectrum of the sampled
signal.

Preparation:

• Connect the analog switch output to Channel 1 of your oscilloscope.

• Turn off channel 2.

• Set the frequency of the input sinusoid to 1 kHz.

• Turn on the spectrum analyzer (FFT feature under Math) and display the
power spectrum of the sampled signal. Set the frequency span to 50 kHz and
center frequency to 25 kHz. In order to get the frequency components to appear
as narrow peaks, set the time scale to 1 ms/div.

Measurements & Questions:

1. Set the sampling frequency back to F1 . You should now have the sampled signal
displayed in both time and frequency domains.

(a) Save the oscilloscope display to an image file to include in your laboratory
report.
(b) Determine the frequencies of the harmonics within 50 kHz.
(c) Determine the fundamental frequency of the sampled signal.

2. Change the sampling frequency to F2 by flipping the switch on the sampling

clock board to F2.
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(a) Save the oscilloscope display to an image file to include in your laboratory
report.
(b) Determine the frequencies of the harmonics within 50 kHz.
(c) Determine the fundamental frequency of the sampled signal.
3. Slowly increase the frequency of the original sinusoid. Observe the changes in
the spectrum to answer the following questions:
(a) Is the fundamental frequency of the sampled sinusoid changing?
(b) How are the harmonics moving on the frequency axis?

10.7 Reconstructed Signal in Frequency Domain

Preparation:

• Connect the audio amplifier output to Channel 1 of your oscilloscope.

• Connect the headphones to the experiment board.
• Set the frequency of the input sinusoid to 1 kHz.
• Set the cut-off frequency of the low-pass filter to its lowest value by turning the
potentiometer all the way counterclockwise.
• Leave the settings of the spectrum analyzer unchanged.

Measurements & Questions:

1. Set the sampling rate to F1 ∼ 10kHz. You should now have a display of the
reconstructed signal in both time and frequency domains for the lowest cut-off
frequency of the reconstruction filter. Save the oscilloscope display to an image
file to use in your report.
2. Slowly increase the cut-off frequency of the low-pass filter as you observe the
changes in the output spectrum. Listen to the output signal. Can you hear any
changes in the sound? If yes, how can you describe the changes in your own
words?
3. Set the cut-off frequency of the reconstruction filter to its largest value by
turning the potentiometer clockwise all the way. Save the oscilloscope to an
image file to include in your report.
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4. Set the cut-off frequency of the reconstruction filter back to its lowest value.
Slowly increase the frequency of the original sinusoid as you observe the spec-
trum of the reconstructed signal. How is the spectrum changing with frequency?
Can you relate your observation to the output spectrum of the sampled signal?
Try flipping the sampling rate toggle switch on the sampling clock board back
and forth as you change the frequency of the input signal. Can you hear any
changes in the sound as a result of changing the sampling rate?

5. Can you determine the maximum frequency of the original sinusoid that can
be reconstructed with the highest cut-off frequency of the reconstruction filter?
Use information in both time and frequency domains. Can you reconstruct a 2
kHz sinusoid? How about 3 or 4 kHz ? Save at least one oscilloscope display to
an image file to help you explain your observations in your lab report.

10.8 Sampling and Reconstruction of Music Sig-

nals

Preparation:

• Disable the power supply output.

• Disconnect the function generator from the input of the Sampling and Recon-
struction board.

• Connect the output of your computer’s sound card to the experiment board
input using a 1/8” Mono cable and the 1/8” Mono to 1/4” Mono adapter.

• Plug the headphones/speaker to the output of the audio amplifier.

• Enable the power supply output.

• Set the cut-off frequency of the reconstruction filter to its lowest value.

• Start playing your favorite music. You should now observe the reconstructed
music signal in both time and frequency domains.

Measurements & Questions:

1. Set the sampling rate to F1 . Save the display to an image file to include in your
report. Use the RUN/STOPbutton to freeze the display.
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2. Set the sampling rate to F2 . Save the display to an image file to include in your
report.

3. Flip the toggle switch between F1 and F2 to determine the impact of the sam-
pling rate on the quality of the sound Listen to the sound output carefully to
answer the following questions:

(a) Which one, F1 or F2 , do you rate qualitatively better?

(b) Given that the input signal is limited to about 5 kHz by the antialiasing
filter, explain why the sampling rates of 10 kHz (Fs /2 ∼ 5kHz) and 20 kHz
(Fs /2 ∼ 10kHz) should or should not give significantly different results.

4. Set the sampling rate to F1 . Slowly change the cut-off frequency of the re-
construction filter as you listen to the output sound carefully. How would you
describe the change in sound quality in your own words?

5. Repeat the previous step after setting the sampling rate to F2 . Listen to the
output sound. How did the impact of the filter cut-off frequency change as a
result of sampling the original signal at a higher rate?
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sampling clock

analog signal sampled signal

analog switch

Figure 10.5: An electronic switch is used to sample the analog signal. The state of the
switch is determined by a rectangular pulse train generated by the sampling clock.

Figure 10.6: Analog Switch Circuit

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Figure 10.7: Low-pass filter used to reconstruct the original signal. The potentiometer
is used to set the 3-dB cut-off frequency between 3700 Hz to 11200 Hz