Course 260: Fundamentals of Communications Theory

Objectives	To provide a fundamental understanding of communications theory, link budget analysis and implementation concerns To provide a theoretical underpinning for DGPS data link design, test and evaluation To explore the interaction of the communications theory sub-disciplines To illustrate key principles, theoretical models and practical examples
Prerequisite	Familiarity with engineering terms and basic engineering analysis
Instructor	Dr. Stephen Heppe, Insitu Group
Course Schedule	8:30 - Probability and Queueing Theory • Key definitions and distributions • Transformation of random variables • Stochastic processes • Queueing models and examples • Communications capacity calculations 9:45 - Modulation and Detection Theory • Survey of popular modulation techniques • Receiver design and decision rules • Derivation of bit error rate (BER) • Extension of BER analysis to various modulations 11:00 - Coding Theory • Shannon's Theorem • History and implications • Survey of popular coding techniques • Examples • Repetition, convolutional, linear block & algebraic codes 12:00 - Lunch on your own 1:30 - Information Theory • Return to Shannon's Theorem • Source coding • Channel capacity • The channel model, principal elements • Synergy of source and channel coding 2:45 - Link Budget Analysis • Impact of waveform, coding, diversity, error sources • Link budget shell • Link budget examples: line-of-sight RF link, repeatered link, GEO, satcom, LEO, MEO • GPS & GPS data links 4:00 - Summary and Practical Examples • Key insights and paradigms • Additional examples: modecs, spread spectrum, super diversity, meteorburst, concatenated codes, authentication, lasercom, interception and LPI applications 5:00 - Course ends
Location	Available only for on-site contract presentation
Course Fee	Contact Carolyn McDonald at +1(703) 256-8900 or cmcdonald@navtechgps.com
Continuing Education Units	0.6 (6 hours)
Materials You Will Keep	A notebook containing copies of all materials presented. Return to top of page