525.638.81 - Introduction to Wireless Technology

Course Structure

Each weekly module has a suggested approach to the content and assignments for the week.

Course Topics

• Digital Radio and an Ideal telecommunications system

• Six elements of communication systems

• Modelling corruption and the physics of corruption, Analog modulation and demodulation

• Sampling and Automatic Gain Control

• Digital Filtering and Discrete Fourier Transform, Bits to Symbols to Signals

• Impairments to wireless systems
• Mid semester exam
• Carrier Recovery methods
• Pulse shaping and matched receiver filtering
• Symbol timing recovery methods
• Linear Equalization methods, Coding and information
• Wireless communication system modelling
• Final Exam

Course Goals

Analyze and model the end to end performance of a modern digital wireless system and be able to design or analyze a wireless system based on the performance goals and expected channel characteristics.

Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)

• Explain the design and system architecture trades made for a typical wireless system.
• Describe the functions of a typical wireless system.
• Construct simulations of a complete wireless system including a dynamic wireless propagation channel.
• Have an initial to fair knowledge of a modern communications subject matter expert.

Textbooks

Johnson Richard C. 2011 Software Receiver Design. 1st edition, Cambridge England: Cambridge Press

Other Materials & Online Resources

Most recent version of Matlab software with Digital Signal processing, communications toolbox and blockset.  Please see the Johns Hopkins Technology section https://my.jh.edu/myJH/index.cfm?event=page.mySoftware&pointToFields=&searchType=&search=&uid=

Required Software

Most recent version of Matlab software with Digital Signal processing, communications toolbox and blockset.  Johns Hopkins University has a campus wide license for any registered student.  Please down load from the University software site which is under the Technology menu in the myJHU page.

Student Coursework Requirements



It is expected that each module will take approximately 12 hours per week to complete in a fourteen week semester. Here is an approximate breakdown: reading the assigned sections of the texts (approximately 4 hours per week) as well as some outside reading, listening to the audio annotated slide presentations (approximately 2 hours per week), and homework assignments and discussion (approximately 6  hours per week).

This course will consist of three basic student requirements:

1. Homework Assignments (40% of Final Grade Calculation)

Active participation in class is expected along with maximum effort in acquiring the material and completing the assessments and exams.  Working homework problems and understanding the concepts contained in the problems is essential to learning the material in the course and being successful on the exams.

There will be weekly homework assigned in this course. You will submit your homework to the assignment submission area within the module that the assignment is due. There will be a drop box for each assignment. If you have any difficulty in doing so, contact the instructor for other arrangements. I will return homework within a week after the due date. Comments will be marked on the returned file which can be viewed in Word by turning on the "track changes" feature. This is located under: Tools/Track Changes/Highlight Changes on Screen or will be shown in a different font such as red or blue.

Homework may be submitted one week late with a 20% penalty or without penalty with prior approval from the instructor. Approval must be requested no later than one week prior to the assignment due date. Homework over one week late will not be accepted.

Homework solutions will be posted in the Homework Solutions area approximately one day after the deadline.  Some of the problems will be shown in video solutions while some are shown in text and figures.  It is critical that you review your homework against the solutions and ask questions if you do not understand the solutions to the problems.

Discussing homework problems is acceptable and actually encouraged in the homework questions section of the bulletin board of the class web site, but each student must do their own assignment. Homework must be well documented and organized or points will be deducted.

Please post any questions that you have to the section for the homework assignment in the discussions area.  Your instructor will strive to answer your question within 24 hours.  Answers to issues in the homework problems will focus on helping students complete the problem themselves and will never be “here is the answer”.  It is critical to allow time for responses.

All the problems or one to possibly two problems will be graded from each assignment chosen by the instructor.  This graded problem(s) will be the grade for the assignment.

Qualitative assignments are graded as follows:

100–90 = A—All parts of question are addressed; Writing Quality/ Rationale/ Examples/ Outside References [rich in content; full of thought, insight, and analysis].

89–80 = B—All parts of the question are addressed; Writing Quality/ Rationale/ Examples/ Outside References [substantial information; thought, insight, and analysis has taken place].  If there were issues in completing the problem a description of the issue is included with the steps taken to solve the issue.

79–70=C—Majority of parts of the question are addressed; Writing Quality/ Rationale/ Examples/ Outside References [generally competent; information is thin and commonplace].

<70=F—Some parts of the question are addressed; Writing Quality/ Rationale/ Examples/ Outside References [rudimentary and superficial; no analysis or insight displayed].

If the assignment or exam has more than 100 points possible the scale above will follow percentages.

Quantitative assignments are evaluated by the following grading elements:

1. Each part of question is answered (20%)
2. Assumptions are clearly stated (20%)
3. Intermediate derivations and calculations are provided (25%)
4. Answer is technically correct and is clearly indicated (25%)
5. Answer precision and units are appropriate (10%)

Quantitative assignments are graded as follows:

100–90 = A—All parts of question are addressed; All assumptions are clearly stated; All intermediate derivations and calculations are provided; Answer is technically correct and is clearly indicated; Answer precision and units are appropriate.

89–80 = B—All parts of question are addressed; All assumptions are clearly stated; Some intermediate derivations and calculations are provided; Answer is technically correct and is indicated; Answer precision and units are appropriate. If there were issues in completing the problem a description of the issue is included with the steps taken to solve the issue.

79–70=C—Most parts of question are addressed; Assumptions are partially stated; Few intermediate derivations and calculations are provided; Answer is not technically correct but is indicated; Answer precision and units are indicated but inappropriate.

<70=F—Some parts of the question are addressed; Assumptions are not stated; Intermediate derivations and calculations are not provided; The answer is incorrect or missing; The answer precision and units are inappropriate or missing.

1. Preparation and Participation (Module Discussions) (10% of Final Grade Calculation)

Discussions are a critical element of an online course. They are used to promote dialogs between the students and the instructor. This is in lieu of the two-way dialog that occurs in a face-to-face class. Please note you will be required to post your comments by mid-week and you will be required to respond to at least one of your classmate's responses each week.

Your instructor will post a topic for discussion each week. You can locate the discussion in the Forums/Weekly Discussion area.

Post your initial response to the discussion questions by the evening of day 3 for that module week. Posting a response to the discussion question is part one of your grade for module discussions (i.e., Timeliness).

Part two of your grade for module discussion is your interaction (i.e., responding to classmate postings with thoughtful responses) with at least two classmates (i.e., Critical Thinking). Just posting your response to a discussion question is not sufficient; we want you to interact with your classmates. Be detailed in your postings and in your responses to your classmates' postings. Feel free to agree or disagree with your classmates. Please ensure that your postings are civil and constructive.

The instructor will monitor module discussions and will respond to some of the discussions as discussions are posted. In some instances, the instructor will summarize the overall discussions and post the summary for the module.

Evaluation of preparation and participation is based on contribution to discussions.

Preparation and participation is evaluated by the following grading elements:

1. Timeliness (50%)
2. Critical Thinking (50%)

Preparation and participation is graded as follows:

100–90 = A—Timeliness [regularly participates; all required postings; early in discussion; throughout the discussion]; Critical Thinking [rich in content; full of thoughts, insight, and analysis].

89–80 = B—Timeliness [frequently participates; all required postings; some not in time for others to read and respond]; Critical Thinking [substantial information; thought, insight, and analysis has taken place].

79–70 = C—Timeliness [infrequently participates; all required postings; most at the last minute without allowing for response time]; Critical Thinking [generally competent; information is thin and commonplace].

2. Exams (25% each (two exams) or 50% of Course Grade Calculation)

There will be two exams during the semester. These will be six hour exams.  Exam release and due dates are located on the calendar or web site submission area. Your exam is of course expected/required to be an individual effort.  No late exams will be excepted.

The exams are evaluated by the following grading elements:

1. Each part of question is answered (30%)
2. Writing quality and technical accuracy (50%) (Writing is expected to meet or exceed accepted graduate-level English and scholarship standards. That is, all assignments will be graded on grammar and style as well as content.)
3. Rationale for answer is provided or demonstrated clearly(20%)

Exams are graded as follows:

100–90 = A—All parts of question are addressed; Writing Quality/ Rationale/ Examples/ Outside References [rich in content; full of thought, insight, and analysis].  Easy to follow documentation of results.

89–80 = B—All parts of the question are addressed; Writing Quality/ Rationale/ Examples/ Outside References [substantial information; thought, insight, and analysis has taken place]. If there were issues in completing the problem a description of the issue is included with the steps taken to solve the issue.  Results are fully documented.

79–70 = C—Majority of parts of the question are addressed; Writing Quality/ Rationale/ Examples/ Outside References [generally competent; information is thin and commonplace].

Grading Policy

Evaluation will be based on timely submission, completeness, and quality of the content. Please refer to the JHU policy on student honesty and integrity.

Homework is assigned for modules 1 through 6 and modules 8 through 13. Exam weeks are 7 and 14.  Homework is expected to be submitted by the last day of each module. Grading of Homework: The student will be required to grade his or her own homework.  This will be required to be done by midnight of the Friday following the submission of the homework assignment.  This is a bit awkward in Canvas.  What will be done is that there will be two submissions allowed by the student for each assignment.  The ungraded assignment will be submitted by the due date as the first submission.  Then by the following Friday at midnight the students self graded assignment will be submitted.  The graded assignment will then be reviewed by the instructor or grader and the grade entered in the Canvas grades utility.  The solutions for the assignment will be available immediately after the assignment due date.  If you have pre-approved permission to turn in the assignment after the due date you will be asked to be on your honor not to access the solution set.  Grading rules:  If you have submitted the correct solution (and there are usually many methods that can be used so it needs to be a correct method and answer) then full credit.  If you have made a conceptual mistake deduct 3 points for each mistake.  If you have made a math error deduct 1 point for each match error.  If you have not submitted any work for the problem deduct full credit for the problem as no. submission is worth nothing.

You are to submit your homework as a single PDF file. Do not submit MATLAB m-files or Simulink files unless specifically asked to do so as follow-up to the homework. If such files are used to solve homework problems then the MATLAB code or Simulink models should be included in the PDF documentation.Homework is expected to be documented with sufficient clarity and completeness that a reader could reproduce the solution. Most students find it convenient to first prepare their homework using a word processor similar to Microsoft Word. This can includes cutting and pasting results from MATLAB and Simulink simulations. Also, it is important to be able insert and edit equations in the word processor document. Finally, after you are happy with your documentation you can then convert it to an Adobe PDF file and submit it in Canvas.

Please use the following naming convention when submitting homework assignments in PDF format: If a student’s last name is "Jones" and is submitting homework assignment 1, the submitted PDF file should be named: JONES_HW1.pdf. When student Jones submits his/her midterm and final exams they, respectively, will be named JONES_MIDTERM.pdf and JONES_FINAL.pdf. Note that only the last name is used and all letters are upper case.Include your full name inside the homework document.

Please let the instructors know if you have questions about this. A modest, but progressively increasing amount of points will be subtracted from assignments that don't follow this convention.

Reading assignments as well as readings from the texts and other outside sources will be important sourcesof material for your twelve homework assignments.

 Final grades will be determined by the following weighting:

Course Policies

You will be treated like a professional in this course.  It is assumed that you are here to learn and not simply get a grade.  There are easier courses if you simply want a grade and credits toward a degree but don't value knowledge that you can use and apply.  I will always give the student the benefit of the doubt.  There will be many instances that you are expected to be honest and ethical.  That may be harder to imagine in the world we now face but it is how this course is run.  To summarize this course has a policy of expected honesty and working hard. 

Academic Policies

Deadlines for Adding, Dropping and Withdrawing from Courses

Students may add a course up to one week after the start of the term for that particular course. Students may drop courses according to the drop deadlines outlined in the EP academic calendar (https://ep.jhu.edu/student-services/academic-calendar/). Between the 6th week of the class and prior to the final withdrawal deadline, a student may withdraw from a course with a W on their academic record. A record of the course will remain on the academic record with a W appearing in the grade column to indicate that the student registered and withdrew from the course.

Academic Misconduct Policy

All students are required to read, know, and comply with the Johns Hopkins University Krieger School of Arts and Sciences (KSAS) / Whiting School of Engineering (WSE) Procedures for Handling Allegations of Misconduct by Full-Time and Part-Time Graduate Students.

This policy prohibits academic misconduct, including but not limited to the following: cheating or facilitating cheating; plagiarism; reuse of assignments; unauthorized collaboration; alteration of graded assignments; and unfair competition. Course materials (old assignments, texts, or examinations, etc.) should not be shared unless authorized by the course instructor. Any questions related to this policy should be directed to EP’s academic integrity officer at ep-academic-integrity@jhu.edu.

Students with Disabilities - Accommodations and Accessibility

Johns Hopkins University values diversity and inclusion. We are committed to providing welcoming, equitable, and accessible educational experiences for all students. Students with disabilities (including those with psychological conditions, medical conditions and temporary disabilities) can request accommodations for this course by providing an Accommodation Letter issued by Student Disability Services (SDS). Please request accommodations for this course as early as possible to provide time for effective communication and arrangements.

For further information or to start the process of requesting accommodations, please contact Student Disability Services at Engineering for Professionals, ep-disability-svcs@jhu.edu.

Student Conduct Code

The fundamental purpose of the JHU regulation of student conduct is to promote and to protect the health, safety, welfare, property, and rights of all members of the University community as well as to promote the orderly operation of the University and to safeguard its property and facilities. As members of the University community, students accept certain responsibilities which support the educational mission and create an environment in which all students are afforded the same opportunity to succeed academically. 

For a full description of the code please visit the following website: https://studentaffairs.jhu.edu/policies-guidelines/student-code/

Classroom Climate

JHU is committed to creating a classroom environment that values the diversity of experiences and perspectives that all students bring. Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. Fostering an inclusive climate is important. Research and experience show that students who interact with peers who are different from themselves learn new things and experience tangible educational outcomes. At no time in this learning process should someone be singled out or treated unequally on the basis of any seen or unseen part of their identity. 
 
If you have concerns in this course about harassment, discrimination, or any unequal treatment, or if you seek accommodations or resources, please reach out to the course instructor directly. Reporting will never impact your course grade. You may also share concerns with your program chair, the Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, or the Office of Institutional Equity. In handling reports, people will protect your privacy as much as possible, but faculty and staff are required to officially report information for some cases (e.g. sexual harassment).

Course Auditing

When a student enrolls in an EP course with “audit” status, the student must reach an understanding with the instructor as to what is required to earn the “audit.” If the student does not meet those expectations, the instructor must notify the EP Registration Team [EP-Registration@exchange.johnshopkins.edu] in order for the student to be retroactively dropped or withdrawn from the course (depending on when the "audit" was requested and in accordance with EP registration deadlines). All lecture content will remain accessible to auditing students, but access to all other course material is left to the discretion of the instructor.