A carrier wave is a radio-frequency wave that carries information. The information is attached to the carrier wave by means of a modulation process that involves the variation of one of the carrier-frequency characteristics, such as its amplitude, its frequency, or its duration. (All of these processes are discussed in greater detail in the article telecommunication system.)

In amplitude modulation the information signal varies the amplitude of the carrier wave, a process that produces a band of frequencies known as sidebands on each side of the carrier frequency. These sidebands (a pair to each modulation frequency) cover a range of frequencies equal to the sum and difference between the carrier frequency and the information signal.

Frequency modulation involves varying the frequency (the number of times the wave passes through a complete cycle in a given period of time, measured as cycles per second) of the carrier in accordance with the amplitude of the information signal. The amplitude of the carrier wave is unaffected by the variation; only its frequency changes. Frequency modulation produces more (often many more) than one pair of side frequencies for each modulation frequency.

The variation of carrier frequency is known as the frequency deviation, and for very-high-frequency broadcasting it can reach ± 75 kilohertz. The greater the frequency deviation the greater is the effective modulation. Though theoretically its maximum value need not be limited to 75 kilohertz, any increase beyond this value requires a wider channel, which adds to the cost of reception and reduces the number of transmitters that can be accommodated in the band. The total channel width is approximately twice the sum of the maximum deviation frequency and modulating frequency. If channel width is restricted in either transmitter or receiver circuits, distortion of the information signal occurs.

A radio broadcast normally consists of only one information signal. The listener hears what he would hear at the microphone position if only one of his ears was functioning; i.e., it is a monaural system. In such a system it is not possible to gain any impression of the position of the instrument groupings in an orchestra, nor can lateral movement be indicated, though movement toward or away from the microphone is conveyed by a change in sound volume.

Stereophonic broadcasting requires two microphones, one to collect sounds from the left and one from the right; the two sets of information must be separable in the receiver and be fed to loudspeakers on the left and on the right at the listening position. For high-fidelity reproduction the full audio range up to 15 kilohertz is transmitted; this can only be achieved satisfactorily at very high frequencies with frequency modulation. The broadcast signal is received on monaural receivers by making one set of information the sum of left and right signals (L + R). The other set of information is the difference of left and right (L − R). Summation of the two sets of information at the receiver output recovers the left (L) signal and subtraction recovers the right (R) signal.

Another system of modulation switches the carrier on and off in pulses, the duration or position of the pulse being determined by the information signal. This system of pulse-coded modulation can provide better protection from noise, and a number of separate speech channels can be combined by allocating specified groups of pulses for each information channel and then interleaving these pulses in a process called time division multiplex. To accomplish this, a comparatively wide transmission channel is needed, and the carrier must be an ultrahigh or superhigh frequency.

The ionosphere

An English mathematician, Oliver Heaviside, and a U.S. electrical engineer, Arthur Edwin Kennelly, almost simultaneously predicted in 1902 that radio waves, which normally travel in straight lines, are returned to Earth when projected skyward because electrified (ionized) layers of air above the Earth (the ionosphere) reflect or refract (bend) them back to Earth, thus extending the range of a transmitter far beyond line of sight. In 1923 the suggestion was proved to be accurate when pulses of radio energy were transmitted vertically upward and returning pulses were received back from the reflecting layer. By measuring the time between the outgoing and returning pulses, it was possible to estimate the height and number of layers. Three layers can normally be distinguished at distances from 50 to about 400 kilometres (30 to 250 miles) above the Earth’s surface. The layers result from a breakdown of gas atoms into positively charged ions and free electrons caused by energy radiated from the Sun. The electrons maintain a separate existence in the lower layers for as long as the Sun’s energy is being received, and in the upper layers some can remain free throughout the hours of darkness.

The three layers are designated D, E, and F. The D layer is approximately 80 kilometres (50 miles) high and exists only during daylight hours. Because it absorbs medium frequencies and the lower frequencies of the shortwave bands, it limits the range of such stations during daylight. The E layer, about 110 kilometres (68 miles) high, maintains its reflectivity for four or five hours after the Sun sets and so extends the range of such stations to as much as 1,000 kilometres (620 miles). This layer also serves as a good reflector of shortwaves during the day and into the night, until its reflectivity drops.

Most important of the three layers is the F layer, which has considerable power to reflect the higher frequencies. During the day it often splits into two layers (F₁ and F₂) at about 200 and 400 kilometres (125 and 250 miles), but at night only one layer is generally present at a height of about 300 kilometres (190 miles).

Radio noise, fading, and interference

Any sudden discharge of electrical energy, like that of lightning, produces transient (short-duration) radio-frequency waves, which are picked up by antennas. These packets of radio-frequency energy produce the crackle heard on an amplitude-modulated radio receiver when an electrical storm is nearby and may be classed as natural noise.

Switching of high-voltage power lines can produce similar effects; the lines help to carry the noise-producing signals over long distances. Local switching of lights and electrical machinery can also produce the familiar crackle when the receiver is close to the noise-producing source. These sources are classed as man-made noise.

Generally noise of both types decreases as the frequency is increased. An exception is automobile ignition noise, which produces maximum effect in the very-high-frequency range, causing a sound in nearby loudspeakers every time a spark plug fires. Many countries have legislation requiring the suppression of man-made noise by means of filters that reduce the amount of radio-frequency energy released at the source. Metallic shielding of leads to and from the noise source curtails the radiated interference. It is also possible to install various noise-reducing devices at the input to radio receivers.

Noise is also caused by irregularities in the flow of electrons in metals, transistors, and electron tubes. This source of noise ultimately limits the maximum useful signal amplification that can be provided by a receiver. Noise due to the random movement of electrons causes a hiss in the loudspeaker. Radio noise can also be picked up from outer space as a hiss similar to random electron noise.

Fading of a signal, on the other hand, is due to variation in the propagation characteristics of the signal path or paths. This is particularly true when propagation depends on reflection from the ionosphere as it does for shortwaves. Propagation of waves in the very-high-frequency range and above, which penetrate the ionosphere, can be affected by temperature changes in the stratosphere, that part of the atmosphere up to about 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the Earth’s surface. The fading effect can be greatly reduced at the receiver loudspeaker by various electronic controls, such as automatic gain control.

The phenomenon of interference occurs when an undesired signal overlaps the channel reserved for the desired signal. By interaction with the desired carrier, the undesired information may cause speech to become unintelligible. Countermeasures include narrowing the desired channel, thus losing some information but preventing overlap, and using a directional antenna to discriminate against the undesired transmission.