Inside Wireless: QAM modulation II - The Modulator

QAM modulation is vital to most of modern digital RF radios out there. But what exactly the modulator does? We explain in this episode of Inside Wireless! Learn more: Modulation is a process of encoding the digital data - 1 and 0s - onto an RF wave that is more suitable for wireless transmission. The QAM modulator is the circuit inside the radio that takes care of this. If not sure about the basics of QAM modulation, check our previous video: The basic idea is that the incoming data stream is divided into two branches. The length of the ’symbol’, or, the amount of 1s and 0s processed in parallel determines the depth of the modulation. The higher the number, the more data we transfer during one transmission. The RF carrier signal is brought to both of these branches and multiplied by the amplitude (strength) determined by the input data stream. One branch is called I (in-phase) and the other Q (quadrature). The quadr