Chap 2
Chap 2
Chapter 2
Electromagnetic Signal
Function of time
Can also be expressed as a function of
frequency
Signal consists of components of different
frequencies
Time-Domain Concepts
Analog signal - signal intensity varies in a smooth
fashion over time
No breaks or discontinuities in the signal
Time-Domain Concepts
Aperiodic signal - analog or digital signal
pattern that doesn't repeat over time
Peak amplitude (A) - maximum value or
strength of the signal over time; typically
measured in volts
Frequency (f )
Rate, in cycles per second, or Hertz (Hz) at which
the signal repeats
Time-Domain Concepts
Period (T ) - amount of time it takes for one repetition
of the signal
T = 1/f
Frequency-Domain Concepts
Fundamental frequency - when all frequency
components of a signal are integer multiples of one
frequency, its referred to as the fundamental
frequency
Spectrum - range of frequencies that a signal contains
Absolute bandwidth - width of the spectrum of a
signal
Effective bandwidth (or just bandwidth) - narrow
band of frequencies that most of the signals energy is
contained in
Frequency-Domain Concepts
Any electromagnetic signal can be shown to
consist of a collection of periodic analog
signals (sine waves) at different amplitudes,
frequencies, and phases
The period of the total signal is equal to the
period of the fundamental frequency
Figure 4 illustrates the idea of taking two waves and adding them together. In this case, waves from
Figures 2 and 3 are added.
There are primarily two ways of viewing any type of a wave; in the time domain, or in the frequency domain.
The frequency domain of Figure 4 might look something like Figure 5.
Digital
Text
Integers
Analog Signals
A continuously varying electromagnetic wave that
may be propagated over a variety of media,
depending on frequency
Examples of media:
Copper wire media (twisted pair and coaxial cable)
Fiber optic cable
Atmosphere or space propagation
Digital Signals
A sequence of voltage pulses that may be
transmitted over a copper wire medium
Generally cheaper than analog signaling
Less susceptible to noise interference
Suffer more from attenuation
Digital signals can propagate analog and
digital data
Analog Signaling
Digital Signaling
Analog Transmission
Transmit analog signals without regard to
content
Attenuation limits length of transmission link
Cascaded amplifiers boost signals energy for
longer distances but cause distortion
Analog data can tolerate distortion
Introduces errors in digital data
Digital Transmission
Concerned with the content of the signal
Attenuation endangers integrity of data
Digital Signal
Repeaters achieve greater distance
Repeaters recover the signal and retransmit
Channel Capacity
Data rate - rate at which data can be communicated
(bps)
Bandwidth - the bandwidth of the transmitted signal
as constrained by the transmitter and the nature of the
transmission medium, expressed in cycles/sec
Noise - average level of noise over the
communications path
Error rate - rate at which errors occur
Error = transmit 1 and receive 0; transmit 0 and receive 1
Unguided Media
Provides means of transmission but does not guide electromagnetic
signals
Usually referred to as wireless transmission
E.g., atmosphere, outer space
Unguided Media
Transmission and reception are achieved by
means of an antenna
Configurations for wireless transmission
Directional
Omnidirectional
1 GHz to 40 GHz
Directional beams possible
Suitable for point-to-point transmission
Used for satellite communications
30 MHz to 1 GHz
Suitable for omnidirectional applications
Terrestrial Microwave
Description of common microwave antenna
Applications
Long haul telecommunications service
Short point-to-point links between buildings
Terrestrial Microwave
Band GHz
Bandwidth MHz
12
30
90
11
40
135
18
220
274
Satellite Microwave
Description of communication satellite
Microwave relay station
Used to link two or more ground-based microwave
transmitter/receivers
Receives transmissions on one frequency band (uplink),
amplifies or repeats the signal, and transmits it on another
frequency (downlink)
Applications
Television distribution
Long-distance telephone transmission
Private business networks
Broadcast Radio
Description of broadcast radio antennas
Omnidirectional
Antennas not required to be dish-shaped
Antennas need not be rigidly mounted to a precise
alignment
Applications
Broadcast radio
VHF and part of the UHF band; 30 MHZ to 1GHz
Covers FM radio and UHF and VHF television
Multiplexing
Capacity of transmission medium usually
exceeds capacity required for transmission of a
single signal
Multiplexing - carrying multiple signals on a
single medium
More efficient use of transmission medium
Multiplexing
Multiplexing Techniques
Frequency-division multiplexing (FDM)
Takes advantage of the fact that the useful
bandwidth of the medium exceeds the required
bandwidth of a given signal
Frequency-division Multiplexing
Time-division Multiplexing