Signals and data

Data and Signals

• Generally, the data usable to a person or application are
not in a form that can be transmitted over a network.
• For example, a photograph must first be changed to a
form that transmission media can accept.
• To be transmitted, data must be transformed to
electromagnetic signals
Analog and Digital Data

• The term analog data refers to information that is

continuous; digital data refers to information that has
discrete states.
• For example, an analog clock that has hour, minute, and
second hands gives information in a continuous form; the
movements of the hands are continuous. On the other
hand, a digital clock that reports the hours and the
minutes will change suddenly from 8:05 to 8:06.
Analog Data
• Analog data, such as the sounds made by a human voice,
take on continuous values.
• When someone speaks, an analog wave is created in the
air. This can be captured by a microphone and converted
to an analog signal or sampled and converted to a digital
signal.
Digital data
• Digital data take on discrete values. For example, data
are stored in computer memory in the form of Os and 1s.
• They can be converted to a digital signal or modulated
into an analog signal for transmission across a medium
NOTE
• Data can be analog or digital. Analog data are continuous
and take continuous values.
• Digital data have discrete states and take discrete values.
Analog and Digital Signals

• A signal is an electromagnetic or electrical current that is

used for carrying data from one system or network to
another.
• Stated in mathematical terms, a signal is merely a
function of the data.
• In electronics and telecommunications, it refers to any
time-varying voltage that is an electromagnetic wave
which carries information
Signals
• For example, a microphone converts voice data into voice signal,
which can be sent over a pair of wire. Analog signals are
continuous-valued; digital signals are discrete-valued
• Like the data they represent, signals can be either analog or
digital. Analog signals can have an infinite number of values in a
range; digital signals can have only a limited number of values
mostly Os and 1s.
• Analog signal is denoted by sine waves while Digital signals are
denoted by square waves.
Comparison of analog and digital signals
Examples of Analog and Digital Data

 Analog
 Video
 Audio
 Digital
 Text
 Integers

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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
 Analog signals can propagate analog and
digital data
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Characteristics of analog signals
• These type of electronic signals are time-varying
• Minimum and maximum values which is either positive or negative.
• It can be either periodic or non-periodic.
• Analog Signal works on continuous data.
• The accuracy of the analog signal is not high when compared to the digital
signal.
• It helps you to measure natural or physical values.earthquake, frequency,
volcano, speed of wind, weight, lighting, etc
• Analog signal output form is like Curve, Line, or Graph, so it may not be
meaningful to all

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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
 Digital signals are versatile, so it is widely
used.
 The accuracy of the digital signal is better
than that of the analog signal.

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Advantages of Analog Signals
• Easier in processing
• Best suited for audio and video transmission.
• It has a low cost and is portable.
• It has a much higher density so that it can present more refined
information.
• Not necessary to buy a new graphics board.
• Uses less bandwidth than digital sounds
• Provide more accurate representation of a sound
• It is the natural form of a sound.
Advantages of Digital Signals
• Digital data can be easily compressed.
• Any information in the digital form can be encrypted.
• Equipment that uses digital signals is more common and less expensive.
• Less susceptible to noise and errors
• A lot of editing tools are available
• Easy to transmit the data over networks
Disadvantages of Analog Signals
• Analog tends to have a lower quality signal than digital.
• The cables are sensitive to external influences.
• The cost of the Analog wire is high and not easily portable.
• It offers limitations in editing
• Quality is easily lost
• Data can become corrupted
Disadvantages of Digital Signals
Analog Signaling
Digital Signaling
Reasons for Choosing Data and Signal Combinations

 Digital data, digital signal

 Equipment for encoding is less expensive than digital-
to-analog equipment
 Analog data, digital signal
 Conversion permits use of modern digital transmission
and switching equipment
 Digital data, analog signal
 Some transmission media will only propagate analog
signals
 Examples include optical fiber and satellite
 Analog data, analog signal
 Analog data easily converted to analog signal
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Periodic and Nonperiodic Signals
• Both analog and digital signals can take one of two forms:
periodic or nonperiodic (sometimes refer to as aperiodic)
• A periodic signal completes a pattern within a measurable time
frame, called a period, and repeats that pattern over subsequent
identical periods. The completion of one full pattern is called a
cycle.
• A nonperiodic signal changes without exhibiting a pattern or cycle
that repeats over time
Periodic and Nonperiodic Signals

• In data communications, we commonly use periodic

analog signals (because they need less bandwidth,and
nonperiodic digital signals (because they can represent
variation in data)
PERIODIC ANALOG SIGNALS
• Periodic analog signals can be classified as simple or
composite.
• A simple periodic analog signal, a sine wave, cannot be
decomposed into simpler signals.
• A composite periodic analog signal is composed of
multiple sine waves
Simple periodic sine wave
Sine wave
• A sine wave can be represented by three parameters:
Peak Amplitude, frequency, and the phase.
• These three parameters fully describe a sine wave.
Peak Amplitude
• Amplitude is the value of the signal at different instants of time. It is
measured in volts.
• The peak amplitude of a signal is the absolute value of the highest intensity
• This voltage level can be either positive or negative.
• For example, the peak value of an AA battery is normally 1.5 V.
Peak amplitude
Two signals with the same phase and frequency, but different amplitudes
Period and Frequency

• Period refers to the amount of time, in seconds, a signal

needs to complete 1 cycle.
• Frequency refers to the number of periods in I s.
• Period is the inverse of frequency, and frequency is the
inverse of period, as the following formulas show.
Period and Frequency
NOTE
• Period is formally expressed in seconds. Frequency is
formally expressed in Hertz (Hz), which is cycle per
second
• Example
• All power sockets in Kenya provide a standard voltage of
240V with a standard frequency of 50Hz.
QUESTION
• Calculate the period of this sine wave
Cont..
• This means that the period of the power for our lights at
home is 0.02 s.

• The period of a signal is 100 s. What is its frequency in

hertz?
Phase

• The term phase describes the position of the waveform

relative to time O.
• Phase indicates the forward or backward shift of the
waveform from the axis
• It is measured in degrees or radian
• It indicates the status of the first cycle
Cont..
• A sine wave with a phase of 0 starts at time 0 with a zero
amplitude is increasing.
• A sine wave with a phase of 90° starts at time 0 with a
peak amplitude. The amplitude is decreasing.
• A sine wave with a phase of 180 starts at time 0 with a
zero amplitude. The amplitude is decreasing
wavelength
• The wavelength of a signal refers to the relationship between frequency (or period) and propagation
speed of the wave through a medium.
• The wavelength is the distance a signal travels in one period.
• It is given by
• Wavelength = Propagation Speed X Period
• OR
• Wavelength =Propagation Speed X 1
• Frequency
• It is represented by the symbol : λ (pronounced as lamda) It is
• measured in micrometers
• It varies from one medium to another.
Composite Signals
• According to Fourier analysis, a composite signal is a
combination of simple sine waves with different
frequencies, amplitudes, and phases.
• If the composite signal is periodic, the decomposition
gives a series of signals with discrete frequencies;
if the composite signal is nonperiodic, the decomposition
gives a combination of sine waves with continuous
frequencies
Figure A composite periodic signal
Figure Non periodic composite
Bandwidth
Range of frequencies contained in a composite signal.
The bandwidth of a composite signal is the difference between the
highest and the lowest frequencies contained in that signal.
Note

The bandwidth of a composite signal is the

difference between the
highest and the lowest frequencies
contained in that signal.
Figure The bandwidth of periodic and nonperiodic composite signals
 Example

If a periodic signal is decomposed into five sine waves with frequencies of 100,
300, 500, 700, and 900 Hz, what is its bandwidth? Draw the spectrum, assuming
all components have a maximum amplitude of 10 V.

Solution
Let fh be the highest frequency, fl the lowest frequency, and B the bandwidth. Then
 Example

A nonperiodic composite signal has a bandwidth of 200 kHz, with a middle

frequency of 140 kHz and peak amplitude of 20 V. The two extreme frequencies
have an amplitude of 0. Draw the frequency domain of the signal.

Solution
The lowest frequency must be at 40 kHz and the highest at 240 kHz.
Digital Signals
Digital Signals
• In addition to being represented by an analog signal,
information can also be represented by a digital signal.
For example, a 1 can be encoded as a positive voltage
and a 0 as zero voltage. A digital signal can have more
than two levels. In this case, we can send more than 1 bit
for each level.
Digital Signal
Bit Rate, Bit interval, Bit Length
• Two new terms, bit interval (instead of period) and bit rate (instead
of frequency) are used to describe digital signals.
• The bit interval is the time required to send one single bit. The bit
rate is the number of bit interval per second. This mean that the
bit rate is the number of bits send in one second, usually
expressed in bits per second (bps)
• Bit length: Distance one bit occupies on transmission medium is
bit length (instead of wavelength)
Bit Rate & Bit Interval (contd.)
Bit Interval and Bit Rate
Example
A digital signal has a bit rate of 2000 bps. What is the
duration of each bit (bit interval)

Solution
The bit interval is the inverse of the bit rate.
Bit interval = 1/ 2000 s = 0.000500 s
= 0.000500 x 106 ms = 500 ms