Data and

Signal
Background
To be transmitted, data
must be transformed to
electromagnetic signal.
 Analog and Digital
Data can be analog or digital. The term
analog data refers to information that is
continuous; digital data refers to
information that has discrete states.
Analog data take on continuous values.
Digital data take on discrete values.

Topics discussed in this section:

 Analog and Digital Data
 Analog and Digital Signal
 Periodic and Nonperiodic/ Aperiodic
Signals
 Analog and Digital
Data can be analog or digital. Analog data
are continuous and take continuous
values. Digital data have discrete states
and take discrete values.

Signals can be 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
Periodic and
Nonperiodic/Aperiodic Signals
Both analog and digital signals can take one of
two forms.

Periodic: completes a pattern within a

measurable time frame called a period and
repeats that pattern over subsequent
identical periods.

Nonperiodic/Aperiodic: Signal changes

without exhibiting a pattern or cycle that
repeats over time.

In data communications, we commonly us

periodic analog signals and nonperiodic/
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.

Topics discussed in this section:

 Sine Wave
 Wavelength
 Time and Frequency Domain
 Composite Signals
 Bandwidth
 A Sine Wave
.
 Two Signals
Same phase and frequency, but
different amplitude
Period and Frequency
Periodrefers to the amount of time,
in seconds, a signal needs to
complete 1 cycle.
(Denoted by T, measured in
seconds.)
Frequency refers to the number of
periods in one second.
(Denoted by f, measured in Hertz
(Hz))

Frequency and period are the inverse

of each other.
Two Signals
Same amplitude and phase, but
different frequencies
 Units of Period and
.
Frequency
Example (1)
The power we use at home has a
frequency of 50 Hz. The period of this
sine wave can be determined as
follows:
Example (2)
The period of a signal is 100 ms.
What is its frequency in kilohertz?

Solution:

First, we change 100 ms to seconds,

and then we calculate the frequency
from the period (1 Hz = 10−3 kHz)
More about Frequency
Frequency is the rate
of change with respect to time.
Change in a short span of time
means high frequency.
Change over a long span of time
means low frequency.
If a signal does not change at all,
its frequency is zero.
If a signal changes
instantaneously, its frequency is
infinite.
Phase
Phase describes the position of the waveform
relative to time 0.
Following figure shows the Same amplitude
and frequency, but different phases.
Example
A sine wave is offset 1/6 cycle with respect to
time 0. What is its phase in degrees and
radians?

Solution:
We know that 1 complete cycle is
360°.
Therefore, 1/6 cycle is
Wavelength and Period
Wavelength is another characteristic of a
signal traveling through a transmission
medium
The wavelength depends on both the
frequency and the medium.
The wavelength is the distance a signal can
travel in one period.
The Time-Domain and
Frequency-Domain Plots of
a Sine Wave

A complete sine wave in the time domain can

be represented by one single spike in the
frequency domain.
Example
The frequency domain is more compact and
useful when we are dealing with more than
one sine wave. For example, Figure 3.8 shows
three sine waves, each with different
amplitude and frequency. All can be
represented by three spikes in the frequency
domain.
Composite Signal
A single-frequency sine wave is not useful in
data communications; we need to send a
composite signal, a signal made of many
simple sine waves.
The figure shows a periodic composite signal
with frequency f. This type of signal is not
typical of those found in data communications.
We can consider it to be three alarm systems,
each with a different frequency. The analysis
of this signal can give us a good
understanding of how to decompose signals
Decomposition of a Composite Periodic
Signal in the Time and Frequency Domain
.
Example
Following figure shows a nonperiodic
composite signal. It can be the signal created
by a microphone or a telephone set when a
word or two is pronounced. In this case, the
composite signal cannot be periodic, because
that implies that we are repeating the same
word or words with exactly the same tone.
Bandwidth
The bandwidth of a composite signal is the
difference between the highest and the lowest
frequencies contained in that signal.
Example (1)
If a periodic signal is decomposed into five sine
waves with frequencies of 100, 300, 500, 700,
and 900Hz, what is its bandwidth? Draw the
spectrum, assuming all components have a
maximum amplitude of 10 V.
Solution:
Let f(h) be the highest frequency, f(l) the
lowest frequency, and B the bandwidth. Then

The spectrum has only five spikes, at 100, 300,

500, 700, and 900 Hz
Example (2)
A periodic signal has a bandwidth of 20 Hz. The
highest frequency is 60 Hz. What is the lowest
frequency? Draw the spectrum if the signal
contains all frequencies of the same amplitude.
Solution:
Let f(h) be the highest frequency, f(l) the
lowest frequency, and B the bandwidth. Then

The spectrum contains all integer frequencies.

We show this by a series of spikes
Example (3)
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. Figure 3.15 shows the
frequency domain and the bandwidth.
Digital Signal
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.
Topics discussed in this section:
 Bit Rate
 Bit Length
 Digital Signal as a Composite Analog Signal
 Application Layer
Two Digital Signal
One with two signal levels and the other
with four signal levels
Example (1)
A digital signal has eight levels. How
many bits are needed per level?
Solution:
We calculate the number of bits from
the formula log2n

Each signal level is represented by 3

bits.
Example (2) Signal Level vs
Bits
A digital signal has nine levels. How
many bits are needed per level?
Solution:
We calculate the number of bits by
using the formula log2n, i.e. log29=3.17
So each signal level is represented by
3.17 bits. However, this answer is not
realistic. The number of bits sent per
level needs to be an integer as well as
a power of 2. For this example, 4 bits
can represent one level.
Bit Rate and Bit Interval
• Most digital signals are
aperiodic, so the period or
frequency are not appropriate.
• Bit interval (instead of period)
and bit rate (instead of frequency) are
used to describe digital signals.
• Bit interval is the time required to send
one single bit
• Bit rate is the number of bit intervals
per second
• Usually expressed as bits per
second (bps)
Example (3) Bit Rate for Text
Assume we need to download text
documents at the rate of 100 pages per
minute. What is the required bit rate of
the channel?
Solution:
A page is an average of 24 lines with 80
characters in each line. If we assume
that one character requires 8 bits, the
bit rate is
Example (4) Bit Rate for
Audio
A digitized voice channel, is made by
digitizing a 4-kHz bandwidth analog
voice signal. We need to sample the
signal at twice the highest frequency
(two samples per hertz). We assume
that each sample requires 8 bits. What is
the required bit rate?
Solution:
The bit rate can be calculated as
 Example (5) Bit Rate for
Video
What is the bit rate for high-definition
TV(HDTV)?
Solution:
HDTV uses digital signals to broadcast high
quality video signals. The HDTV screen is
normally a ratio of 16 : 9. There are 1920 by
1080 pixels per screen, and the screen is
renewed 30 times per second. Twenty-four
bits represents one color pixel.

The TV stations reduce this rate to 20 to 40

Mbps through compression.
End of Chapter
.