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Commercial FM broadcast band has been assigned the 88-MHz to 108MHz band.
Extremely low frequencies. Extremely low frequencies (ELFs) are
signals in the 30-Hz to 300-Hz range and include ac power distribution
signals (60 Hz) and low-frequency telemetry signals.
Voice frequencies. Voice frequencies (VFs) are signals in the 300-Hz to
3000-Hz range and include frequencies generally associated with human
speech. Standard telephone channels have a 300-Hz to 3000-Hz
bandwidth and are often called voice-frequency or voice-band channels.
Very low frequencies. Very low frequencies (VLFs) are signals in the 3kHz to 30-kHz range, which include the upper end of the human hearing
range. VLFs are used for some specialized government and military
system, such as submarine communications.
Low frequencies. Low frequencies (LFs) are signals in the 30-kHz to
300-kHz range and are used primarily for marine and aeronautical
navigation.
Medium frequencies. Medium frequencies (MFs) are signals in the 300kHz to 3-MHz range and are used primarily for commercial AM radio
broadcasting (535 kHz to 1605 kHz).
High frequencies. High frequencies (HFs) are signals in the 3-MHz to
30-MHz range and are often referred to as short waves. Most two-way
radio communications use this range.
Very high frequencies. Very high frequencies (VHFs) are signals in the
30-MHz to 300-MHz range and are used for mobile radio, marine and
aeronautical communications, commercial FM broadcasting (88 MHz to
108 MHz), and commercial television broadcasting of channels 2 to 13
(54 MHz to 216 MHz).
Ultrahigh frequencies. Ultrahigh frequencies (UHFs) are signals in the
300-MHz to 3-GHz range and are used by commercial television
broadcasting of channels 14 to 83, land mobile communications services,
cellular telephones, certain radar and navigation systems, and microwave
and satellite radio system.
Superhigh frequencies. Superhigh frequencies (SHFs) are signals in
the 3-GHz to 30-GHz range and include the majority of the frequencies
used for microwave and satellite radio communication systems.
Solar noise is generated directly from the suns heat. There are two parts
to solar noise: a quiet condition, when a relatively constant radiation
intensity exists, and high intensity, sporadic disturbances caused by
sunspot activity and solar flare-ups
The most basic digital symbol used to represent information is the binary
digit or bit.
Any modification to a stream of carriers as they pass from the input to the
output of a device (such as from the emitter to the collector of a
transistor) produces an irregular, random variation categorized as
transit-time noise.
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The Wien-bridge oscillator is the circuit that Hewlett and Packard used in
their original signal generator design.
The lead-lag network and the resistive voltage divider make up a Wien
bridge. When the bridge is balanced, the difference voltage equals zero.
The ratio of the resistors in the voltage divider is 2:1, which sets the
noninverting voltage gain of amplifier.
The XR-2209 is ideally suited for frequency modulation, voltage-tofrequency conversion, and sweep or tone generation as well as for
phase-locked-loop applications when used in conjunction with an
appropriate phase comparator.
The phase-locked loop (PLL) is an extremely versatile circuit used
extensively in modern electronic communications systems for performing
a wide variety of functions, including modulation, demodulation, signal
processing, carrier and clock recovery, frequency generation, frequency
synthesis, and a wide variety of other electronic communications
applications.
In essence, a PLL is a closed-loop feedback control system in which
either the frequency or the phase of the feedback signal is the parameter
of interest rather than the magnitude of the signals voltage or current.
When there is no external input signal or when the feedback loop is open,
the VCO operates at a present frequency called its natural or freerunning frequency.
The natural frequency is the VCOs output frequency when the PLL is not
locked.
A PLL has three operating states: free running, capture, and lock.
The beat frequency is amplified and when applied to the input to the
voltage-controlled oscillator, where it changes the VCO output frequency
by an amount proportional to its polarity and amplitude.
Phase comparator is a frequency comparator until frequency acquisition
(zero beat) is achieved, then it becomes a phase comparator.
Capture range is defined as the band of frequencies centered around
the VCO natural frequency where the PLL can initially establish or
acquire frequency lock with an external input signal from an unlocked
condition.
Capture range is sometimes called acquisition range. Pull-in range is
the capture range expressed as a peak value.
The lowest frequency the PLL can lock onto is called the lower capture
limit, and the highest frequency the PLL can lock onto is called the
upper capture limit.
Lock range is defined as the band of frequencies centered on the VCOs
natural frequency over which a PLL can maintain frequency lock with an
external input signal. Lock range presumes that the PLL has initially
captured and locked onto the external input signal. Lock range is also
known as tracking range.
Lock range is the range of frequencies over which the PLL will
accurately track or follow the frequency of the external input signal after
frequency lock has occurred.
Hold-in range is the lock range expressed as a peak value.
A voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) is an oscillator with a stable
frequency of oscillation that depends on an external bias voltage.
A phase comparator, sometimes called a phase detector, is a nonlinear
device with two input signals: an external input frequency and the VCO
output signal.
The loop gain for a PLL is simply the product of the individual gains or
transfer functions around the loop.
The open-loop gain is the product of the phase comparator gain, the
low-pass filter gain, the amplifier gain, and the VCO gain.
The XR-215 is an ultrastable monolithic phase-locked-loop system
designed by EXAR Corporation for a wide variety of applications in both
analog and digital communications systems.
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The tuned radio-frequency (TRF) receiver was one of the earliest types
of AM receivers. TRF receivers are probably the simplest design radio
receiver available today.
When the local oscillator is tuned below the RF, it is called low-side
injection or low beat-injection.
The difference between the actual local oscillator frequency and the
desired frequency is called tracking error.
The ability of a coil to induce a voltage within its own winding is called
self-inductance or simply inductance (L).
The ability of one coil to induce a voltage in another coil is called mutual
inductance (M).
The transfer of flux from the primary and secondary windings is called
flux linkage and is directly proportional to the coefficient of coupling.
The closer the RF is to the IF, the closer the RF is the image frequency.
The most common and most serious form of selective fading is carrieramplitude fading. Reduction of the carrier level of a 100%-modulated
wave will make the carrier voltage less than the vector sum of the two
sidebands.
A two-frequency test signal is used for the modulating signal for which
the two tones have equal amplitudes.
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Digital Modulation
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The most common circuit used for demodulating binary FSK signals is
the phase-locked loop (PLL).
if both amplitude and the phase are varied proportional to the information
signal, quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) results.
Information theory is a highly theoretical study of the efficient use of
bandwidth to propagate information through electronic communication
systems.
Information capacity is a measure of how much information can be
propagated through a communications system and is a function of
bandwidth and transmission time.
Information capacity represents the number of independent symbols that
can be carried through a system in a given unit of time.
Bit rate is simply the number of bits transmitted during one second and is
expressed in bits per second (bps).
In 1928, R.Hartley of Bell Telephone Laboratories developed a useful
relationship among bandwidth, transmission time, and information
capacity.
In 1948, mathematician Claude E. Shannon published a paper in bell
system technical journal relating the information capacity of a
communication channel to bandwidth and signal to noise ratio. The higher
the signal-to-noise ratio, the better the performance and the higher the
information capacity.
M-ary is a term derived from the word binary. M simply represents a digit
that corresponds to the number of conditions, levels, or combinations
possible for a given number of binary variables.
Bit rate refers to the rate of change of a digital information signal, which
is usually binary.
Baud refers to the rate of change of a signal on the transmission medium
after encoding and modulation have occurred.
Baud is the reciprocal of the time of one output signaling element, and a
signaling element may represent several information bits.
Digital Transmission
The most common method used for sampling voice signals in PCM
systems is flattop sampling, which is accomplished in a sample-andhold circuit.
AT&T developed the first digital transmission system for the purpose of
carrying digitally encoded analog signals, such as the human voice, over
metallic wire cables between telephone offices.
Digital signals are also better suited than analog signals for processing
and combining using a technique called multiplexing.
Digital signal processing (DSP) is the processing of analog signals
using digital methods and includes bandlimiting the signal with filters,
amplitude equalization, and phase shifting.
Pulse modulation consists essentially of sampling analog information
signals and then converting those samples into discrete pulses and
transporting the pulses from a source to a destination over a physical
transmission medium.
The four predominant method of pulse modulation include pulse width
modulation (PWM), pulse position modulation (PPM), pulse
amplitude modulation (PAM), and pulse code modulation (PCM).
PWM is sometimes called pulse duration modulation (PDM) or pulse
length modulation (PLM), as the width of a constant amplitude pulse is
varied proportional to the amplitude of the analog signal at the time the
signal is sampled.
With PPM, the position of a constant-width pulse within a prescribed time
slot is varied according to the amplitude of the sample of the analog
signal.
With PAM, the amplitude of a constant width, constant-position pulse is
varied according to the amplitude of the sample of the analog signal.
With PCM, the analog is sampled and then converted to a serial n-bit
binary code for transmission.
PAM is used as an intermediate form of modulation with PSK, QAM, and
PCM, although it is seldom used by itself.
PWM and PPM are used in special-purpose communications systems
mainly for the military but are seldom used for commercial digital
transmission systems.
Alex H. Reeves is credited with inventing PCM in 1937 while working for
AT&T at its Paris laboratories.
PCM is the preferred method of communications within the public
switched telephone network because with PCM it is easy to combine
digitized voice and digital data into a single, high-speed digital signal and
propagate it over either metallic or optical fiber cables.
Sample and Hold circuit periodically samples the analog input signal and
converts those samples to a multilevel PAM signal.
Dynamic range (DR) is the ratio of the largest possible magnitude to the
smallest possible magnitude that can be decoded by the digital-to-analog
converter in the receiver.
Line speed is simply the data rate at which serial PCM bits are clocked
out of the PCM encoder onto the transmission line.
During times when where is no analog input signal, the only input to the
PAM sampler is random, thermal noise. This noise is called idle channel
noise and is converted to a PAM sample just as if it were a signal.
The slope of the analog signal is greater than the delta modulator can
maintain and is called slope overload.
Granular noise - the reconstructed signal has variations that were not
present in the original signal.
Granular noise is more prevalent in analog signals that have gradual
slopes and whose amplitudes vary only a small amount. Slope overload
is more prevalent in analog signals that have steep slopes or whose
amplitudes vary rapidly.
Adaptive delta modulation is a delta modulation system where the step
size of the DAC is automatically varied, depending on the amplitude
characteristics of the analog input signal.
The secondary lobes are called ringing tails.
Special filters called equalizers are that are inserted in the transmission
path to equalize the distortion for all frequency.
Timing inaccuracies. In digital transmission systems, transmitter timing
inaccuracies cause intersymbol interference if the rate of transmission
does not conform to the ringing frequency design into the
communications channel.
Insufficient bandwidth. Timing errors are less likely to occur if the
transmission rate is well below the channel bandwidth.
Amplitude distortion. Filters are place in a communications channel to
bandlimit signals and reduce or eliminate predicted noise and
interference.
Phase distortion. A pulse is simply the superposition of a series of
harmonically related sine waves with specific amplitude and phase
relationship.
Eye pattern or eye diagram - is a convenient technique for determining
the effects of the degradations introduced into the pulses as they travel to
regenerator.
Data transition jittter - the overlapping signal pattern does not cross the
horizontal zero line at exact integer multiples of the symbol clock.
The duty cycle of a binary pulse can be used to categorize the type of
transmission. If the binary pulse is maintained for the entire bit time, this
is called nonreturn to zero (NRZ).
If the active time of the binary pulse is less than 100% of the bit time, this
is called return to zero (RZ).
With alternate mark inversion (AMI) transmissions, successive logic 1s
are inverted in polarity from the previous logic 1. Because return to zero
is used, the encoding technique is called bipolar-return-to-zero
alternate mark inversion (BPRZ-AMI)
With NRZ encoding, a long string of either logic 1s or logic 0s produces a
condition in which a receive may lose its amplitude reference for optimum
discrimination between received 1s and 0s. This is called dc wandering.
Digital biphase (sometimes called the Manchester code or diphase) is
a popular type of line encoding that produces a strong timing component
for clock recovery and does not cause dc wandering.
Biphase M is used for encoding SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and
Television Engineers) time-code data for recording on videotapes.
Dicodes are multilevel binary codes that use more than two voltage
levels to represent the data.
The system does not become a T1 carrier until it is line encoded and
placed on special conditioned cables called T1 lines.
Early T1 carrier systems used D1 digital channel banks (PCM encoders
and decoders) with a seven-bit magnitude-only PCM code, analog
companding, and u = 100.
Another framing format recently developed for new designs of T1 carrier
systems is the extended superframe format. The extended superframe
format consists of 24 193-bit frames, totaling 4632 bits, of which 24 are
framing bits.
Six additional framing bits in frames 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, and 21 are used for
error detection code called CRC-6 (cyclic redundancy checking).
A data service unit/channel service unit (DSU/CSU) is a digital
interface that provides the physical connection to a digital carrier network.
To upgrade from one level in the hierarchy to the next higher level, a
special device called muldem (multiplexers/demultiplexers) is
required. Muldems can handle bit-rate conversions in both directions.
Digital signals are routed at central locations called digital crossconnects. A digital cross-connect (DSX) provides a convenient place to
make patchable interconnects and perform routine maintenance and
troubleshooting.
Essentially, picturephone is a low-quality video transmission for use
between nondedicated subscribers.
There are two types of mastergroups: L600 and U600 types. The L600
mastergroup is used for low-capacity microwave systems, and the U600
mastergroup may be further multiplexed and used for higher-capacity
microwave radio systems.
Guard bands - a void band of frequency that is not included within any
sipergroup band.
A radio channel comprises either a single L600 mastergroup or up to
three U600 mastergroups.
A dichroic filter is a mirror with a surface that has been coated with a
material that permits light of only one wavelength to pass through while
reflecting all other wavelengths.
In the fixed-data-rate mode, data are input and output for a single
channel in short bursts. (This mode of operation is sometimes called the
burst mode.)
The variable-data rate mode allows for a flexible data input and output
clock frequency.
With frequency-division multiplexing (FDM), multiple sources that
originally occupied the same frequency spectrum are each converted to a
different frequency band and transmitted simultaneously over a single
transmission medium, which can be physical cable or the Earths
atmosphere.
The message channel is the basic building block of the FDM hierarchy.
A group is the next higher level in the FDM hierarchy above the basic
message channel and, consequently, is the first multiplexing step for
combining message channels.
The next higher level in the FDM hierarchy is the supergroup, which is
formed by frequency-division multiplexing five groups containing 12
channels each for a combined bandwidth of 240 kHz.
The next highest level of multiplexing is the mastergroup, which is
formed by frequency-division multiplexing 10 supergroups together for a
combined capacity of 600 voice-band message channels occupying a
bandwidth of 2.4 MHz.
Mastergroup can be further multiplexed in mastergroup banks to form
jumbogroups (3600 VB channels), multijumbogroups (7200 VB
channels), and superjumbogroups (10,800 VB channels).
Baseband describes the modulating signal (intelligence) in the
communication system.
Open-wire transmission lines are two-wire parallel conductors. Openwire transmission lines consist simply of two parallel wires closely spaced
and separated by air.
The primary use of open-wire transmission lines is in standard voicegrade telephone applications.
Twin lead is another form of two-wire parallel-conductor transmission
line.
Twin lead is essentially the same as open wire transmission line except
that the spacers between the two conductors are replaced with a
continuous solid dielectric that ensures uniform spacing along the entire
cable.
A twisted-pair transmission line is form by twisting two insulated
conductors with each other.
Sound waves travel at approximately 1100 feet per second in the normal
atmosphere.
The minimum number of twists for UTP cable is two per foot.
Currents that flow in the same direction are called longitudinal currents.
that is placed across the primary line as close to the load as possible.
With stub matching, either a shorted or an open stub can be used.
Shorted stubs are preferred because open stubs have a tendency to
radiate, especially at the higher frequency.
A technique that can be used to locate impairment in a metallic cable is
called time-domain reflectometry (TDR).
Echo - the return signal.
Microstrip is simply a flat conductor separated from a ground plane by
an insulating dielectric material.
Stripline is simply a flat conductor sandwiched between two ground
planes.
Interfacing costs.
Strength.
Remote electrical power.
Optical fiber cables are more susceptible to losses introduced
by bending the cable.
Specialized tools, equipment, and training.
Infrared. The band of light frequencies that is too high to be seen by the
human eye with wavelengths ranging between 770 nm and 10^6 nm.
Visible. The band of light frequencies to which the human eye will
respond with wavelengths ranging between 390 nm and 770 nm.
Ultraviolet. The band of light frequencies that are too low to be seen by
the human eye with wavelengths ranging between 10 nm and 390 nm.
The light source is either an infrared light-emitting diode (LED) or an
injection laser diode (ILD).
The light detector is generally a PIN (p-type-intrinsic-n-type) diode, and
APD (avalanche photodiode), or a phototransistor.
Plastic fiber are more flexible and, consequently, more rugged than
glass.
A phenomenon called stress corrosion or static fatigue can result if the
glass fiber is exposed to long periods of high humidity.
Photometry is the science of measuring only light waves that are visible
to the human eye. Radiometry, on the other hand, measures light
throughout the entire electromagnetic spectrum.
Optical power is sometimes called radiant flux, which is equivalent to
joules per second and is the same power that is measured electrically or
thermally in watts.
Photons are particles that travel at the speed of light but at rest have no
mass.
Epitaxially grown LEDs are generally constructed of silicon-doped
gallium-aresenide
Heterojunction LEDs are made from a p-type semiconductor material of
one set of atoms and an n-type semiconductor material from another set.
With heterojunction devices, light is emitted from the edge of the material
and are therefore often called edge emitters.
Burrus and Dawson of Bell Laboratories developed the etched-well
LED.
The mirrorlike ends trap the photons in the active region and, as they
reflect back and forth, stimulate free electrons to recombine with holes at
a higher-than-normal energy level. This process is called lasing.
A PIN diode is a depletion-layer photodiode and is probably the most
common device used as a light detector in fiber-optic communications
systems.
The energy gap for silicon is 1.12 eV.
An APD is a pipn structure.
APDs are more sensitive than PIN diodes and require less additional
amplification. The disadvantages of APDs are relatively long transit times
and additional internally generated noise due to the avalanche
multiplication factor.
Responsivity. A measure of the conversion efficiency of the
photodetector. It is the ratio of the output current of the photodiode to the
input optical power and has the unit of amperes per watt.
Dark current. The leakage current that flows through a photodiode with
no light input. Thermally generated carriers in the diode cause dark
current.
Transit time. The time it takes a light-induced carrier to travel across the
depletion region of a semiconductor.
Spectral response. The range of wavelength values that a given
photodiode will respond.
Light sensitivity. The minimum optical power a light detector can receive
and still produce a usable electrical output signal.
Laser is an acronym for light amplification stimulated by the emission of
radiation.
Uranium lasers were developed in 1960 along with other rare-earth
materials. Also in 1960, A. Javin of Bell Laboratories developed the
helium laser. Semiconductor lasers (injection laser diodes) were
manufactured in 1962 by General Electric, IBM, and Lincoln Laboratories.
Gas lasers. Gas lasers use a mixture of helium and neon enclosed in a
glass tube.
Liquid lasers. Liquid lasers use organic dyes enclosed in a glass tube
for an active medium.
Soild lasers. Solid lasers use a solid, cylindrical crystal, such as ruby, for
the active medium.
Semiconductor lasers. Semiconductor lasers are made
semiconductor p-n junctions and are commonly called ILDs.
from
The rate at which energy passes through a given surface area in free
space is called power density. Therefore, power density is energy per
unit time per unit of area and is usually given in watts per square meter.
The ratio of the reflected to the incident voltage intensities is called the
reflection coefficient.
The portion of the total incident power that is not reflected is called the
power transmission coefficient or simply the transmission
coefficients.
Reflection also occurs when the reflective surface is irregular or rough;
however, such a surface may destroy the shape of the wavefront.
When an incident wavefront strikes an irregular surface, it is randomly
scattered in many directions. Such a condition is called diffuse refection,
whereas reflection from a perfectly smooth surface is called specular
(mirrorlike) reflection.
Surfaces that fall between smooth and irregular are called semirough
surface.
The Rayleigh criterion states that a semi rough surface will reflect as if it
were a smooth surface whenever the cosine of the angle of incidence is
greater than ^/8d, where d is the depth of the surface irregularity and ^ is
the wavelength of the incident wave.
Electromagnetic waves that are directed above the horizon level are
called sky waves. Typically, sky waves are radiated in a direction that
produces a relatively large angle with reference to Earth.
Sky wave propagation is sometimes called ionospheric propagation.
The ionosphere is the region of space located approximately 50 km to
400 km (30 mi to 250 mi) above Earths surface.
Reducing the dielectric constant increases the velocity of propagation
and causes electromagnetic waves to bend away from the regions of high
electron density toward regions of low electron density.
The higher the ion density, the more refraction.
The D layer is the lowest layer of the ionosphere and is located
approximately between 30 miles and 60 miles (50 km to 100 km) above
Earths surface.
The amount of ionization in the D layer depends on the altitude of the sun
above the horizon. Therefore, it disappears at night.
The D layer reflects VLF and LF waves and absorbs MF and HF waves.
Broadside array radiates at right angles to the plane of the array and
radiates very little in the direction of the plane.
With a helical antenna, there are two modes of propagation: normal and
axial. In the normal mode, electromagnetic radiation is in a direction at
right angles to the axis of the helix. In the axial mode, radiation is in the
axial direction and produces a broadband, relatively directional pattern.
Antennas used for UHF (0.3 GHz to 3 GHz) and microwave (1 GHz to
100 GHz) must be highly directive.
A ridged waveguide has more loss per unit length than a rectangular
waveguide.
Center feed, the primary antenna is placed at the focus. Energy radiated
toward the reflector is reflected outward in a concentrated beam.
Horn feed, the primary antenna is a small horn antenna rather than a
simple dipole or dipole array.
The horn is simply a flared piece of waveguide material that is placed at
the focus and radiates a somewhat directional pattern toward the
parabolic reflector.
When a propagating electromagnetic field reaches the mouth of the horn,
it continues to propagate in the same general direction, except that, in
accordance with Huygenss principle, it spreads latterly, and the
wavefront eventually becomes spherical.
The Cassegrain feed is named after an 18th-century astronomer and
evolved directly from astronomical optical telescopes.
The Cassegrain feed is commonly used for receiving extremely weak
signals or when extremely long transmission lines or waveguide runs are
required and it is necessary to place low-noise preamplifiers as close to
the antenna as possible.
A conical horn antenna consists of a cone that is truncated in a piece of
circular waveguide.
A waveguide is a hollow conductive tube, usually rectangular in cross
section but sometimes circular or elliptical. A waveguide does not conduct
current in the true sense but rather serves as a boundary that confines
electromagnetic energy. The walls of the waveguide are conductors and,
therefore, reflect electromagnetic energy from their surface.
Rectangular waveguides are the most common form of waveguide.
Group velocity is the velocity at which a wave propagates, and phase
velocity is the velocity at which the wave changes phase.
Phase velocity is the apparent velocity of a particular phase of the wave.
Phase velocity is the velocity with which a wave changes phase in a
direction parallel to a conducting surface, such as the walls of a
waveguide.
Group velocity is the velocity of a group of waves. Group velocity is the
velocity at which information signals of any kind are propagated. It is also
the velocity at which energy is propagated.
The cutoff frequency is an absolute limiting frequency; frequencies
above the cutoff frequency will not be propagated by the waveguide.
Conversely, waveguides have a maximum wavelength that they can
propagate, called the cutoff wavelength.
The cutoff wavelength is defined as the smallest free-space wavelength
that is just unable to propagate in the waveguide. In other words, only
frequencies with wavelengths less than the cutoff wavelength can
propagate down the waveguide.
Electromagnetic waves travel down a
configurations called propagation modes.
waveguide
in
different
Alerting signals indicate a request for service, such as going off hook or
ringing the destination telephone.
The ring-back signal is sent back to the calling party at the same time the
ringing signal is sent to the called party.
The ring-back signal is an audible combination of two tones at 440 Hz
and 480 Hz that are on for 2 seconds and then off for 4 seconds.
Cordless telephones are simply telephones that operate without cords
attached to the handset. Cordless telephones originated around 1980
and were quite primitive by todays standards.
Caller ID (identification) is a service originally envisioned by AT&T in the
early 1970s, although local telephone companies have only recently
offered it. Caller ID enables the destination station of a telephone call to
display the name and telephone number of the calling party before the
telephone is answered.
Paging system are simplex wireless communications system designed
to alert subscriber of awaiting messages.
The most recent paging protocol, FLEX, was developed in the 1990s.
FLEX is designed to minimize power consumption in the portable pager
by using a synchronous time-slotted protocol to transmit messages in
precise time slots.
dBrn is the dB level of noise with respect to reference noise ( -90 dBm).
The local subscriber loop is the only facility required by all voice-band
circuits, as it is the means by which subscriber locations are connected to
the local telephone company.
dBrn 3-kHz flat noise measurements are noise readings taken with a
filter that has a flat frequency response from 30 Hz to 3 kHz.
dBrncO is the amount of noise in dBrnc corrected to a 0 TLP.
Feeder cable (F1). The largest cable used in a local loop, usually 3600
pair of copper wire placed underground or in conduit.
Serving area interface (SAI). A cross-connect point used to distribute
the largest feeder cable into smaller distribution cables.
Distribution cable (F2). A smaller version of a feeder cable containing
less wire pairs.
Subscriber or standard network interface (SNI). A device that serves
as the demarcation point between local telephone company responsibility
and subscriber responsibility for telephone service.
Aerial. That portion of the local loop that is strung between poles.
Drop wire. The final length of cable pair that terminates at the SNI.
The lower the wire gauge, the larger the diameter, the less resistance,
and the lower the attenuation.
The absolute phase delay is the actual time required for a particular
frequency to propagate from a source to a destination through a
communication channel. The difference between the absolute delays of
all the frequencies is phase distortion.
Two-wire circuits require less wire, less circuitry and, thus less money
than their four-wire counterparts.
When a two-wire circuit is connected to a four-wire circuit, as in a longdistance telephone call, and interface circuit called a hybrid, or
terminating, set is used to affect the interface. The hybrid set is used to
match impedances and to provide isolation between the two directions of
signal flow.
The first general-purpose computer was an automatic sequencecontrolled calculator developed jointly by Harvard University and
International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation.
Servers are computers that hold shared files, programs, and the network
operating system.
File servers allow users to access and manipulate disk resources stored
on other computers.
Clients are computers that access and use the network and shared
network resources.
Transmission media are the facilities used to interconnect computers in
a network, such as twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable, and optical fiber
cable.
A local operating system (LOS) allows personal computers to access
files, print to a local printer, and have and use one or more disk and CD
drives that are located on the computer.
A lost message is one that never arrives at the destination or one that
arrives but is damaged to the extent that it is unrecognizable.
A damaged message is one that is recognized at the destination but
contains one or more transmission errors.
Error-detecting codes include enough redundant information with each
transmitted message to enable the receiver to determine when an error
has occurred.
Error-correcting codes include sufficient extraneous information along
with each message to enable the receiver to determine when an error
has occurred and which bit is in error.
Retransmission, as the name implies, is when a receive station requests
the transmit station to resend a message (or a portion of a message)
when the message is received in error.
Discrete ARQ uses acknowledgements to indicate the successful or
unsuccessful reception of data.
Continuous ARQ allows the destination station to asynchronously
request the retransmission of a specific frame (or frames) of data and still
be able to reconstruct the entire message once all frames have been
successfully transported through the system.
Forward error correction (FEC) is the only error-correction scheme that
actually detects and corrects transmission errors when they are received
without requiring a retransmission.
The Hamming code is an error-correcting code used for correcting
transmission errors in synchronous data streams.
Hamming bits (sometimes called error bits) are inserted into a
character at random locations.
Character synchronization involves identifying the beginning and end of a
character within a message.
Asynchronous data transmission is sometimes called start-stop
transmission because each data character is framed between start and
stop bits.
Synchronous data generally involves transporting serial data at relatively
high speeds in groups of characters called blocks or frames.
Data terminal equipments (DTE) can be virtually any binary digital
device that generates, transmits, receives, or interprets data messages.
Data communications equipment (DCE) is a general term used to
describe equipment that interfaces data terminal equipment to a
transmission channel, such as digital T1 carrier or an analog telephone
circuit.
UART is used for asynchronous transmission of serial data between a
DTE and a DCE.
A universal synchronous receiver/transmitter (USRT) is used for
synchronous transmission of data between a DTE and a DCE.
Asynchronous modems can be generally classified as low-speed voiceband modems, as they are typically used to transport asynchronous data
The 103 modem is capable of full-duplex operation over a two-wire
telephone line at bit rates up to 300 bps.
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At frequencies below 1.5 MHz, the surface wave provides the primary
coverage, and the sky wave helps extend this coverage at night when the
absorption of the ionosphere is at a minimum.
All points from which a wave could be reflected with an additional path
length of one-half wavelength form an ellipse that defines the first Fresnel
zone.
The baseband frequencies are generally less than 9 MHz, whereas the
IF frequencies are in the range 60 MHz to 80 MHz.
In a microwave system, the purpose of using diversity is to increase the
reliability of the system by increasing its availability.
Frequency diversity is simply modulating two different RF carrier
frequencies with the same IF intelligence, then transmitting both RF
signals to a given destination. At the destination, both carriers are
demodulated, and the one that yields the better-quality IF signal is
selected.
With space diversity, the output of a transmitter is fed to two or more
antennas that are physically separated by an appreciable number of
wavelengths.
With polarization diversity, a single RF carrier is propagated with two
different electromagnetic polarizations (vertical and horizontal).
Receiver diversity is using more the one receiver for a single radiofrequency channel.
Quad diversity is another form of hybrid diversity and undoubtedly
provides the most reliable transmission; however, it is also the most
expensive. It combines frequency, space, polarization, and receiver
diversity into one system.
The moon became the first passive satellite in 1954, when the U.S. Navy
successfully transmitted the first message over this Earth-to-moon-toEarth communications system.
Keplers first law states that a satellite will orbit a primary body (like
Earth) following an elliptical path.
Satellite Communications
Keplers second law, enunciated with the first law in 1609, is known as
the law of areas. Keplers second law states that for equal intervals of
time a satellite will sweep out equal areas in the orbital plane, focused at
the barycenter.
The velocity will be greatest at the point of closest approach to Earth
(known as the perigee), and the velocity will be least at the farthest point
from Earth (known as the apogee).
Keplers third law, announced in 1619, is sometimes known as the
harmonic law. The third law states that the square of the periodic time of
orbit is proportional to the cube of the mean distance between the
primary and the satellite.
Nonsynchronous satellites rotate around Earth in an elliptical or circular
pattern.
If the satellite is orbiting in the same direction as Earths rotation
(counterclockwise) and at an angular velocity greater than that of Earth,
the orbit is called a prograde or posigrade orbit.
If the satellite is orbiting in the opposite direction as Earths rotation or in
the same direction with the angular velocity less than that of Earth, the
orbit is called a retrograde orbit.
Most nonsynchronous satellites revolve around Earth in a prograde orbit.
Most low earth orbit (LEO) satellites operate in the 1.0-GHz to 2.5-GHz
frequency range. Motorolas satellite-based mobile-telephone system,
Iridium, is a LEO system utilizing a 66-satellite constellation orbiting
approximately 480 miles above Earths surface.
MEO satellites operate in the 1.2-GHz to 1.66-GHz frequency band and
orbit between 6000 miles and 12,000 miles above Earth.
NAVSTAR, is a MEO system with a constellation of 21 working satellites
and six spares orbiting approximately 9500 miles above Earth.
Geosynchronous satellites are high-altitude earth-orbit satellites
operating primarily in the 2-GHz to 18-GHz frequency spectrum with
orbits 22,300 miles above Earths surface.
The Syncom 3 satellite was used to broadcast the 1964 Olympic Games
from Tokyo.
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The former Soviet Union launched the first set of domestic satellites
(Domsats) in 1966 and called them Molniya, meaning lightning.
Domsat are satellites that are owned, operated, and used by a single
country.
In 1972, Canada launched its first commercial satellite designated Anik,
which is an Inuit word meaning little brother.
All satellites rotate around Earth in an orbit that forms a plane that passes
through the center of gravity of Earth called the geocenter.
Inclined orbits are virtually all orbits except those that travel directly
above the equator or directly over the North and South Poles.
An equatorial orbit is when the satellite rotates in an orbit directly above
the equator, usually in a circular path. All geosynchronous satellites are in
equatorial orbits.
A polar orbit is when the satellite rotates in a path that takes it over the
North and South Poles in an orbit perpendicular to the equatorial plane.
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Molniya is an
interesting orbital satellite currently in use. Molniya can also be spelled
Molnya and Molnia, which means lightning in Russian (in colloquial
Russian, Molniya means news flash). Molniya satellites are used for
government communications, telephone, television, and video.
One sidereal day for Earth is 23 hours and 56 minutes. A sidereal day is
sometimes called the period or sidereal period.
Satellites remain in orbit as a result of a balance between centrifugal and
gravitational forces.
The process of maneuvering a satellite within a preassigned window is
called station keeping.
A geosynchronous earth orbit is sometimes referred to as the Clarke
orbit or Clarke belt, after Arthur C. Clarke, who first suggested its
existence in 1945 and proposed its use for communications satellites.
Angle of elevation (sometimes called elevation angle) is the vertical
angle formed between the direction of travel of an electromagnetic wave
radiated from an earth station antenna pointing directly toward a satellite
and horizontal plane.
Azimuth is the horizontal angular distance from a reference direction,
either the southern or northern most point of the horizon.
Azimuth angle is defined as the horizontal pointing angle of an earth
station antenna.
A spinner satellite uses the angular momentum of its spinning body to
provide roll and yaw stabilization.
Three-axis stabilizer, the body remains fixed relative to Earths surface,
while an internal subsystem provides roll and yaw stabilization.
The geographical representation of a satellite antennas radiation pattern
is called a footprint or sometimes a footprint map. In essence, a
footprint of a satellite is the area on Earths surface that the satellite can
receive from or transmit to.
Spot beams concentrate their power to very small geographical areas
and, therefore, typically have proportionately higher EIRPs than those
targeting much larger areas because a given output power can be more
concentrated. Spot and zonal beams blanket less than 10% of the Earths
surface.
Hemispherical downlink antennas typically target up to 20% of the Earths
surface and, therefore, have EIRPs that are 3 dB or 50% lower than
those transmitted by spot beams that typically cover only 10% of the
Earths surface.
The wideband carrier power is the combined power of the carrier and
its associated sidebands.
Gain-to-equivalent noise temperature ratio is a figure of merit used to
represent the quality of a satellite or earth station receiver.
If half the bits within a code were made the same and half were made
exactly the opposite, the resultant would be zero cross correlation
between chip code. Such a code is called an orthogonal code.
Direct-sequence spread spectrum (DS-SS) is produced when a bipolar
data-modulated signal is linearly multiplied by the spreading signal in a
special balanced modulator called spreading correlator.
The most significant advantage of CDMA is immunity to interference
(jamming), which makes CDMA ideally suited for military applications.