CHAPTER 3

Data and Signals

Analog data
Takes on continuous values. Ex. Voice or video

Digital data
Takes on discrete values. Ex. Text and integers

Analog Signal
Continuously varying electromagnetic wave representing data carried over a variety of medium

Digital Signal
Sequence of voltage data transmitted over a wire mediumpulses representing

Signals
S A n a lo g i g DS n a i g ls n t aa l S i

Analog Signal
Has infinitely many levels of intensity over a period of time. Continuously varying electromagnetic wave representing data carried over a variety of medium

Digital Signal
Can have only a limited number of defined values, often as simple as 1 and 0. Sequence of voltage data transmitted over a wire medium pulses representing

Comparison of analog and digital signals

Examples
Analog to analog
Voice (Analog Data) Telephone Analog Signal

Digital to analog
PC ( Digital Data) Modem Analog Signal

Analog to digital
Voice ( Analog Data) CODEC Digital Signal

Digital to Digital
PC ( Digital Data) Digital Transmitter Digital Signal

Periodic and Aperiodic Signals

A periodic signal completes a pattern within a measurable time frame called a period. An aperiodic signal changes without exhibiting a pattern or cycle that repeats over time. The completion of one full pattern is called cycle. In data communication, we commonly use periodic analog signals and a periodic digital signals.

Classification of Analog Signals

A S i m n a p l o lC e o g m S p ig o n a s i

Classification of Analog Signals

Analog signals can be classified as follows: 1) Simple. 2) Composite. A simple analog signal i.e. a sine wave cannot be decomposed into simpler signals. A composite analog signal is composed of multiple sine waves.

Sine Wave
Sine wave is a simple oscillating curve Its change over the course of a cycle is smooth and consistent, a continuous rolling flow.

Mathematical Description of Sine Wave

We can mathematically describe a sine wave as: s(t) = A sin (2ft + ) where, s = instantaneous amplitude. A = peak amplitude. f = frequency. = phase. These three characteristics fully describe a sine wave.

Peak Amplitude
The peak amplitude of a signal represents the absolute value of its highest intensity, proportional to the energy it carries.

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.

Frequency

Phase
The term phase describes the position of the waveform relative to time zero. It is measured in degrees and radians. A phase shift of 360 degrees corresponds to a shift of a complete period. A phase shift of 180 degrees corresponds to a shift of one-half of a period. A phase shift of 90 degrees corresponds to shift of one-quarter of a period.

Phase

Difference Between Period and Frequency

Period Frequency Period : refers to the Frequency : refers to amount of time,in the number of periods in seconds, a signal needs one second. to complete one cycle. Period is the inverse of Frequency is inverse of frequency. T = 1/f period. f = 1/T Period is expressed in seconds. Frequency is expressed in hertz (Hz).

Period and Frequency

Period and Frequency Units

Period Frequency

Example

The power we use at home has a frequency of 60 Hz. The period of this sine wave can be determined as follows:

Example
Express a period of 100 ms in microseconds. Solution 1 ms (1 ms is 103 s) and 1 s (1 s is 106 s).

Example
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 = 103 kHz).

Three sine waves with 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

Some More Problems

1) A sine wave completes one cycle in 4 sec. What is its frequency? 2) A sine wave completes one cycle in 25us. What is its frequency?

Wavelength and period

Time and Frequency Domains

Time Domains In time domain sine wave is comprehensively defined by its amplitude, frequency and phase. Frequency Domains In frequency domain we can show two characteristics of a signal with only one spike.

The time domain plot The position is the shows changes in signal frequency and the height is amplitude with respect to the peak amplitude. time.

A complete sine wave in the time domain can be represented by one single spike in the frequency domain

Composite Signals
A composite signal is made of many simple sine waves. A mere change in the amplitude, frequency or phase creates a new set of frequencies. A single frequency sine wave is not useful in data communications; we need to change one or more of its characteristics to make it useful. When we change one or more characteristics of a single frequency signal, it becomes a composite signal made of many frequencies.

Fourier Analysis
Composite signal is a sum of a set of sine waves of different frequencies, phases and amplitudes.
s(t) = A1 sin(2f1t + 1) + A2 sin(2f2t + 2) + A3 sin(2f3t + 3) +

Frequency Spectrum
The description of a signal using the frequency domain and containing all its components is called the Frequency Spectrum of that signal.

Example
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.

A composite periodic signal

Decomposition of a composite periodic signal in the time and frequency domains

Example
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.

The time and frequency domains of a nonperiodic signal

Bandwidth
The range of frequencies that a medium can pass is called its bandwidth. The bandwidth of a composite signal is the difference between the highest and the lowest frequencies contained in that signal. The bandwidth is a range and is normally referred to as the difference between two numbers. The bandwidth is the property of the medium. It is the difference between the highest and lowest frequencies that the medium can satisfactorily pass.

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

The spectrum has only five spikes, at 100, 300, 500, 700, and 900 Hz

The bandwidth for prev. example

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

The spectrum contains all integer frequencies. We show this by a series of spikes.

The bandwidth for prev. example

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.

The bandwidth for Example

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.

Bit Interval: is the time required to send one single bit. Bit Rate: is the number of bit intervals per second and is usually expressed in bits per second (bps). The Bit interval is the inverse of bit rate.

Two digital signals: one with two signal levels and the other with four signal levels

If a signal has L levels , each level needs log2L bits

Example
A digital signal has eight levels. How many bits are needed per level? We calculate the number of bits from the formula

Each signal level is represented by 3 bits.

Example
A digital signal has nine levels. How many bits are needed per level? Solution We calculate the number of bits by using the formula. 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.

Example
Assume we need to download text documents at the rate of 100 pages per sec. 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

The time and frequency domains of periodic and nonperiodic digital signals

Analog Signal v/s Digital Signal

Should we use analog or digital signals?

Answer : it really depends on the situation and on the available bandwidth. A channel or link is either low-pass or band pass channel.

Low Pass v/s Band Pass

A low pass channel has a bandwidth with frequencies between 0 and f. A band pass channel has a bandwidth with frequencies between f1 and f2. Digital transmission needs a low-pass channel. Analog transmission can use a band-pass channel.

Low Pass v/s Band Pass

We have a low pass channel only if the medium is dedicated to two devices (pointto-point) or shared between several devices in time(not in frequency) Example : a wired local area network , a cable can be shared between stations. A band-pass channel is more available than a low-pass channel

Low Pass v/s Band Pass

Data Rate Limits

Data rate depends on three factors : 1) The bandwidth available. 2) The levels of signals we can use. 3) The quality of the channels

 Two formulas were developed to calculate the data rate : 1) Nyquist for noiseless channel 2) Shannon for a noisy channel

Noiseless channel: Nyquist Bit Rate

The Nyquist bit rate formula defines the theoretical maximum bit rate. Bit Rate = 2 x Bandwidth x log2L where, Bandwidth = bandwidth of channel L. L = the no. of signal levels used to represent data. Bit Rate = Bit rate in bits per second.

Problems on Nyquist Bit Rate

1) Consider a noiseless channel with a bandwidth of 3000 Hz transmitting a signal with two signal levels. Find the maximum bit rate. 2) Consider the same noiseless channel, transmitting a signal with four signal levels. Find the maximum bit rate.

Noisy Channel : Shannon Capacity

In 1944, Claude Shannon introduced a formula, called Shannon Capacity. The Shannon Capacity formula is to determine the theoretical highest data rate for a noisy channel. Capacity = Bandwidth x log2(1 + SNR) where, Bandwidth = bandwidth of the channel. SNR = signal-to-noise ratio. Capacity = capacity of the channel in bits per second.

Problems on Shannon Capacity

1) Consider an extremely noise channel in which the value of the signal-to-noise ratio is almost zero. Find channel capacity. 2) We can calculate the theoretical highest bit rate of regular telephone line. A telephone line normally has a bandwidth of 3000Hz. The signal-to-noise ratio is usually 3162. For this channel calculate the capacity.

Problems on Shannon Capacity

3) We have a channel with a 1MHZ bandwidth. The SNR for this channel is 63. What is the approximate bit rate and signal level?

Transmission Impairment

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Attenuation
Attenuation means loss of energy When a signal, simple or composite, travels through a medium, it losses some of its energy so that it can overcome the resistance of the medium. That is the reason wire carrying electrical current gets warm. Electrical energy is converted to heat To compensate for this loss, amplifiers are used to amplify the signal.

Attenuation
To show that a signal has lost or gained strength. The decibal (dB) measures the relative strengths of two signals or one signal at two different levels. dB=10log10 p2/p1 P1 and p2 are powers of a signal at point 1 and 2 respectively.

Attenuation

Example
Suppose a signal travels through a transmission medium and its power is reduced to one-half. This means that P2 is (1/2)P1. In this case, the attenuation (loss of power) can be calculated as

A loss of 3 dB (3 dB) is equivalent to losing one-half the power.

Example
A signal travels through an amplifier, and its power is increased 10 times. This means that P2 = 10P1 . In this case, the amplification (gain of power) can be calculated as

Distortion
Distortion means that the signal changes its form or shape. Distortion occurs in a composite signal, made of different frequencies. Each signal component has its own propagation speed, through a medium and therefore its own delay in arriving at the final destination.

Distortion

Noise
Several types of noise such as : thermal noise, induced noise, cross talk, impulse noise. Thermal Noise : extra signal created due to motion of electrons in the wire Induced Noise : comes from sources such as motors and appliances. Cross Talk : is the effect of one wire on the other. Impulse Noise : spike that comes from power lines.

Noise

Throughput
Throughput : is the measurement of how fast data can pass through an entity.

Propagation Speed and Time

Propagation Speed : measures the distance a signal or a bit can travel through a medium in one second. Propagation Time : measures the time required for a signal to travel from one point of the transmission medium to another.

Propagation Speed and Time

Propagation Time = Distance/Propagation Speed