Signals

Determine the difference between analog and digital signal Describe the components of an analog and digital signal and their formula Solve for the different components of analog and digital signal

Data and Signal Correlation

To be transmitted, data must be transformed to electromagnetic signals. 2 types of data and signals

Analog Digital Periodic and Aperiodic Signals

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.

Comparison of analog and digital signals

Analog Signals

Sine Wave is the basic representation of an analog signal. Analog signal is best represented in the frequency domain. Characteristics of Sine Wave

Amplitude Period and Frequency Phase

A sine wave

Analog Signals

Amplitude the value of the signal to any point on the wave. It is equal to vertical distance from a given point on the waveform to the horizontal axis ideally referring to the height of the signal.
It is measured in either Volts, Amperes or Watts.

Period refers to the amount of time, in seconds, a signal needs to complete one cycle. Frequency refers to the number of periods a signal makes over the course of one second. Usually expressed in Hertz to Terahertz. Phase Describes the position of waveform relative to time 0.

Amplitude

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 and Period

Frequency and period are inverses of each other. If one is given, the other can be derived.

Frequency = 1/Period f = 1/T

Period = 1/Frequency T = 1/f

Units of periods and frequencies

Period unit Equivalent
1 1s 103 .001 s

Frequency unit

Equivalent
1 1 Hz 103 1,000 Hz

Seconds (s)

hertz (Hz)

Milliseconds (ms)

kilohertz (KHz)

Microseconds (s)
Nanoseconds (ns) Picoseconds (ps)

106 .000001 s
109 .000000001 s 1012 .000000000001 s

megahertz (MHz)
gigahertz (GHz) terahertz (THz)

106 1,000,000 Hz
109 1,000,000,000 Hz 1012 1,000,000,000,000 Hz

Example

A signal has 24 Hz, calculate the time it took to complete. Express in 1 decimal place and appropriate unit.

Solution
T = 1/f
T = 1/24 T = 0.04166 T = 41.7 ms

Example

A signal took 12 s to complete. Determine its frequency. Express in appropriate unit.

Solution
f = 1/T
f = 1/.000012 f = 83,333 f = 83.3 KHz

Example

A wave is introduced into a thin wire held tight at each end. It has a frequency of 51.2 MHz. Determine the period of such a wave.

Solution
T = 1/f
T = 1/.51200000 T = .00000001953 T = 19.5 ns

Example

Give the frequency of the sound wave produced by a tuning fork in 440 ps.

Solution
f = 1/T
f = 1/.000000000440 f = 2272727272.72 f = 2.3 GHz

Relationships between different phases

Bandwidth

Refers to the property of a medium or the width of a single spectrum. The bandwidth is a property of a medium:

It is the difference between the highest and the lowest frequencies that the medium can satisfactorily pass.

Bandwith = highest frequency lowest frequency B = fh - fl

Bandwidth

Example

A signal has a bandwidth of 20 Hz. The highest frequency is 60 Hz. What is the lowest frequency?

Solution
B = fh - fl
fl = fh - B fl = 60 - 20 fl = 40 Hz

Example

Identify the bandwidth of a signal ranging from 257 Hz to 60 KHz.

Solution
B = fh - fl
B = 60000 257 B = 59,743 B = 59.7 KHz

Digital Signals

In general, digital signals have limited/ discrete values. A digital signal is a composite signal with an infinite bandwidth. Components of a digital signal

Bit Interval and Bit Rate

Bit Interval is the inverse of Bit Rate

Through Wide-Bandwidth Medium Through Band-Limited Medium Higher Bit Rate

A digital signal

Bit rate and bit interval

The bit rate and the bandwidth are proportional to each other. We apply the same equation for f and T. The analog bandwidth of a medium is expressed in hertz; the digital bandwidth, in bits per second.

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 = 500 s

Signal corruption

Transmission Impairment

Attenuation Distortion Noise

Attenuation

Means loss of energy

When a signal travels through a medium, it loses some of its energy in overcoming the resistance of the medium

This is the reason why a cable gets warm after a period of use

This problem can be resolved by using amplifiers

Distortion

Means the signal changes its form or shape

Can occur in signals made of different frequencies.

Differences in delay may cause phase change therefore changing the signal received

Noise

Signal is affected by random electrical signals picked up by the medium.

Several types are thermal, induced, crosstalk and impulse noise.