Experiment

5a

Near-End and Far-End Crosstalk

I.

Objectives
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

II.

Determine and observe the near-end crosstalk attenuation of the star quad cable.
Represent the curve of the near-end crosstalk as a graph versus the frequency.
Determine and observe the far-end crosstalk attenuation of the star-quad cable.
Represent the curve of the far-end crosstalk as a graph versus the frequency.
Compare the NEC and FEC of the star quad cable
Equipment
1 - Star Quad Cable
1 - Lock-In Amplifier
1 - Function Generator
1 - Digital Oscilloscope
4 - BNC Cables
Set of Bridging Plugs

III.

Resume of Theory
Distinguishing between Near-End and Far-End Crosstalk
The computation of crosstalk is carried out using a simplified case, which
however is relevant to practical applications. Both physical groups are terminated at
their ends by their characteristic impedance Zc. When this is not the case, reflections
can be caused which lead to additional coupling. This makes the situation more
complicated and should be consequently be avoided. We will now consider coupling
from group I into group II along a short conductor segment with the length dx at
location x of the cable. The resulting coupling capacitance and mutual inductance
responsible for the crosstalk arising are assumed here to be Ck = C kdx and Mk =
Mkdx. When we say resulting, we are referring only to the deviations between the
partial capacitance and mutual inductance. The coupling process is schematically
illustrated in Figure 1.

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Experiment #5a
Near-end and Far-end Crosstalk

page 1 of 7

Figure 1. The origins of near-end and far-end crosstalk

The sum of all coupling components from group I to group II over the entire cable
length lead to a wave entering into the near-end of group II. (X = 0 here: location
where power is fed into line1). This effect is called near-end crosstalk (NEC).
Accordingly, a wave propagating to the far-end of the cable is also produced by
coupling occurring continuously along the cable. This effect, which is investigated for
X = I , is called far-end crosstalk (FEC).
The following equation is for near-end crosstalk:

and for far-end crosstalk:

Where:
UII(o) : the voltage coupled in group II measured at the beginning of the line X= 0
UII(1) : the voltage coupled in group II measured at the end of the line X= 1
UI(0)
: voltage fed into group I
UI(1) : voltage which can be tapped from group I for X = 1
Zc
: characteristic impedance
CK : resulting capacitive coupling per unit length
MK : resulting mutual inductance per unit length
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Experiment #5a
Near-end and Far-end Crosstalk

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: propagation constant
Based on the equations above we can recognize that:
1. In the case of near-end crosstalk, the magnetic and capacitive coupling are
added to each other
2. Far-end crosstalk rises with increasing line length L. Because the magnetic
and capacitive coupling are subtracted from each other. It disappears
completely when it is true that (CK = MK / ZC2)
In actual practice, cable is used in which the crosstalk is minimized and
thus only appears as a very inconsiderable effect. So as not to have to work with
unfeasible numbers of zeros behind the point, the so-called crosstalk attenuation
defined:

According to CCITT, it is recommended that crosstalk between 2 voice

channels not exceed 58dB.
The following conclusions should be drawn for the determination of crosstalk:
1.
Our investigations on crosstalk are carried out in a frequency range up to
20 kHz. According to Eq. 15 the minimum wavelength on the line is thus
approx. 10 km.
= v/f
v: phase velocity in the star quad is here assumed to be 2/3 speed of light.
Compared to the wavelength, line length is thus so short that it is possible
to use a discrete equivalent circuit (with lumped elements) to determine crosstalk
with good approximation. This enables us to dispense with the complicated
derivation used in wave theory.
2.
Using what we know about the quantities of unit length (G = 0,
respectively when the inductive component L is neglected), the star quad used in
the experiment can be considered an RC line with low pass character. The

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Experiment #5a
Near-end and Far-end Crosstalk

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equivalent circuit diagram referred to for a relatively short line segment with
respect to the wavelength is depicted in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2: Equivalent circuit of a RC line

Fig. 3: Equivalent circuit of the short star quad

IV.

Procedures

Figure 4 Experiment set-up for determining near-end crosstalk

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Experiment #5a
Near-end and Far-end Crosstalk

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A. Determination of Near-End Crosstalk (NEC)

1. Experiment set up as specified in Figure 4.
2. Feed a 10Vpp, 20 KHz sinusoidal signal into a feed-in module of group I.
Connect a lock-in amplifier to the other feed-in module of group I and carry
out calibration to 0 dB. (recall from Experiment No.5)
3. Now connect the lock-in amplifier to the near-end of group II. Using a phase
controller PHASE set the display to max deflection and leave the setting gain
unchanged. Vary the gain using the rotary switch v/dB only. Read off the
display of the measurement instrument in Table 1.
4. Repeat the measurements while continuously keeping the gain setting
unchanged for all frequencies in Table 1.
5. Based on the dB values calculate the crosstalk in a linear scale in accordance
with the equation:

Table 1
Input
Reference
Measurement

f/kHz
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

: Near-end crosstalk
: 1st feed-in module of group I. Sinusoidal 10Vpp.
: Lock-in at 2nd feed-in module of group I. Vref = ___dB
: Lock-in connected to feed-in module at near end of group II.
A= Vref v + Display
Measurement
V/dB
Display/dB

Crosstalk attenuation
a = 20 log U2/U1 dB
U2/U1

Table 1
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Experiment #5a
Near-end and Far-end Crosstalk

page 5 of 7

Theory
a/dB

B. Determination of Far-End Crosstalk (FEC)

The experiment procedure corresponds to the procedures describe for
NEC. Here, however, the lock-in amplifier is connected to the opposing side of
group II. (Far-end of the line). Enter the measured values into Table 2. Is there
any difference to NEC?
Table 2
Input
Reference
Measurement

: Far-end crosstalk
: 1st feed-in module of group I. Sinusoidal 10Vpp.
: Lock-in at 2nd feed-in module of group I. Vref = ___dB
: Lock-in connected to feed-in module at far end of group II.
A= Vref v + Display

f/kHz
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

Measurement
V/dB
Display/dB

Crosstalk attenuation
a = 20 log U2/U1 dB
U2/U1

Table 2
V.

Data and Results

Sketch the NEC vs frequency and FEC vs frequency.

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Experiment #5a
Near-end and Far-end Crosstalk

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Theory
a/dB

VI.

Conclusions and Observations

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Experiment #5a
Near-end and Far-end Crosstalk

page 7 of 7