IT2006

Transmission Modes
Dataflow Transmission
• In a simplex transmission, data can only flow in one
direction, which is usually from the source to the sink.

• In a half-duplex transmission (HDX), data can flow in both

directions, but never simultaneously. It first flows in one
direction, and then in the other direction.
• In a full-duplex transmission (FDX), data can flow in both
directions simultaneously. It can be viewed as a pair of
simplex lines between the source and sink with one line
going from the source to the sink and the other going from
the sink to the source.

Data Transmission
• Serial data transmission - when data is sent or received, the data bits are organized in a specific order since they
can only be sent one after another.
o Asynchronous transmission is used when data is transmitted as individual characters. In this method, each
character is preceded by one start bit and one or two stop bits that are used by the receiver for
synchronization purposes.
o Synchronous transmission is used to transmit large blocks of data at a time. In this scheme, data is usually
organized in frames and each frame is preceded by a flag that consists of a few bits and terminated by
another flag.
• Parallel data transmission - multiple data bits are transmitted over multiple channels at the same time.

Transmission Media
Transmission media is a communication channel that carries the information from the sender to the receiver in which
data is transmitted through the electromagnetic signals via copper wire, fiber optics, atmosphere, water, and vacuum.
The function of these transmission media is to carry the information in the form of bits through the network.
• Guided media enables the transfer of information between two or more points that are connected by an electrical
conductor.
Twisted Pair - it consists of two insulated copper wires that are typically about 1mm thick and
twisted together in a helical form.

Coaxial Cable - to facilitate two-way communication, the cable bandwidth is split into two
sets of channels: upstream channels and downstream channels.

Optical Fiber - refers to the medium and the technology associated with the transmission of
information as light pulses along a glass or plastic wire or fiber the optical cable.

• Unguided media do not require physical links between two or more devices. Wireless communication is based on
radio waves communications in the frequency spectrum.
o Radio waves –These are easy to generate and can penetrate through buildings. The sending and receiving
antennas need not be aligned. Example: AM and FM radios and cordless phones.

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o Microwaves – It is a line of sight (LOS) transmission i.e. the sending and receiving antennas need to be
properly aligned with each other. The distance covered by the signal is directly proportional to the height
of the antenna. These are majorly used for mobile phone communication and television distribution.
o Infrared – Infrared waves are used for very short distance communication. They cannot penetrate through
obstacles. This prevents interference between systems. It is used in TV remotes, wireless mouse,
keyboard, printer, etc.

Antennas
It is the metal rod or dish that catches radio waves and turns them into electrical signals feeding into something like a
radio or television or a telephone system.
Log Periodic Antennas
• It is a directional antenna that is made of a series of dipoles placed along its axis at
different space intervals of time followed by a logarithmic function of frequency.

Wire Antennas
• These antennas use a length of wire for transmitting and receiving wavelengths of
signals.

Traveling Wave Antennas

• It is a directional aperiodic antenna that uses a travelling wave as its guiding
structure.
• A traveling wave is a temporary wave that creates a disturbance and moves along
the transmission line at a constant speed.
Microwave Antennas
• This type of antenna uses microwave transmission to broadcast signals between two
or more locations.
• Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation that is used mostly in point-to-
point communications and radar.

Frequency Spectrum
It is the range of frequencies contained by a signal. The following are the frequencies that are designated by the
International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
EXTREMELY LOW FREQUENCY
ELF Frequency: 3 KHz to 30 KHz
Wavelength: 100 km to 10 km
LOW FREQUENCY
LF Frequency: 30 KHz to 300 KHz
Wavelength: 10 km to 1 km
MEDIUM FREQUENCY
MF Frequency: 300 KHz to 30 MHz
Wavelength: 100 km to 10 km
HIGH FREQUENCY
HF Frequency: 3 MHz to 30 MHz
Wavelength: 100 m to 10 m
VERY HIGH FREQUENCY
VHF Frequency: 30 MHz to 300 MHz
Wavelength: 10 m to 1 m
ULTRA HIGH FREQUENCY
UHF Frequency: 300 MHz to 3 GHz
Wavelength: 1 m to 100 mm
SUPER HIGH FREQUENCY
SHF Frequency: 3 GHz to 30 GHz
Wavelength: 100 mm to 10 mm
EXTREMELY HIGH FREQUENCY
EHF Frequency: 30 GHz to 300 GHz
Wavelength: 10 mm to 1 mm

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Wave Propagation
These waves are basically defined as superimposed oscillations of an electric and a magnetic field in space with their
direction of propagation perpendicular to both. These are the following propagation that is currently used today:
• Ground Wave
This is used for a low-frequency range
transmission, mostly less than 1 MHz.
This type of propagation employs the
use of large antennas order of which
is equivalent to the wavelength of the
waves and uses the ground or
Troposphere for its propagation.
• Sky Wave
This is used for the propagation of EM
waves with a frequency range of 3-30
Mhz. These waves makes the use of
ionosphere in which it is the ionized
part of the earth’s upper atmosphere.
• Space Wave
This is used for a line of Sight
communication (LoS). Space satellite
communication and very high-
frequency waves use this propagation Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/DbyHBKhadNxNvThy8
method.

Multiplexing
Multiplexing (MUX) is a way of sending multiple signals or streams of information over a communications link at the
same time in the form of a single, complex signal. The receiver recovers the separate signals, a process called
demultiplexing. Networks use multiplexing for two reasons:
• To make it possible for any network device to
talk to any other network device without having
to dedicate a connection for each pair.
• To make a scarce or expensive resource stretch
further.
• In layman’s term, multiplexing is having
multiple inputs and outputs in a single line
medium.

Media Sharing Technique

The utilization of such media can be increased by allowing multiple users to transmit their data simultaneously, or close
to simultaneously.
• Frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) where the frequency spectrum of the medium is partitioned into
multiple frequency blocks called channels that are assigned to users who can use these channels
simultaneously without interference from each other.
• Time-division multiplexing (TDM) where transmission time is divided into non-overlapping time slots that are
assigned to users. Transmissions are staggered using a round-robin method to schedule the transmissions.
• Spread spectrum (SS) where the output signal, which appears like noise, occupies more bandwidth than the
original signal.

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Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/cL28QBmeCy7WzUu36

Media Access Methods

• Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD)
o Carrier Sense means that each station on the LAN continually listens to (tests) the cable for the
presence of a signal before transmitting.
o Multiple Access means that many computers are attempting to transmit and compete for the
opportunity to send data (i.e., they are in contention).
o Collision Detection means that when a collision is detected, the stations will stop transmitting and
wait a random length of time before retransmitting the data.
• Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA)
o Instead of detecting and reacting to collisions, CSMA/CA tries to avoid them by having each computer
signal its intention to transmit before transmitting.
• Token passing
o It is a media access method by which collisions are prevented. Collisions are eliminated under token
passing because only a computer that possesses a free token (a small data frame) can transmit. This
method also allows different priorities to be assigned to different stations on the ring.
• Demand priority
o In demand priority, an active hub is an essential requirement that can control access to the network.
The terminals on a network are required to obtain permission from the hub before they start
transmitting the bytes over a network.

References:
Ibe, O. (2018). Fundamentals of Data Communication Networks [1st ed.]. US: Wiley.
Kurose, F., et. al. (2017). Computer Networking – A Top-Down Approach [7th ed.]. NY: Pearson.
Media Access Methods. (n.d.). In Mysolutionguru.com. [Web Article]. [Web Content]. Retrieved on April 23, 2020
https://www.mysolutionguru.com/ps/media-access-methods/112
Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves. (n.d.). In toppr.com. Retrieved on April 23, 2020 from
https://www.toppr.com/guides/physics/communication-systems/propagation-of-electromagnetic-waves/
Sklar, B. (2017). Digital Communications – Fundamentals and Applications [2nd ed.]. NJ: Prentice Hall.
Speidel, J. (2019). Introduction to Digital Communications. Switzerland: Springer Nature.
Woodford, C. (April 21, 2019). Antennas and transmitters. [Web Article]. Retrieved on April 23, 2020 from
https://www.explainthatstuff.com/antennas.html

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