Transmission

Media

What is Transmission Media

Transmission media is a medium through
which data can be transmitted over long
distances.
Atransmission mediumis a material
substance (solid, liquid, gas, or plasma)
that can propagate energy waves. For
example, thetransmission mediumfor
sounds is usually air, but solids and liquids
may also act astransmission mediafor
sound.

 Data is represented by computers and other

telecommunication devices using signals. Signals
are transmitted in the form of electromagnetic
energy from one device to another.
Electromagnetic signals travel through vacuum,
air or other transmission mediums to travel
between one point to another(from source to
receiver).
Electromagnetic energy (includes electrical and
magnetic fields) includes power, voice, visible
light, radio waves, ultraviolet light, gamma rays
etc.
Transmission medium is the means through
which we send our data from one place to
another. The first layer (physical layer) of
Communication Networks OSI Seven layer model

Guided Media/Wired
Co-axial Cable:Coaxial cablesare a type
ofcablethat is used bycableTV
and that is common for data
communications. Taking a a round
cross-section of thecable, one would
find a single center solid wire
symmetrically surrounded by a
braided or foil conductor. Between
the center wire and foil is a insulating

Physical Structure of co-axial cable: It consist of two concentric conductors

separated by a dielcetric material.
It consist of stiff copper wire as the core ,
surrounded by an insulating material.
This insulator is encased by a cylindrical
conductor, often as a closely woven braided
mesh. The outer conductor is then covered in
a protective plastic sheath.
It gives good combination if high bandwidth &
excellent noise immunity. Higher data rates
are possible on shorter cables.

Application of Co-axial Cable

1) Co-axial cable was widely used in
analog telephone networks where
single coaxial network could carry
10,000 voice signals.
2) Cable TV networks also use coaxial
cables.
3) It is used in traditional Ethernet
LANS.

Connector for coaxial cable

To connect coaxial cable to device ,we

need coaxial cable connector.
BNC-Bayone-Neill-Concelman connectors
1)BNC connector- used to connect the end
end of the cable to a device such as TV.
2)BNC-T connector-used in ethernet
networks for branching out cable for
connection to a networkpf devices
3)BNC terminator-Used at end of the cable
to prevent the reflection of the signal.

Connectors of Coaxial Cable

Twisted Pair Cable

Twisted paircabling is a type of wiring in
which two conductors of a singlecircuitare
twisted together for the purposes of
canceling out electromagnetic interference
(EMI) from external sources. They have
more noise immunity.
It consist of two insulated copper wires about
1 mm thick. the wires are twisted together
in helical form to eliminate a lot of noise.
Two types of Twisted Pair Cable:-

 Shielded Twisted Pair(STP): STP is similar to UTP but with each pair
covered by an additional copper braid
jacket or foil wrapping. This shielding helps
protect the signals on the cables from
external interference.
STP is more expensive than UTP but has the
benefit of being able to support higher
transmission rates over longer distances.
STP is used in IBM token ring networks.

 Unshielded Twisted Pair:-(UTP)

Unshielded twisted pair is the most
common kind of copper telephone wiring.
Twisted pair is the ordinary copper wire
that connects home and many business
computers to the telephone company. To
reduce crosstalk or electromagnetic
induction between pairs of wires, two
insulated copper wires are twisted around
each other.

Why to twist the wires?

1)Twisting of wires will reduce the effect of noise or
external interference.
2)Number of twists per unit length will determine the
quality of cable. More twists means better quality.
Connectors for Twisted pair Cable:UTP connector is RJ45 where RJ (Registered Jack)

Applications of Twisted Pair cable

Transmission media for digital and
analog signals.
It is used in telephone lines to
provide voice and data channels.
LAN also uses twisted pair cable.
To connect subscriber to the central
telephone office is mostly UTP
channel.

Fiber Optics Cable

Afiber optic cableconsists of a
bundle of glass threads, each of
which is capable of transmitting
messages modulated onto light
waves.Fiber opticshas several
advantages over traditional metal
communications lines:Fiber optic
cables have a much greater
bandwidth than metal cables.

Fiber Optic Cable Connector

Characteristics of fiber optics

High bandwidth therefore can operate

at higher data rates.
Reduce losses as the signal
attenuation is low.
Distortion is reduced hence better
quality is assured.
Small size and light weight.
Used for point to point communication.

Application
1. It is found in backbone networks
because its wide bandwidth is cost
effective.
2. Some cable companies use a
combination of optical fiber
&coaxial cable.
3. Telephone companies also using
optical fiber Cable.
4. Local Area Network such as 100
Base FX network use fiber optic

 Advantages:1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Higher bandwidth
Less signal attenuation
Noise resistance.
Light weight.
More security is provided
Reliability is more than other &long life span

. Disadvantages:1. Installation and maintenance need

expertise
2. Propagation of light is unidirectional
3. Fiber optic is more expensive

 Unguided mediarelates to
transmissionthrough the air and is
commonly referred to as wireless.
The transmissionand reception of
data is carried out using antenna.
There are two main ways that
antenna work: Directional (in a
beam)

 ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY
Theelectromagnetic spectrumis therangeof all
possible frequencies ofelectromagnetic radiation.
When you tune your radio, watch TV, send a text
message, or pop popcorn in a microwave oven, you
are using electromagnetic energy. You depend on this
energy every hour of every day. Without it, the world
you know could not exist.
Electromagnetic energy travels in waves and spans a
broad spectrum from very long radio waves to very
short gamma rays. The human eye can only detect
only a small portion of this spectrum called visible
light. A radio detects a different portion of the
spectrum, and an x-ray machine uses yet another
portion. NASA's scientific instruments use the full
range of the electromagnetic spectrum to study the
Earth, the solar system, and the universe beyond.

Wireless
Transmission

Radio
Waves

Infra-Red

MicroWave

Radio Waves:Radio wavesare a type of electromagnetic radiation

with wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum
longer than infrared light.Radio waveshave
frequencies from 10KHz and 1GHz corresponding
wavelengths ranging from 1 millimeter (0.039 in) to
100 kilometers (62 mi). The best-known use of radio
waves is for communication; television, cell phones and
radios all receive radio waves and convert them to
mechanical vibrations in the speaker to create sound
waves that can be heard.
Radio Waves includes the following types:Short waves used in AM radio
Very high frequency(VHF)used in FM radio and TV
Ultra high frequency(UHF)used in TV

 Microwave transmissionis thetransmission of

information or energy by electromagnetic waves
whose wavelengths are measured in small numbers of
centimeter; these are called microwaves.This part of
the radio spectrum ranges across frequencies of
roughly 1.0 gigahertz (GHz) to 300 GHz. Microwave
transmissionis thetransmission of information
energybyelectromagnetic waveswhosewavelengths
are measured in small numbers of centimeter.
Microwaves are widely used forpoint-to-point
communications because their smallwavelength
allows conveniently-sizedantennasto direct them in
narrow beams, which can be pointed directly at the
receiving antenna. Microwaves are unidirectional.
Microwave propagation is a line of sight propugation.It
can support high data rates.

There are two types: Terrestrial

Terrestrial:Communication through line of sight parabolic dish
antenna located on elevated sites. Long distance
communication is possible.

Satellite:-It is used to point to point broadcast

transmission.It uses uplink &downlink frequency.

 Infrared(IR) is invisible radiant energy,

electromagnetic radiationwith longer
wavelengthsthan those of visible light,
extending from the nominal red edge of the
visible spectrum at 700 nanometers (frequency
430 THz) to 1 mm (300 GHz) (although people
can seeinfraredup to at least 1050 nm in
experiments).
It can be used in development of very high
speed wireless LANs.
There are two types : Point to point infrared media
Broad cast infrared media

Propagation Methods:Ground Wave PropagationRadio waves in VLF band propagate in a

ground ,or surface wave. The wave is
connected at one end to the surface of the
earth and to the ionosphere at the other.
The range of ground propagation is below
2MHz

Sky Wave Propagation:Sky waves are reflections from the inosphere.while

the wave is in the inosphere,it is strongly went, or
reflected, unlimited back to the ground. Sky
waves in this frequency land are usually only
possible at night when the concentration of ions
is not too great since the ionosphere also tends
to attenuate the signal. The range of this
propagation is 2-30MHz.

Line-of-Sight Propagation:Line-of-sight propagation refers to

electromagnetic radiation including light emission
traveling in straight line. The rays or waves are
diffracted,refracted,reflected or absorbed by
atmosphere and abstractions with material and
generally can not travel over the horizon of
behind obstacles.
Especially radio signals, like all electromagnetic
radiation including light emission, travel in
straight line.