Communication

Systems
Foundations of Engineering and
Technology
Based on Technology: Today & Tomorrow
 Communication Systems
History of Communications:
 1450 Johannes Gutenberg builds the movable printing press.
 1826 Joseph Niepce of produces the wrold’s first permanent
photographic image.
 1876-Alexander Graham Bell introduced telephone.
 1877 Thomas Edison patents the phonograph.
 1891 Thomas Edison and William Dickson invent the
kinetoscope.
 1895 Guglielmo Marconi develops the wireless telegraph
 1925 John Logie Baird transmits the first television signal.
 1954 The transister radio or tubeless radios become available
in the USA
 1990 The world wide web is created in Europe. It’s chief
architect is Tim Berners-Lee.
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 Communication is the ability to send and
receive messages.
 People to people
 People to machine
 Machine to people
 Machine to machine
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 Messages are intended to:
 Inform – news papers, TV news casts
 Educate – texts, video, DVD’s, internet.

 Persuade - advertising

 Control – machines and tools such as Computer

Numeric Control: A type of programmable
control system, directed by mathematical data,
which uses microcomputers to carry out various
machining operations; such as a mill or lathe.
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 An example of communications used to
control is traffic signals and sensors that are
used to send messages to the traffic signals.
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 All communication systems include a
message, a sender, a communication channel,
and a receiver.
 A communication channel is the path over
which a message must travel to get from the
sender to the receiver.
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 Like all systems, communication systems
follow the universal systems model.
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 Inputs:
 People
 Information

 Materials

 Tools and machines

 Energy

 Capital

 Time
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 Processes
 Outputs
 Positive Outputs – The desired result of the system.
 Negative Outputs – The unwanted results created by the
systems.
 Electromagnetic Radiation
 Telemarketing Calls
 Pollution - Old phones, computers, devices, etc.
 Feedback
 Your response to communications
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 Assignment 3:
 Using an Excel spreadsheet, keep track of your use of electronic
communication devices (see Personal Use of Communication Devices.xls)
 List the devices you use including but not limited to:
 Cell phones
 Computer with or without the internet
 Text messaging
 IPOD
 Video games
 Television
 Land phone
 Email
 Be sure to list items that you may not automatically think of:
 Purchasing an item by scanning a barcode or debit card.
 Washing hands in lavatory and water comes on with a sensor.
 Stopped at an intersection under camera surveillance.
 Electronic traffic signals or electronic communication devices in your car (signal lights, etc.)
 Tabulate your findings and create a pie chart on your daily use.
 Compare your usage with the rest of the class.
 Telecommunications
 Telecommunications means communicating
over a long distance.
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 The telegraph by Samuel Morse.
 Sent electronic signals using wires.
 Morse devised a language with a series of long
and short signals that represented letters and
numbers.
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 Morse code
Using an old set of walkie
talkies, send a classmate a
message using Morse Code.
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 The Telephone by Alexander Graham Bell
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 Transmission Channels
 Copper Wire: Many older phones consist
of two thin insulated copper wires twisted
around each other.
 Coaxial Cable: Carry many more
messages all at once than twisted-pair
wire. Consists of an outer tube made of a
material that conducts electricity (usually
copper). Inside the tube is an insulated
central conductor (also copper). Several
of these cables are combined into one
bundle.
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 Optical Fibers: thin fibers
of pure glass that carry
signals in the form of
pulses of light. Each
optical fiber is
surrounded by a reflective
cladding and an outside
protective coating. The
light pulses are converted
to electronic signals.
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 Microwaves can be used to carry phone conversations
over long distances. Microwaves are very short
electromagnetic waves that travel through the
atmosphere and make communication without
connecting wires possible.
 In cell phones, sound waves are changed into
microwaves. They are transmitted using an antenna
(sent and received) and converted back to sound
waves.
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 Television
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 Satellite Communication Systems
 A communication satellite is a device placed
into orbit above earth to receive messages
from one location and transmit them to
another.
 It reflects signals back to earth like a mirror.