Chapter 2

Data Encoding & Transmission

 Overview
1. Digital and Analog Signals
2. Encoding Techniques
3. Transmission Impairments
4. Transmission Media

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 Digital and Analog Signals
• Data transmission occurs between Tx and Rx over some
transmission medium (guided or unguided)
• In any media, communication is in the form of electromagnetic
waves
• All forms of information (voice, video or data) that would be
transmitted in any media can be represented by electromagnetic
signals.
– Depending on the transmission medium & the communication
environment either analog or digital signals are used to convey
information

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• Analog Signal
– Is one in which the signal intensity varies in a smooth fashion over time.
i.e. the signal takes Continuous values in some interval
– E.g. voice and video
• Digital Signal
– The signal intensity maintains a constant level for some period of time and
then abruptly changes to another constant level. i.e. it takes Discrete values
– Sequence of voltage pulses that may be transmitted over a wire medium
– e.g. constant positive voltage level represented by 1 and a constant
negative voltage level by 0

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 2. Encoding Techniques
• A data (analog or digital) can be represented by analog or digital signal.
– Digital data can be represented by:- analog or digital signal
– Analog data can be represented by:- analog or digital signal
• Digital data can be represented by digital signals with a different voltage level
for the two binary digits. E.g. wired LAN
• Digital data are represented by analog signal by using a modem (modulator or
demodulator)
– E.g. the modem converts a series of binary values (voltage pulses) into an analog
signal
• Similarly, analog data can be represented by digital signals
– E.g. a codec (coder-decoder) used to represent voice data by digital signals (bit
streams)
• Analog data can also be represented by electromagnetic signals (analog signal)
– Analog data are modulated by a carrier frequency to produce analog signal in a
different frequency band. E.g. telephone.
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• Digital Data Analog Signal: ASK, FSK, PSK,
All involve altering one or more characteristics of a
carrier frequency to represent binary data.
• Analog data, digital signals: Pulse Code Modulation
(PCM) involves sampling analog signal and quantizing
• Analog Data Analog Signal: Analog data are modulated
by a carrier frequency to produce an analog signal in a
different frequency band
e.g. (AM) (FM) (PM)
• Digital to Digital :
e.g. Unipolar , polar and bipolar (Manchester and
differential)
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• Analog and
Digital Signaling
of Analog and
Digital Data

Analog--Digital

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 3. Transmission Impairment
• Signals that are transmitted through any
transmission system may not be received
perfectly. i.e. the received signal may differ
from the transmitted signal due to various
transmission impairments:- Such as
– Attenuation
– Distortion
– Noise
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 Attenuation
• Attenuation means a loss of energy
– When a signal travels through a medium, it loses some of its
energy due to the resistance of the medium.
– This introduces:-
• Loss of signal strength (received signal must have sufficient strength
so that the electronic circuitry in the receiver can detect the signal)
• The signal must have a level higher than noise to be received without
error
• The attenuation varies with frequency (the received signal is distorted)
• To compensate for this loss, amplifiers or repeaters are used to
amplify the signal at a regular interval
• And equalize attenuation across a band of frequencies. i.e.
smooth out attenuation effects
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 Distortion
• Distortion means that the signal changes its form or shape.
• Distortion can occur in a composite signal made of different
frequencies.
• Each signal component has its own propagation speed through a
medium and, therefore, its own delay in arriving at the final
destination.
– Delay distortion:-because the received signal is distorted due to varying
delays at its constituent frequencies
• Differences in delay may create a difference in phase.
• In other words, signal components at the receiver have phases
different from what they had at the sender.
• The shape of the composite signal is therefore not the same.

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 Noise
• Noises are unwanted signals that are inserted somewhere between
transmission and reception
– These are the major limiting factors in communication system
performance
• They may be categorized into:-
– Thermal noise:-random motion of electrons (a function of temperature)
– Induced noises: due to sources such as motors and appliances
– Crosstalk: the effect of one wire on the other (it is an unwanted
coupling between signal paths)
• E.g. it can occur by electrical coupling between nearby twisted pairs
– Impulse noise: is a spike (a signal with high energy in a very short
duration) that comes from external electromagnetic disturbances such
as power lines, lightning, and so on
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 Distortion

Noise

Attenuation

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 4. Transmission Media
• A transmission medium can be broadly defined as anything
that can carry information from a source to a destination.
• Transmission media can be divided into two broad categories:
– Guided Media and
– Unguided Media

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 Guided Media
• Guided media provide a physical path along
which the signals are propagated.
• These include twisted pair, coaxial cable, and
optical fiber.
• Twisted-pair and coaxial cable use metallic
(copper) conductors that accept and transport
signals in the form of electric current.
• Optical fiber is a cable that accepts and
transports signals in the form of light.
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 Twisted Pair Cable
• A twisted pair consists of two conductors (normally copper), each
with its own plastic insulation, twisted together, as shown in the
Figure.

• It is divided into two

– Shielded twisted-pair (STP)
– Unshielded twisted-pair (UTP)
• The wires are twisted in order to avoid cross talk.
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 Unshielded twisted-pair (UTP)
• Is the most common twisted-pair cable.
• Is subjected to external electromagnetic interference,
including interference from nearby twisted pair and from
noise generated in the environment.
• The Electronic Industries Association (EIA) has developed
standards to classify unshielded twisted-pair cable into six
categories (Cat):
– Category 1: Voice only (Telephone)
– Category 2: Data to 4 Mbps (Local talk)
– Category 3: Data to 10Mbps (Ethernet)
– Category 4: Data to 20Mbps (Token ring)
– Category 5: Data to 100Mbps (Fast Ethernet)
– Category 5e: Data to 1000Mbps (Gigabit Ethernet)
– Category 6: Data to 2500Mbps (Gigabit Ethernet)
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 Shielded Twisted Pair Cable
• This provides better performance at higher data rates
• However, it is more expensive and more difficult to
work with. It is designed to be used for outdoor
connection

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 Types of Ethernet cables
• Straight through cable: used to connect two different devices
– Router to a hub
– Computer to a switch
– LAN port to a switch, hub, or computer

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• Cross over cable: used to connect two devices of
the same type without a hub or router
– One end of the cable is wired in T568A and the other end
of the cable is wired in T568B
• Computer to a router
• Computer to a computer
• Router to a router
• Switch to a switch
• Hub to a hub

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• Rollover cable: used to connect a device to a router or
switch’s console port. 

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 Connectors
• The most common UTP connector is RJ45 (RJ stands
for registered jack)

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 How to prepare an Ethernet cable
• Strip cable end: remove the insulating sheath
• Untwist wire ends: and straighten them
• Arrange wires: based on the type of cable needed
• Trim wires to size: cut wire around half a inch
• Attach connector: e.g. RJ-45
• Crimp: using crimper
• Test

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 Strip cable end and untwist wire ends

• Strip 1 – 1½” of insulating sheath • Sort wires by insulation

• Avoid cutting into conductor insulation colors

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 Arrange wires
• Two standards:
– TIA/EIA 568A: GW-G OW-Bl BlW-O BrW-Br
– TIA/EIA 568B: OW-O GW-Bl BlW-G BrW-Br

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 Trim wires and attach a connector
• Maintain wire order, left-to-
• Trim all wires evenly right, with RJ45 tab facing
• Leave about ½” of wires downward
exposed

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 Check
• Do all wires extend to end?
• Is sheath well inside connector?

Sheath is not well inside connector Wires are not extended to end

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 Crimp, then Test
• Carefully place the connector into the Crimper and
squeeze down the handles tightly

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 Coaxial Cable
• Coaxial cable (or coax) carries signals of higher frequency
ranges than those in twisted pair cable.
• To connect coaxial cable to devices, we need coaxial
connectors (Bayonet Neill-Concelman (BNC))
• BNC connector (most common )- used for TV set,
• BNC T connector- To branch out Ethernet networks
• BNC terminator- is used at the end of the cable to prevent
the reflection of the signal.

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 Fiber Optic Cable
• A fiber-optic cable is made of glass or plastic and
transmits signals in the form of light.
• Optical fibers use reflection to guide light through a
channel.
• The speed of the light depends on the density of the
medium through which it is traveling (the higher
density, the slower the speed).

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 Fiber optic connector
• There are three types of connectors for fiber-optic cables
– The subscriber channel (SC) connector is used for cable TV. It
uses a push/pull locking system.
– The straight-tip (ST) connector is used for connecting cable to
networking devices. It uses a bayonet locking system and is more
reliable than SC.
– MT-RJ is a connector that is the same size as RJ45.

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 Advantages of Optical fiber
• Fiber-optic cable has several advantages over
metallic cable.
– Higher bandwidth.
– Less signal attenuation.
– Immunity to electromagnetic interference.
– Resistance to corrosive materials.
– Light weight.
• Disadvantage:
– Installation and maintenance.
– Cost
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 Unguided Media
• Unguided medium transport electromagnetic
waves without using a physical conductor
– This type of media often used for wireless
communication
– Examples include:
• Microwave
• Communication satellite
• Broadcast Radio
• Cellular Radio 

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 Signal propagation
• Unguided signals can travel from the source to the
destination in several ways:
– Ground Propagation:-radio waves travel through the
lowest portion of the atmosphere, hugging the earth.
– Sky propagation:- radio waves radiate upward into
the ionosphere where they are reflected back to earth.
– Line-of-sight propagation- very high-frequency
signals are transmitted in straight lines directly from
antenna to antenna.

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 Frequency bands
• The frequencies of signals that propagate on the ground
or sky or line of site are different and application area
varies accordingly

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 Frequency bands

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 En d
T h e
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