Terms:

Communication- process of exchanging information

Transmitter -a collection of electronic components and circuits that converts the electrical signal into a signal
suitable for transmission over a given medium.

Communication channel- is the medium by which the electronic signal is sent from one place to another.

Receiver- is a collection of electronic components and circuits that accepts the transmitted message from the
channel and converts it back into a form understandable by humans.

Transceiver- is an electronic unit that incorporates circuits that both send and receive signals.

Noise-is random, undesirable electronic energy that enters the communication system via the communicating
medium and interferes with the transmitted message.

Simplex-the simplest method of electronic communication; one-way communication.

Half Duplex-the form of two-way communication in which only one party transmits at a time.

Analog Signal- is a smoothly and continuously varying voltage or current.

Modulation-makes the information signal more compatible with the medium.

Multiplexing- allows more than one signal to be transmitted concurrently over a single medium.

Carrier- is a high frequency signal that is modulated by audio, video, or data.

Radio-frequency (RF) wave- is an electromagnetic signal that is able to travel long distances through space.

Multiplexing-is the process of allowing two or more signals to share the same medium or channel.

Electromagnetic spectrum.-The range of electromagnetic signals encompassing all frequencies.

Frequency- is the number of cycles of a repetitive wave that occur in a given period of time.

Wavelength- is the distance occupied by one cycle of a wave and is usually expressed in meters.

Bandwidth (BW)-is that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum occupied by a signal.

Channel bandwidth- refers to the range of frequencies required to transmit the desired information.

Information Capacity- is a measure of how much information can be propagated through a communication system
and is a function of bandwidth and transmission time.

Bit Rate- is the number of bits transmitted during one second and is expressed in bps.

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Most electronic communication is two-way and is referred to as duplex.

When people can talk and listen simultaneously, it is called full duplex. The telephone is an example of this type of
communication.

Signal attenuation, or degradation, exists in all media of wireless transmission. It is proportional to the square of
the distance between the transmitter and receiver.

Noise degrades or interferes with transmitted information.

Transmitters are made up of oscillators, amplifiers, tuned circuits and filters, modulators, frequency mixers,
frequency synthesizers, and other circuits.
Receivers contain amplifiers, oscillators, mixers, tuned circuits and filters, and a demodulator or detector that
recovers the original intelligence signal from the modulated carrier.

The optical spectrum exists directly above the millimeter wave region.

Digital Signals

 Many transmissions are of signals that originate in digital form but must be converted to
analog form to match the transmission medium.

 Digital data over the telephone network.

 Analog signals.

 They are first digitized with an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter.

 The data can then be transmitted and processed by computers and other digital circuits.
 Digital signals change in steps or in discrete increments.
 Most digital signals use binary or two-state codes.

Modulation and multiplexing are electronic techniques for transmitting information efficiently from one place to
another.

Baseband information can be sent directly and unmodified over the medium or can be used to modulate a carrier
for transmission over the medium.

A broadband transmission takes place when a carrier signal is modulated, amplified, and sent to the antenna for
transmission.

Phase modulation (PM), in which the phase angle of the sine wave is varied.

Frequency-shift keying (FSK) takes place when data is converted to frequency-varying tones.

Devices called modems (modulator-demodulator) translate the data from digital to analog and back again.

Demodulation or detection takes place in the receiver when the original baseband (e.g. audio) signal is extracted.

Infrared radiation is produced by any physical equipment that generates heat, including our bodies.

Just above the infrared region is the visible spectrum we refer to as light.

 Red is low-frequency or long-wavelength light

 Violet is high-frequency or short-wavelength light.

Ultraviolet is not used for communication; used only in medical.

Today, virtually the entire frequency spectrum between approximately 30 kHz and 300 MHz has been spoken for.

The electromagnetic spectrum is one of our most precious natural resources.

Communication engineering is devoted to making the best use of that finite spectrum.

Spectrum management is provided by agencies set up by the United States and other countries to control
spectrum use

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) are two agencies that deal in spectrum management.
Standards are specifications and guidelines necessary to ensure compatibility between transmitting and receiving
equipment.

The decibel (dB) is a logarithmic unit that can be used to measure ratios of virtually anything.

Frequency allocation- is the allocation and regulation of the electromagnetic spectrum into radio frequency bands
which is normally done by governments in most countries.

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Main barriers of communication:

Language and distance

Methods of communication:

1. Face to face

2. Signals

3. Written word (letters)

4. Electrical innovations:

 Telegraph

 Radio

 Internet (computer)

 Telephone

 Television

Basic components of communication system:

 Transmitter
 Channel or medium
 Receiver

Types of media include (Communication Channel):

 Electrical conductors
 Optical media
 Free space
 System-specific media (e.g., water is the medium for sonar).

Examples (Transreceivers):

 Telephones
 Fax machines
 Handheld CB radios
 Cell phones
 Computer modems

Electronic communications are classified according to whether they are:

 One-way (simplex) or two-way (full duplex or half duplex) transmissions

 Analog or digital signals.

Simplex Examples:
  Radio
 TV broadcasting
 Beeper (personal receiver)

Half duplex Examples:

 Police, military, etc. radio transmissions

 Citizen band (CB)
 Family radio
 Amateur radio

Analog Signal Examples:

 Sine wave
 Voice
 Video (TV)

Digital Signal Examples:

 Telegraph (Morse code)

 Continuous wave (CW) code
 Serial binary code (used in computers)

The two most common methods of modulation are:

 Amplitude Modulation (AM)

 Frequency Modulation (FM)

 Phase Modulation (PM)

Three basic types of multiplexing:

 Frequency division

 Time division

 Code division

Three types of light waves are:

 Infrared

 Visible spectrum

 Ultraviolet