Data and Signals
3.1
3-4 TRANSMISSION IMPAIRMENT
Signals travel through transmission media, which are not
perfect. The imperfection causes signal impairment. This
means that the signal at the beginning of the medium is
not the same as the signal at the end of the medium.
What is sent is not what is received. Three causes of
impairment are attenuation, distortion, and noise.
Topics discussed in this section:
Attenuation
Distortion
Noise
3.2
Figure 3.25 Causes of impairment
3.3
Attenuation
Means loss of energy -> weaker
signal
When a signal travels through a
medium it loses energy overcoming
the resistance of the medium
Amplifiers are used to compensate
for this loss of energy by amplifying
the signal.
3.4
Measurement of
Attenuation
To show the loss or gain of energy
the unit “decibel” is used.
dB = 10log10P2/P1
P1 - input signal
P2 - output signal
3.5
Figure 3.26 Attenuation
3.6
Example 3.26
Suppose a signal travels through a transmission medium
and its power is reduced to one-half. This means that P 2
is (1/2)P1. In this case, the attenuation (loss of power)
can be calculated as
A loss of 3 dB (–3 dB) is equivalent to losing one-half
the power.
3.7
Example 3.27
A signal travels through an amplifier, and its power is
increased 10 times. This means that P2 = 10P1 . In this
case, the amplification (gain of power) can be calculated
as
3.8
Example 3.28
One reason that engineers use the decibel to measure the
changes in the strength of a signal is that decibel
numbers can be added (or subtracted) when we are
measuring several points (cascading) instead of just two.
In Figure 3.27 a signal travels from point 1 to point 4. In
this case, the decibel value can be calculated as
3.9
Figure 3.27 Decibels for Example 3.28
3.10
Example 3.29
Sometimes the decibel is used to measure signal power
in milliwatts. In this case, it is referred to as dBm and is
calculated as dBm = 10 log10 Pm , where Pm is the power
in milliwatts. Calculate the power of a signal with dB m =
−30.
Solution
3.11
Example 3.30
The loss in a cable is usually defined in decibels per
kilometer (dB/km). If the signal at the beginning of a
cable with −0.3 dB/km has a power of 2 mW, what is the
power of the signal at 5 km?
Solution
3.12
Distortion
Means that the signal changes its form or
shape
Distortion occurs in composite signals
Each frequency component has its own
propagation speed traveling through a
medium.
The different components therefore arrive
with different delays at the receiver.
That means that the signals have
different phases at the receiver than they
did at the source.
3.13
Figure 3.28 Distortion
3.14
Noise
There are different types of noise
Thermal - random noise of electrons in
the wire creates an extra signal
Induced - from motors and appliances,
devices act are transmitter antenna
and medium as receiving antenna.
Crosstalk - same as above but
between two wires.
Impulse - Spikes that result from
power lines, lighning, etc.
3.15
Figure 3.29 Noise
3.16
Signal to Noise Ratio
(SNR)
To measure the quality of a system
the SNR is often used. It indicates
the strength of the signal wrt the
noise power in the system.
It is the ratio between two powers.
It is usually given in dB and
referred to as SNRdB.
3.17
Example 3.31
The power of a signal is 10 mW and the power of the
noise is 1 μW; what are the values of SNR and SNRdB ?
Solution
3.18
Example 3.32
The values of SNR and SNRdB for a noiseless channel
are
We can never achieve this ratio in real life; it is an ideal.
3.19
Figure 3.30 Two cases of SNR: a high SNR and a low SNR
3.20
