Man Chester Encoding
Man Chester Encoding
Note that in some cases you will see the encoding reversed, with 0 being represented as a
0 to 1 transition. The two definitions have co-existed for many years. The Ethernet Blue-
Book and IEEE standards (10 Mbps) describe the method in whih a Logic 0 is sent as 0 to
1 transition, and a Logic 1 as a one to zero transition (where a zero is represented by a
less negative voltage on the cable). Note that because many physical layers employ an
inverting line driver to convert the binary digits into an electrical signal, the signal on the
wire is the exact opposite of that output by the encoder. Differential physical layer
transmission, (e.g. 10BT) does not suffer this inversion.
The following diagram shows a typical Manchester encoded signal with the
corresponding binary representation of the data (1,1,0,1,0,0) being sent.
The waveform for a Manchester encoded bit stream carrying the sequence of bits
110100.
Note that signal transitions do not always occur at the 'bit boundaries' (the division
between one bit and another), but that there is always a transition at the centre of each
bit.The encoding may be alternatively viewed as a phase encoding where each bit is
encoded by a postive 90 degree phase transition, or a negative 90 degree phase transition.
The Manchester code is therefore sometimes known as a Biphase Code.
A Manchester encoded signal contains frequent level transitions which allow the receiver
to extract the clock signal using a Digital Phase Locked Loop (DPLL) and correctly
decode the value and timing of each bit. To allow reliable operation using a DPLL, the
transmitted bit stream must contain a high density of bit transitions. Manchester encoding
ensures this, allowing the receiving DPLL to correctly extract the clock signal.
Another more curious example is the pattern " 1 0 1 0 1 etc" which encodes to "10 01 10
01 10 " which could also be viewed as "1 00 11 00 11 0 ". Thus for a 10 Mbps Ethernet
LAN, the preamble sequence encodes to a 5 MHz square wave! (i.e., One half cycle in
each 0.1 microsecond bit period.)
A transmission rate of 10 Mbps implies that each bit is sent in 0.1 microseconds. For a
coaxial cable, the speed at which the signal travels along the cable is approximately 0.77
times the speed of light (i.e. 0.77x3x10E8). A bit therefore occupies 23 metres of cable.
Under the same conditions the smallest frame would be 13.3 km!
If you wish to do the same calculation for a twisted pair cable, you would have to take
into consideration that the propagation speed is slower at 1.77x10E8 (0.59c). Increasing
the bit rate, for example using 100BTx, decreases the time available to send each bit into
the wire, but does not change the speed at which the edge of the bits travel through the
cable!
A '1' bit is indicated by making the first half of the signal equal to the last half of the
previous bit's signal i.e. no transition at the start of the bit-time. A '0' bit is indicated by
making the first half of the signal opposite to the last half of the previous bit's signal i.e. a
zero bit is indicated by a transition at the beginning of the bit-time. In the middle of the
bit-time there is always a transition, whether from high to low, or low to high. A reversed
scheme is possible, and no advantage is given by using either scheme.