TRANSMISSION

MEDIA

SCHOOL OF COMPUTING MITCH M. ANDAYA

CHANNEL

• The channel is the medium

of transmission (where the
physical information passes
through to get to the
destination).

• It is the physical or non-

physical link between
transmitter and receiver.

• Channels or media can be

classified as either bounded
or unbounded.

Signals and Transmission Media

CHANNEL

• Bounded media are the

physical media (cables).

• There are only two types

of signals that can flow
into a cable.

• These are the electrical

signals for copper cables
and the optical signals for
fiber-optic signals.

Signals and Transmission Media

CHANNEL

• Unbounded media are the

non-physical media (also
called the Air-Interface).

• This is the kind of medium

where radio waves
propagate into.

• Optical signals can also

propagate through the air-
interface, such as Infra-Red
(IR) signals.

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

• Unbounded or unguided transmission uses the air-

interface as its channel or medium.

• The information, which is in the form of electrical

energy, must be converted to electromagnetic
energy (radio waves) in order to be transmitted via
electromagnetic radiation (EMR).

• An antenna is a conductor that acts as a transducer

that converts electrical energy to electromagnetic
energy and vice versa.

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

• The transmitting antenna converts electrical energy to

electromagnetic energy.

• While the receiving antenna converts electromagnetic

energy back to electrical energy.

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

• Different Forms of Antenna

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

Frequency
Region
• The air-interface is From To
3 KHz 30 KHz VLF
considered as one large
30 KHz 300 KHz LF
channel. This channel is 300 KHz 3 MHz MF
further divided into 3 MHz 30 MHz
Radio Waves
HF
smaller sub-channels. 30 MHz 300 MHz VHF
300 MHz 3 GHz UHF
• These sub-channels are 3 GHz 30 GHz
Microwaves
SHF
30 GHz 300 GHz EHF
assigned to specific
300 GHz 400 THz Infrared
applications that operate 400 THz 800 THz Visible Light
is a certain frequency 800 THz 30 PHz Ultraviolet
range. 30 PHz 30 EHz X-Ray
above 30 EHz Gamma Rays

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

• Radio applications have assigned certain frequencies that

fall in any of the radio allocations illustrated.

The AM band used in

radio broadcast fall
within the MF band
(500 kHz to 1600 kHz).

FM radio broadcasts,
on the other hand, are
within the VHF band
(88 to 108 MHZ).

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

• Radio applications have assigned certain frequencies that

fall in any of the radio allocations illustrated.

Television broadcasts are just

side by side with the FM band

‒ 54 to 88 MHz for VHF Low TV

‒ 174 to 216 MHz for VHF High

TV

‒ 470 to 806 MHz for UHF TV

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

• Radio applications have assigned certain frequencies that

fall in any of the radio allocations illustrated.

Mobile phone
frequencies lie
within the UHF and
SHF bands.

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

• Radio applications have assigned certain frequencies that

fall in any of the radio allocations illustrated.

Terrestrial and satellite

microwaves transmission
use frequencies in the SHF
and EHF band.

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

• Radio applications have assigned certain frequencies that

fall in any of the radio allocations illustrated.

In computer networking,
Wireless LANs (WLAN) use
frequencies either in the
2.4 or 5GHz range, which
lies in the SHF range.

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

• Electromagnetic waves are

propagated through the
atmosphere through an
antenna.

• Antenna dimensions are

defined based on the
operating frequency.

• Antennas should typically

have a length that is equal to
¼ to ½ of the electromagnetic
signal wavelength.

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

• Example:

Assume the operating frequency is 900 MHz.

The wavelength for this signal is computed to be:

300,000,000
 = = 0.333 𝑚
900,000,000

The required antenna size should be between 0.083 to

0.167 m (3.3 to 6.6 inches).

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

• The general rule for electromagnetic wave propagation is

that the lower the frequency of the signal, the tendency of
the radio wave is to spread all over, or scatter.

Low to mid frequency signals can go around obstacles.

• For higher frequency signals, propagation tendency is to

have a more focused spread. They are easily blocked by
obstacles in the radio path.

Alternately, high-frequency signal propagation is referred

to as Line-of-Sight (LOS) Propagation.

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

• Radio Propagation Patterns

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

• Radio Propagation Patterns

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

• Radio Propagation Patterns

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

• Radio Propagation Patterns

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

• Radio Propagation Patterns

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

• Old AM/FM Radio

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

• Old AM Radio

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

• In cases where the transmitter-to-receiver path is obstructed by an obstacle or

the receiver does not lie within the coverage area of the radio pattern, a radio
repeater can be used.

• A radio repeater can be a

passive device simply reflecting
the radio waves to the direction
of the receiver, or can be active
where the radio wave is
regenerated before
retransmission.

• In the latter case, the signal

power is amplified, or boosted,
thereby extending the distance
between the transmitter and the
receiver.

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

Signals and Transmission Media

UNBOUNDED (UNGUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

Signals and Transmission Media

MODULATION

• In some cases sending signals in

their raw format is enough.

• However, there are more cases

when sending signals out require
an intermediate process so that
transmission is done in an
efficient manner.

• Consider for example the human

voice. If human voice is to be
sent over the air via radio
transmission, the size of the
antenna becomes a problem.

Signals and Transmission Media

MODULATION

• Human voice frequencies

range between 0 Hz to 𝑐
12,000 Hz (audio signals). =
𝑓
• Assume the midpoint 300,000,000
(6,000 Hz) signals are =
considered to determine 6,000
the antenna size.
= 50,000 m
• At quarter-wavelength, the
the antenna length would = 50 km
be 12.5 km.

Signals and Transmission Media

MODULATION

• The solution to this problem is to

translate or change the frequency of the
audio signal to be transmitted to a much
higher value.

• This process of translation is called

modulation.

• In the process of modulation, some

characteristic of a high-frequency sine
wave (called the carrier) is varied in
accordance with the instantaneous
value of the signal to be transmitted
(called the modulating signal).

• In other words, modulation is having the

information ride, or "piggy-back", onto a
high-frequency carrier signal.

Signals and Transmission Media

MODULATION

• The two main

characteristics or
parameters of a sine wave
are amplitude and
frequency.

• Any of these may be

varied by the modulating
signal, giving rise to
amplitude modulation
and frequency
modulation.

Signals and Transmission Media

MODULATION

• In amplitude modulation, the amplitude of the high-

frequency carrier wave is varied in proportion to the signal
being transmitted.

Signals and Transmission Media

MODULATION

• In frequency modulation, the frequency of the high-

frequency carrier wave is varied in proportion to the signal
being transmitted.

Signals and Transmission Media

MODULATION

• Take the FM broadcast for example. The voices

of the disk jockeys are modulating the carrier
signal and sent through the air-interface.

• The FM band is from 88 to 108 MHz.

• Take an FM station with a carrier signal at 105.9

MHz (DWLA or Retro 105.9 DCG FM).

• In terms of the required antenna dimensions the

quarter-wavelength size would now be
approximately 0.71 m (2.33 feet).

• This is a more manageable as compared to the

12.5 km antenna without modulation.

Signals and Transmission Media

MODULATION

• Another benefit from modulation:

If two of more radio stations were able to come up with a 12.5 Km

antenna, they can transmit music without going through the
process of modulation.

However, since all music is concentrated within the range from 20

Hz to 20 KHz, all signals coming from the different stations would
be hopelessly and inseparably mixed up.

Signals and Transmission Media

MODULATION

If each station has its own unique carrier and modulation was
used, then each message signal (music) will be translated into
different frequencies thus enabling the receiver to separate the
transmission of one station from other stations.

Signals and Transmission Media

MODULATION

• Frequency-Division
Multiplexing (FDM) is
a scheme in which
numerous signals are
combined for
transmission on a
single communications
line or channel.

Each signal is assigned FDM requires that the

a different frequency bandwidth of a link should be
(sub channel) within greater than the combined
the main channel. bandwidths of the various
signals to be transmitted.

Signals and Transmission Media

MODULATION
87.5 FM 87.5 FM1 Philippines Top 40 (CHR)
88.3 FM Jam 88.3 Indie music, Alternative rock
89.1 FM Wave 89.1 Rhythmic Contemporary, R&B, slow jam
89.9 FM Magic 89.9 Top 40 (CHR), Pop
90.7 FM 90.7 Love Radio Hot Adult Contemporary, Hot talk, Pop, OPM
91.5 FM 91.5 Win Radio Hot Adult Contemporary, Adult Top 40, Hot talk, Pop, OPM
92.3 FM Radyo5 92.3 News FM News and Information/Talk
93.1 FM Monster Radio RX 93.1 Urban Contemporary, Pop
93.9 FM
94.7 FM
93.9 iFM
Mellow 947
Hot Adult Contemporary, Hot talk, Pop, OPM
Adult Contemporary, Love songs FM Radio
95.5 FM
96.3 FM
Pinas FM 95.5
96.3 Easy Rock
Hot talk, OPM
Lite Rock, Hot talk, Love songs Stations in
97.1 FM
97.9 FM
Barangay LS 97.1
97.9 Home Radio
Hot Adult Contemporary, Adult Top 40 (CHR), Hot talk, Pop, OPM
CHR/Top 40
the
98.7 FM
99.5 FM
98.7 DZFE The Master's Touch
99.5 Play FM
Classical
Hot Adult Contemporary, CHR/Pop, Hot talk, Pop
Philippines
100.3 FM RJFM 100.3 Manila Classic Hits, Oldies
101.1 FM 101.1 Yes FM Hot Adult Contemporary, CHR/Pop, Hot talk, Pop, OPM
101.9 FM MOR 101.9 For Life! Hot Adult Contemporary, Hot talk, OPM, Foreign Hits
102.7 FM 102.7 Star FM Adult Contemporary, Love songs, Pop, OPM
103.5 FM 103.5 K-Lite FM Adult Contemporary
104.3 FM 104.3 FM 2 Philippines Adult contemporary, classic hits
105.1 FM 105.1 Crossover Smooth AC, Jazz, Blues, Bossa Nova
105.9 FM Retro 105.9 DCG FM Classic hits
106.7 FM 106.7 Energy FM Hot Adult Contemporary, Hot talk, Pop, OPM
107.5 FM 107.5 Wish FM Adult Hits, Classic Hits
107.9 FM 107.9 U Radio House, Trance, Electronica

Signals and Transmission Media

MODULATION

• Therefore, the two major reasons

for needing modulation are:

1. So that a relatively smaller

antenna can be used to
transmit electromagnetic
signals.

2. So that signals with similar

frequencies can be
transmitted without
interference from one
another.

Signals and Transmission Media

DIGITAL MODULATION

• In digital communications, modulation is

called shift-keying.

• Hence, AM is known as Amplitude Shift

Keying (ASK) and FM is known as Frequency
Shift Keying (FSK).

• The same idea is used with the digital signal

being carried by an analog carrier signal.

Signals and Transmission Media

DIGITAL MODULATION

• Computer networks use modulation in many cases.

• Digital signals, square pulses in particular, have a relatively

wide bandwidth requirement (due to its higher
frequencies).

Narrow bandwidth channels, such as telephone lines, will

have problems in the transmission of these signals.

• Modulation can be used to translate digital signals to

analog signals with lower frequencies.

Signals and Transmission Media

DIGITAL MODULATION
+v

1 0 1 1 0 0 1
• Amplitude Shift Keying is a Digital Signal t
form of amplitude modulation
that represents digital data as
variations in the amplitude of -v
a carrier wave.

In an ASK system, if the signal

Carrier Signal
value is 1 then the carrier
signal will be transmitted;
otherwise, a signal value of 0
will be transmitted.

ASK is also known as On-Off

ASK Signal
Keying (OOK).

t

Signals and Transmission Media

DIGITAL MODULATION
+v

• Frequency Shift Keying is a 1 0 1 1 0 0 1

form of frequency modulation Digital Signal t
that represents digital data as
variations in the frequency of
-v
a carrier wave.

• FSK uses a pair of discrete

frequencies (f0 and f1) to Carrier Signal
transmit binary 0s and 1s
information.

• With this scheme, the "1" is

called the mark frequency and
the "0" is called the space FSK Signal
frequency.
t

Signals and Transmission Media

DIGITAL MODULATION
+v

1 0 1 1 0 0 1
Digital Signal t

• A third shift-keying -v
method called Phase
Shift Keying (PSK) is a
digital modulation
Carrier Signal
scheme that conveys
data by changing the
phase of the carrier
wave.
PSK Signal

t

Signals and Transmission Media

DIGITAL MODULATION

• A modem modulates outgoing digital signals from a computer or

other digital device to analog signals for a conventional copper
twisted pair telephone line and demodulates the incoming analog
signal and converts it to a digital signal for the digital device.

• The term is short for MOdulator-DEModulator.

Signals and Transmission Media

DIGITAL MODULATION

• Traditional modems (dialup

modems) used on dialup
networks convert data between
the analog form used on
telephone lines and the digital
form used on computers.

• An external dial-up modem

plugs into a computer and one
end and a telephone line on the
other end.

• In the past, some computer

makers also integrated internal
dial-up modems into their
computer designs.

Signals and Transmission Media

DIGITAL MODULATION

• Modern dial-up network

modems transmit data at a
maximum rate of 56,000 bits
per second (56 Kbps).

• However, inherent limitations of

public telephone networks often
limit modem data rates to 33.6
Kbps (or even lower) in practice.

• When connecting to a network

via a dial-up modem, the devices
customarily relay through a
speaker the distinctive sounds
created by sending digital data
over the voice line.

Signals and Transmission Media

DIGITAL MODULATION

• A broadband modem like

those used for DSL (Digital
Subscriber Line) or cable
modem uses more advanced
modulation techniques to
achieve dramatically higher
network speeds than
traditional modems.

• Broadband modems are

sometimes called "digital
modems" and those used for
traditional dial-up networking
"analog modems."

Signals and Transmission Media

BOUNDED (GUIDED) TRANSMISSION CHANNELS

• In bounded channels,
signals are confined
to the medium and
do not leave it.

• It uses cables in
transmitting data

• It is limited by
physical geography.

Signals and Transmission Media

TWISTED-PAIR CABLES

• Twisted-Pair cables (TP) are constructed by twisted two

copper wires in a helical form.

• Before twisted-pair cables, ordinary wire-pairs were used

for transmission. However, it was later found out that
wire-pairs are susceptible to electromagnetic interference
(EMI), particularly cross-talk.

Signals and Transmission Media

TWISTED-PAIR CABLES

• Cross-talk happens when two wire-

pairs are close to each other and
the electromagnetic energy from
one pair "leaks" into the other pair.

• This is due to the fact that when

electric signals propagate through
a wire a magnetic field is
generated.

• And conversely when a wire is

placed in a magnetic field, an
electric signal is produced.

Signals and Transmission Media

TWISTED-PAIR CABLES

• Because of this, ordinary wire-pairs

were twisted to minimize the
effects of cross-talk.

• The twists brings the two wires

close to one another so if noise
affects one wire, it will also affect
the other wire in the same manner
therefor cancelling its effect.

• However, when the pair is placed

closed to an EMI abundant
environment, the twist does not
protect the signals flowing through
the cable.

Signals and Transmission Media

TWISTED-PAIR CABLES

• To address this, some

cables are built with
shields around the
twisted-pair of wires.

• These types of
twisted-pair cables
are called shielded
twisted-pair cables
(STP).

Signals and Transmission Media

TWISTED-PAIR CABLES

• If the area is not exposed to too much EMI,

twisted pair cables without shields may be
used. These are called unshielded twisted-
pair (UTP).

Signals and Transmission Media

TWISTED-PAIR CABLES

• Twisted-pair cables carry relatively mid-

to-high frequency signals. The
bandwidth can go up to around 100 MHz.

• In data communications, TP’s normally

carry up to 100 Mbps. As the length of
the cable increases, its effective
bandwidth is narrowed.

• UTP is commonly used for existing

telephone systems and for local area
networks.

• STP yields a wider bandwidth (higher

data rates) than UTP but it is more
expensive.

Signals and Transmission Media

TWISTED-PAIR CABLES
• Categories of UTP:

Signals and Transmission Media

COAXIAL CABLES
• Coaxial cables, or simply coax cables, are constructed differently
from Twisted-Pairs. It also has a pair of conductors but this time
they lie on the same axes.

• The inner-conductor is usually a solid wire (but can be stranded)

while the outer-conductor is a braid (or a foil) that surrounds the
inner-conductor. The space between the two conductors is
normally filled with a dielectric insulating material.

Signals and Transmission Media

COAXIAL CABLES

Signals and Transmission Media

COAXIAL CABLES

Signals and Transmission Media

COAXIAL CABLES

• Coax cables have an inherent protection from EMI.

• Coax cables bandwidth go beyond the 100 MHz

limit of TP cables.

• Depending on the physical specifications of the

coax cable, it can operate to as much as 1 GHz, and
over 100-meters of cable length.

• So coax cables are the choice for high-frequency

applications

Signals and Transmission Media

COAXIAL CABLES

• Examples of these would be radio frequency (RF)

signals, video signals, and data signals used for
computer networking.

• They were popular in the early days of Local Area

Networking.

• Ethernet has been previously used with coaxial

cables, but has become so advanced that heavily
shielded cables are no longer needed. Instead, it
usually uses twisted pair cables.

Signals and Transmission Media

FIBER OPTIC CABLES

• Fiber-optic cables are made of glass or high-grade

plastic. Unlike copper cables, fiber-optic cables
carry information by using optical signals, or light
waves, instead of electronic signals.

Signals and Transmission Media

FIBER OPTIC CABLES

Signals and Transmission Media

FIBER OPTIC CABLES

• The physical dimensions of fiber-optic cables are comparable to that of the

human hair. Human hair typically has a diameter of 100-microns (micrometer).
Depending on the type of fiber-optic cable core diameter can vary from as low as
8-microns to around 100-microns. A 125-microns cladding diameter is normally
used for most fiber-optic cables.

Signals and Transmission Media

FIBER OPTIC CABLES

• There is minimal attenuation since fiber optic cables have

low transmission losses which allows a much greater
distance.

• Since it does not use electricity, there is no electromagnetic

radiation (good security). They are essentially free from
crosstalk and electrical interference.

• Light has a much higher frequency of operation (800 THz).

• This higher bandwidth allows data transmission rates of 20

Gbps and above and over distances up to 30 Km.

Signals and Transmission Media