Experiment 2.

Familiarization with Transmission media and

Tools: Co- axial cable, UTP Cable, Crimping Tool, Connectors etc.

What is transmission media?

Transmission media is a pathway that carries the information from sender to receiver. We use different
types of cables or waves to transmit data. Data is transmitted normally through electrical or
electromagnetic signals.

An electrical signal is in the form of current. An electromagnetic signal is series of electromagnetic

energy pulses at various frequencies. These signals can be transmitted through copper wires, optical
fibers, atmosphere, water and vacuum Different Medias have different properties like bandwidth, delay,
cost and ease of installation and maintenance. Transmission media is also called Communication
channel.

Types of Transmission Media

1. Wired or Guided Media or Bound Transmission Media

2. Wireless or Unguided Media or Unbound Transmission Media

Wired or Guided Media or Bound Transmission Media: Bound transmission media are the cables that are
tangible or have physical existence and are limited by the physical geography. Popular bound
transmission media in use are twisted pair cable, co-axial cable and fiber optical cable. Each of them has
its own characteristics like transmission speed, effect of noise, physical appearance, cost etc.

Wireless or Unguided Media or Unbound Transmission Media: Unbound transmission media are the
ways of transmitting data without using any cables. These media are not bounded by physical geography.
This type of transmission is called Wireless communication. Nowadays wireless communication is
becoming popular. Wireless LANs are being installed in office and college campuses. This transmission
uses Microwave, Radio wave, Infra red are some of popular unbound transmission media

Guided Transmission Media

Types of Twisted Pair

The two types of twisted pairs are:

 1. Unshielded twisted pair (UTP)

2. Shielded twisted pair (STP)

1. Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)

It consists of colour-coded copper wires, but does not include any foil or braiding as insulator to protect
against interference.

Wire pairs within each cable have varied amounts of twists per foot to produce cancellation. There are
different categories of UTP.

The following table shows the UTP categories, the no. of pairs in each, and the grade of cable each uses
and how they are implemented.

2. Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)

STP is made up of pairs of copper wires that are twisted together.

The pairs are covered in a foil or braided mesh, as well as outer PVC jacket.

This foil or mesh prevents the penetration of electromagnetic noise and eliminate cross talk.
 This shielding must be grounded to prevent the foil or braided mesh from becoming a magnet for
electricity.

Advantage of STP over UTP

STP is less susceptible to noise as compared to UTP and therefore reduces the cross talk and interference.

Disadvantages of STP

1. It must be properly grounded.

2. It is more expensive than UTP.

3. It is difficult to terminate.

Advantages of Twisted pair cable

1. It can be used to carry both analog and digital data.

2. It is relatively easy to implement and terminate.

3. It is the least expensive media of transmission for short distances.

4. If portion of a twisted pair cable is damaged it does not effect the entire network.

Disadvantages of Twisted pair cable

1. It offers poor noise immunity as a result signal distortion is more?

2. Attenuation is very high.

3. It supports lower bandwidth as compared to other Medias. It supports 10 mbps upto a distance of
100 meters on a 10BASE-T.
 4. It offers very poor security and is relatively easy to tap.
5. Being thin in size, they are likely to break easily.

Coaxial Cable

Coaxial cable has two wires of copper. The core wire lies in center and is made of solid conductor. Core
is enclosed in an insulating sheath. Over the sheath the second wire is wrapped around and that too in turn
encased by insulator sheath. This all is covered by plastic cover.

Because of its structure coax cables are capable of carrying high frequency signals than that of twisted
pair cables. The wrapped structure provides it a good shield against noise and cross talk. Coaxial cables
provide high bandwidth rates of up to 450 mbps.

There are three categories of Coax cables namely, RG-59 (Cable TV), RG-58 (Thin Ethernet) and RG-11
(Thick Ethernet. RG stands for Radio Government.

Cables are connected using BNC connector and BNC-T. BNC terminator is used to terminate the wire at
the far ends.
Fiber-Optics Cable

A cable with central glass tube covered with protective shield which transmit data using photons is fiber
optics cable. These cables transmit data via concentrated bursts of laser beams which are carried through
bundles of hair thin glass fibers.

They have advantages over electronic cables in transmission speed and volume. This technology has
revolutionized telecommunication applications which used electronic cables. Fiber optics cables as free
from electro-magnetic interference as well as wire tapping . fiber optics cable considered a broad band
communication channel.

Unguided Transmission Media

Unguided transmission media extend beyond the limiting confines of cabling. They provide an excellent
Communication Networks alternative for WANS. The lack of physical restrictions provides larger
bandwidth as well as wide area capabilities. Unbound media typically operate at very high frequencies.
The three types of unbound transmission media are:

 Radio wave.
 Micro wave.
 Infrared.
 Radiowave Transmission
Although Radio waves are prevalent and well understood, we are just beginning to realize their enormous potential
as a networking medium. Radio waves can operate on a single or multiple frequency bands.

Radiowaves are omni directional i.e. they travel in all the directions from the source. Because of this
property, transmitter and receiver need not to be aligned. Radiowaves can penetrate buildings easily, so
they are widely use for communication both indoors outdoors.

At high frequencies, radiowaves tends to travel in straight line and bounce off the obstacles. They are also
absorbed by rain. Radiowaves are widely used for AM and FM radio, television, cordless telephone,
cellular phones, paging and wireless LAN.

Microwave Transmission

Microwaves have been used in data communications for a long time. They have a higher frequency than
radio waves and therefore can handle larger amounts of data.

Microwave transmission is line of sight transmission. The transmit station must be in visible contact with
the receive station. This sets a limit on the distance between stations depending on the local geography.
Typically the line of sight due to the Earth's curvature is only 50 km to the horizon! Repeater stations
must be placed so the data signal can hop, skip and jump across the country. microwave circuits
considered a broad band communication channel. Microwaves operate at high operating frequencies of 3
to 10 GHz. This allows them to carry large quantities of data due to their large bandwidth .

List the Advantages of microwaves.

They require no right of way acquisition between towers.

They can carry high quantities of information due to their high operating frequencies.

Low cost land purchase: each tower occupies only a small area.

High frequency/short wavelength signals require small antennae.

Disadvantages of Microwaves

 Attenuation by solid objects: birds, rain, snow and fog.

 Reflected from flat surfaces like water and metal.
 Diffracted (split) around solid objects.
 Refracted by atmosphere, thus causing beam to be projected away from receiver
Infrared

Infrared offers a great unbound photonic solution. Like fiber-optic cabling, infrared communications use
light, so they are not bound by the limitations of electricity.

Crimping tool

A crimping tool is a tool designed to crimp or connect a connector to the end of a cable. For example,
network cables and phone cables are created using a crimping tool to connect the RJ-45 and RJ-11
connectors to the end of the cable. In the example below picture, this crimper is capable of crimping a RJ-
11 (6-Pin) and RJ-45 (8-Pin) connectors and also includes a wire cutter near the handles that can be used
to cut phone or CAT5 cable.

Connectors

RJ-45 Connecter

The RJ-45 connector is a form of telephone connector. It sees its most frequent use as a local- area
network connector, and is frequently referred to simply as an Ethernet connector.
BNC Connecter

This connector is commonly used on a Token Ring network. BNC is also short for Bayonet
Nut Connector or British Naval/Navy Connector although more appropriately known as the
Bayonet Neill Concelman. In the picture to the right, is an example of a BNC connector on
the end of a coaxial cable.