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Data and Signals

The document discusses three main causes of signal impairment when transmitted through media: attenuation, distortion, and noise. Attenuation refers to loss of signal energy over distance. Distortion occurs when different frequency components of a composite signal arrive with different delays. Noise comes from various sources like thermal effects, interference, and impulse spikes. Signal to noise ratio (SNR) measures signal quality by comparing signal power to noise power in decibels.

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SRI JAI GANAPATHY S N
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25 views21 pages

Data and Signals

The document discusses three main causes of signal impairment when transmitted through media: attenuation, distortion, and noise. Attenuation refers to loss of signal energy over distance. Distortion occurs when different frequency components of a composite signal arrive with different delays. Noise comes from various sources like thermal effects, interference, and impulse spikes. Signal to noise ratio (SNR) measures signal quality by comparing signal power to noise power in decibels.

Uploaded by

SRI JAI GANAPATHY S N
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Data and Signals

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
Causes of impairment
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.
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
Attenuation
Example 1

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.
Example 2

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
Example 3

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
Decibels for Example 3
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.
Distortion
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, lightning, etc.
Noise
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.
 SNR=average signal power/average noise
power
Example 6

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
The values of SNR and SNRdB can be calculated as
follows:
Example 7

The values of SNR and SNRdB for a noiseless channel


are

We can never achieve this ratio in real life; it is an ideal.


Two cases of SNR: a high SNR and a low SNR

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