Bandwidth
The range of frequencies contained in a composite signal is its bandwidth. The bandwidth
is normally a difference between two numbers. For example, if a composite signal
contains frequencies between 1000 and 5000, its bandwidth is 5000 - 1000, or 4000.
The bandwidth of a composite signal is the difference between the
highest and the lowest frequencies contained in that signal.
Example 3.10
If a periodic signal is decomposed into five sine waves with frequencies of 100, 300, 500, 700,
and 900 Hz, what is its bandwidth? Draw the spectrum, assuming all components have a maximum
amplitude of 10 V.
Solution
Let fh be the highest frequency, fl the lowest frequency, and B the bandwidth. Then
B =fh - fl = 900 - 100 =800 Hz
The spectrum has only five spikes, at 100, 300, 500, 700, and 900 Hz
Digital Signals
In addition to being represented by an analog signal, information can also be represented by a digital
signal. For example, a 1 can be encoded as a positive voltage and a 0 as zero voltage. A digital signal
can have more than two levels.
Example 3.16
A digital signal has eight levels. How many bits are needed per level? We calculate the number
of bits from the formula
Number of bits per level =log2 8 =3
Each signal level is represented by 3 bits.
Example 3.17
A digital signal has nine levels. How many bits are needed per level?
We calculate the number of bits by using the formula. Each signal level is represented by 3.17 bits.
However, this answer is
not realistic. The number of bits sent per level needs to be an integer as well as a power of 2. For
this example, 4 bits can represent one level.
Bit Rate
Most digital signals are nonperiodic, and thus period and frequency are not appropriate characteristics.
Another term-bit rate (instead ofjrequency)-is used to describe digital signals. The bit rate is the
number of bits sent in Is, expressed in bits per second (bps). Figure 3.16 shows the bit rate for two
signals.
Example 3.18
Assume we need to download text documents at the rate of 100 pages per minute. What is the
required bit rate of the channel?
Solution
A page is an average of 24 lines with 80 characters in each line. If we assume that one character
requires 8 bits, the bit rate is
100 x 24 x 80 x 8 =1,636,000 bps =1.636 Mbps
Example 3.19
A digitized voice channel, as we will see in Chapter 4, is made by digitizing a 4-kHz bandwidth
analog voice signal. We need to sample the signal at twice the highest frequency (two samples
per hertz). We assume that each sample requires 8 bits. What is the required bit rate?
Solution
The bit rate can be calculated as
2 x 4000 x 8 =64,000 bps =64 kbps
Bit Length
The bit length is the distance one bit occupies on the transmission
medium.
Bit length =propagation speed x bit duration
Digital Signal as a Composite Analog Signal
· A digital signal can be viewed as a composite analog signal using Fourier analysis.
· It is made of many sine waves (frequencies) combined together.
· A digital signal has infinite bandwidth because:
Vertical changes → imply infinite frequency
Horizontal parts → imply zero frequency
So, it includes all frequencies in between
· If the signal is periodic:
Frequencies are discrete
Bandwidth is still infinite
·
If the signal is nonperiodic:
Frequencies are continuous
Bandwidth remains infinite
Transmission of Digital Signals
A digital signal is actually a mix of infinite frequencies (0 to ∞), as explained by Fourier
analysis.
In real data communication, digital signals are mostly nonperiodic (they don’t repeat
regularly).
The key problem is how to transmit this signal from one point to another.
There are two practical transmission methods:
o Baseband transmission → send the digital signal directly over the medium
o Broadband transmission (modulation) → convert the digital signal into an
analog form before sending
o
In short: Digital signals need a suitable transmission method depending on the medium.
Baseband: Baseband transmission means sending a digital signal over a channel without changing the
digital signal to an analog signal. Baseband transmission requires that we have a low-pass channel, a
channel with a bandwidth that starts from zero. This is the case if we have a dedicated medium with a
bandwidth constituting only one channel. For example, the entire bandwidth of a cable
connecting two computers is one single channel.
Broadband transmission or modulation means changing the digital signal to an analog
signal for transmission. Modulation allows us to use a bandpass channel-a channel with
a bandwidth that does not start from zero. This type of channel is more available than a
low-pass channel.