Transmission Line Fundamentals

Southern Methodist University

EETS8320
Fall 2005
Session 5
Slides only. (No notes.)

Rev. 2.8;Page 1

1996-2005, R.Levine

Major Transmission Facts 1

Electromagnetic waves flow via the nonconductive space in or around wire/cable
conductors, and not via the metal conductor
itself.
Some of this electromagnetic power may be coupled
to/from other nearby wires, producing crosstalk
Transpositions, twisted pairs, or use of co-axial cable
(having minimum external EM fields) minimize crosstalk

Electromagnetic waves are guided by

conductors (in twisted pair, co-axial cable, or
wave guides).
Power loss is due to:
A. Longitudinal metallic resistance of wire/cable
B. Radiation losses (particularly for twisted pairs)

Rev. 2.8;Page 2

1996-2005, R.Levine

Diagram of EM Fields Around Wire Pair

Figure taken from web site http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scots_Guide/audio/part6/page3.html

The H field is related to the B field by the equation B=H

Rev. 2.8;Page 3

1996-2005, R.Levine

Structure and EM Fields in Co-ax

See footnote on previous page.

Rev. 2.8;Page 4

1996-2005, R.Levine

Major Transmission Facts 2

Analysis of transmission via examination of the EM fields is most
accurate, but also complicated
For transverse EM waves we can determine four lumped
parameters that approximately describe the properties of the
section of wire/cable:

R. Longitudinal resistance (ohm/meter)

L. Loop inductance (henry/meter)
G. Parallel insulation conductance (mho/meter or 1/ohmmeter)
C. Parallel wire pair capacitance (farad/meter)

Derived parameters:
Fractional power loss in percent/meter or dB/meter
Characteristic impedance or surge impedance, Z0 :
Wave speed (phase velocity)
Z0

R jL 2f G jC 2f

* Transverse EM waves have both their E and H fields in the cross-sectional plane perpendicular
to the direction of EM power flow. (H field is B/ .) H is measured in amp/meter, analogous to
lumped element current,
of power flow. Symbol j=-1.

cm and
1 / more
R jLconvenient
2f G jCfor
2f analysis
Mathematicians use symbol i, but engineers use i for current.

Rev. 2.8;Page 5

1996-2005, R.Levine

Major Transmission Facts 3

R typically increases proportional to frequency
because the skin depth of EM wave penetration into
the metallic conductors is inversely proportional to
frequency.
Aside from power loss, typical wire/cable transmission
medium has slightly different wave speeds for different
sine wave frequency components of a complicated
waveform, thus producing an altered waveform after
passing through many km of wire/cable
Attenuation is a problem for voice and modem signals both.
Waveform changes are a problem primarily for modems.

When two transmission wires/cables having different

Z0 are spliced, EM wave power is partially reflected
and partially transmitted. This produces echo.
Rev. 2.8;Page 6

1996-2005, R.Levine

Electrical Resistance
Most metal objects have linear resistance properties. Ohms law
applies: v= Ri, where i is current (amps), R is resistance (ohms), and v
is voltage (volts)
area

length

Longitudinal electric resistance of a wire is determined by:

R = length/area
where is the material resistivity* (unit: ohmmeter), with a high value for
some materials (e.g. platinum) and low for others (e.g. silver). The unit
ohmcentimeter is also used historically.
area is r2 for circular wire of radius r (but note later about skineffect)

Power lost due to electrical resistance R carrying current i, is i2R

(also equivalent to v2/R or vi)
This formula describes dc (constant current) power loss accurately. Current
density is uniform throughout the area for unvarying or direct current.
*Material resistivity of copper can be increased by repeatedly bending and flexing the wire to modify the
atomic level crystal structure. Newly manufactured soft drawn copper wire has slightly lower resistivity
than hard drawn wire that was repeatedly flexed via roller machines before selling. Hard drawn wire is
mechanically stronger and can be pulled with less breakage.

Rev. 2.8;Page 7

1996-2005, R.Levine

Power Loss
Power really flows via an electromagnetic wave in the space
surrounding the wires (only a little electric field in the copper)
Wave speed is affected by the insulation material (e.g.,plastics, paper pulp,
silk or other woven fibers, etc.)
Only a surface portion of the copper carries alternating current, so-called
skin effect, -- to form a boundary for EM wave
depth of the current skin is inversely proportional to square root ( of
frequency -- therefore effective resistance is higher at higher frequency due to
smaller effective current-carrying area

Resistance of the wire causes i2R loss, the conversion of electric power
into heat
Silver would be slightly better, but too costly (silver coating/plating sometimes used)
Aluminums low resistivity is close to Cu -- also lighter in weight!... but its surface oxide
is a poor conductor*

Some EM Field power Radiates into Space

Particularly for non-shielded wire, curved wires, etc.
Even with super-conducting wires (zero resistance) there would be some
radiation losses
*Resistive surface aluminum oxide led to heating and home fires in 1960s through 1980s. Consequently
Aluminum power wiring was banned, or installed only with special coating or terminal fittings.

Rev. 2.8;Page 8

1996-2005, R.Levine

Wire Gauge
In North America, wire diameter is described by peculiar
gauge (ga or AWG) number
Based on the number of times the wire is drawn through smaller
and smaller conical diamond forming dies during manufacture.
Larger ga or AWG number implies smaller diameter

Most other countries list actual diameter (in mm)

resistance stated in table]

[dc

B&S or
Diameter
AWG Copper (inches)
Wire Gauge
12
0.08

Diameter per km (at dc, 0 Hz)

(mm)
[loop is twice the resistance of
one wire]
2.053
10.42
Electric power uses

14
19
22
24

1.628
0.91
0.644
0.511

0.064
0.036
0.025
0.020

16.56
51.6
103.8
164.4

Electric power uses

Telephone history interest
Telephone use today

Telephone use today

Abbreviations: AWG=American Wire Gauge, B&S=Brown & Sharpe (manufacturer of
measuring equipment), = Ohms

Rev. 2.8;Page 9

1996-2005, R.Levine

Transmission Lines
Electromagnetic waves propagate or flow in a direction
parallel to the wires axis, but power flow is mostly in
the electromagnetic field outside the metallic wires
The wires act as a waveguide, although the name
waveguidesometimes describes a hollow tube

The most accurate, but complicated, method of

analysis is to examine the electromagnetic wave
pattern in space
Is the propagation completely parallel to the wires, or do waves
bounce around on diagonal reflected paths as in a hollow
waveguide or a multi-mode optical fiber?

A sufficiently accurate method for many applications is

to describe the transmission line properties by
approximate lumped electrical parameters
Rev. 2.8;Page 10

1996-2005, R.Levine

Free-wave Coupling
Why dont the EM waves just flow out into space away
from the wires?
With certain geometrical arrangements, they do just that:
Parallel wires separated far more than their diameters
Wires bent to right angles from parallel (so-called dipole
antenna) like the lines above...
A bend in the two parallel wires (over large distance compared
to the wavelength)

EM waves from other sources may induce voltage or

current on wires
One cause of cross talk, particularly at audio frequencies
Called a radio receiving antenna when intentional
Electromagnetic waves may cause primarily magnetic or primarily
electrostatic coupling or induction, depending on geometrical
arrangement

Rev. 2.8;Page 11

1996-2005, R.Levine

Transmission Line Properties

Approximate lumped section model of wave transmission
Resistance per unit (loop) length, R
unit: ohm/meter

Inductance per unit (loop) length, L

unit: henry/meter (where henry=voltsec/amp)

Leakage Conductance per unit length, G

unit: mho/meter or 1/(ohmmeter) of conductance per unit length (leakage
from one wire to another)
Conductance is 1/resistance (informal unit mho is ohm spelled backwards
-- official name siemens)*
plastic insulation is very good so very little mhos

Capacitance per unit length, C

unit: farad/meter (where farad= ampsec/volt)

Following two thought experiments require relatively short section of

wire, so EM waves travel to far end in a very short time.
* Backward spelling is also used informally: 1/henry=yrneh (ernie), 1/farad=daraf

Rev. 2.8;Page 12

1996-2005, R.Levine

Inductance/unit length
Isolate a unit length of transmission wire pair,
short circuit the two wires at the far end
Theoretically, it is desirable to chill the material to a low
(super-conducting??) temperature, so the electrical
resistance does not complicate the measurement!
This is what scientists call a thought experiment

Apply a constant voltage Va-b for T seconds.

The current i will increase slowly and the
magnetic field increases proportional to i.
Compute VT/i at the end of the time. This is
the inductance L. (Bluevoltsarea
is VT.)amps
a-b
a

V
I

Rev. 2.8;Page 13

1996-2005, 0R.Levine T

t
0

Capacitance/unit length
Isolate a unit length of transmission wire pair
Apply a constant current I for T seconds. The
voltage Va-b will increase slowly as the
electric field increases. Positive electric
charge is drawn away from the lower wire and
pumped up to the upper wire. The total
amount of charge transferred in T seconds is
I T (ampsec or coulomb)
Compute IT/V at the end of the time. This is
the capacitance C. (Green area is volts
IT.)
a-b
a

amps

I
b

Rev. 2.8;Page 14

1996-2005, 0R.Levine T

t
0

Resistance, Conductance, etc.

The loop resistance per unit length is measured in an
experiment similar to measuring inductance. We find dc loop
resistance from the ratio V/I using constant current I.
The conductance between the two wires is measured in an
experiment similar to measuring capacitance, except we
measure the leakage current I that flows from one wire to
another due to imperfect insulation.
All of these measurements can be made in a more practical way
using sine wave test current or voltage at different frequencies.
The effects of inductance and series resistance can be
mathematically calculated using the measured ratio of voltage to
loop current. Similarly, the effect of capacitance and
conductance can be mathematically calculated.
We find that each of these four parameter measurements give
slightly different results at different frequencies. For example,
skin effect produces higher measured effective series resistance
(ESR) at higher frequencies.
Rev. 2.8;Page 15

1996-2005, R.Levine

Illustration of Skin Effect

B or H field
circulates
In clockwise
direction.

Cross-section
of wire carrying
current into
paper.
f=0 kHz (DC)

Intensity of
H field (amp/m)
External H field falls off
asymptotically inversely
proportional to distance
from wire center.
Rev. 2.8;Page 16

f=1 kHz
f=2 kHz

1996-2005, R.Levine

Diametrical distance
Inside wire (mm)

Lumped Element Model for

Transmission Line
This represents a 1 km loop of 19 ga copper wire, with typical
plastic insulation.
Leakage conductance between wires is more often described
as 0.14 mho or siemens of conductance, instead of 7.14
Mof resistance

Note: These parameters are all dc values for 20 C temperature.

Rev. 2.8;Page 17

1996-2005, R.Levine

Common (Longitudinal) Mode

Electrical Balance is important in telephone transmission lines
Electrical characteristics such as capacitance or leakage conductance from
either wire to ground should be the same (symmetrical).

Telephone lines run parallel to electric power wires for miles, on

telephone poles or in underground conduits
Power wires are furthest from the street level for safety of telephone repair
crews

Longitudinal voltage can be magnetically coupled to both

telephone wires
Common Mode voltage appears on both wires with respect to ground/earth
A device that senses the differential mode (voltage difference between the
two wires) will not respond to a common mode voltage. Example: telephone
set

Longitudinal voltage produces significant ac power frequency

hum if telephone line is unbalanced
Example: unbalance occurs when one wire has lower resistance than other
wire vis--vis ground/earth, due to damaged or wet insulation.

Rev. 2.8;Page 18

1996-2005, R.Levine

Unbalanced Model

Real transmission lines must have well

balanced electrical characteristics to prevent
longitudinal or common mode induced
voltages from appearing at the ends
However, for many theoretical purposes, an
unbalanced model with the same total loop
parameter values is simpler for analysis

Rev. 2.8;Page 19

1996-2005, R.Levine

dc or Resistive Model
A model which ignores L and C is only useful for the single special purpose of
computing dc loop current
Omitting inductance and capacitance theoretically removes time delay and
waveform distortions. Power loss still occurs.
Note for dc that L becomes a zero ohm resistance or a short circuit, while C becomes an open circuit

or

Rev. 2.8;Page 20

1996-2005, R.Levine

Wire Resistance R Depends On...

Material resistivity (copper, aluminum, etc.)
Resistivity partly depends on metallic atomic arrangement
Hard drawn (work hardened) copper has small irregular metal
crystals, higher resistance, but it is less damaged by handling or
installation.
Soft drawn copper has large regular crystals of metal, lower resistance

Temperature: resistance of metal increases about 1% for

each higher degree Celsius
Standard room temperature is 20 C (=68 F)

Wire Diameter (more generally, current carrying cross

sectional area). Larger diameter implies lower resistance.
Signal frequency: due to frequency-dependent skin effect
Higher equivalent resistance for higher frequency
Because current-carrying area is smaller at high frequency

Rev. 2.8;Page 21

1996-2005, R.Levine

Inductance L Depends On...

Inductance is the ratio of the total flux linkage to the
current. Flux linkaage is measured in voltsec, and is found
by integrating the magnetic field intensity over a suitable
surface between the two conductors
In general, L depends on geometric shape and separation of
conductors. Major types are:
Parallel round/cylinder wires (usually twisted pair)
Co-axial cable (outer and inner cylindrical conductors)

Use of magnetic materials

Magnetic materials in the field region can affect L, but usually nonmagnetic materials (/o=1) are used
Some older cables were made with a magnetic alloy (e.g.,permalloy)
built in between the current carrying wires.

L is very slightly dependent on frequency, indirectly due to

skin effect

Rev. 2.8;Page 22

1996-2005, R.Levine

Conductance G Depends on...

Leakage conductance is ratio of wire-to-wire leakage
current, divided by voltage. It is determined by.
Intrinsic resistance of insulation material
Thickness of the insulation. Thicker insulation gives lower
G value.
Conductive impurities such as water (particularly with
dissolved ions) which can permeate through the plastic
under some conditions
Much more serious problem with older porous pulp or fiber (cotton or
silk) insulation

Wet cable can be dried out by use of dry nitrogen (N 2) gas

under continuous pressure from an evaporating tank of
liquid nitrogen
Slightly temperature dependent
Rev. 2.8;Page 23

1996-2005, R.Levine

Capacitance C Depends On...

Capacitance is the ratio of the electric charge (on the surface of
one conductor) to the voltage between the two conductors
In general, C depends on geometric shape and separation
distance of conductors
Dielectric permittivity epsilon r of the insulation. Most
plastic insulation materials have relative r =/ o)(dielectric
constant) value in range 3 to 8, compared to air.
Significantly depends on temperature.
Slight increase if water molecules permeate the insulation
Frequency dependence due to skin effect and material
properties. See Feynman Lectures on Physics, Vol.II, chapters
10, 11 and 32, for a more fundamental physical description of
why dielectric properties depend on frequency.
Rev. 2.8;Page 24

1996-2005, R.Levine

Wave Speed cm= 1/(LC)

The wave speed depends on electrical parameters of the insulation

for most practical wires and cables
Regardless of shape, for a transverse electromagnetic wave
(propagation parallel to the wires) in a lossless (non-resistive,
perfectly insulated) line, cm 1 /
The wave speed described here is the phase velocity of a test sine
wave -- not the velocity of a general waveform
If the phase velocity is the same for all frequency components, then the
velocity of any arbitrary waveform is the same. If the phase velocity of
different frequencies is different, then the waveform of a traveling wave
will be modified after traveling different distances!

For lossy lines, or lines with other components inserted

periodically*, the phase velocity varies greatly at different test
frequencies
Therefore, a non-sinusoidal waveform can have its different frequency
components arrive with different delays, thus changing the received
waveform. (an effect called dispersion)
* For example, when loading coils (inductors) are connected in series in the wires at
intervals of 6000 ft, the wave speed is lower than for non-loaded wires.

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1996-2005, R.Levine

Data Transmission Speed

The wave speed or time delay depends on physical parameters
of the transmission system
The data rate (data bits per second) affects the time required to
transmit a fixed amount of data. A channel which can transmit
more bits/second can transmit the same data file in a shorter
time. We loosely call this higher data speed although the term
data rate or bit rate is more accurate and appropriate
The bit rate capacity of a channel is sometimes called its
bandwidth although the term bit rate is more accurate and
appropriate
When all other factors (type of modulation, etc.) are unchanged,
a higher data rate does correspond to a waveform with a higher
bandwidth. However, by changing the type of modulation (e.g.,
from two level to 4 level coding) one can change the bandwidth
of a signal without changing its digital bit rate.
Rev. 2.8;Page 26

1996-2005, R.Levine

Lossy Distortionless Line

A transmission line having the following ratio of parameters: R/L=G/C,
has the same loss and wave speed (phase shift or time delay) at all
frequencies. It is therefore distortionless (no change in waveform
shape), since all frequency components are reduced proportionately in
amplitude and have the same time delay. They stay in phase with each
other. The signal is reduced in amplitude as it travels along the wires,
but the waveform is otherwise unchanged.
G/C is normally a much, much smaller ratio than R/L. The simplest
modification to achieve the same ratio with R/L is to use low
resistance insulation between the wires (to increase G), but then the
overall power loss is too much to be economically interesting, even
with amplifiers.
A more practical method to improve transmission line loss is to
artificially increase L by installing loading coils described later.
More practical method to combat dispersion, for modems and other
waveform sensitive devices, has been to use adaptive equalizers.
Equalizers combine various internally delayed copies of the received
waveform to compensate for dispersion.

Rev. 2.8;Page 27

1996-2005, R.Levine

Characteristic Impedance Zo=(L/C)

Zo is ratio of V/I in a traveling wave. V is transverse voltage (wire-to-wire), I

is longitudinal current. In contrast, ohmic series (loop) resistance R is ratio
of longitudinal voltage drop to longitudinal current

Zo depends on geometry
When two conductors are far separated in comparison to their diameter or
width, Zo is larger

For a transverse electromagnetic wave (propagation parallel to the wires)

in a lossless (non-resistive, perfectly insulated) square parallel plate
transmission line, Zo= (/) = 377approximately
That is an approximation assuming all significant electric and magnetic field is
almost completely confined in the space between the two parallel plates

Geometry with increased distance between conductors has higher Z o

value.
For lossy lines, or lines with material or properties dependent on
frequency or temperature, the Zo will be different if these parameters
change
When two line sections with different Zo values (due to change in wire
diameter, insulation type, etc.) connect, some of the wave power will be
reflected and some will continue into the next section of transmission line

Rev. 2.8;Page 28

1996-2005, R.Levine

Nominal Zo for Subscriber Loop

In the early days of the telephone, the two telephone
wires of a loop were installed far apart on a cross-arm
of a telephone pole. Wire centers were separated by 20
or more times the diameter of the wires.
Via theoretical calculations of surge impedance, we see
that wires with centers separated in air by about 5 times
the wire radius will have approx Zo=600 surge
impedance
The measured surge impedance varies slightly with frequency due
to changes in skin depth with frequency, etc.
Despite many variations when comparing different types of wire
and cable, Zo=600 purely resistive (current and voltage inphase) is often used as the nominal surge impedance in technical
specification documents, etc.
900

In modern telephone cables, wires are typically

separated by about 3 wire diameters, and each wire is
coated with plastic insulation. Theoretical surge
impedance of this pair is about 300 .
Resistor-capacitor circuit model often used to better
represent an average length subscriber loop terminated
in a central office subscriber card.
Rev. 2.8;Page 29

1996-2005, R.Levine

1.2F

Transpositions and Helices

A second wire pair installed on the same cross arms produced strong
magnetic field coupling (cross-talk) due to the magnetic field from both
loops sharing the space in between the wires.
Coupling can be neutralized by transposing the second pair of wires
at the midpoint of installed length
Third pair of wires can be transposed in four sections. Similarly more
transpositions can be used for the 4th, 5th, and succeeding pairs (4th, 5th
not shown).
Twisting each individual pair in a cable into a helix with different pitch
(length of one turn of the helix) helps minimize induction cross talk.
Twisted pairs also hold the two wires comprising the same loop in close
proximity, thus reducing the area susceptible to magnetic induction. Also,
allows the installation technician to separate individual subscriber loop pairs
more easily for installation purposes.

Rev. 2.8;Page 30

1996-2005, R.Levine

Wave Reflections
When two transmission lines having different values of Z o are
joined, and an electromagnetic wave arrives at the joint from one
side
Part of the power will travel through the joint into the second transmission
line
Part of the power will be reflected back towards the source

If the reflected wave occurs in a purely unidirectional wire pair,

this may not be a problem
Example: one unidirectional pair of a two-pair (4 wire) system

If the reflected wave occurs in a bi-directional wire pair, or can

get into the return unidirectional wire pair via a 2-to-4 wire
conversion point (a hybrid or directional coupler), the
participants may perceive an echo.
We try to prevent echo, but when it occurs the best present
remedy is an echo canceller.
The echo canceller determines the time delay, amplitude and polarity (+ or -)
of the echo waveforms, and generates a canceling signal by means of digital
signal processing (DSP).
In dialed call service, the echo canceller must adaptively re-adjust its
parameters (time delay, etc.) for each new telephone call.

Rev. 2.8;Page 31

1996-2005, R.Levine

Proportional Decrease In Power

Wire to wire (transverse) voltage decreases exponentially*
with distance. There is a uniform percentage power loss
per unit length.
For a 1 kHz test signal, 19 ga wire looses approx 20% of
section input power (leaving 79.4% output) for each 1 mi
(1.6 km) section (this corresponds to ~1 dB/mi)
3 mi of wire delivers 0.7940.7940.794 = 0.50056, or about
1/2 of original power
Engineers dont like to do tedious repeated multiplication,
so they use logarithms: loss of 1 dB per mi, added 3 times
for 3 miles, yields a total loss of 3 dB (corresponding to
about 1/2 of original input power)
*The word exponentially is a jargon term implying a change of a
fixed percentage for each km of wire. It does not merely mean
large change.
Rev. 2.8;Page 32

1996-2005, R.Levine

Transmission Loss
Loss is usually expressed in dB for convenience in adding
total logarithmic loss for a chain of devices
simpler than multiplying the numerical input/output ratios for a chain of
sections

For a length of wire or cable, transmission* gain in dB is:

10log10 (output power/input power)
With output lower than input power, this gain will be a
negative number (that is, a loss of power)
For 1 mi of 19 ga wire loop using 1 kHz test signal, input to
output power ratio is 1.26/1 = 1/0.794)
Corresponds to -1 dB/mi (-0.6 dB/km) gain (+1 dB/mi loss)
Also corresponds to input-output voltage ratio 1.122/1 (or
1/0.89) for a mile of 19 ga wire
* Be careful about often careless and confusing usage of minus sign. Strictly speaking,
negative loss is gain or amplification. Transmission gain could also theoretically be
produced by wire with negative resistance!

Rev. 2.8;Page 33

1996-2005, R.Levine

Transmission Loss Also Depends On...

Wire diameter (gauge). At 1 kHz:

AWG gauge

19

22

24

Loss (dB/mi)

1.79

2.2

Frequency (due primarily to skin effect R) 19 ga

Frequency (kHz)

10

100

Loss (dB/mi)

3.2

6.1

Temperature (due primarily to increased R)

Loss per mi (or per km) is greater at higher temperature

Rev. 2.8;Page 34

1996-2005, R.Levine

Insertion Loss
Conceptually think of breaking the chain of
equipment and inserting another device of interest
(more wire, an amplifier, etc.)
Additional loss due to this insertion of another device
is the so-called insertion loss
Insertion loss and transmission loss are the same in a
chain of devices with the same surge impedance that
is, the same ratio of V/I at all connection points
That is, uniform characteristic impedanceor surge
impedance at all points in the transmission chain
Not accurate throughout the audio frequency range, but
telephone systems often approximate the surge impedance Zo of
wire pair by using 600 (resistive) as a nominal approximate
value for certain test purposes

Rev. 2.8;Page 35

1996-2005, R.Levine

Exponential Losses in Transmission Line

1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
P( x ) 0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0

2
x

Rev. 2.8;Page 36

1996-2005, R.Levine

Linear Loss Described Using Logarithmic dB

1
T(x)=10log(P(x))

0
1

T( x ) 2
3
4
5

2
x

Rev. 2.8;Page 37

1996-2005, R.Levine

Loop Length
Subscriber Loop length is usually limited by dc loop current
(so-called resistance limit)
At least 5 to 10 mA needed to properly operate microphone and tone dial in
a telephone set. 20 mA or more is desirable.

In contrast, trunk length is usually limited by signal loss

This can be corrected by amplification, so there is no theoretical physical
limit from this cause (of course, signal power falls to near noise power
level, etc.)
Longer trunks require more amplifiers
Trunk wire with high loss requires amplifiers (one type of repeater)
with higher gain and/or closer spacing
When dc current is used in trunks to power repeaters, the overall design of
the equipment is normally done so that dc current is not the limiting factor.
In some cases, the signal delay is limited due to call processing signal
requirements (even while speech delay is not yet a problem) to 1.5 or 2
milliseconds for some switching devices such as remote line modules or
concentrators used with telecom switches.

Rev. 2.8;Page 38

1996-2005, R.Levine

Conflicting Objectives
Amplifiers are used in analog transmission systems to
compensate for power loss in transmission wire, cable
In digital transmission systems, dispersion and other waveform changes
must also be compensated by repeaters. The example here considers only
amplification.

One very high gain amplifier could, in theory, compensate for

the loss of any length of line
But if the signal gets too small before further amplification, the
effects of thermal noise and interference will be severe
If the signal is amplified too high before transmission, the
voltage will be huge (and possibly even dangerous!)
The cost of a very high gain amplifier is also much greater
than a low gain amplifier
The optimum engineering-economic arrangement is to use a
number of amplifiers of moderate gain, inserted at equal
distances into the transmission wires
Rev. 2.8;Page 39

1996-2005, R.Levine

Optimum Number of Amplifiers is Set by

Economics, as well as Technology
A definite cost model is required
changing technology may change the cost model

Usual practice is to place amplifiers (repeaters)

periodically at fixed distance intervals so:
Required amplifier gain is moderate, so unit cost is moderate
Input signal is never too low compared to noise & interference
If the first or last section of line is not the standard interval length, a
Line Build-Out (LBO) network is connected into the end. LBO can be
made using inductors, resistors and capacitors, or sometimes by
merely using a spool of wire or cable of the correct length.
An example showing economic optimization of repeater spacing will
be given on the practice quiz

Rev. 2.8;Page 40

1996-2005, R.Levine

Approximate Loss Formula

For (G/C)<<(R/L), which is the typical transmission line case, dB
loss per km is approximately proportional to
[(R/2) (C/L)] + [(G/2) (L/C)] + other smaller terms.
The first term is biggest. If we could increase L (or decrease C or
R), loss would decrease. Increasing L is the most practical
alternative.
Both Pupin and Campbell (and others) recognized this about
1900, and added lumped inductive loading coils in series with
the telephone wires, thus decreasing the first loss term
(R/2) (C/L).
Loading Coils are passive, reliable devices, used widely until the
1960s. Loading coils have mostly been removed since then, but
are still occasionally found in place on old outside plant wiring.

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1996-2005, R.Levine

Pupin Loading Coils

Practical approximation to increased L uses lumped
series inductors
Most widely used spacing interval is 6000 feet (1.848 km)
European systems use 2 km spacing
Most widely used inductor is 88 mH, toroidal shape
There is some added resistance due to thin wire in the
loading coil, but overall transmission loss is improved

Used historically for baseband transmission on both

subscriber loops and trunks
The 6000 ft spacing of loading coils led directly to the
same spacing later for T-1 digital carrier repeater units,
since access and enclosures were already available at
these locations.
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1996-2005, R.Levine

Loading Coils Have Mainly Historical Significance Today

Due to use of lumped inductors, loaded line has better loss only at low
frequencies, and has much worse loss at high frequencies (above 4 kHz)
Acts like a type of low pass filter
Designed to pass up to 3.5 kHz audio for desired speech quality

Loading coil toroidal cores are also used to wind transformers for radio
and other applications
Available at low cost on the used equipment market. Used by radio hams and
experimenters

In some cases where two pairs split off from one pair (a bridged tap), a
coil is wired in series with each pair to increase the Z o and reduce reflected
power
This is called a bridge lifter

Loading coils and bridge lifters must be removed to install any

transmission system which utilizes frequencies above about 4 kHz, such
as:
All types of digital systems (T-1, ISDN, etc.)
Data above voice (several proprietary systems)
ADSL, HDSL, etc.

Rev. 2.8;Page 43

1996-2005, R.Levine