LEARNING OUTCOME 2

Identify the different types of Transmission Media

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Information Sheet 2.1

Media

Transmission
Frequencies

Transmission Media
Characteristics
Cost
Installation
Requirements
Bandwidth
Band Usage
Attenuation
Electromagnetic
Inteference

Guided/Cable Media
Coaxial Cable
Twisted Pair Cable
Fiber Optics

Unguided/Wireless
Media
Reasons for wireless
network
Wireless Communication
with LANs
Comparison of Different
Wireless Media

Transmission

Self Check 2.1

Activity 2.1
Model Answer to Self
Check 2.1

Frequencies

Transmission Media
Characteristics
Cost
Installation
Requirements
Bandwidth
Band Usage
Attenuation
Electromagnetic
Inteference
Guided/Cable Media
Coaxial Cable
Twisted Pair Cable
Fiber Optics

Unguided/Wireless
Media
Reasons for wireless
network
Wireless Communication
with LANs
Comparison of Different
Wireless Media
Perform Activity Sheet 2.1 Crimping
Cat5/Cat5e

Answer Self Check 2.1

Evaluation: Match Answer your answer to
Model 2.1

INFORMATION SHEET 2.1

Transmission Media

Transmission - transfers of data

Media - the medium through which data is transferred from one place to another
Signals - information is transmitted in the form of electromagnetic signals

Two Types of Signal

1. Analog Signal
Continuous signal in which the signal intensity varies smoothly over time
2. Digital Signal
Discrete signal in which the signal intensity maintains a constant level for some period
and then changes to another constant level.

Characteristic of Analog signal

1. Amplitude: intensity of signal at any given time
2.

Frequency: no of cycles/periods in one second, measured in Hz

Frequency = 1/Period

Digital Signals
1. Digital signals can be better described by two terms

2.

Bit interval: time required to send a single bit

Bit rate: number of bit intervals in one second

A digital signal is a composite signal having an infinite number of frequencies i.e. infinite
bandwidth
The digital BW is bits per sec (bps)

Transmission Media Frequency

TRANSMISSION MEDIA CHARACTERISTICS

1. Cost
2. Installation requirements
3. Bandwidth

4. Band usage (baseband or broadband)

5. Attenuation
6. Immunity from electromagnetic interference

Band Usage
a. Baseband - devotes the entire capacity of the medium to one communication channel
b. Broadband - enables two or more communication channels to share the bandwidth of the
communications medium.
Multiplexing - technique that enables broadband media to support multiple data channels
Bandwidth - refers to the measure of the capacity of a medium to transmit data.
Baseband and broadband transmission modes

Attenuation - a
measure
of
how much a
signal
weakens as it
travels
through
a
medium

Electromagnetic Interference - consists of outside electromagnetic noise that distorts the signal in
a medium.

Classes of Transmission Media

1. Guided Media - provides a conduit from one device to another

2. Unguided Media - transports electromagnetic waves without using a physical conductor
called Wireless Communication
Guided Media
1. Twisted Pair
2. Coaxial Cable
3. Fiber Optics

Twisted Pair
TWO TYPES OF TWISTED PAIR
Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)

Unshielded Twisted Pair - is considered the fastest copper-based media.

UTP CATEGORY

SHIELDED TWISTED PAIR

Twisted pair connections

1. Common in business applications
2. Delivers both voice and data
3. Select proper cable type based on
Cables electrical characteristics
Conductor size
Ability to resist crosstalk
4. 3-4 pairs of wire for networking
5. Twisted to prevent crosstalk
6. More twists equal less crosstalk, but greater attenuation

Stranded versus solid

1. Solid
a. Thicker, more protective covering
b. Less flexible
c. Best for longer network runs and fixed wiring
2. Stranded
a. Thinner protective covering

b. More pliable
c. Useful for shorter-distances and movable wiring
Twisted pair connectors
1. Four types for UTP
a. RJ-11

b. RJ-14

c. RJ-25

d. RJ-45

RJ-45 connector
1. Attaches to 8 wires

2. Two connection standards for Ethernet

a. T568A mostly residential use
b. T568B mostly commercial use
PIN NUMBERING OF RJ-45

COAXIAL CABLE

Coaxial connections
1.
2.
3.
4.

Found in older networks

RG-8, RG-11, RG-58 used in Ethernet
Stranded or solid
Impedance in ohms
TYPES OF COAX CABLING

Thinnet connectors

F TYPE CONNECTOR AND BNC CONNECTOR

BNC CABLE CONNECTOR

A BNC CONNECTOR CONNECTING TO A WORKSTATION

BNC-T CONNECTOR USED ON THINNET COAX CABLE

CONNECTING WITH THICKNET

AUI PORT

Thicknet vampire tap

Coaxial cable wiring configuration

Thicknet Cable with Vampire Taps and Transceiver cable to connect to a computer

FIBER OPTICS
Carries digital signals in the form of pulses of light

BENEFITS
1. Thinner and lighter weight

5. Less signal degradation

2. Higher carrying capacity

6. Less interference

3. Use of digital signals

7. Non-flammable

4. More secure

Fiber optic connectors

1. Straight Tip (ST)
2. Subscriber Connector (SC):
3.

Fiber Local Connector (LC) and Mechanical Transfer-Registered Jack (MT-RJ)

FIBER OPTIC CABLE TYPES

1. Multimode Fiber (MMF)
a. Typically has a 62.5 micron core
b. Light travels down the core in many rays
c. Works with LED light sources of different wavelengths
2. Single Mode Fiber (SMF)
a. Very small core of about 9 microns
b. Light travels down the cable in one ray
c. Optimal for very fast transmissions

COMPARISON OF CABLE MEDIA

UNGUIDED MEDIA

Unguided Media
It transports electromagnetic waves without using a physical conductor called Wireless
Communication

Reasons for Wireless Networks

1. Spaces where cabling would be impossible or inconvenient.
2. People who move around a lot within their work environment.
3. Temporary installations.

4. People who travel outside of the work environment and need instantaneous access to network
resources.
5. Satellite offices or branches, ships in the ocean, or teams in remote field locations that need to be
connected to a main office or location.

Types of Unguided Media

Satellite Communication

Terrestrial Microwave

Radio Communication

Infrared

Satellite Communication
Satellite provides communication over longer distance compared to normal radio

Terrestrial Microwave communication

used extensively in situations when physical transmission media is impractical or difficult to

install
used for only short distance up to 50km

Radio Communication

used for the purpose of wireless communication

used for private communication with devices like portable phones

used for sending and receiving computer data.

Infrared communication

allows computing devices to communicate via short-range wireless signals

requires line-of-sight transmissions

Infrared transmissions are typically limited to within 100 feet.

Infrareds high bandwidth supports transmission speeds of up to 10Mbps

Four varieties of infrared communication

Broadband optical telepoint

Line-of-sight infrared

Reflective infrared

Scatter infrared

SELF CHECK 2.1

Encircle the letter of the correct answer.
1. Which of the following is not a common type of medium used in networking?
A. Coaxial cable
C. Fiber-optic cable
B. Twisted-pair cable
D. RJ-45
2. What is the distance limitation of thinnet?
A. 100 meters
C. 250 meters
B. 185 meters
D. 500 meters
3. Which cable type sends the signal as pulses of light through a glass core?
A. Thinnet
C. Fiber optic
B. Thicknet
D. CAT 5e
4. What is the maximum distance of CAT 3 UTP cabling?
A. 100 meters
C. 250 meters

B. 185 meters

D. 500 meters

5. Connector of coaxial cable?

A. RJ-11
C. SC
B. BNC-T
D. All of the above
6. You want to create a crossover cable to connect two systems directly together. Which wires
would you have to switch at one end of the cable?
A. Wires 1 and 2 with wires 3 and 6
C. Wires 1 and 2 with wires 3 and 4
B. Wires 2 and 3 with wires 6 and 8
D. Wires 2 and 3 with wires 3 and 6
7. Fiber-optic cabling uses which two types of connectors (select two)?
A. SC
C. BNC
B. RJ-45
D. ST
8. Two types of fiber optics
A. MMF and SMF
B. BNC and BNC-T

C. RJ-14 and RJ-11

D. All of the above

9. Which cable type is immune to outside interference and crosstalk?

A. Thinnet
C. Twisted pair
B. Thicknet
D. Fiber optic
10. Wireless media that used extensively in situations when physical transmission media is
impractical or difficult to install.
A. Radio wave
C. Infrared
B. Terrestial Microwave
D. Bluetooth

MODEL ANSWER TO SELF CHECK 2.1

1. Which of the following is not a common type of medium used in networking?
A. Coaxial cable
C. Fiber-optic cable
B. Twisted-pair cable
D. RJ-45
2. What is the distance limitation of thinnet?
A. 100 meters
C. 250 meters
B. 185 meters
D. 500 meters
3. Which cable type sends the signal as pulses of light through a glass core?
A. Thinnet
C. Fiber optic
B. Thicknet
D. CAT 5e
4. What is the maximum distance of CAT 3 UTP cabling?
A. 100 meters
C. 250 meters
B. 185 meters
D. 500 meters
5. Connector of coaxial cable?

A. RJ-11
B. BNC-T

C. SC
D. All of the above

6. You want to create a crossover cable to connect two systems directly together. Which wires
would you have to switch at one end of the cable?
A. Wires 1 and 2 with wires 3 and 6
C. Wires 1 and 2 with wires 3 and 4
B. Wires 2 and 3 with wires 6 and 8
D. Wires 2 and 3 with wires 3 and 6
7. Fiber-optic cabling uses which two types of connectors (select two)?
A. SC
C. BNC
B. RJ-45
D. ST
8. Two types of fiber optics
A. MMF and SMF
B. BNC and BNC-T

C. RJ-14 and RJ-11

D. All of the above

9. Which cable type is immune to outside interference and crosstalk?

A. Thinnet
C. Twisted pair
B. Thicknet
D. Fiber optic
10. Wireless media that used extensively in situations when physical transmission media is
impractical or difficult to install.
A. Radio wave
C. Infrared
B. Terrestial Microwave
D. Bluetooth

ACTIVITY 2.1

CRIMPING A CATEGORY 5/5e CABLE

In this exercise, you will learn how to crimp your own CAT 5 cable. To complete this exercise,
you will need to have a crimping tool, a piece of CAT 5 cabling, some RJ-45 connectors, and a
little bit of patience! To create a CAT 5 cable, do the following:
568B WIRING STANDARD FOR A CROSSOVER CABLE

PIN OUT DIAGRAM OF A CROSSOVER CABLE

568B WIRING STANDARD FOR A STRAIGHT-THROUGH CABLE

PIN OUT DIAGRAM OF STRAIGHT-THROUGH CABLE

1. Ensure that you have a clean-cut end on the cable by using your wire cutters to cut a little
off the end of the CAT 5 cable.
2. Once you have cut a clean end on the cable, strip about an inch off the outer jacket from
the cable using the wire-stripper portion of your crimping tool, as shown in the next
illustration. After stripping the outer jacket off, make sure that you have not cut into any
of the individual wires. If you have, cut a clean end off the cable again and start from the
beginning.

3. Once you have stripped the outer jacket off the cable, order the wires from left to
right to follow the 568B standard. This is where your patience will come in, because
it will take some time to get the wires in the correct order and placed tightly together
so that they will go inside the RJ-45 connector.
4.

Once you have the wires aligned in the correct order and you have them all nice and
snug together so they will fi t inside the RJ-45 connector, you are ready to insert them
into the connector. Before inserting the wires into the connector, make sure that their
ends are of equal length; if they are not, just cut the tips a bit with your wire cutters,
as shown in the following illustration, to be certain that they will fi t nicely into the
RJ-45 connector.

5. Slide the wires into the RJ-45 connector, as shown in the next illustration, and
make sure that all wires have made contact with the metal contacts inside the
RJ-45 connector by looking at the end of the connector. This is where mistakes
happen frequently; there is usually one wire in the middle that is not pushed
up to the end of the connector.

6. Once you are certain that all wires have made contact, you can crimp the
wire, which will enclose the RJ-45 connector on the wires, creating a
permanent fi t. Insert the connector into the crimping tool and squeeze the
handle tight, as seen in the following illustration.