This is the Review Notes in Communications Engineering for ECE Board Exam taken from

various sources including but not limited to past Board Examination Questions in Electronic
System and Technologies (EST), Communications Books, Journals and other
Communications References. This particular Coaching Notes in Communications
Engineering has random Questions and Answers in random topics. Make sure to familiarize
this review notes to increase the chance of passing the ECE Board Exam.

Complete List of Review Notes in Electronics System and Technologies (EST)

Notes 1: Review Notes in Transmission Fundamentals

Impedance is the opposition to the transfer of energy which is considered the dominant
characteristics of a cable or circuit that emanates from its physical structure
When load impedance equals to Zo of the line, it means that the load absorbs all the power
4:1 – Impedance matching ratio of a coax balun
dBr stands for dB relative level
1000 Hz – Standard test tone used for audio measurement
When VSWR is equal to zero, this means that no power is applied
Reflection coefficient is the ratio of reflected voltage to the forward traveling voltage
Transmission line must be matched to the load to transfer maximum power to the load
Dissipation factor indicates the relative energy loss in a capacitor
0 dBm is the standard test tone
Standing waves – the energy that neither radiated into space nor completely transmitted
1 Angstrom (A°) is equal to 10^-10 m
It is impossible to use a waveguide at low radio frequencies because of the size of the
waveguide
Communications is the transmission and reception of information
Transmission lines are either balanced or unbalanced with respect to ground
The standing wave ratio is equal to 1 if the load is properly matched with the transmission
line
Low attenuation is the advantage of the balanced transmission line compared to
unbalanced line
Spectral analysis is the method of determining the bandwidth of any processing system
Losses in the conducting walls of the guide causes the attenuation present in a
waveguide
Balun – a device that converts a balanced line to an unbalanced line of a transmission line
The average power rating of RG-58 C/u is 50 W
RG-211A – a coaxial cable used for high temperatures
The velocity factor of a transmission line depends on the dielectric constant of the
material used
Impedance inversion can be obtained by a quarter-wave line
Transmission lines when connected to antennas have resistive load at the resonant
frequency
Characteristic impedance – the impedance measured at the input of the transmission line
when its length is infinite
Complex propagation constant is not considered primary line constant
The dielectric constants of materials commonly used in transmission lines range from
about 1.2 to 2.8
Typically, the velocity factor (Vf) of the materials used in transmission lines rage from 0.6 to
0.9
For an air dielectric two-wire line, the minimum characteristic impedance value is 83 ohms
When a quarter-wave section transmission line is terminated by a short circuit and is
connected to an RF source at the other end, its input impedance is equivalent to a parallel
resonant LC circuit
The concept used to make one Smith chart universal is called normalization
The basic elements of communication system are the transmitter, receiver, and
transmission channel
Facsimile is the transmission of printed material over telephone lines
Call waiting tone is a continuous tone generated by the combination of two frequencies of
350 Hz and 440 Hz used in telephone sets
VF repeaters are unidirectional amplifiers having 20-25 decibel gain that are placed about
75 km apart used to compensate for losses along the telephone
Induction coil is a component in the telephone set that has the primary function of
interfacing the handset to the local loop
Pulse dialing has 10 pulse/sec rate
Trunk line is a telephone wire that connects two central offices
MTSO – the central switching office coordinating element for all cell sites that has cellular
processor and cellular switch. It interfaces with telephone company zone offices, control call
processing and handle billing activities
Base station in a cellular system performs radio-related functions for cellular site.
Frequency re-use – a technology used to increase the capacity of a mobile phone system
If the grade of service of a telephone system indicated P = 0.05, it means lost call of 5%
3700 Hz is the Out-of-band signaling between Toll Central Offices (Bell System Standard)
If the SWR is infinite, the load transmission line is purely reactive
Not more than 12 digits make up an international telephone number as recommended by
CCITT REC. E. 161
One (1) Erlang is equal to 36 CCS
WATS – standard tariff for flat rate telephone service beyond the normal flat rate in that
area
The standard analog telephone channel bandwidth is 300-3400 Hz
Manual switching – type of switching in which a pair of wire from the telephone set
terminates in a jack and the switch is supervised by an operator
Everytime when the telephone is idle, the handset is in the on-hook state.
Varistor is a component in the telephone set that has the primary function of compensating
for the local loop length
Electromagnetic receiver is used in conventional telephone handset
A voice-grade circuit using PTN has an ideal passband of 0 to 4 kHz
Basic voice grade (VG) is the minimum-quality circuit available using the PTN
Direct distance dialing (DDD) network is called Dial-up network
The advantage of sidetone is it assures the customer that the telephone is working
Tie trunk is a special service circuit connected two private branch exchanges (PBX)
Tariff – the published rates, regulations, and descriptions governing the provision of
communications service for public use
The power loss of a telephone hybrid is 3 dB
Telephone channel has a band-pass characteristic occupying the frequency range of 300-
3400 Hz
The first strowger step-by-step switch was used in 1897
G.122 is the CCITT recommendation for a preparation of loss plan, a variable loss plans
and a fixed loss plan
Umbrella cells is appropriate for load management, fast moving mobiles and low-usage
areas
In cellular networks, standard base station antennas are replaced by adaptive array
Analogue cellular technology is the basis of the first generation wireless local loop
When the calling party hears a “busy” tone on his telephone, the call is
considered completed
Short-circuited stubs are preferred to open circuited stubs because the latter are liable to
radiate
Coefficient of reflection is the ratio of the reflected voltage to the incident voltage
Quarter-wave matching - one method of determining antenna impedance
Single-wire line is a single conductor running from the transmitter to the antenna
Coaxial cable impedance is typically 50 to 75 ohms
Waveguide becomes compulsory above 3 GHz
Normal voice channel bandwidth is 4 kHz
Echo suppressors are used on all communications system when the round trip propagation
time exceeds 50 ms
Quarter-wavelength line is used as impedance transformer
The transmission lines which can convey electromagnetic waves only in higher modes is
usually called waveguide
Nitrogen gas is sometimes used in waveguide to keep the waveguide dry
It is impossible to use a waveguide at low radio frequencies because of the size of the
waveguide
To couple in and out of a waveguide, insertion of an E-probe into the waveguide and
insertion of an H-loop into the waveguide is done
A rectangular waveguide is operating in the dominant TE10 mode. The associated flux lines
are established transversely across the narrow dimension of the waveguide
For dominant mode of a rectangular waveguide, the distance between two instantaneous
consecutive positions of maximum field intensity is referred to as half of the guide
wavelength
The guide wavelength, in a rectangular waveguide is greater than the free-space
wavelength at the same signal frequency
Using the TE10 mode, microwave power can only be transmitted in free rectangular guide
provided the wide dimension is greater than one-half of the wavelength in free space
If the signal frequency applied to a rectangular guide is increased and the dominant mode is
employed, the group velocity is increased
The frequency range over which a rectangular waveguide is excited in the dominant mode
is limited to the difference between the frequency at which the cutoff wavelength is
twice the narrow dimension
If a rectangular waveguide is to be excited in the dominant mode, the E-probe should be
inserted at a distance of one quarter-wavelength from the sealed end
A quarter-wave line is connected to an RF generator and is shorted out at the far end. The
input impedance to the line generator is a high value of resistance
If the SWR on a transmission line has a high value, the reason could be an impedance
mismatch between the line and the load
If a quarter-wave transmission line is shorted at one end the line behaves as a parallel-
tuned circuit in relation to the generator
A 50-ohm transmission line is feeding an antenna which represents a 50 ohm resistive load.
To shorten the line, the length must be any convenient value
The outer conductor of the coaxial cable is usually grounded at the beginning and at the
end of the cable
A feature of an infinite transmission line is that its input impedance at the generator is
equal to the line’s surge impedance
When the surge impedance of a line is matched to a load, the line will transfer maximum
power to the load
SWR - ratio of the mismatch between the antenna and the transmitter power
F3C and A3E – emission designation for a facsimile
AWG #19 – commonly used telephone wire
Wavelength is the distance traveled by a wave in the time of one cycle
The velocity factor is inversely proportional with respect to the square root of the
dielectric constant
Balun circuit connects a balanced line to an unbalanced line
To connect a coaxial line to a parallel wire line, balun is used
Waveguides are transmission lines which can convey electromagnetic waves only in higher
order modes
The amount of uncertainly in a system of symbols is also called entropy
The twists in twisted wire pairs reduced electromagnetic interference
Loading means to the addition of inductance
Coaxial is the most commonly used transmission line for high frequency application
The characteristic impedance of a transmission does not depend upon its length
For maximum absorption of power at the antenna, the relationship between the
characteristic impedance of the line Zo and the load impedance Zl should be Zo = Zl
The mismatch between antenna and transmission line impedance cannot be corrected for
by adjusting the length of transmission line
Standing waves is a pattern of voltage and current variations along a transmission line not
terminated in its characteristic impedance
The desirable SWR on a transmission line is 1
The most desirable reflection coefficient is 0
Reflection coefficient is the ratio expressing the percentage of incident voltage reflected
on a transmission line
At very high frequencies, transmission lines act as tuned circuits
A shorted quarter-wave line at the operating frequency acts like a parallel resonant circuit
A shorted half-wave line at the operating frequency acts like a series resonant circuit
Coaxial medium is least susceptible to noise
Twisted pair medium is most widely used in LANs
Coaxial cable is the most commonly used transmission line in television system
DC blocks are used in coaxial transmission line for the purpose of preventing AC power
supply voltage from being shorted by a balun or band splitter
Adjacent channel interference is a type of interference caused by off-air TV channels 2
and 4, plus a satellite dish operating on channel 3
Dithering (in TVRO communications) is a process for reducing the effect of noise on the
TVRO video signal
Frequency and voltage are important useful quantities describing waveforms
Halving the power means 3-dB loss
One neper (Np) is 8.686 decibels
Reflectometer is used to measure SWR
214-056 twin lead which is commonly used for TV lead-in has characteristics impedance
of 300 ohm
A coaxial cable is a good example of a bounded medium
dNp is known as one-tenth of a neper
The input impedance of a quarterwave short-circuited transmission line at its resonant
frequency is infinite or an open circuit
The ratio of the largest rms value to the smallest rms value of the voltage in the line is
called VSWR
The characteristic impedance of a transmission line does not depend upon its length
A power difference of -3 dB means a loss of one half of the power
Low attenuation is an advantage of the balance transmission line
Waveguides are used mainly for microwave transmission because no generators are
powerful enough to excite them
The ratio of the smallest to the largest rms current value is called ISWR
A ten times power change in transmission system is equivalent to 10 dB
Parallel-wire line type transmission line is employed where balanced properties are
required
To be properly matched the ratio of a maximum voltage along a transmission line should be
equal to 1
Absorption coefficient – the ratio between the energy absorbed by a surface to the total
energy received by the surface
When the diameter of the conductors of a 2 wire transmission line is held constant, the
effect of decreasing the distance between the conductors is decrease the impedance
The higher the gauge number of a conductor the higher the resistance or the smaller the
diameter
λ/4 transformer – a short length of transmission line used to reduce/eliminate standing
wave in the main transmission line
Reflectance – ratio of reflected power to incident power
The SWR when a transmission line is terminated in a short circuit is infinite

Notes 2: Review Notes in Acoustics

Sound level meter – an instrument designed to measure a frequency-weighted value of the

sound pressure level
Noy – a unit of noisiness related to the perceived noise level
Noise rating curves – an agreed set of empirical curves relating octave-band sound
pressure level to the center frequency of the octave bands.
Natural frequency – the frequency of a free vibration
Flanking transmission – the transmission of sound from one room to an adjacent room,
via common walls, floors or ceilings
Hearing level – a measure of threshold of hearing, expressed in decibels relative to a
specified standard of normal hearing
330 m/s – velocity of sound in air
Speaker is a device that converts current variations into sound waves
Carbon type of microphone operates on the principle that the electrical resistance of carbon
granules varies as the pressure on the granules vary
Bass response is bypassing high audio frequencies
Pure tone of sound used as standard on testing is 1000 Hz
Echo is early reflection of sound
Dolby – noise reduction system used for film sound in movie
Sound intensity is the sound energy per unit area at right angles to the propagation
direction per unit time
Phon is the unit of loudness level of a sound
Sound intensity is the average rate of transmission of sound energy in a given direction
through a cross-section area of 1 sq. m. at right angles to the direction
Mel is the unit of pitch
Decibel – a measure of the intensity of sound in comparison to another sound intensity
Sound wave has two main characteristics which are pitch and loudness
Dynamic type of microphone operated by electromagnetic induction that generates an
output signal voltage
Supersonic – speed that is faster than speed of sound
Sound waves travel in water at a 5000 ft/sec speed
Wavelength – crest-to-crest distance along the direction of wave travel
Sound intensity level is 10 log I/Iref
Sound pressure level is 20 log P/Pref
The most important specification of loudspeakers and microphones is frequency response
Fundamental – lowest frequency produced by a musical instrument
Diffraction – tendency of a sound energy to spread
When waves bend away from straight lines of travel, it is called refraction
Reverberation time – required time for any sound to decay to 60 dB
The intensity needed to produce an audible sound varies with frequency
Ultrasonic – sound that vibrates at frequency too high for the human ear to hear (over 20
kHz)
Crystal microphone will be damaged if exposed to high temperature above 52°C
Spider – a thin springy sheet of bakelite or metal that permits the voice coil in a dynamic
loudspeaker to move back and forth along the core of its magnet
One hundred twenty μbars of pressure variation is equal to 115.56 dBSPL
Proximity effect is a microphone characteristic that results in a boost in bass frequencies
for close microphone spacing
20 Hz to 20 kHz is the audio frequency range
10 Hz to 20 kHz is the bass frequency range
5,000 Hz to 10 kHz – high frequency range of audio signals
65 is the dB SPL of a voice paging in an office
90 – 100 is the dBdb SPL of an auditorium with contemporary music
80 – 85 is the church db SPL with speech reinforcement only
Intensity can also be called as loudness
The loudness of a sound depends upon the energy of motion imparted
to vibrating molecules of the medium transmitting the sound
Loudness is affected by the distance between the listener and the source of the sound and
its intensity varies inversely with the square of this distance
If the distance between the listener and the source of the sound is doubled, the intensity is
reduced to ¼
If the distance between the listener and the source of the sound is decreased to ½ the
original amount, the intensity of the sound would be 4 times as great
At a sensation level of 40dB, 1000 Hz tone is 1000 mels
If the sound waves are converted to electrical waves by a microphone, the frequency of the
electric current will be 25 to 8000 Hz
For a music lover concert “A” is 440 Hz. If a musical note one octave higher 0were played, it
would be double that frequency
In a 220 Hz, if a note was played one octave lower it would be 110 Hz
Much of music generally referred to in octaves
Distortion is an undesired change in wave form as the signal passes through a device
Distortion enhances intelligibility when an exciter is added
Exciters – a class of signal processors
Hall construction and internal finishes affect the final sound quality significantly
Positioning a loudspeaker near a wall can dramatically alter its frequency response in two
distinct ways namely hump and notch
The acoustics of most auditoria are very different when the room is full compared to the
empty condition
A microphone transducer converts acoustical energy
All microphone have two basic components namely, diaphragm and generating element
When the average absorption is greater than 0.2, Norris-Eyring formula is used to compute
the actual reverberation time
At room temperature, the velocity of sound in meters/seconds is 341.8 m/s
The ratio of frequencies is termed as interval
6 dB is the increase in sound pressure level in dB, if the pressure is doubled
Pitch – a term which is subjective but dependent mainly on frequency and also affected by
intensity
Masking – an effect that occurs in the ear where a louder sound can reduce or even stop
the nerve voltage generated by a weaker sound
For computation of ideal reverberation time, Stephen and Bate is applicable
The loudness of sound is a subjective effect which is a function of the ear and brain
Reverberation time – defined as the time taken for the intensity of sound energy in the
room to drop to one millionth of its initial value
Sound intensity is the sound energy per unit area at right angles of the propagation
direction, per unit time
Phon – the unit of loudness level
Flutter echo – consists of a rapid succession of noticeable echoes
W.C Sabine – laid the foundations of acoustic theory of buildings
Sound – an aural sensation by pressure variation in the air which are always produced by
some source of vibrations
10-12 W/m2 is considered to be as the threshold of hearing
The average absorption for a person is 4.7 units
Frequency – the number of vibration or pressure fluctuations per second
Sound intensity – defined as the average rate of transmission of sound energy in a given
direction through a cross-sectional area of 1 m^2 at right angles to the direction
The minimum sound intensity that can be heard is termed as threshold of hearing
Mel – the unit of pitch
3 dB is the increase in sound pressure level in dB, if the intensity is doubled
The velocity of sound is considered to be constant at 330 m/s for the purpose of building
acoustics
Notes 3: Review Notes in Modulation

50 dB is the maximum sideband suppression value using filter system

Modulation index determines the number of sideband components in FM
H3E transmit only one sideband
Baseband frequency produces sidebands on FM
Spectrum analyzer displays the carrier and the sidebands amplitude with frequency to
frequency
Mixer is also known as converter
A3H emission transmit the lower sideband and half of the upper sideband
An FM receive signal vary in frequency with modulation
The process of impressing intelligence on the carrier is called modulation
Spectrum analyzer is an electronic instrument used to show both the carrier and the
sidebands of a modulated signal in the frequency domain
Amplitude is varied at the carrier by the intelligence during modulation in an AM system
The difference between the RF carrier and the modulating signal frequencies is called
the LSB
Buffer stage in a radio transmitter isolates the oscillator from the load
The frequency of the unmodulated carrier in FM system is center frequency
The ratio of maximum deviation to the maximum modulating frequency is called deviation
ratio
A carrier signal has a frequency of 20 kHz and above
In a FM system, if modulation index is doubled by halving the modulating frequency, there
will be no effect on the maximum deviation
Armstrong system is considered as an indirect method of generating FM
To generate an SSB or DSB signal one must use a circuit known as balanced modulator
Crystal radio receiver is the first radio receiver
An interfering signal with a frequency equal to the received signal plus twice the IF is
called image frequency
A3E – double sideband full carrier emission type
R3E – single sideband reduced carrier emission type
J3E – a single sideband suppressed carrier emission type
B8E – independent sideband emission type
C3F – vestigial sideband emission type
H3E – single sideband full carrier emission type
G3E – phase modulation emission type
Better fidelity is not an advantage of SSB over AM
The advantage of a high level modulated AM transmitter is higher value of operating
power
The advantage of a low-level modulated AM transmitter is less audio power required
Interference to other radio services is the bad effect caused by overmodulation in AM
transmission
Selectivity of a radio receiver refers to its ability to reject an unwanted signal
F3E emission is frequency modulation
AM transmission power increase with modulation
Capture effect locks the FM receiver to a stronger signal
The highest percentage of modulation for AM is 100%
In FM, the Carson’s Rule states that the bandwidth is equal to twice the sum of the
modulating frequency and frequency deviation
The carrier swing of an FM transmitter when modulated by 75% is 112.5 kHz
Frequency modulation – the modulation system inherently more resistant to noise
Subcarriers that are arranged so that the channels occupying adjacent frequency bands
with some frequency space between them is known as guard bands
Modulation of an RF carrier results in multiple channels, smaller antennas, and
directional propagation
Modulation is a process which occurs in the transmitter
Demodulation is a process which occurs in the receiver
Buffer amplifier part of the transmitter that protects the crystal oscillator from “pulling”
The amplitude of a sine wave which is modulated by a musical program will be complex,
contain fundamental frequencies, and contain harmonic frequencies
The result of the gain level being too high for signals entering the modulator is distortion
and splatter
Amplitude modulation causes the amount of transmitter power to increase
When the amplitude of the modulating voltage is increased for AM, the antenna current
will increase
A second modulating tone having the same amplitude but a different frequency is added to
the first at the input to the modulator. The modulation index will be increased by a factor
of sqr(2)
Unwanted sidebands in SSB equipment can be suppressed by phasing method and filter
method
Envelope detection is concerned with the process of rectification
Diagonal clipping in envelope detection will result in distortion
Product detection requires the process of heterodyning
A sine wave which is coherent with carrier has identical frequency and phase angle
Frequency modulation and phase modulation are collectively referred to as angle
modulation
In FM the change in carrier frequency is proportional to amplitude of the modulating signal
A louder sound, when generating the modulating waveform for FM, will cause a
greater frequency deviation
Varactor diode – a device whose capacitance is deliberately made to be a function of the
applied voltage
A reactance modulator is one method of obtaining direct FM
VCO – a device, now available in IC form, is useful for direct FM and as one element in the
phase-locked loop
Multiplication is a frequency change process, whereby the phase deviation and frequency
deviation are multiplied by some fixed constant
Foster-Seeley discriminator – a circuit that has the function of demodulating the
frequency-modulated signal
The ratio detector is superior to the slope detector because it is less sensitive to noise
spikes and interference causing AM
One implementation of a pulse-averaging discriminator is a triggered multivibrator
Two different signals can be coherent if they have the same frequency
A quadrature detector requires that the inputs are coherent
In a phase-locked loop, the VCO is the abbreviation for Voltage-controlled oscillator
LSB and USB – the output of a balanced modulator
If the modulation index of an AM wave is changed from 0 to 1, the transmitted power
is increased by 50%
RF carrier is not a baseband signal of modulation
If the unmodulated level peak carrier amplitude is doubled in an AM signal, the percent
modulation is 100
Balanced modulator circuit when inserted in the equipment suppressed the carrier
The carrier of a 100% modulated AM wave is suppressed, the percentage power saving
is 66.66%
If the modulation index of an AM wave is doubled, the antenna current is also doubled, the
AM system being used is J3E
100% modulation in AM means a corresponding increase in total power by 50%
A single-tone amplitude modulated wave has 3 components
A carrier signal has constant peak amplitude
The modulating system is frequency modulation if the modulating frequency is doubled,
the modulation index is halved, and the modulating voltage remains constant
The modulation index of an FM signal if its modulating frequency is doubled is one-half the
original index
A3E – standard way of designating AM
Discriminator is the circuit used to detect frequency modulated signal
Baseband is an information signal that is sent directly without modulating any carrier
Both frequency and phase modulation utilize angle modulation
Bandwidth – it is the width of frequencies within the spectrum occupied by signal and used
by the signal for conveying information
H3E transmit only one sideband
Continuous modulation is a kind of modulation in which the modulated wave is always
present.
Pulse modulation – a type of modulation in which no signal is present between pulses
Coefficient of modulation is the amount of amplitude change present in an AM waveform
Carrier shift is a form of amplitude distortion introduced when the positive and negative
alternations in the AM modulated signals are not equal
The advantage of phase modulation over direct FM frequency modulation is that the
oscillator is crystal-controlled
If the spectrum is shifted in frequency with no other changes, this is known as frequency
translation
Balanced modulator – a device which is capable of causing frequency translation
If the frequency of each component in a signal spectrum is increased by the same fixed
amount, this is known as frequency translation and up conversion
Any device to be used as a frequency multiplier must be nonlinear
Push-push – a particular amplifier circuit used for frequency doubling
Frequency division is useful in the implementation of a frequency synthesizer
Balanced modulator can be used as a phase detector
A particular frequency synthesizer contains only a single crystal. This synthesizer is known
as indirect
A recognizable feature of a CW transmitter is keyed transmitter, power amplification, and
frequency generation
The term “pulling” refers to the change of the crystal oscillator frequency by loading
When frequency modulation is achieved by initial phase modulation, this is called indirect
FM
A disadvantage of direct FM is the need for AFC
Direct FM can be achieved by a reactance tube modulator and a varactor diode
A receiver in which all RF amplifier stages require manual tuning to the desired RF is
called TRF
It is often necessary to precede the demodulator by amplifier stages in a receiver because
of weak antenna signals
A serious disadvantage of the TRF receiver is the bandwidth variations over the tuning
range
Modulator is not part of a superheterodyne receiver
R-F amplifier element will not be found in every superheterodyne receiver
Mixer element of a superheterodyne receiver must be nonlinear
The change of the modulated carrier frequency from the original RF to the I-F of the
superheterodyne receiver is known as frequency translation
The key to achieving receiver sensitivity is the reduction of internal noise
In comparing the S/N ratio for the input to the receiver with the S/N ratio for the output, the
latter is smaller
Noise figure – the characteristic of a receiver that specifies the self-generated noise
The ratio of the superheterodyne receiver response at the desired carrier frequency to that
at the image frequency is called the image rejection ratio
The core of an IF transformer usually contains powered iron
Shape factor is a measure of skirt steepness
AGC is the function which tends to maintain the sound volume level of a voice receiver
nearly constant for a large signal strength range
Squelch – the function which tends to silence the receiver in the absence of transmitter
carrier
Noise blanker device is incorporated in a communications receiver to reduce impulse noise
If the input to a detector stage is an amplitude-modulated (A3E) IF signal then the output
from the stage is the audio voice information
In a capacitive type, reactance-tube modulator connected across an oscillator tune circuit, a
more negative voltage on the grid of the reactance tube will cause an increase of the
oscillator frequency
The limiting condition for sensitivity in a communications receiver is the noise floor of the
receiver
When a communications receiver is tuned to a strong signal, the AGC bias is measured and
found to be zero. The fault cannot be caused by an open circuit in the AGC’s filter
capacitor
Cross-modulation interference – the term used to refer to the condition where the signals
from a very strong station are superimposed on other signals being received
The limiter stage of an FM receiver limits the amplitude of the IF signal to the required
level
Motorboating (low-frequency oscillations) in an amplifier can be stopped by connecting a
capacitor between the B+ and lead ground
Crossmodulation – an effect in which, the modulation of an unwanted signal is transferred
to the desired carrier
Leads should be kept as short as possible in radio circuit so that stray coupling is
minimized
4 voice transmissions can be packed into a given frequency band for amplitude-
compandored single-sideband systems over conventional FM-phone systems
Neutralization of an RF amplifier stage can be necessary in order to prevent the
generation of spurious oscillations
The ability of a communications receiver to perform well in the presence of strong signals
outside the band of interest is indicated by blocking dynamic range
RF amplifier, mixer, IF amplifier, and AF amplifier are stages that are common to both AM
and FM receivers
Filter ringing occurs during CW reception if too narrow a filter bandwidth is used in the IF
stage of a receiver
IF amplifier stage mainly determines a communication receiver’s sensitivity
The main advantage of FM over AM is better signal-to-noise-ratio
Low-level modulation – an amplitude modulation created in an amplifier before the final RF
stage
Receiver desensitizing can be reduced by ensuring good RF shielding between the
transmitter
In a narrow-band FM system, the deviation ratio is commonly one and the highest audio
frequency is generally limited to 3,000 Hz
A3C – a type of emission is produced when an amplitude modulated transmitter is
modulated by a facsimile signal
The noise generated which primarily determines the signal to noise ratio in a VHF (150
MHz) marine band receiver is in the receiver front end
Cross-modulation in a receiver can be reduced by installing a filter at the receiver
F3E is the emission designation for FM telephony
The cause of receiver desensitizing is the presence of a strong signal on a nearby
frequency
In a phase-modulated signal (indirect FM), the frequency deviation is directly proportional to
the carrier amplitude only
An RF stage precedes the mixer stage in a superheat receiver. One advantage of including
this RF stage is letter rejection ratio
Bandwidth and noise figure are two factors that determine the sensitivity of a receiver
An undesirable effect of using too-wide a filter bandwidth in the IF section of a receiver is
that the undesired signals will reach the audio stage
FM receiver – a system containing a limiter stage, a discriminator, and a de-emphasis
circuit
The limiter stage of an FM receiver prevents any amplitude modulation of the IF signal
High selectivity occurs when the degree of coupling between a receiver’s RF stage is loose
A carrier is phase modulated by a test tone. If the amplitude and the frequency of the tone
are both doubled, the amount of deviation is multiplied by four
2.4 kHz is the degree of selectivity desirable in the IF circuitry of a single-sideband receiver
The component most apt to break down in the radio circuit is the resistor
The base in an RF amplifier is grounded in order to avoid the requirement of neutralizing
the stage
The AM detector performs two basic functions in the receiver. It rectifies and filters
A varactor diode can be used in direct FM modulator circuit, AFC circuit in a direct FM
transmitter and in phase-modulator circuit
Receiver interference is not reduced by including an insulating enclosure around the
receiver
Television is the emission C3F
Limiter stage in an FM receiver is responsible for drastically reducing the effect of static
noise during the reception of a signal
The letter “SSSC” stand for single sideband, suppressed carrier
For many types of voices, the ratio of PEP-to-average power during a modulation peak in a
single-sideband phone signal is approximately 2.5 to 1
In most mixers, the oscillator frequency is higher than the carrier frequency of the input
signal.
Features of a transmitter’s buffer stage include improvement in frequency stability of the
oscillator
A3F – type of emission produced when an amplitude modulated transmitter is modulated by
a television signal
A pi network is a network consisting of one inductor and two capacitors
A G3E FM-phone signals is produced with a reactance modulator on the oscillator
Installing resistive spark plugs is a way of eliminating auto interference to radio reception
The carrier in an AM transmitter is the transmitter’s output signal when the modulation
is present
Final IF amplifier, which also acts as a limiter stage, feeds the discriminator of an FM
receiver
In an FM receiver, the discriminator stage has the IF signal as input and the audio signal
as output
Capture effect - the loudest signal received is the only demodulated signal
A double-sideband phone signal can be generated by modulating the plate voltage of a
class-C amplifier
Pre-emphasis is used in FM transmitters to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of high
modulating frequencies
The result of cross-modulation is that the modulation of an unwanted signal is heard on
the desired signal
FM receiver contains de-emphasis circuit
Television is emission F3F
F3C emission is produced when a frequency modulated transmitter is modulated by a
facsimile signal
Two AM transmitting antennas are close tighter. As a result the two modulated signals are
mixed in the final RF stage of both transmitters. The resultant effect on the other station
is intermodulation interference
Desensitizing – the term used to refer to the reduction of receiver gain caused by the
signal of a nearby station transmitter in the same frequency band
Bandwidth of emission and occupied bandwidth is the bandwidth occupied by the
carrier, both sidebands and harmonics
A class-C RF amplifier is collector amplitude modulated and its average dc level collector
current does not change. This means a normal condition
Amplitude of the modulating signal determines the percentage modulation of an FM
transmitter
Deviation ratio of an FM transmitter is the ratio of the maximum frequency swing to the
highest modulating frequency
The main purpose of the beat frequency oscillator (BFO) is to generate an output, whose
frequency differs from the IF by 1 kHz
Normally, a linear class B RF power amplifier operates with a bias approximately equal
to projected cut-off
The purpose why an RF amplifier is operated under linear class-B conditions (as opposed
to class-C) is to amplify an AM signal
Cross-modulation interference – the term used to refer to the condition where the signal
from a very strong station are superimposed on other signal being received
Peak negative voltage is the amplitude of the maximum negative excursion of a signal as
viewed on an oscilloscope
FM and double sideband AM – type of emission that suffer most from selective fading
In an FM-phone signal, percentage of modulation is the ratio between the actual
frequency deviation to the maximum frequency deviation
Capture effect is used to refer to the reception blockage of one FM-phone signal by
another FM-phone signal
A receiver selectivity of 10 kHz in the IF circuitry is optimum for double-sideband AM type
of signal
If the envelope of modulation is constant in amplitude this means zero-modulation
Amplitude modulation is the same as linear mixing
The negative half of the AM wave is supplied by the tuned circuit in a diode modulator
Having the carrier vary a resistance can produce AM
Amplitude modulators that vary the carrier amplitude with the modulating signal by passing
it through an attenuator network is the principle of variable resistance
PIN diode is used to produce AM at very high frequencies
Demodulator circuit recovers the original modulating information from an AM signal
Envelope detector is the most commonly used amplitude demodulator
Balanced modulator circuit generates the upper and lower sidebands and suppresses the
carrier
Lattice modulator is a widely used balanced modulator
In a diode ring modulator, the diode act like switches
The output of a balanced modulator is DSB
The principal circuit in the popular 1496/1596 IC balanced modulator is a differential
amplifier
The most commonly used filter in SSB generators uses crystals
In the phasing method of SSB generation, one sideband is canceled out due to phase
shifting
A balanced modulator used to demodulate a SSB signal is called a product detector
Frequency translation is done with a circuit called a mixer
Mixing for frequency conversion is the same as linear summing
Lower complexity and cost is not a major disadvantage of FM over AM
The primary disadvantage of FM is its excessive use of spectrum space
Noise is primarily high-frequency spikes
The receiver circuit that rids FM of noise is the limiter
The Am signals generated at a low level may only be amplified by Class C amplifier
SSB means Single sideband with suppressed carrier
Filter – a circuit used to select the desired output from a mixer
DSB is the output of a balanced modulator
The acronym SSSC refer to Single sideband, suppressed carrier
Demodulation process occurs in the receiver
BFO is usually used to demodulate SSB or CW signal
Diode detector is the most widely used amplitude modulator
Lattice modulator is the most widely used balanced modulator
Notes 4: Review Notes in Noise

Jitter is a non-continuous noise of irregular pulses or spikes of short duration with high
amplitudes
Shannon-Hartley theorem sets a limit on the maximum capacity of a channel with a given
noise level
Quantizing noise occurs in PCM
Noise always affects the signal in a communications system at the channel
Noise is the random and unpredictable electric signals from natural causes, both internal
and external to the system
Gaussian noise/White noise/Thermal noise – Noise from random acoustic or electric
noise that has equal energy per cycle over a specified total frequency band
The approximation of the quantized signal causes a quantization noise in PCM system
Limiter – a particular circuit that rids FM of noise
290 K is the reference noise temperature
Noise – unwanted radio signal on assigned frequency
Noise factor is the reliable measurement for comparing amplifier noise characteristics
White noise is measured on a circuit when it is correctly terminated but does not have any
traffic
CCITT G. 151 standard recommends crosstalk limits
CCITT Rec. G. 172 standard is utilized in the intermodulation noise rates on PCM audio
channels
800 Hz is the reference frequency of CCITT phosphometric noise measurement
290 K – reference temperature used in noise analysis
Atmospheric noise is produced by lightning discharge in thunderstorms
Man-made noise is usually from transmission over power lines and by ground wave
Nif stands for Noise improvement factor
Industrial noise frequency is between 15 to 160 MHz
External noise fields are measured in terms of peak values
Precipitation static - form of interference caused by rain or dust storms
Thermal noise is an electric noise produced by thermal agitation of electrons in conductor
and semiconductor
Crosstalk is the interference coming from other communications channels
-90 dBm is the reference noise level
pWp is the unit of noise power of psophometer
Solar flare – a large emission of hydrogen from the sun that affects communications
Atmospheric noise is known as static noise
290 K – standard design reference for environmental noise temperature
C + 273 – absolute temperature in Kelvin
If bandwidth is doubled, the signal power is not changed
Galaxies and internal combustion engines are sources of noise bearing on electronic
communications
De-emphasis in the receiver in effect attenuates modulating signal components and noise
in high frequency range
Atmospheric noise or static is not a great problem at frequencies above 30 MHz
Is the proper procedure for suppressing electrical noise in a mobile station is to apply
shielding and filtering where necessary
The noise generated that primarily determines the signal-to-noise ratio in a VHF (150 MHz)
marine-band receiver is in the receiver front end
The difference between signal strength at a given point and a reference level is level
Interfering effect of noise, C message weighted, is dBrnc
F1A weighting refers to F1A handset
Power is definite amount of energy per time period
Reference noise is a noise that creates the same interfering effect as a 1000 Hz, -90
dBm tone, a noise than creates zero dBrn in a voice channel
A practical dBrn measurement will almost always in a positive number
-85 dBm is the reference level for noise measurement, F1A weighted
-90 dBm is the reference tone level for dBm
-85 dBm is the reference tone level for dBa
Atmospheric noise becomes less severe at frequencies above 30 MHz
The value of the resistor creating thermal noise is doubled. The noise power generated is
therefore unchanged
Input noise voltage is not a useful quantity for comparing the noise performance of
receivers
Most internal noise comes from thermal agitation
Thermal agitation is not a source of external noise
Noise can be reduced by narrowing the bandwidth
Noise at the input to a receiver can be as high as several microvolts
Mixer circuit contributes most of the noise in a receiver
The transistor with the lowest noise figure in the microwave region is a MESFET
Transmit-time noise becomes of great importance at high frequencies
The solar cycle repeats the period of great electrical disturbance approximately every 11
years
The square of the thermal noise voltage generated by a resistor is proportional to its
resistance, its temperature and the bandwidth over which it is measured
Quantizing noise – noise occurring in the presence of signal resulting from a mismatch
between the exact value of an analog signal and the closest available quantizing step in a
digital coder
Impulse noise – Noise consisting of irregular pulses of short duration and relatively high
amplitude
Crosstalk – noise the occurs via capacitive or inductive coupling in a cable
Sources of impulse noise induced in communication channels: Erroneous digital coding
bit caused by an error on a transmission facility, transients due to relay operation
and crosstalk from dc signaling systems
Crosstalk due to incomplete suppression of sidebands or to intermodulation of two or more
frequency-multiplexed channels which are unintelligible is classified as miscellaneous
noise
Psophometer is a device that measures the internal open circuit voltage of an equivalent
noise generator having an impedance of 600 ohm and delivering noise power to a 600 ohm
load
Cosmic noise – external noise originating outside the solar system
Solar noise – a noise whose source is within the solar system
Noise density – the total noise power present in a 1-Hz bandwidth
Lightning is the primary cause of atmospheric noise
Space noise – noise coming from the sun and stars
The major cause of atmospheric or static noise is thunderstorms
MESFET is a low noise transistor commonly used at microwave frequencies
Notes 5: Review Notes in Radiation and Wave Propagation

Field strength is the amount of voltage induced in a wave by an electromagnetic wave

An electromagnetic wave consists of both electric and magnetic fields
D is the lowest layer of the ionosphere
James Clerk Maxwell profounded electromagnetic radiation theory
The D, E and F layers are known as Kennely-Heaviside layers
Band – different grouping of the electromagnetic spectrum
90° is the relation in degrees of the electric and magnetic fields in an electromagnetic wave
A changing electric field gives rise to a magnetic field
Frequencies in the UHF range propagate by means of space waves
In electromagnetic waves, polarization is due to the transverse nature of the waves
Electromagnetic waves are refracted when they pass into a medium of different
dielectric constants
Ionosphere is the highest layer of the atmosphere
F2 is the thickest layer of the ionosphere
K factor – Effective earth radius to true earth radius ratio
Reflection-multipath – fading due to interference between direct and reflected rays
D layer reflects very low frequency waves and absorbs medium frequency waves
E layer is used for high-frequency daytime propagation
Critical frequency is the highest frequency that can be sent straight upward and be
returned to earth
High frequency range is from 3 to 30 MHz
Medium frequency range is from 0.3 to 3 MHz
In tropospheric scatter propagation, the attenuation is dependent on scatter angle
If the transmitter power remains constant, an increase in the frequency of the sky wave
will lengthen the skip distance
The unit of electric field strength is volts per meter
Polarization refers to the direction of the electric field vector space
Circularly polarized – a TEM wave whose polarization rotates
300 x 10^6 m/s – velocity of light in free spaces
Radiowave that is far from its sources is called plane wave
Light goes from medium A to medium B at angle of incidence of 40°. The angle of refraction
is 30°. The speed of light in B is less than that in A
In a vacuum the speed of an electromagnetic wave is a universal constant
The depth of an object submerged in a transparent liquid always seems less than its
actual depth
Wavefront – a fixed point in an electromagnetic wave
VHF ship station transmitters must have the capability of reducing carrier power to 1 W
Most of the effects an electromagnetic wave produces when it interacts with matter are due
to its electric field
A mobile receiver experiences “dead” areas of reception as a result of shading of the RF
signal by hills and trees
When the electric field is perpendicular to the surface of the earth, vertical is the
polarization of the TEM wave
When the magnetic field is perpendicular to the surface of the earth, horizontal is the
polarization of the TEM wave
When the magnetic field is parallel to the surface of the earth, vertical is the polarization of
the TEM wave
The two interrelated fields considered to make up an electromagnetic wave are an electric
field and a magnetic field
The bandwidth of the transmitted signal affect selective fading because it is more
pronounced at wide bandwidths
Spread spectrum communication – a wide bandwidth communications system in which
the RF carrier varies according to some predetermined sequence
A changing magnetic field gives rise to electric field
When a space-wave signal passes over a mountain ridge, a small part of the signal is
diffracted down the far side of the mountain. This phenomenon is called knife-edge
diffraction
The index of refraction of a material medium is greater than 1
Electromagnetic waves travel in free space approximately 300 million meters per second
Vertical polarization – electric field that lies in a plane perpendicular to the earth’s surface
Horizontal polarization - electric field that lies in a plane parallel to the earth’s surface
Fading applies to troposcatter propagation
VLF waves are used for some types of service because they are very reliable
High-frequency waves are affected by the solar cycle
Distances near the skip distance should be used for sky-wave propagation to prevent sky-
wave and upper ray interference
A ship-to-ship communications system is plagued by fading. The best solution seems to be
the use of frequency diversity
A range of microwave frequencies more easily passed by the atmosphere than are the
other is called a window
Frequencies in the UHF range normally propagate by means of space waves
Tropospheric scatter is used with frequencies in the UHF range
The ground wave eventually disappears as one moves away from the transmitter, because
of tilting
In electromagnetic waves, polarization means the physical orientation of electric field in
space
As electromagnetic waves travel in free space, attenuation happens
The absorption of a radio waves by the atmosphere depends on their frequency
Diffraction of electromagnetic waves may occur around the edge of a sharp obstacle
In an electromagnetic wave the electric field is perpendicular to both the magnetic field
and the wave direction
The highest frequencies are found in x-rays
Electromagnetic waves transport energy
The ionosphere is a region of ionized gas in the upper atmosphere. The ionosphere is
responsible for long-distance radio communications
Blue – light of which has the shortest wavelength
The quality in sound that corresponds to color in light is pitch
All real images can appear on a screen
When a beam of light enters on medium from another, a quality that never changes is
its frequency
Relative to the angle of incidence, the angle of refraction is smaller or is larger
A light ray enters one medium from another along the normal. The angle of refraction
is dependent on the indexes of refraction of the two media
E layer aids MF surface-wave propagation a little and reflects some HF waves in daytime
Dispersion is the term used to describe the splitting of white light into its component
colors in refraction
The depth of an objects submerged in a transparent liquid always seems less than its
actual depth
Total internal reflection can occur when light passes from one medium to another that has
a lower index of refraction
When a light ray approaches a glass-air interface from the glass side at the critical angle,
the angle of refraction is 90°
The brightness of light source is called its luminous intensity, whose unit is candela
Luminous efficiency is least for a low-wattage light bulb
The minimum illumination recommended for reading is 8000 lx
The solid angle subtended by a hemisphere about its center is 2π sr
Microwave signals propagate by way of the direct wave
The ionosphere causes radio signals to be refracted
Groundwave communications is most effective in 300 kHz to 3 MHz frequency range
The ionosphere has its greatest effect on signals in 3 to 30 MHz frequency range
The type of radio wave responsible for long-distance communication by multiple skips is
the sky wave
Line-of-sight communications is not a factor in HF frequency range
A microwave-transmitting antenna is 550 ft. high. The receiving antenna is 200 ft high. The
minimum transmission distance is 53.3 mi
To increase the transmission distance of UHF signal, increase antenna height should be
done
Inverse Square Law – states that power density is inversely proportional to the distance
from its source
Sky wave gets in contact with the ionosphere and reflected by it
F2 is the highest layer in the ionosphere
E is the next lowest layer in the ionosphere
Ultraviolet radiation is the primary cause of ionization in the atmosphere
F2 layers does not disappear at night
ELF, VLF and MF use surface wave propagation
The ability of the ionosphere to reflect a radio wave back to the earth is determined
by operating frequency, ion density and angle of incidence
MUF – highest frequency that can be used for skywave propagation between two given
points on earth
Skip distance – the shortest distance measured along the earth’s surface that a skywave is
returned to earth
Fading – fluctuations in the signal strength at the receiver
Space diversity – two or more antennas are used separated by several wavelengths
Frequency diversity – two or more receivers are used using a single antenna
Diversity is not a cause of fading
Solar flares – the gigantic emission of hydrogen from the sun
SIDs – Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance
Troposcatter propagation – a means of beyond the line of sight propagation of UHF
signals
Troposcatter – two directional antennas are pointed so that their beams intersect in the
troposhere
Ducting – super refraction
Duct – a layer of warm air trapped above cooler air
Electric field corresponds to voltage
Shadow zone – absence of reception
Huygen’s principle – each point on a spherical waveform maybe a source of a secondary
spherical wavefront
Ducting occurs in Troposphere
E region is most ionized at midday
Transequatorial propagation is best during afternoon or early evening
Very high and ultra high frequencies is most affected by knife-edge refraction
F2 layer has an average height of 225 km at night
Notes 6: Review Notes in Antennas

The polarization of a discone antenna is vertical

When speaking of antenna, bay is a section which would be a complete antenna by itself
VHF and UHF range of frequencies are most omnidirectional horizontally polarized
antennas used
If the current ratios of the two or more elements must be held 5% and the phase angle to
3°, the antenna is called a critical phased array
Antenna – a device that converts high frequency current into electromagnetic wave
Rhombic antenna – non-resonant antenna
Gain of a half-wave dipole antenna over isotropic 2.15 dB
Null – very low signal strength in antenna
The gain of the Hertzian dipole over isotropic antenna 1.76 dB
Beamwidth is the measurement of unilateral antenna properties of directivity
In testing transmitter to prevent interfering with other stations, dummy type of antenna must
be used
The best solution to fading is space diversity
Entropy is the amount of uncertainly in a system of symbols
If an antenna has a gain of 30 dB, it increases the output of the transmitter by 1000 times
Top loading is used in an antenna in order to increase its effective height
A horizontal antenna is horizontally polarized
All elements in a beam collinear antenna are in line
FM broadcasting does not use vertical polarization antenna
Lightning rods must be mounted a top structure not less than 30 cm above the highest point
Antenna array is an antenna with a number of half-wave antenna on it
Marconi antenna radiates an omnidirectional pattern in the horizontal plane with vertical
polarization
Parabolic dish antenna – an antenna with very high gain and very narrow bandwidth
The direction of the electric field vector determines antenna polarization
Azimuth is the horizontal pointing angle of an antenna
The estimated medium wind loading in the Philippines for antenna tower design is 200 kph
Discone radiation pattern is omnidirectional
Notch antenna is an open-ended slot antenna
Rhombic antenna is properly terminated
The radiation characteristic of a dipole antenna is bidirectional
The theoretical gain of Hertzian dipole is 1.76 dB
Isotropic – an antenna with unity gain
You can increase the gain of an antenna by focusing the radiated energy in one desired
direction
Elementary doublet – an antenna which is one-tenth wavelength long
The minimum number of turns a helix antenna must have is 3
The gain of isotropic antenna is 1
Parasitic element improves antenna directivity
The antenna radiates horizontally polarized waves when the transmitter antenna is
horizontally installed
Front-to-back ratio – comparing the signal strength arriving at the driven element from the
desired direction to the signal strength reaching the driver from the opposite direction
Gain of an antenna is a measure of how the antenna concentrates its radiated power in a
given direction
End effect – shortening effect of an antenna that makes it appear as if it were 5% longer
Low-pass filter – harmonic suppressor connected to an antenna
A simple half-wavelength antenna radiates the strongest signal at right angles to its axis
The current maximum in a Marconi antenna is found at the base of the antenna
If an antenna is too short for the wavelength being used, the effective length can be
increased by adding inductance in series
Dummy antenna is used for testing and adjusting a transmitter for proper modulation,
amplifier operation and frequency accuracy
It is possible to lower the resonant frequency of Hertz dipole antenna by connecting an
inductor in series with the antenna
A vertical antenna which is a quarter-wavelength long receive signals in the horizontal
plane equally well from all direction
If the length of a Hertz dipole is decreased its resonant frequency will be increased
A one-quarter wavelength shunt-fed vertical Marconi antenna must have a vertical
receiving antenna for the best reception
A shunt-fed quarter-wavelength Marconi antenna has zero DC resistance to ground
The parasitic element of an antenna system will increase its directivity and give the
antenna unidirectional properties
If the length of an antenna is changed from 2.5 meters to 2.8 meters, its resonant frequency
will decrease
The effect of adding a capacitor in series with an antenna is that the antenna’s resonant
frequency will increase
The electrical field strength of a standard broadcast station vary with the distance from the
antenna by the field strength varies inversely as the distance from the antenna
Stacking element in a transmitting antenna system increases the field strength at the
receiving antenna and increases the directivity of the transmitter antenna
A vertical loop antenna has a bidirectional radiation pattern in the horizontal plane
In order to get maximum radiation to all the surrounding points in the horizontal plane, the
antenna used is a vertical quarter-wavelength rod
If the antenna current is doubled, the field strength at a particular position is doubled
The rhombic antenna is primarily used for sky wave propagation
Isotropic antenna radiates equally in all directions
Actual height of antennas should be at least quarter wavelength
Resonant antenna is not properly terminated
Broadcast array is an antenna array which is highly directional at right angles to the plane
of the array
The directivity pattern of an isotropic radiator is a sphere
An isotropic radiator is a hypothetical, omnidirectional antenna
The purpose of stacking elements on an antenna sharper directional pattern, increased
gain, and improved bandpass
The advantage of using top loading in a shortened HF vertical antenna is improved
radiation efficiency
The voltage nodes in a half-wave antenna is at the feed point
Isotropic radiator – a theoretical reference antenna that provides a comparison for
antenna measurements
In horizontal-dipole antenna, the polarization is in the horizontal direction
Increasing the electrical length of an antenna means adding an inductor in series
Stacking antennas at various angles results in a more omnidirectional reception
Driven element – the element fed by the transmission line
Antenna bandwidth – the frequency range over which an antenna can be expected to
operate satisfactorily
To lengthen an antenna electrically, add a coil
The usual electrical length of a driven element in an HF beam antenna is ½ wavelength
The bandwidth of an antenna increases as it is shortened through the use of loading coils
To electrically decrease the length of an antenna, add a capacitor in series
Strong interference from one particular station can be eliminated by the use of wave traps
in the antenna circuitry
It is useful to refer to an isotropic radiator when comparing the gains of directional
antennas
A disadvantage of using a trap antenna is it will radiate harmonics
The input terminal impedance at the center of a folded dipole antenna is 300 ohm
When a capacitor is connected in series with a Marconi antenna the antenna resonant
frequency increases
The current nodes in a half-wave antenna is at the ends
For a shortened vertical antenna, loading coil should be placed near the center of the
vertical radiator to minimize losses and produce the most effective performance
The effect of adding parasitic elements of a Hertz dipole is to increase the antenna’s
power gain
Stacking antenna elements increases sensitivity to weak signals
In the case of Marconi antenna, the actual length of the radiating element is one-quarter
wavelength
The antenna efficiency of an HF grounded vertical antenna can be made comparable to that
of a half-wave antenna by installing a good ground radial system
An antenna “efficiency” is computed by using Efficiency = (radiation resistance / total
resistance) x 100%
Increasing the resonant frequency of an end-fed Marconi antenna can be done by adding a
capacitor in series and reducing the physical length
Factor that determines the radiation resistance of an antenna: the location of the antenna
with respect to nearby objects
Beamwidth is the angle between the half-power radiation points
Directivity gain is the ratio of the maximum radiation intensity to the average radiation
intensity
Good grounding is important for vertical antennas
An ungrounded antenna near the ground acts as antenna array
Log-periodic is very useful as a multiband HF receiving antenna
Horn antennas is best excited from a waveguide
The following reasons for using metal counterpoise with antenna are impossibility of a
good ground connection, provision of an earth for the antenna and rockiness of the
ground itself
Protection of personnel working underneath is not a reason for using metal
counterpoise with antennas
Reason for the use of an antenna coupler: to make the antenna look resistive, to provide
the output amplifier with the correct load impedance and to discriminate against
harmonics
To prevent reradiation of the local oscillator is not a reason for the use of an antenna
coupler
Marconi antenna is not a wideband
Adding C in series makes an antenna physically long but electrically short
When antennas are closed to the ground, vertical polarized polarization is ideal
Long wire is an antenna made up of a number of full wavelengths
Electromagnetic – any energy which radiates in the form or radio waves, infrared waves,
light waves, x-rays, etc
Diplexer is an antenna coupling unit
Vertical polarization is employed in AM broadcasting
Horizontal polarization is employed in FM broadcasting
Dipole antenna is not grounded at one end
Yagi antenna does not use the ground
Notes 7: Review Notes in Wire and Wireless Communications System

10 to 100 μW – typical speech power

The maximum intelligibility for voice frequency is located between 1000 and 3000 Hz
The maximum voice energy is located between 250 and 500 Hz
Volume unit meter – a device used to measure speech volume
By definition, for a sine wave 0 dBm = 0 V.U
Presently, 300 to 3400 Hz is the “standard” frequency bandwidth for voice transmission
AWG # 19 is commonly used wire for subscriber loop design
The resistance limit for No.2 Crossbar Exchange (US) is 1300 Ω
AWG # 26 has typical loss of 0.51 dB/1000 ft
4 kHz is the standard voice channel spacing
Reflectometer is used to measure SWR
Singing – an undesired self-sustained oscillation in a system, generally caused by
excessive positive feedback
IF stage increases the selectivity of the circuit in an AM receiver
The sensitivity of radio receiver amplify weak signal and produce a desirable intelligence at
the output speaker
Full-duplex transmission means two-way simultaneous transmission
Multi drop line – a line or circuit interconnecting several stations
A passive attenuator is an electronic device which reduce signal strength by a specified
amount in dB
Roaming – the signal quality of the cells is constantly monitored by the base station, when
the quality of the calls drops below a certain specified level, the base request the MTSO to
try and find a better cell site.
MIN – a digital identification associated with a cellular system
Facsimile transmit a standard page of 25 seconds
Electrolytic recording – a kind of recording is used in facsimile
Skewing – a type of distortion a facsimile produces when it becomes out of synchronization
Acoustic coupler – a device that converts electric signal signals into audio signals,
enabling data to be transmitted over the public telephone network via a conventional
telephone handset
Crosstalk causes a herringbone pattern in facsimile
The capture effect in an FM receiver causes a stronger signal to dominate over a weaker
signal on the same frequency
Hybrid circuit – a device that converts a 2-wire circuit to a 4-wire circuit
Decision theory is deciding between a set of hypotheses when given a collection of
imperfect measurement
Jaynes maximum entropy principle of a data reduction says that when reducing a set of
data into the form of a underlying mode, one should be maximally non-committal with
respect to missing data
Estimation is selecting the best value of a parameter from a continuum of possible values
when given a collection of imperfect measurements
Discrete channel – combination of modulator, channel, and detector
The frequency band of DECT is 1.88 – 1.90 GHz
Each DECT system can support 12 simultaneous calls
A DECT radio transceiver can assess 120 simultaneous calls at any given time
The AGC voltage of a radio receiver is always DC, but may have either polarity
Concentrator – a switching system that lets a large number of telephone or data
processing subscribers use a lesser number of transmission lines or a narrower
bandwidth
If you find that an SAW filter output is 6 dB down from the input of a receiver during
test, this is normal
A triple conversion superheterodyne receiver, diode mixer stages are operated in the
nonlinear region
Leased line – a permanent circuit for private use within a communication network
If two FM signals of different strengths are received on the same frequency only the
stronger will appear in the AF output
Cellular mobile system was first operated in 1983
TACS is a cellular system with 1000 channels
Supervisory Audio Tone (SAT) has 6000 Hz frequency
GSM uses GMSK digital modulation technique
The power output of Personal Communications System (PCS) is 10 mW
RG-58 cable has a loss of about 3 dB at cellular frequencies up to 15 feet length
Pilot carrier signals – the signals designed to keep the receivers and transmitters aligned
When a line and a load are match, the reflection coefficient is zero
When line is terminated in an open circuit load, the reflection coefficient is unity
The telephone set is powered by the central office on the ring side at -42 to -52 Vdc
The telephone voice band frequency is from 300 to 3400 Hz
Green wire is used to transmit the signal
The corresponding frequencies for digit 7 in the touch tone telephone is 852 & 1209 Hz
The physical connection between the telephone set and the switching equipment is called
the subscriber loop
The local loop of a telephone system is a two-wire or four-wire communication circuit
between the customer’s premise and the central office
Dial long lines, voice repeater, and loop range extender are used in long loop design
A two-wire circuit is a circuit usually in the subscriber loop, between the telephone set
and the local central office
1 mW is equal to 90 dBm
First selector responds to the request of a subscriber by sending a dial tone
Section – the other name of Class 2 office in the North American Switching Plan
A cell in the cellular telephone system means small area
MTSO is the linking point between cell phone and regular telephone
The typical power output of a cellular phone is 3 W
When a single cell is subdivided into smaller cells the process is called cell splitting
The first cell shape is a circle
In order to provide 100% coverage without overlap, cellular telephone system can
use hexagon cell shape, triangle, or rectangular
The beamwidth of the reflector of the receiving antenna in the base station is 60 degrees
A cellular phone operates on full duplex
Cellular phone transmit in the band from 825 to 845 MHz
Cell phone receives in the band from 870 to 890 MHz
The frequency separation between the transmit and the receive channels 45 MHz
For channel 1, transmit/receive frequency is 825.015/870.015 MHz
The number of transmit/receive channels in the cellular system is 666
The transmission range of cellular telephony is generally about 80 km
Large service area is not an advantage of a cellular telephone system
When the message is transferred from one cell site transmitter to another cell site
transmitter as the caller crosses a boundary hand off process take place
The sensitivity of a cellular receiver is 50 dB
The frequency deviation of the cellular telephone system is +-12 kHz
Hailing channel is otherwise known as calling channel
Erlang is equal to the number of simultaneous calls originated during a specific
hourly period
All of the cell base stations are linked together by MTSO which serves as the central office
and management node for the group
Cell site – provides interface between the mobile telephone switching office and the mobile
units
A phone call over the cellular network actually requires full duplex channels
Volume – a method of expressing the amplitudes of complex non-periodic signals such as
speech
Echo is a signal returned to the talker after making one or more round trips between the
talker and the listener
Echo suppressor is a voice operated device that inserts a high loss in the opposite
direction of transmission of the talking party
Double spotting is picking up of the same station at two nearby points on the receiver dial
Crosstalk – when one channel picks up the signal carried by another channel
TPS type of connector arrangement wherein a customer may move to another location and
still retain the same telephone number
An advantage of sidetone is that is assures the customer that the telephone is working
Half-duplex – radio communications between points using a single share frequency
TDM – the transmission of information from multiple sources occurring on the same facility
but not at the same time
When human voice and music are transmitted, the type of communication employed is
known as radiotelephony
Printed documents to be transmitted by fax are converted into a baseband electric signal by
the process of scanning
Charge couple device is the most commonly used light sensor in a modern fax machine
In FM fax, the frequencies for black and white are 1500 and 2300 Hz respectively
Group 2 fax uses vestigial sideband AM
The most widely used fax standard is Group 3
Group 3 fax uses QAM modulation
Most fax printers are of thermal type
Facsimile standards are set by the CCITT
Satellite weather photos are commonly transmitted by radio fax
The transmission speed of group 4 fax is 56 kbits/s
Mobile telephone switching office is the master control center for cellular telephone
system
Each cell site contain a repeater
Trunk – a telephone line connecting two central offices
Cellular telephones use full-duplex type of operation
The maximum frequency deviation of an FM cellular transmitter is 12 kHz
The output power of a cellular radio is controlled by the MTSO
When the signal from a mobile cellular unit drops below a certain level, the unit is “handed
off” to a closer cell
In a cellular radio, the duplexer is a pair of sharp bandpass filters
On a telephone system, the loop is open during on-hook condition
For every button pressed on a touch-tone telephone, two audio-frequency tones are
transmitted to the C.O.
Erlang B is the traffic model about blocked calls clear condition specified blocking
probability
A touch-tone telephone generates 8 audible tone frequencies
935 – 960 MHz – the base-to-mobile frequency assignment of a GSM system
A voice-grade channel is suitable for transmission of signals with a frequency ranging
from 300 to 3400 Hz
The bandwidth of cellular CDMA system is 1.23 MHz
A communication link is a channel or circuit intended to connect other channels or
circuits
Poisson – block calls held condition specified the held probability at a time period equal to
an average holding time
Echo – a wave which has been reflected or otherwise returned with sufficient
magnitude and delay for it to be perceptible in some manner as a wave distinct from
that directly transmitted
The system used by Personal Communication Network (PCN) is modified GSM
Termination refers to load connected to the output end of a transmission line
The multiple access used by Digital European Cordless Telephone (DECT) is TDMA
Erlang C – blocked calls delay condition specified delay probability
GFSK – the modulation technique used by DECT
A four-wire circuit is used between serving central offices for long-distance
connections, with one pair being used for each direction of transmission
Cellular CDMA system uses BPSK modulation
PABX means Private Automatic Branch Exchange
The voted cellular digital standard at TIA is Digital AMPS
The number for channels for Band A and for Band B in Digital AMPS is 416
The mobile-to-base frequency assignment for GSM system is 890 – 915 MHz
The range of a cellular CDMA system is 13 miles
In a cellular system, radio capacity is used to measure the spectrum efficiency
Singing echo is completely out of control
Loop extender increase the battery voltage on a loop and extends its signaling range
Under ordinary circumstances, the CCITT recommends that the number of circuits in
tandem must not exceed 12
The system capacity of AMPS is 100,000
NAM means Numeric Assignment Module
Notes 8: Review Notes in Digital and Data Communications System

Redundancy means the symbol are to be repeated

Optical fiber transmission media is not suitable to CSMA operation
Transducer is a device used to convert a time varying electrical quantity to an appropriate
form
The bandwidth of U600 mastergroup is 2520 kHz
Hybrid data – refers to the combined digitally encoded signals transmitted with FDM
signals as one composite baseband signal
L carrier systems – transmit frequency-division-multiplexed voice band signals over a
coaxial cable for distances up to 4000 miles
Level 5 of Japanese PCM multiplex hierarchy has a channel capacity of 5760 VB channels
The line data rate (in Mbps) for level 4 of CEPT 30 + 2 PCM multiplex hierarchy is 139.264
The guardband between supergroup 18 and supergroup D25 is 56 kHz
Supergroup 17 has a carrier frequency (in kHz) of 2108
A radio channel is composed of 1800 VB channels
The guardband between supergroup 1 and supergroup 2 is 12 kHz
CCITT’s supermastergroup has 900 voice band channels
The transparency mechanism used with SDLC is called zero-bit insertion
2B + D – defines the composition of an ISDN basic access line
Synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) – a digital network where voice, video, text and data
are multiplexed into a single network for processing and are transmitted prior to use
T-1 carrier service has 1.544 Mbps digital bit rate
Non-ISDN equivalent can be connected to ISDN line by the use of terminal adapters
The baseband frequency of standard FDM basic supergroup is 312 to 552 kHz
The transmission signal coding for T1 carrier is Bipolar
The primary purpose of the data modem is to interface digital terminal equipment to
analog communications channel
Data terminal equipment (DTE) – the line control unit (LCU) operates on the data in digital
form
32 H – SYN character of EBCDIC code
Bit or clock synchronization ensures that the transmitter and receiver agree on
prescribed time slot for the occurrence of a bit
2^n >= m + n + 1 – used to determine the number of Hamming bits in the Hamming code
Data means digital information
Network layer determines which network configuration is most appropriate
Ethernet is a baseband system using CSMA/CD operating at 10 Mbps
Channel accessing – mechanism used by a station to gain access to local area network
TDM multiplexing scheme is used by baseband transmission
Use of coaxial cables in interconnecting networks is limited to an overall length of 1500 m
Topology or architecture identifies how the stations are interconnected in a network
Local Area Network is a data communications network designed to provide two-way
communications between a large variety of data communications terminal equipment within
a relatively small geographic area
Start/stop mode is the mode of transmission in public data network in which data are
transferred from source to the network then to the destination in an asynchronous data
format
A seven-bit character can represent one of 128 possibilities
Channel capacity is defined to be the maximum rate at which information can be
transmitted through a channel
Source coding – circuit that performs the inverse mapping and delivers to the user
destination, a reproduction of the original digital source output
PSK digital modulation technique used in modems
Emile Baudot developed the fixed-length binary code for telegraphy
Alex Reeves – inventor of pulse-code modulation for the digital encoding of the speech
signals
In 1950’s, computers and terminals start communicating with each other over long distance
PRNET – store-and-forward multiple-access network
Huffman code – a source code whose average world length approaches the fundamental
limit set by the entropy of a discrete memoryless source
DCA promulgate communications-related military standards (MIL-STD)
P2 is the class of probability in error detection techniques that is known as residual error
rate
RS 232 is normally an interface between DTE and DCE. The signal rate 20 kbps
TMS – digital switching concepts that can handle more channels
The most significant advantage of modular switch than time-and-space switch is flexible
size
The biggest disadvantage of PCM systems is the larger bandwidth required
The reason why companding is employed in PCM systems is to protect small signals in
PCM from quantizing distortion
Folding frequency – the highest frequency that can be processed at a sampling rate (fs)
without aliasing
The overlapping of the original spectrum and the first translated component is known
as aliasing
Full duplex – transmission sent in both directions simultaneously
Multiplexing in a time division multiplexer occurs based upon the position of data within a
frame
Multiplexing – a technique that enables more than one data source to share the use of
a common line
One of the reasons whey FDM is being replaced by TDM is because noise is amplified
with voice when an FDM system is used
In pulse modulation the carrier is a periodic train of pulses
The process that uses the orthogonality of sines and cosines that makes possible to
transmit and receive to different signals simultaneously on the same carrier frequency
is Quadrature multiplexing
Pulse code modulation technique is a digital transmission system
Bandwidth utilization is not an advantage of digital transmission
Dynamic range is the ratio of the largest possible magnitude to the smallest possible
magnitude that can be decoded by the DAC
Companding – a process where the higher amplitude analog signals are compressed prior
to transmission then expanded at the receiver
Delta Modulation (DM) uses a single bit PCM code to achieve a digital transmission of
analog signal
The line speed of Bell System T1 carrier system is 1.544 Mbps
T2 lines carry 96 channels
A super group has 60 channels
The output frequency at the channel combiner of channel 7 is 80 – 84 kHz
The carrier frequency of the supergroup D25 is 2652 kHz
Data in video is not a hybrid data
Baudot Code was the first fixed-length 5-bit character code
CCITT V.26 modem has a modulation rate of 1200 bauds
A smart modem accepts commands from the terminal via RS232 interface
An advantage of PTM over PAM is much better noise immunity
ISO adapted the seven-layer OSI model in 1983
Amplitude shift keying is also known as ON/OFF keying
FSK modulation system is used in telephony
FSK – modulation used by asynchronous data
PCM systems require large bandwidth
Shanon-Hartley theorem sets the limit on the maximum capacity of a channel with a given
noise level
Quantizing noise is present in PCM system
Quantizing noise is the difference between the original and reconstructed signal
The reason why companding is employed in PCM system is to protect small signals in
PCM from quantizing distortion
FDM – band of frequencies in a transmission medium allotted to each communication
channel on a continuous time basis
ARQ – error control used in high frequency radio data transmission
Sampling, quantizing and coding are the steps to follow to produce a PCM signal
Network topology identifies how the difference stations in a multipoint system are
interconnected
Baseband – a transmission where data are inputted directly on the cable
Broadband – a transmission where data are inputted inside the carrier wave
Polling – a transmission system for a multidrop network
CSMA/CD – before attempting to transmit data, each station has to listen to the channel
Synchronous modems cost more than asynchronous modems because they must contain
clock recovery circuits
When one station is designated as master and the rest of the stations are considered
slaves, massage handling is polling
Master – the computer that initiates information transfer
Message switching – a store and forward switching
LAN is used to connect computers in the same building or in same area
WAN – two or more LAN linked together over a wide geographical area
OSI system allows different types of network to be linked together
OSI consist of 7 layers of interconnection
Session layer determines if the user can send or receive based on whether they can send
and receive simultaneously or alternately
A bridge that interconnects LAN having identical protocols at the physical and data link
layers
A router interconnects LAN having identical protocols at the physical data link and network
layers
A gateway interconnects LAN that have totally different protocols and format
Parallel data – all bits in a character can be sent/received simultaneously
Serial data – the bits in a character which are sent/received one at a time
DTE – a system that performs parallel-to-serial and serial-to-parallel conversion of a data
link
EIA stands for Electronic Industry Association
An acoustic modem converts a computer digital signal into audio tones
Echoplex mode of transmission achieves less than full-duplex but more than half-duplex
Line protocol – rules governing the transmission of digital information
Codes must be agreed upon in advance between sender and receiver
The standard ASCII has 132 characters including 32 control characters
The Baudot code requires shift characters to provide sufficient combinations
The corrections and accuracy of the transmitted message content is determined by the
sender and the receiver
Framing is concerned with the boundaries between characters
Asynchronous transmission is less efficient but simpler
Digital transmission provides a higher level of signal quality than analog transmission
because repeaters regenerate digital pulses and remove distortion
Digital to analog converter in synchronous modems send signals to the equalizer
Binary codes are transformed in modem into Gray code
Synchronous modems cost more than asynchronous modem because they must contain
clock recovery circuits
The best type of data communications test equipment is a protocol analyzer
The data rate of the ISDN Basic access B channel is 64 kbps
The data rate of the ISDN Basic access D channel is 16 kbps
Baudot code uses 5 bits per symbol
3 bits are there to present 8 combinations
Intelligent terminal can be programmed to perform new functions
EBCDIC character code is used without parity bit
Modem is used when the host computer and the terminal are in separate locations
Front end processor is a data communications hardware that assists the host computer in
handling input and output tasks
ASCII means terminals using asynchronous transmission in ASCII
Bit – a unit of information used in data communications
Transmission of binary signals requires more bandwidth than analog
The modulation rate of the CCITT V.26 modem is 1200 bauds
The digital-to-analog converter in a synchronous modem sends signal to the equalizer
Unknown – the number of bits that are zeros in each symbol when one is transmitting odd
parity coded symbols
FSK – a digital modulation technique that results in two different frequencies representing
binary 1 and 0
The input to the Digital-to-Analog Converter of a PCM decoder circuit is a series of bits
The output of the DAC at a PCM decoder circuit is a parallel output of binary-coded
digits
Serial printer prints one character at a time
Delta modulation is a 1-bit differential PCM system
Delta modulation – alternative way of digitizing analog signals
One dit is equal to 3.32 bits
Information theory was developed by Shannon
A quadratic signaling has 4 possible states
Bit is the smallest unit of information in binary transmission system
Physical layer is the lowest layer in the ISO protocol hierarchy
64 kbps is the basic speed rate of digital system
Protocol – a formal set of conventions governing the formatting and relative timing of
message exchange between two communications system
Null modem – a device that connects 2 data terminal equipment (DTE) directly by
emulating the physical connections of a data communications equipment (DCE)
Impact printer strikes a ribbon against the paper to produce character image
Modem is referred to as data communications equipment
Common channel signaling – a signaling method relating to a multiplicity of circuits is
conveyed over a single channel by labeled messages
Ring – a data highway in LAN, this type of topology allows workstations to be connected to
a common line where all messages pass stations on the way to their destination
A packet format has an error detecting code at the end of packet framing
X.75 – it is a protocol used to connect the other packet switching network
Novel Netware is a network operating system within several buildings in compound
FSK – used by Bell 103/113 series for full duplex, 2 transmission speed of 0 to 300 bps
Channel capacity is directly proportional to bandwidth
Quantizing level does not affect noise in a channel
Bisync is a character oriented protocol
STX character signifies the start of the test for Bisync
In synchronous data the clock pulse is used to time the sending and receiving of the
characters
All bits in a character are sent and received in one at a time in serial port
Bridge can only interconnect LANs having identical protocols at the physical and data link
layers
OSI stands for Open System Interconnection
ISO stands for International Standardization Organization
Message switching is store and forward network
Packet switching is hold and forward network
Polling is an invitation by the primary to a secondary equipment to transmit a message
Bit rate is the rate of change at the input of the modulator
Morse code – a code that uses three unequal length symbols, dot, dash and space to
encode a character
BAUDOT - A 5-bit character code
EBCDIC – an 8-bit character code
Modem – an equipment that interfaces the data terminal equipment to the analog
transmission line
Protocol – set of rules governing the orderly exchange of data information
Public data network (PDN) – a communication network designed for transferring data from
one point to another
Half-duplex – radio communications between points using a single share frequency
RS232C interface had 25 numbers of pins
A modem is sometimes referred to as Data Communication Equipment
Adaptive equalizers – provide post equalization to the received analog signal
The receive equalizer in a synchronous modem is called an adaptive equalizer
Compromise equalizer settings typically affect amplitude delay
Training sequence (a bit pattern used to synchronize the receive modem)
accomplishes activate RLSD
When asynchronous data are used with synchronous modems this is called isochronous
transmission
H factor is defined as a figure of merit used to express the degree of modulation achieved
in an FSK modulator
Low-band channel in the 103 modem occupies a passband from 300 to 1650 Hz
Low speed modems generally have bit rates of 2400 bps
Medium speed modems have bit rates of 2400 – 4800 bps
High speed modems have bit rates of 9600 bps
Line conditioning – a means of improving the quality of a private-line circuit by adding
amplifiers and equalizers to it
A voice-grade circuit using the PTN has an ideal passband from 0 to 4 kHz
The digital-to-analog converter in a synchronous modem is called an adaptive equalizer
The minimum-quality circuit available using the PTN is called basic voice channel (VC)
Direct distance dialing (DDD) network is commonly called dial-up network
The line control unit (LCU) operates on the data when it is in digital form and is therefore
called data terminal equipment (DTE)
With asynchronous data, each character is framed between a start and a stop bit
With synchronous data, rather than frame each character independently with start and
stop bits, a unique synchronizing character called a SYN character is transmitted at the
beginning of each message
A logic 0 is used for the start bit
All stop bits are logic 1
Bit or clock synchronization ensures that the transmitter and receiver agree on a
prescribed time slot for the occurrence of a bit
Characters that must be transmitted other than data are called overhead
In the United States, the most common CRC code is CRC – 16
Parallel transmission is also called parallel-by-bit and serial-by-character
Data means digital information
Go-ahead sequence 01111111
Flag field are used to achieve character synchronization in SDLC
DISC – a command that places a secondary station in the normal disconnect mode
Asynchronous – character oriented protocol
Network layer determines which network configuration is most appropriate
ISO 7809 – a standard that combines previous standards 6159 (E) (unbalanced) and 6256
(E) (balanced) and outlines the class of operation necessary to establish the link-level
protocol
Ethernet is a baseband system using CSMA/CD operating at 10 Mbps
Manchester – a type of digital encoding technique used to detect collision in CSMA/CD
With CSMA/CD, a station monitors the line to determine if the line is busy
Channel accessing describes the mechanism used by a station to gain access to local
area network
Broadband uses FDM
TDM – a typical multiplexing scheme used by baseband transmission
Baseband transmission uses the connecting medium as a single-channel device
Broadband transmission uses the connecting medium as a multi-channel device
The use of coaxial cables in interconnecting networks is limited to an overall length of
approximately 1500 m
Topology or architecture identifies how the stations are interconnected in a network
Local Area Network – a data communications network that is designed to provide two-way
communications between a large variety of data communications terminal equipment within
a relatively small geographic area
2B1Q encoding – the type of encoding used in the transmission of data on an ISDN line
between a customer’s premises and a carrier’s central office
Start/stop mode – a mode of transmission in public data network in which data are
transferred from source to the network to the destination in an asynchronous data format
IEEE 802.3 standard is CSMA/CD
IEEE 802.4 standard is Token passing for bus topology
IEEE 802.5 standard is Token passing for ring topology
The data rate of the ISDN Basic access B channel is 64 kbps
The data rate of the ISDN basic access D channel is 16 kbps
2B + D equation defines the composition of an ISDN Basic access line
The number of channels on which different operations can occur simultaneously on one
ISDN Basic access line is 3
Digital telephones and integrated voice-data workstations are examples of TE type of ISDN
equipment
X.25 standard have 3 OSI layers covered
Physical layer – an Open System Interconnection (OSI) layer which has the responsibility
for the physical transportation of the bits of data from one end of a point-to-point link to the
other
Handshaking – a technique involving signaling by both ends of a link to ensure correct data
transfer
XON/XOFF is a method of flow control
V.14 – a recommendation which allows a synchronous modem to be used to transmit
asynchronous characters, without error control
The scrambler in a synchronous modem is found in the modular section
V.24 – A CCITT recommendation which gives the definition for the interchange circuits
between DTE’s and DCE’s
Binary codes are sometimes transformed in modems into Gray code
A Western Electric 2911 modem operates with a carrier frequency of 1800 Hz
Flag – a special bit pattern used to denote the start and end of a data link layer frame
A bipolar violation occurs when two successive pulses have the same polarity and are
separated by a zero level
Flow control – the process of starting and stopping the terminal output to avoid loss
of characters by the receiving device
Buffering refers to temporarily storing data to allow for small variations in device
speeds
The reason why many cables have RS-232 connectors with some wires crossed is
because asynchronous modems reverse the direction of transmitted and received
data from the standard
RS-232, RS-530, RS-449, V.21 and V.24 are examples of standards for interfaces
between terminals and modems
Request To Send (RTS) / Clear To Send (CTS) is the way the DTE indicates that is
ready to transmit data, or the way the DCE indicates that it is ready to accept data
Extended command sets supported by modern modems use different commands to
control many advance modem features
A smart modem accepts commands from the terminal via the RS-232 interface
Communications protocols always have a set of symbols
The Baudot code uses 5 bits per symbol
ZMODEM protocol adjusts its block size based on the line error rate
DEREP-RB is not a common DNA repeater
Unknown is the number of bits that are zeros when transmitting odd-parity coded symbols
X.200 – standard for the 7-layer model for Open System Interconnection
Application-independent interfaces option is a characteristic of a LAN
Twin lead is not a common LAN medium
Cable TV system is not a local area network (LAN)
V-series – CCITT standard concentrating on data communications over the telephone
network
Fiber optic transmission cannot be provided in a broadband LAN
PBX – a small telephone switching system that can be used as a LAN
Digital PBX – a LAN architecture that can be expanded to the greatest total system
bandwidth
Bus is considered as the fastest LAN topology
Data communications refers to the transmission of computer data
Protocol is a procedure or rule that defines how data is to be transmitted
XMODEM is a popular PC protocol
ASCII is the most widely used data communications code
The ASCII code has 7 bits
Both analog and digital method are used in data communications
Telephone is not a primarily a type of data communications
Mark and space refer respectively to binary 1 and binary 0
A modem converts both analog signals to digital and digital signals to analog
I.120 – an I-series recommendation which describe what an ISDN is
Slow speed modems use FSK digital modulation method
When the data signal is transmitted directly over the medium, this is
called baseband transmission
Broadband is the technique of using modulation and FDM to transmit multiple data
channels of a common medium
Noise cause bit errors in data transmission
The other name for parity is VRC
QAM is the combination of ASK and QPSK
I-series – a CCITT standard that refers to various aspects of Integrated Service Digital
Network (ISDN)
XNOR is not a part of a QAM modulator
Redundancy is not a commonly used method of error detection
Block check character (BCC) is produced by a longitudinal redundancy check (LRC)
Balanced modulators is the basic modulator / demodulator circuit in PSK
The main reason why serial transmission is preferred over parallel transmission is
because it requires only a single channel
30 stations per segment – limitation of 10base-2 network
Optical fiber transmission media is not readily suitable to CSMA operation
Entropy refers to the measurement of an uncertainty
Logical is not an important characteristic of the physical layer
The bit rate of B-channel is 64 kbps
V.26bis – defines a 2400-bps, PSK, half-duplex modem operating at 1200 baud
V.100 – describe the interconnection techniques between PDNs and PSTNs
Notes 9: Review Notes in Microwave Communications

Attenuation is the progressive decrease of signal strength with increasing distance

If K-factor is greater than 1, the array beam is bent towards the earth
The antenna separations (in meters) required for optimum operation of a space diversity
system can be calculated from: S = 3λR/L
Rainfall is an important factor for fading of radio waves at frequencies above 10 GHz
Theoretically electromagnetic radiation field strength varies in inverse proportion to the
square of the distance, but when atmospheric attenuation effects and the absorption of the
terrain are taken into account the attenuation can be as high as the inverse sixth power of
the distance
Slow fading – an attenuation that occurs over many different wavelengths of the carrier
Slow fading is not due to multipath
Large reflector causes multipath or frequency-selective fading
In microwave transmission using digital radio, delayed spreading causes most intersymbol
interference
SONAR – a shipboard equipment which measures the distance between the ship’s bottom
and the ocean floor
The cavity resonator is equivalent to an LC resonant circuit
The input signal of a traveling-wave tube is inserted at the cathode end of the helix
Coupling into and out of a traveling-wave tube can be accompanied by a waveguide
match, cavity match and direct coax-helix match
A high-power microwave pulse of the order of megawatts can be generated by
a magnetron
A traveling-wave tube (TWT) amplifies by virtue of the absorption of energy by the signal
from an electron stream
The purpose of the electromagnetic field which surrounds a traveling-wave tube is to keep
the electrons form spreading out
Tunnel diode and klystron tube are used as an oscillator device in the SHF band
Microwave frequencies are normally regarded as those in the range of 1 to 100 GHz
The highest frequency which a conventional vacuum-tube oscillator can generate is not
limited by the degree of emission from the cathode
As the electron beam moves through a klystron’s intercavity drift space the velocity
modulation at the input cavity creates density modulation at the output cavity
The frequency of the oscillation generated by a magnetron, is mainly determined by the
dimension of each cavity resonator
If the instantaneous RF potentials on the two sides of a magnetron cavity are of opposite
polarity, the operation is in the π mode
The Gunn diode oscillator depends on the formation of charge domain
Circular ferrite device can be used instead of duplexer to isolate a microwave transmitter
and receiver when both are connected to the same antenna
To achieve good bearing resolution when using a pulsed-radar set, an important
requirement is a narrow, antenna-beam width in the horizontal plane
When used in conjunction with a radar set, the purpose of an echo box is to provide an
artificial target which may be used to tune the radar receiver
In a radar-set receiver, the usual mixer stage is a silicon crystal
Klystron oscillators are most often used in the frequency range of 3000 to 30000 MHz
Oscillations of a klystron tube are maintained by bunches of electrons passing the cavity
grids
Ferrite emitter allows microwave to pass in only one direction
In an SHF pulsed radar set, a reflex klystron can be used as a local oscillator
A PPI cathode-ray tube as used on a radar set indicates both the range and azimuth of a
target
The resonant frequency of a cavity resonator depends upon its physical dimensions
The maximum usable range of the usual radar set (on any particular range setting) is
determined by the interval between transmitted pulses
A reflex klystron is oscillating at the frequency of its resonant cavity. If the reflector voltage
is made slightly less negative, the frequency will decrease
The coarse frequency adjustment of a reflex klystron is accomplished by adjusting the
flexible wall of the resonant cavity
In a pulsed radar set, the STC circuit is used to reduce interference from the effects of
sea return
In a pulsed radar set, the function of the duplexer is to allow the transmitter and the
receiver to operate from a common antenna
The aquadag coating on the inside of a PPI tube is used as a second anode and to
prevent the build-up of secondary field
If the duration of the radar transmitted pulse, on a particular range of operation is increased,
the required bandwidth of the receiver’s IF amplifiers may be decreased
The main frequency determining element of a klystron is its resonant cavity
A thin layer of dirt and grime covers the reflecting surface of the parabolic dish of a radar
set. The practical effect on the performance of the radar will have no noticeable effect
Isolator permits a microwave signals to travel in one direction with virtually no loss, but
severely attenuates any signal attempting to travel in the reverse direction
It is possible to increase the maximum range of a radar equipment by lower the pulse
frequency, raising the peak power of the transmitter, and narrowing the beam width
and increasing the pulse duration
When it is desired that short-range targets be clearly seen on a pulsed-radar set, it is
important that the receiver and display system have the shortest possible time
Magnetron is used as a high-power microwave oscillator
Modern loran navigational system operates at loran C: 100 kHz
Circulator ferrite device can be used instead of a duplexer to isolate a microwave
transmitter and receiver when both are connected to the same antenna
The pulse frequency is equal to duty cycle/pulse width
In a radar set, a blocking oscillator can be used to produce a trigger pulse for the
transmitter
The intensity of the echoes (target definition) on a PPI display is determined by the pulse
frequency and antenna rotation rate
A duplexer circuit allows a transmitter and a receiver to operate from the same antenna with
virtually no interaction. This circuit may be replaced by a circulator
156.76 MHz and 156.8 MHz frequencies are used by a class-C Emergency Position-
Indicating Radio Beacon
The repetition rate of a pulsed radar system indicates the frequencies of the duty cycle
The radar set, sensitivity-time control circuit can reduce sea-return response
Isolator is a ferrite device that buffers a microwave source from the effects of a varying
load, and thereby prevents the formation of standing waves
Pulsed radar sets are primarily used to find the target’s range and bearing
Radio frequency is mainly concerned in the design of an antenna system for pulsed radar
set
In a radar set receivers, an ac AFC system may be used to maintain the desired klystron
frequency
The input signal is introduced into the traveling-wave tube at the cathode end of the helix
The display on the PPI scope of a radar set will have greater intensity at lower antenna
rotation speeds and higher pulse repetition
The operating frequency of loran C lies within the LF band
The PPI tubes have an aquadag coating on the inside of the tube. The purpose of this
coating is to act as the second anode
A traveling-wave tube is used at frequencies in the order of 8000 MHz
The main benefit of using microwave is more spectrum space for signals
Radio communications are regulated in the Philippines by the NTC
Mobile radio is not a common microwave application
Coaxial cable is not widely used for long microwave transmission lines because of its high
loss
Stripline and microstrip transmission lines are usually made with PCBs
The most common cross section of a waveguide is a rectangle
Signal propagation in a waveguide is by electric and magnetic fields
When the electric field in a waveguide is perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation,
the mode is said to be transverse electric
The dominant mode in most rectangular waveguide is TE1,2
A magnetic field is introduced into waveguide by a probe
A half-wavelength, close section of a waveguide that acts as a parallel resonant circuit is
known as cavity resonator
Decreasing the volume of a cavity causes its resonant frequency to decrease
Hot carrier is a popular microwave mixer diode
Varactor and step-recovery diodes are widely used in frequency multiplier
Gunn diode is a popular microwave oscillator
Tunnel diode does not ordinarily operate with reverse bias
Low-power Gunn diodes are replacing reflex klystrons
Cathode-ray tube is not a microwave tube
In a klystron amplifier, velocity modulation of the electron beam is produced by the catcher
cavity
A reflex klystron is used as an oscillator
For proper operation, a magnetron must be accompanies by a permanent magnet
The operating frequency of klystrons and magnetrons is set by the cavity resonators
A magnetron is used only as an oscillator
A common application for magnetron is in radar
In a TWT, the electron beam is density-modulated by a helix
The main advantage of a TWT over a klystron for microwave amplification is wider
bandwidth
High-power TWTs are replacing Klystrons
Horn – the most widely used microwave antenna
MTBF is a measure of reliability expressed as the average number of hours between
successive failures
Baseband repeater – an active microwave radio repeater that can provide drops and
inserts
If the correction factor k equals 4/3 of the earth’s curvature, the microwave beam would
have a curvature that is more than that of the earth
The optimum clearance from an obstacle in a microwave system is accepted as 0.6 of the
first Fresnel zone radius
The microwave beam curves the same than that of the earth when the value of the
correction factor k equals infinity
The ability of a radar to determine the bearing to a target depends upon the antenna
directivity
The Doppler effect allows speed of a target to be measured
The Doppler effect is a change in frequency produced by relative motion between the radar
set and a target
The most widely used radar transmitter component is a magnetron
Low-power radar transmitters and receivers use Gunn diode
Spark gap in a duplexer protects the receiver from the higher transmitter output
Most radar antennas use a horn and parabolic reflector
The most common radar display is the PPI
A radar antenna using multiple dipoles or slot antennas in a matrix with variable phase
shifters is called a phased array
10 GHz is a typical radar operating frequency
A microwave system requires the use of repeaters when the distances involve are
greater
Waveguides are transmission line which convey electromagnetic waves in highest
frequencies
A microwave band of 10.9 to 36 GHz is considered as K-band
92.4 + 20 log F + 20 log D – a microwave communications system space loss calculation
formula
A waveguide is also a high pass filter
Frequency diversity – a method of diversity reception where the signal is transmitted on
two different frequencies over the same path
Litz wire – a wire used to reduce the skin effect
Space diversity transmission means transmitting and receiving on two or more antennas
operating on the same frequencies
Frequency diversity – the best system configuration to overcome multipath fading of
microwave system over the water
When the value of k increases, the effective result is flattening of the equivalent curvature
A traveling wave tube consists of electron gun, helix and collector
Advantage of periscope antenna in microwave: shorten waveguide length
The cut-off frequency of a waveguide is the lowest frequency the waveguide operates
When the clearance above the obstruction is equal to the radii of even Fresnel zones at the
point of reflection, the RSL is decreased
The wavelength of a wave in a waveguide is greater than in free space
Water causes more attenuation particularly on 183 GHz frequency
Oxygen cause excessive attenuation at 60 GHz frequency
Terrestrial is a microwave link between the down-town terminal and another out of town
terminal
Attenuator is used in the traveling wave tube to prevent oscillation
Space diversity is a method of diversity reception applied to reflective path to reduce
fading
K X 4000 miles is the effective earth’s radius used in communications design
IF bandwidth of a radar system is inversely proportional to pulse width
EADI stands for Electronic Altitude and Director Indicator
DME aircraft navigational system determines the time to station (TTS) or time to go (TTG)
A radio altimeter operate at 43500 MHz frequency
Terrestrial Flight Telephone System allows passengers to make telephone calls, send
faxes, and computer data shop and play computer games, etc
ADF stands for Automatic Direction Finder
RF carrier of the middle marker is modulated at 1300 Hz
The major advantage of using a helix traveling wave tube is its wide bandwidth
RADAR stands for Radio Detection and Ranging
Notes 10: Review Notes in Satellite Communications

Sputnik 1 is the first active satellite

Early Bird is the first commercial satellite
Moon is the first passive satellite transponder
Telstar 1 is the first satellite to receive and transmit simultaneously
A helical antenna is used for satellite tracking because of circular polarization
Repeaters inside communication satellites are known as transponders
Privacy is considered as the unsolved problem in satellite system
Nonsynchronous satellite is a satellite that rotates around the earth in a low-altitude
elliptical or circular pattern
Footprint is the geographical representation of a satellite antenna radiation pattern
Spot beam – the smallest beam of a satellite antenna radiation pattern
Global beam – a satellite beam that covers almost 42.4% of the earth’s surface
The frequency range of C-band is 3.4 to 6.425 GHz
Downlink – a satellite signal transmitted from a satellite transponder to earth’s station
Satellite dish collects very weak signals from a broadcast satellite
Orthomode transducer is a device that detects both vertically and horizontally polarized
signals simultaneously
LNA detects the satellite signal relayed from the feed and converts it to an electric current,
amplifies and lower its frequency
Path loss is a loss of power of a satellite downlink signal due to earth’s atmosphere
Perigee – point on the satellite orbit closest to the earth
Footprint – the earth covered by a satellite radio beam
The local oscillator (mixer) frequency of the satellite with an uplink frequency in GHz band
is 2225 MHz
Gallium Arsenide solar panel array are used in some advance satellites
Satellite engine uses ion propulsion system
Lithium – a satellite battery that has more power but lighter
Hydrogen battery used by older satellites
VSAT was made available in 1979
VSAT first operate at C-band
The first Philippine Mabuhay satellite have 30 channels
The first Philippine Agila 1 will have 36 transponders
The Philippine Government request 6 satellite orbital slots
105.5° East – the location of AsiaSat 1
AsiaSat 1 covers 38 countries in Asia
The owner of AsiaSat is China Great Wall Industry Corporation
200 dB is the approximate path loss from satellite-to-earth station
INTELSAT stands for International Telecommunications Satellite
14/11 GHz – the frequency of Ku band for satellite communications
A satellite cross-link means Satellite-to-satellite link
Earth station uses Cassegrain antenna
0.5 s is the delay time for satellite transmissions from earth transmitter to earth receiver
500 MHz – the bandwidth of C-band satellite frequency band in U.S.
The most common device used as an LNA is tunnel diode
The radiation pattern of earth coverage antennas have a beamwidth of approximately 17°
A mobile satellite array usually has 14 elements
Radial divider is responsible in activating and deactivating adjacent antenna elements in a
mobile satellite array
Most mobile satellite array uses quarter-wavelength transformer in transforming 50 ohm
to 150 ohm impedance
Shunt – the switching from one element to the other element in a typical mobile satellite
array
FDMA – a method of multiple accessing where a given RF channel bandwidth is divided
into smaller frequency band
0.5 s is the delay time for satellite transmissions from earth transmitter to earth receiver
As the height of a satellite orbits gets lower, the speed of the satellite increases
The main function of a communication satellite is as a repeater
The key electronic component in a communications satellite is the transponder
A circular orbit around the equator with a 24-h period is called a geostationary orbit
A satellite stays in orbit because the gravitational force and centrifugal force are
balanced
The height of a satellite in a synchronous equatorial orbit is about 22,300 mi
Most satellite operate in 3 GHz to 30 GHz
The main power sources for a satellite are solar cells
The maximum height of an elliptical orbit is called the Apogee
Batteries are used to power all satellite subsystems during eclipse periods
The satellite subsystem that monitors and controls the satellite is the telemetry, tracking
and command subsystem
Spin is the basic technique used to stabilize a satellite
The jet thrusters are usually fired to maintain altitude
Most commercial satellite activity occurs in C and Ku band
Multiple earth stations share a satellite on the same frequency by frequency reuse
The typical bandwidth of a satellite band is about 500 MHz
Modulator is not usually a part of a transponder
The satellite communications channels in a transponder are defined by the bandpass filter
The HPAs in most satellite are TWTs
The physical location of a satellite is determined by its latitude and longitude
The receive GCE system in an earth station performs demodulation and demultiplexing
Magnetron is not used in earth stations
The common up-converter and down-converter IF is 70 MHz
FM modulation is used on voice and video signals
QPSk modulation is normally used with digital data
Speed is not a typical output from a GPS receiver
Passive satellite – a satellite which simply reflects the signal without further amplification
Essentially a satellite transponder is a radio repeater in the sky
Geostationary – satellite that orbits in a circular pattern with an angular velocity equal to
that of the earth
Domsat – satellite that provide services within a single country
The round-trip propagation delay between two earth stations through a geosynchronous
satellite is 500 to 600 ms
Uplink signal – the signal path from earth station satellite
Communication satellite - designed to receive a signal from a transmitting station on the
ground an retransmit it to a receiving station located elsewhere
Downlink signal – the signal path from satellite to earth-based receiver
A satellite position is measured by its elevation angle with respect to the horizon
The azimuth angle measures the satellite position clockwise from the direction of true north
Arthur Clarke incidentally propose the geostationary scheme or orbit of the satellite in
1940s
The control routine necessary to keep the satellite in position is referred to as station
keeping
Satellite altitude – refers to the satellite orientation with respect to the earth
The first Intelsat satellite that was launched in 1965 was named Early Bird 1
Syncom 1 – the first satellite launched for a geosynchronous orbit but unfortunately lost
during orbit injection
Communication is the most common application of satellite
Descending pass for a satellite means a pass from North to South
Geostationary stationary satellites are located 0° latitude with respect to the equator
Notes 11: Review Notes in Fiber Optics

Christian Huygens founded the wave theory of light

Bockham and Kao proposed the use of a clad glass fiber as a dielectric waveguide
Theodore Maiman developed the first laser
Infrared – the band of light wavelengths that are too long to be seen by the human eye
Ultraviolet – the band of light wavelengths that are too short to be seen by the human eye
Blue color has the shortest wavelength of light
Laser generates a light beam at a specific visible frequency
Photoresist materials is sensitive to light
The core of an optical fiber has a higher refractive index than the cladding
Modes is the different angle of entry of light into an optical fiber when the diameter of the
core is many times the wavelength of the light transmitted
The loss in signal power as light travels down a fiber is called attenuation
The bandwidth of optical fiber is 900 THz
If a mirror is used to reflect light, the reflected light angle is the same as the incident angle
Mode is a specific path the light takes in an optical fiber, corresponding to a certain angle
and number of reflection
Spectral width is the width of the range of wavelengths emitted by the light source
Quantum theory states that light wave behaves as if it is consists of many tiny particles
Fiber optic cables operate at frequencies near 800 THz
When a beam of light enters one medium from another, frequency quantity will not change
Dispersion is used to describe the splitting of white light into its component colors
Luminance efficiency is minimum for a low wattage light bulb
An object farther from a converging lens than its focal point always has an inverted image
An object nearer to a converging lens than its focal point always has a virtual image
The real image formed by a spherical mirror is larger relative to its object
The wavelength of light has no role in polarization
Longitudinal waves do not exhibit polarization
Modal dispersion is caused by the difference in the propagation times of light rays that
take different path down a fiber
The average insertion loss of fusion splice in fiber optics is 0.09 dB
The insertion loss of connector-type splices for a single mode fiber optics is 0.38 dB
The lifetime of LEDs is about 200,000 hours
The lifetime of ILDs is about 50,000 hours
Photodiodes used as fiber optic detectors are reversed bias
Step-index multimode type of fiber has the highest modal dispersion
Laser light is coherent and stimulated emission
Fiber optics – a dielectric waveguide for the propagation of electromagnetic energy at light
frequencies
LED is a non-coherent light source for optical communications system
Semiconductor type of laser is the simplest to modulate directly by changing its excitation
Argon-ion laser emits light in the visible range, 400 to 700 nm
The proper measurement of average power emitted by a pulsed laser is pulsed energy
times repetition rate
Atmospheric absorption does not harm laser efficiency
Doppler shift of moving atoms and molecules contributes to the broadening of laser
emission bandwidth
The first laser emitted pulses of 694-nm red light
Molten is the stage of the sand becoming a silicon
LED is used as an optical transmitter in the Fiber Optical Communications
APD is used as an optical receiver in fiber optics communications
Then inner portion of the fiber cable is called core
Semiconductor laser is the simplest to modulate directly by changing its excitation
Consumer TV is not a common application of fiber-optic cable
Total internal reflection takes place if the light ray strikes the interface at a greater
than angle to the critical angle
The operation of a fiber optic cable is based on the principle of reflection
Single-mode graded-index is not a common type of fiber-optic cable
Cable attenuation is usually expressed in terms of dB/km
The upper pulse rate and information-carrying capacity of a cable is limited by modal
dispersion
The core of a fiber-optic cable is made of glass
The core of a fiber optic is surrounded by cladding
The speed of light in a plastic compared to the speed of light in air is slower
The main benefit of light-wave communications over microwaves or any other
communications media is wider bandwidth
X-ray is not part of the optical spectrum
The wavelength of visible light extends from 400 to 750 nm
The speed of light is 300,000,000 m/s
Refraction is the bending of light waves
The ratio of the speed of light in air to the speed of light in another substance is called
the index of refraction
A popular light wavelength in fiber-optic cable is 1.3 μm
Single-mode step-index type of fiber-optic cable is the most widely used
Single-mode step-index type fiber-optic cable is best for very high speed data
Single mode step-index type fiber-optic cable has the least modal dispersion
Reflection is not a factor in cable light loss
Laser is preferred for high-speed data in a fiber-optic system
Most fiber-optic light sources emit light in infrared spectrum
Both LEDs and ILDs operate correctly with forward bias
Single-frequency light is called monochromatic
Laser light is very bright because it is coherent
Photovoltaic diode is NOT a common light detector
Avalanche photodiode is the fastest light sensor
Photodiodes operate properly with reverse bias
An important requirement for successful transmission system using light: Powerful, reliable
light source
Interference filter is used to block light from a laser and let other light through
Monochromatic and in-phase is a light that can be coherent
Coherence of laser light is important for holography
The ultrapure glass used to manufacture optical fibers is approximately 99.9999% pure
In fiber optics, PCS stands for Plastic-clad-silica
Longitudinal modes has no fixed limit, dependent on bandwidth and mode spacing
Infrared absorption is the result of photons of light that are absorbed by the atoms of the
glass core molecules
In fiber optics, SCS stands for Silica-clad-silica
Helium laser was developed by A. Javen at Bell Laboratory in 1960
Spectral response of light detector determines the range of system length that can be
achieved for a given wavelength
Dark current in light detectors is caused by thermally generated carriers in the diode
Ampere/watt is the unit of responsitivity
Dispersion is not a characteristic of light detectors
The typical wavelength of light emitted from epitaxially grown LEDs is 940 nm
SONET stands for Synchronous Optical Network
Bend loss is an attenuation increase caused by bends radiating from the side of the
fiber
Infrared range of fiber optics is about 700 – 1200 nm
Higher losses is a disadvantage for plastic fiber optics
OTDR stands for Optical Time Domain Reflectometer
Under normal condition, a single fiber should not be used for a two-way communication
mainly because of noise
A single mode optical fiber has a core diameter of 0.01 nm
A step-index multimode optical fiber has a core diameter of 0.02 nm
The graded-index multimode optical fiber has a core diameter of 0.05 nm
Stepped index operation is not a possible cause of optical fiber loss
Refractive index – the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum and the speed of light in the
material used
Splicing fiber means both fusion and butt
Optoisolator – an IC that represents a short distance one-way optical communications
system
When light strikes a flat polished end of a fiber, it produces a loss of 4%
When light strikes a flat polished end of a fiber, the fiber loss produced can be reduced
by antireflection coating
In fiber optics, higher-order mode refers to cladding boundary at high angle
Refraction is not a cause of light attenuation in fiber optics
Visible-light LEDs are not used for fiber optics because it has high losses
Optical cable testers are used for light power out of a fiber
A function of an optical isolator cancels reflected waves
An increase in light intensity produces fast optic switching due to amplification of optical
signal
Light traveling in air optical fiber follows Snell’s law
Optical fibers for telecommunications are typically about 5 mils thick and consists of a glass
core, a glass cladding of lower index of refraction, and a protective coating
Material dispersion is caused by the wavelength dependence of the index of refraction
The dominant loss mechanisms in silica fiber are absorption and Rayleigh scattering
The bandwidth of a fiber is limited by dispersion
Fiber bandwidth is generally specified as the product of the bandwidth and distance
The quantum efficiency of a detector is the fraction of incident photons that produce a
photoelectron or electron-hole pair
In solid-state optical detectors, the excited charge is transported in the solid by holes and
electrons
PMT is not a solid-state optical detector
Optical detectors are square-law devices because they respond to intensity rather than
amplitude
The photocurrent is equal to the number of electrons emitted per second times the
electron charge
PMT optical detector is used when high sensitivity and bandwidth are required
The average loss in fiber splice is about 0.15 dB
White color is not found in the visible light wave spectrum
The frequency limit of an optical fiber is about 40 GHz
The mechanical splice attenuation loss is 0.1 dB or less
Polymer jacket is applied to protect core and cladding of the fiber
The energy of the photon is directly proportional to the Planck’s constant
Refractive index of glass – 1.5
Refractive index of diamond – 2.0
The unit of light wavelength is Angstroms
The power loss of the fusion splice is about 0.01 dB or less
Optical power meter is used to test a fiber optics splice
Beam-splitting coupler – a coupler which consists of a series of lenses and a partly
reflective surface
Diffuse reflection – Reflections in many directions
Lithium Niobate – commonly used electro-optic crystal for polarization modulation
Intensity modulation and polarization modulation are the most widely used in optical
systems