CHAPTER 3

Q1. Table 3-1 shows Category 1 wire transmitting a signal for 5 to 6 kilometers (3 to 4
miles) but Category 5e for only 100 meters (328 feet). Does this mean Category 1 is the best
wire for long distance transmissions? Explain.
No, Category 1 is not the best wire for long distance communication. It is true that Cat1 can be
used to transmit a signal for 5 to 6 kilometers and Cat 5e for only 100 meters. There are some
drawbacks in Cat1 that cannot be avoided and that is what makes cat5e a better wire.
Category 1 twisted pair is standard telephone wire and has few or no twists. Thus,
electromagnetic noise is more of an issue. It was designed to carry analog voice or data at low
speeds (less than or equal to 9600 bps). It is irrelevant to use such wire as the speed is very low
and disturbances are high. It is not suitable for local area networks or modern telephone lines.
On the contrary, Category 5 twisted pair is intended to transmit 100 Mbps to 125 Mbps of data
for distances up to 100 meters. It has a higher number of twists per inch than the Cat1 so
provides less noise. It also includes specifications for connectors, patch cords, and other
components that can be connected directly to the cable. So it can better support the higher speeds
of 100-Mbps (and higher) local area networks. Moreover, for the long distance network
transmission, repeaters can be used. A repeater is a device that generates a new signal by creating
an exact replica of the original signal. Thus, it can go beyond the 100 meters as long as the signal
is regenerated.





Q2. List three different examples of crosstalk that do not involve wires and electric signals.
(Hint: Look around you.)
The examples are:
1. In the classroom, when the teacher and a student try to speak with each other but the
other students are making lot of noise. It would become impossible for the teacher to
listen what the student is saying. The other student act as an interference or crosstalk
between the communication of the teacher and the student.

2. When the ships try to communicate using flashes from lamps as a signal, that signal can
be taken by the other person, whom it is not meant for and would respond to it. The
person acts as a crosstalk in the message.

3. In a rock concert when two people try to communicate, the voice signals get lost. The
music is so loud that they couldnt get the message. The sound of the music act as
interference between their conversations.









Q5. The local cable TV company is considering removing all the coaxial cable and
replacing it with fiber-optic cable. List the advantages and disadvantages of this plan.
It is a big step to take to remove all the coaxial cable and replace it with fiber-optic cable.
Undoubtedly, fiber optic transmission provides high-speed, low-error data transmission rates and
many other advantages over coaxial cable but its installation cost is very high. One fiber fuse
amount to pay huge price.
Advantages
Fiber-optic cable has several advantages over coaxial cable:
1. Higher Data Rate: Fiber-optic cable can support higher bandwidths (data rates) than
coaxial cable. It is capable of transmitting data at more than 100 Gbps over several
kilometers. So, it can provide hundreds of channels.
2. Less signal attenuation: Fiber-optic transmission distance is significantly greater than
that of other guided media. It minimizes the usage of repeaters.
3. Immunity to electromagnetic interference: Electromagnetic noise cannot affect fiber-
optic cables as it consists of light signals. End user can get a clearer picture.
4. Resistance to corrosive materials: Glass is more resistant to corrosive materials than
copper.
5. Light weight: Fiber-optic cables are much lighter than copper cables.
6. Greater immunity to tapping: Fiber-optic cables are more immune to tapping than
copper cables. Nobody can steal the signal.
7. Unidirectional light propagation: Propagation of light is unidirectional. It is an
advantage as Cable TV Company would require a unidirectional transmission.
8. No crosstalk between cables
9. No sparks


Disadvantages
There are some disadvantages in the use of optical fiber.
1. Installation and maintenance: Its installation and maintenance require expertise that is
not yet available everywhere.
2. Cost: The cable and the interfaces are relatively more expensive than those of other
guided media. If the demand for bandwidth is not high, often the use of optical fiber
cannot be justified. Moreover, the whole installation can prove to be very costly.
3. It requires expensive optical transmitters and receivers.
4. At higher optical powers, it is susceptible to "fiber fuse" wherein a bit too much light
meeting with an imperfection can destroy as much as 1.5 kilometers of wire at several
meters per second.
Q12. Given that a satellite signal travels at the speed of light, exactly how long does it take
for a signal to go from the Earth to a satellite in geosynchronous orbit and back to Earth?
Show the calculations.
Given, satellite signal travels at the speed of the light.
Speed= 186000miles/sec
Distance from earth to satellite= 22,300miles
It takes round trip, therefore
D= 2*22,300
= 44,600 miles
Time, T= Distance(d)/speed
T= 44600/186000
T= 0.239784 sec
Or, T=239.784 milliseconds


Q13. How long does it take a signal to reach a satellite in low Earth orbit? Show the
calculations.
Low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites are closest to the Earth. They can be found as close as 100
miles from the surface and as far as 1000 miles away.
1. When Distance =100 miles
D= 100 miles
Speed= 186000miles/sec
Time= Distance/Speed
T= 100/186000
T= 5.376344 *10^-04
Or, T= 537.6344 microseconds

2. When distance = 1000 miles
D= 1000 miles
Speed= 186000miles/sec
Time= Distance/Speed
T= 1000/186000
T=5.376344* 10^-03
Or, T= 5376.344 microseconds
A signal takes 537.6344 microseconds to 5376.344 microseconds to reach a satellite in low Earth
orbit.





CHAPTER 4
Q1. What are the advantages, if any, of the older EIA 232F interface over the newer USB
interface?
EIA-232F is an oldest interface standard for serial communication which provides full duplex
connection. Its study provides an interesting window into the inner workings of the
communication between a computer and a peripheral. It has been displaced by USB as it is
simpler for the user, faster, provides its own source of power, uses lower voltages, and has
connectors that are simpler to connect and use. There could be some advantage of EIA 232F/
RS-232 over USB.
1. USB is limited by standard to use not more than 5 meters of cable, thus EIA-232F is
favored when longer distances are needed.
2. USB is more complex than the EIA-232F standard because it includes a protocol for
transferring data to devices.
3. In research fields, laboratory automation or surveying, this device may continue to be
used. PLCs, VFDs, servo drives, and CNC equipment are programmable via this
interface.
4. Serial ports with RS-232 are also commonly used to communicate to headless systems
such as servers, where no monitor or keyboard is installed, during boot when operating
system is not running yet and therefore no network connection is possible.
5. This can communicate to some embedded systems such as routers as an alternative to
network mode of monitoring.




Q3. If I have a device that has a Universal Serial Bus 3.0 interface, but my computer only
has a Universal Serial Bus 2.0 connector, is my device going to work? Explain why or why
not.
Yes, the device is going to work. But there would be a problem; USB 3.0 is backward
compatible with USB 2.0 devices so the data transfer speeds are limited to USB 2.0 levels when
these devices inter-operate.
USB 3.0 receptacles are electrically compatible with USB Standard 2.0 device plugs if they
physically match. Since the new interface has been carefully planned from the start to peacefully
co-exist with its predecessor, the connector itself remains mostly the same with the four USB 2.0
contacts in the exact same location as before. Extra pins for the new lanes dedicated to transmit
and receive high speed data that are located on the back and only come into contact when mated
with a proper USB 3.0 port.

Q6. List two examples not mentioned in the book for each of the following connections:
half-duplex and full-duplex.
In half duplex mode, each station can both transmit & receive, but not at the same time. It is like
a one lane road with traffic allowed in both directions. Examples include:
1. Walkie-talkies
2. CB radios
In full duplex mode, both stations can transmit and receive simultaneously. It is like a two way
street with traffic following in both directions at the same time. Examples include:
1. Telephone Network System
2. Video Conferencing

Q12. What types of devices are best served with an isochronous connection?
An isochronous connection is a special kind of data link connection which is used to support
various types of real-time applications. Examples of real-time applications include streaming
voice, video, and music. For this, the data must be delivered to a computer at the right speed. If
the data is delivered too slowly, then the music will distort, or the video will break up. If the data
is delivered too fast, the receiving computer might not be able to buffer the data, which could
result in the data being lost. The devices that are best served are video cameras, music
players and other devices that support real time applications.