Reflection (electrical)
In telecommunications, signal reflection happens when a signal is transmitted along a transmission medium (such as a copper cable or an optical fiber) and part of it is reflected back toward the source instead of reaching the end. This reflection is caused by imperfections or physical variations in the cable (such as abrupt changes in its geometry) that lead to impedance mismatches. These mismatches disrupt the signal and cause some of it to bounce back. In radio frequency (RF) systems, this is typically measured using the voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), with device called a VSWR bridge. The amount of reflected energy depends on the degree of impedance mismatch and is mathematically describe by the reflection coefficient. Because the principles are the same, this concept is perhaps easiest to understand when considering an optical fiber. Imperfections in the glass create mirrors that reflect the light back along the fiber. Impedance discontinuities cause attenuation, atten ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Telecommunications
Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of transmission may be divided into communication channels for multiplexing, allowing for a single medium to transmit several concurrent Session (computer science), communication sessions. Long-distance technologies invented during the 20th and 21st centuries generally use electric power, and include the electrical telegraph, telegraph, telephone, television, and radio. Early telecommunication networks used metal wires as the medium for transmitting signals. These networks were used for telegraphy and telephony for many decades. In the first decade of the 20th century, a revolution in wireless communication began with breakthroughs including those made in radio communications by Guglielmo Marconi, who won the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics. Othe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Echo (phenomenon)
In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the listener. Typical examples are the echo produced by the bottom of a well, a building, or the walls of enclosed and empty rooms. Etymology The word ''echo'' derives from the Greek ἠχώ (''ēchō''), itself from ἦχος (''ēchos''), 'sound'. Echo in Greek mythology was a mountain nymph whose ability to speak was cursed, leaving her able only to repeat the last words spoken to her. Nature Some animals, such as cetaceans (dolphins and whales) and bats, use echo for location sensing and navigation, a process known as echolocation. Echoes are also the basis of sonar technology. Acoustic phenomenon Walls or other hard surfaces, such as mountains and privacy fences, reflect acoustic waves. The reason for reflection may be explained as a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Echo Canceller
Echo suppression and echo cancellation are methods used in telephony to improve voice quality by preventing echo from being created or removing it after it is already present. In addition to improving subjective audio quality, echo suppression increases the capacity achieved through silence suppression by preventing echo from traveling across a telecommunications network. Echo suppressors were developed in the 1950s in response to the first use of satellites for telecommunications. Echo suppression and cancellation methods are commonly called acoustic echo suppression (AES) and acoustic echo cancellation (AEC), and more rarely line echo cancellation (LEC). In some cases, these terms are more precise, as there are various types and causes of echo with unique characteristics, including acoustic echo (sounds from a loudspeaker being reflected and recorded by a microphone, which can vary substantially over time) and line echo (electrical impulses caused by, e.g., coupling between th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Impedance Matching
In electrical engineering, impedance matching is the practice of designing or adjusting the input impedance or output impedance of an electrical device for a desired value. Often, the desired value is selected to maximize power transfer or minimize signal reflection. For example, impedance matching typically is used to improve power transfer from a radio transmitter via the interconnecting transmission line to the antenna. Signals on a transmission line will be transmitted without reflections if the transmission line is terminated with a matching impedance. Techniques of impedance matching include transformers, adjustable networks of lumped resistance, capacitance and inductance, or properly proportioned transmission lines. Practical impedance-matching devices will generally provide best results over a specified frequency band. The concept of impedance matching is widespread in electrical engineering, but is relevant in other applications in which a form of energy ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Characteristic Impedance
The characteristic impedance or surge impedance (usually written Z0) of a uniform transmission line is the ratio of the amplitudes of voltage and current of a wave travelling in one direction along the line in the absence of reflections in the other direction. Equivalently, it can be defined as the input impedance of a transmission line when its length is infinite. Characteristic impedance is determined by the geometry and materials of the transmission line and, for a uniform line, is not dependent on its length. The SI unit of characteristic impedance is the ohm. The characteristic impedance of a lossless transmission line is purely real, with no reactive component (see below). Energy supplied by a source at one end of such a line is transmitted through the line without being dissipated in the line itself. A transmission line of finite length (lossless or lossy) that is terminated at one end with an impedance equal to the characteristic impedance appears to the sourc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Insertion Loss
In telecommunications, insertion loss is the loss of signal power resulting from the insertion of a device in a transmission line or optical fiber and is usually expressed in decibels (dB). If the power transmitted to the load before insertion is ''P''T and the power received by the load after insertion is ''P''R, then the insertion loss in decibels is given by, :IL(\mathrm) = 10 \log_ Electronic filters Insertion loss is a figure of merit for an electronic filter and this data is generally specified with a filter. Insertion loss is defined as a ratio of the signal level in a test configuration without the filter installed (\left\vert V_1 \right\vert) to the signal level with the filter installed (\left\vert V_2 \right\vert). This ratio is described in decibels by the following equation: :\mbox = 10 \log_ = 20 \log_ For passive filters, \left\vert V_2 \right\vert will be smaller than \left\vert V_1 \right\vert. In this case, the insertion loss is positive and measure ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Communications Link
A data link is a means of connecting one location to another for the purpose of transmitting and receiving digital information (data communication). It can also refer to a set of electronics assemblies, consisting of a transmitter and a receiver (two pieces of data terminal equipment) and the interconnecting data telecommunication circuit. These are governed by a link protocol enabling digital data to be transferred from a data source to a data sink. Types There are at least three types of basic data-link configurations that can be conceived of and used: * Simplex communications, most commonly meaning all communications in one direction only. * Half-duplex communications, meaning communications in both directions, but not both ways simultaneously. * Duplex communications, communications in both directions simultaneously. Aviation In civil aviation, a data-link system (known as Controller Pilot Data Link Communications) is used to send information between aircraft and air tr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Radio Frequency
Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the upper limit of audio frequencies that humans can hear (though these are not electromagnetic) and the lower limit of infrared frequencies, and also encompasses the microwave range. These are the frequencies at which energy from an oscillating current can radiate off a conductor into space as radio waves, so they are used in radio technology, among other uses. Different sources specify different upper and lower bounds for the frequency range. Electric current Electric currents that oscillate at radio frequencies (RF currents) have special properties not shared by direct current or lower audio frequency alternating current, such as the 50 or 60 Hz current used in electrical power distribution. * Energy from RF currents in conduct ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Optical Time-domain Reflectometer
An optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) is an optoelectronic instrument used to characterize an optical fiber. It is the optical equivalent of an electronic time domain reflectometer which measures the impedance of the cable or transmission line under test. An OTDR injects a series of optical pulses into the fiber under test and extracts, from the same end of the fiber, light that is scattered ( Rayleigh backscatter) or reflected back from points along the fiber. The scattered or reflected light that is gathered back is used to characterize the optical fiber. The strength of the return pulses is measured and integrated as a function of time, and plotted as a function of length of the fiber. Reliability and quality of OTDR equipment The reliability and quality of an OTDR is based on its accuracy, measurement range, ability to resolve and measure closely spaced events, measurement speed, and ability to perform satisfactorily under various environmental extremes and after v ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Time-domain Reflectometer
A time-domain reflectometer (TDR) is an electronic instrument used to determine the characteristics of electrical lines by observing reflected pulses. It can be used to characterize and locate faults in metallic cables (for example, twisted pair wire or coaxial cable), and to locate discontinuities in a connector, printed circuit board, or any other electrical path. Description A TDR measures reflections along a conductor. In order to measure those reflections, the TDR will transmit an incident signal onto the conductor and listen for its reflections. If the conductor is of a uniform impedance and is properly terminated, then there will be no reflections and the remaining incident signal will be absorbed at the far-end by the termination. Instead, if there are impedance variations, then some of the incident signal will be reflected back to the source. A TDR is similar in principle to radar. The impedance of the discontinuity can be determined from the amplitude of the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |