Principles of Wireless Communications

Wireless communications begin with a message that is converted into an electronic signal by a device called a transmitter. The transmitter uses an oscillator to generate radio waves. The transmitter modulates the radio wave to carry the electronic signal and then sends the modified radio signal out through space, where it is picked up by a receiver. The receiver decodes, or demodulates, the radio wave and plays the decoded message over a speaker. Wireless communications provide more flexibility than wire-based means of communication. However, there are some drawbacks. Wireless communications are limited by the range of the transmitter (how far a signal can be sent), and since radio waves travel through the atmosphere, they can be disturbed by electrical interferences (such as lightning) that cause static.

Wireless communications systems involve either one-way transmissions, in which a person merely receives notice of a message, or two-way transmissions, such as a telephone conversation between two people. An example of a device that sends one-way transmission is a pager, which is a radio receiver. When a person dials a pager number, the pager company sends a radio signal to the desired pager. The encoded signal triggers the pager circuitry and notifies the customer carrying the pager of the incoming call with a tone or a vibration, and often the telephone number of the caller. Advanced pagers can display short messages from the caller, or provide news updates or sports scores.

Two-way transmissions require both a transmitter and a receiver for sending and receiving signals. A device that functions as both a transmitter and a receiver is called a transceiver. Cellular radio telephones and two-way radios use transceivers, so that back-and-forth communication between two people can be maintained. Early transceivers were very large, but they have decreased in size due to advances in technology. Fixed-base transceivers, such as those used at police stations, can fit on a desktop, and hand-held transceivers have shrunk in size as well. Several current models of hand-held transceivers weigh less than 0.2 kg (0.5 lb).

Modes of Wireless Communications

Wireless communications systems have grown and changed as technology has improved. Several different systems are used today, all of which operate on different radio frequencies. New technologies are being developed to provide greater service and reliability.

A Air Transceivers

Radio operators still monitor distress channels, but maritime and aviation telecommunications systems now use high-frequency radios and satellites capable of transmitting speech, rather than wireless telegraphy, to send messages. Aircraft pilots use radios to communicate with air traffic controllers at airports and also to communicate with other pilots. Navigation beacons are equipped with transmitters that send automated signals to help ships and aircraft in distress determine their positions. While high-frequency radio can transmit signals over long distances, the quality of these signals can be diminished by bad weather or by electrical interference in the atmosphere, which is often caused by radiation from the sun.

Date: 2016-01-14; view: 774