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of microwave signals over a microwave link. This microwave link is made up of a string of microwave radio antennas located at the top of towers at various microwave sites. Microwave Transmission is Considered a 'Line of Site' Technology Microwave transmission is considered a 'Line of Site' technology. This is because the proper functioning of microwave transmission requires that the airspace between two microwave towers in clear of mountains, buildings, and other objects that could possibly block signals from being intercepted by the towers. Microwave transmission is limited by this need for a clear line of sight, in addition to being susceptible to attenuation by the atmosphere. For these reasons, microwave transmission is only widely used in areas inaccessible by LAN or other transport methods. Microwaves are good for transmitting information from one place to another because microwave energy can penetrate haze, light rain and snow, clouds, and smoke. Shorter microwaves are used in remote sensing. These microwaves are used for radar like the doppler radar used in weather forecasts. Microwaves, used for radar, are just a few inches long. (pic 1) How do we "see" using Microwaves?Radar is an acronym for "radio detection and ranging". Radar was developed to detect objects and determine their range (or position) by transmitting short bursts of microwaves. The strength and origin of "echoes" received from objects that were hit by the microwaves is then recorded. (Pic 2)- Because radar senses electromagnetic waves that are a reflection of an active transmission, radar is considered an active remote sensing system. Passive remote sensing refers to the sensing of electromagnetic waves which did not originate from the satellite or sensor itself. The sensor is just a passive observer.
What do Microwaves show us? Pic3- Because microwaves can penetrate haze, light rain and snow, clouds and smoke, these waves are good for viewing the Earth from space. Pic4- The ERS-1 satellite sends out wavelengths about 5.7 cm long (C-band). This image shows sea ice breaking off the shores of Alaska. The JERS satellite uses wavelengths about 20 cm in length (L-band). This is an image of the Amazon River in Brazil. Pic 5- This is a radar image acquired from the Space Shuttle. It also used a wavelength in the L-band of the microwave spectrum. Here we see a computer enhanced radar image of some mountains on the edge of Salt Lake City, Utah. First of all, Microwaves are electromagnetic waves with wavelengths ranging from 1 mm to 1 m, or frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. They are used in many forms, the most familiar being microwave ovens. They are also used in telephone transmission for long distances. If you place a long distance call, the signal may have to be sent by sattelite. A communications satellite (sometimes abbreviated to comsat) is an artificial satellite
stationed in space for the purposes of telecommunications. Modern communications satellites use a variety of orbits including geostationary orbits, Molniya orbits, other elliptical orbits and low (polar and non-polar) Earth orbits. For fixed (point-to-point) services, communications satellites provide a microwave radio relay technology complementary to that of fiber optic submarine communication cables. They are also used for mobile applications such as communications to ships, vehicles, planes and hand-held terminals, and for TV and radio broadcasting, for which application of other technologies, such as cable, is impractical or impossible. Before the advent of fiber optic transmission, most long distance telephone calls were carried via microwave point-to-point links through sites like the AT&T Long Lines. Starting in the early 1950's, frequency division multiplex was used to send up to 5,400 telephone channels on each microwave radio channel, with as many as ten radio channels combined into one antenna for the hop to the next site, up to 70 km away. Wireless LAN protocols, such as Bluetooth and the IEEE 802.11 specifications, also use microwaves in the 2.4 GHz ISM band, although 802.11a uses ISM band and U-NII frequencies in the 5 GHz range. Licensed longrange (up to about 25 km) Wireless Internet Access services can be found in many countries (but not the USA) in the 3.54.0 GHz range. Cable TV and Internet access on coaxial cable as well as broadcast television use some of the lower microwave frequencies. Some mobile phone networks, like GSM, also use the lower microwave frequencies. Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) including the American Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Russian (GLONASS) broadcast navigational signals in various bands between about 1.2 GHz and 1.6 GHz. In short, almost every type of communication except talking, uses microwave technology. Communication satellite It is difficult to go through a day without using a communications satellite at least once. Do you know when you used a communications satellite today? Did you watch T.V.? Did you make a long distance phone call, use a cellular phone, a fax machine, a pager, or even listen to the radio? Well, if you did, you probably used a communications satellite, either directly or indirectly. Communications satellites allow radio, television, and telephone transmissions to be sent live anywhere in the world. Before satellites, transmissions were difficult or impossible at long distances. The signals, which travel in straight lines, could not bend around the round Earth to reach a destination far away. Because satellites are in orbit, the signals can be sent instantaneously into space and then redirected to another satellite or directly to their destination. The satellite can have a passive role in communications like bouncing signals from the Earth back to another location on the Earth; on the other hand, some satellites carry electronic devices called transponders (transmitter and responder) for receiving, amplifying, and re-broadcasting signals to the Earth. Communications satellites are often in geostationary orbit. At the high orbital altitude of 35,800 kilometers, a geostationary satellite orbits the Earth in the same amount of time it takes the Earth to revolve once. From Earth, therefore, the satellite appears to be stationary, always above the same area of the Earth. The area to which it can transmit is called a satellite's footprint. For example, many Canadian communications satellites have a footprint which covers most of Canada. Communications satellties can also be in highly elliptical orbits. This type of orbit is roughly egg-shaped, with the Earth near the top of the egg. In a highly elliptical orbit, the satellite's velocity changes depending on where it is in its orbital path. When the satellite is in the part of its orbit that's close to the Earth, it moves faster because the Earth's gravitational pull is stronger. This means that a communications satellite can be over the region of the Earth that it is communicating with for the long part of its orbit. It will only be out of contact with that region when it quickly zips close by the Earth.
Radio Waves and Microwaves Radio waves and microwaves are both types of electromagnetic radiation. They are made up of an electrical and a magnetic wave and they travel at the speed of light. Both of these types of wave have important applications in modern life. Microwaves These are electromagnetic waves that have a wavelength of 1mm through to 1m. They were first proved to exist in 1888 by the German scientist Heinrich Hertz. Microwaves are used in many applcations. In communication they are used to carry the signal in wireless and Bluetooth devices. Satellite communication also uses different frequencies of microwave radiation. Satellites also use microwaves for navigation applications. The Global Positioning System (GPS) uses microwave radiation for satellite navigation systems to locate themselves. Radar systems also use microwaves to locate objects. Microwaves are also used in cooking food. The ability of microwaves to heat food was accidentally discovered by an American engineer called Percy Spencer in the 1940s. He was testing part of radar system when he found that the chocolate bar in his pocket began to melt. He realised that the microwaves were heating up the food and could be used in the kitchen. The scientific name for this process is called dielectric heating. Microwave radiation can damage the body - usually when the shielding on a microwave oven doesn't work properly. The escaping radiation can damage the lens in the eye causing it to lose its transparency. This is called a cataract. Basically, it is 'cooking' the proteins in the eye in the same way as a cooked egg-white changes from transparent to white. Radio Waves Radio waves have a slightly lower frequency (and a higher wavelength) than microwaves. The Ultra High Frequency (or UHF) waves are in the overlapping frequencies between microwaves and radio waves. The Very High Frequency (or VHF) waves have a lower frequency and are definitely in the radio wave spectrum. Both UHF and VHF waves are used to carry television signals. VHF has been used for many years for radio broadcasts, however, UHF signals are now being used as well in Digital Audio Broadcasting (or DAB radio). Radio-frequency Identification (or RFID) is used in devices (often called tags) that can be tracked using suitable equipment. These tags can be used to track people, animals or used in security tags in shops. RFID tags have been used to time the runners in races. In a marathon for example, where there are a large number of runners, it is would be impossible to time every person. But if they wear a small tag the computer can log the time that each runner takes to complete the course. The 'chips' that are used in animal identification are RFID tags. A small tag, the size of a grain of rice, is injected under the skin of a dog, cat or horse. Each chip transmits a unique number which can be used to look up the details of that animal on a central database. Libraries use RFID tags to keep track of the books that they own. You may have noticed a sticker placed in the inside cover of a book with a maze-like pattern in copper. This is the RFID tag. Radiowaves- Radio waves have the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum. These waves can be longer than a football field or as short as a football. Radio waves do more than just bring music to your radio. They also carry signals for your television and cellular phones.
The antennae on your television set receive the signal, in the form of electromagnetic waves, that is broadcasted from the television station. It is displayed on your television screen. Cable companies have antennae or dishes which receive waves broadcasted from your local TV stations. The signal is then sent through a cable to your house. MODEM modem is modulator demodulator modulator converts bits transfered into electrical pulses demodulator converts electrical pulses into bits It is very useful in networking when we r using internet modulator converts digital signals into analog signal so that these signals can travel on to the telephone lines and at the desitination the demodulator converts these analog signal to digital signal. MODEM- MO-modulator & DEM-demodulator. Modem is a device which convert the digital signal to analog single and Analog signal to digital. The use of modem in networking is to connect your computer to internet using telephone line. modem is a combination of modulator and demodulator inorder to reduce attenuation((quality)reduction of signal), delay distortion, and noise from the data to be sent through cables or wireless. this are used in dailup connection and broadband mainly for internet. The modem takes its name from the two functions it performs: modulator and demodulator, and this is basically the purpose of a modem. Modems change the analog signal to digital and the digital signal to analog. Lets understand this modem definition with an example: Suppose that your computer makes a request from a website to view a webpage something that we do everyday: we open up our web browser and connect to a website. The modem accepts the request in digital form from the computer, changes it to an analog signal (modulates it) so that it can be carried over the telephone wires and then sends it. When the request is answered, the answer reaches the modem in analog form, is converted to digital (demodulated), and sent to the computer. The conversion of the signals to/from analog to digital is the main purpose of a modem. You may wonder why there is a redundancy when converting analog and digital signals in both the computer and the other points in the Internet. The answer is simple telephone lines are not able to carry digital signals and our computers can not understand anything other than 1s and 0s, the digital signals. So, there has to be something that can do this conversion and make every device understand the signals What is a Network? A network consists of two or more computers that are linked in order to share resources (such as printers and CDs), exchange files, or allow electronic communications. The computers on a network may be linked through cables, telephone lines, radio waves, satellites, or infrared light beams. Two very common types of networks include:
Network adapter
In a computer network, each machine must have a network card installed to communicate with the network router. The router directs traffic on the local network and also handles requests made to the Internet, and subsequent responses. The network card in each machine must support the same protocols as the network router so that all devices are speaking the same language. A network adapter can substitute for an internal network card when a card is not present, or when the internal card does not support the required standard. There are two basic types of networks: wired and wireless. Network adapters are made for both types of networks, with more variety among the wireless flavor as there are different types of wireless networks. A network adapter made for a wired connection is a small USB dongle that features an Ethernet port. Ethernet cabling connects computers in wired networks, with the RJ45 Ethernet port resembling a standard RJ11 telephone jack on steroids. The adapter might come with software, though most modern operating systems will recognize a USB network adapter and apply the proper drivers upon detection of the device. Once recognized by the system, the external network adapter can be used to connect the computer to the network by running an Ethernet cable from the router to the network adapter. In most cases, however, when people refer to a network adapter, they are referring to a wireless network adapter. These devices are popular for mobile computers, as they allow the computer to connect to the home or office wireless network from anywhere in the vicinity without being tethered by Ethernet cable. A wireless network adapter looks similar to a memory stick or thumb drive: a small USB dongle with an LED light that indicates power and operability. Upon plugging it in, it will scan the airwaves for local broadcasts, working with system software to display the names of local networks for the user. Click the name of the network you wish to join, and supply credentials as needed. Thats all it takes to surf wirelessly. The next time you boot, the device will automatically log you into the network of choice.
A Network Adapter acts as an interface between a computer and network or simply it is a device which is used to connect users computer to the network.It is basically the port where the RJ 45 cable is connected to gain internet access. The hardware of the network adapters exists in many forms. Network Adapter term was known after the ethernet add in cards which were earlier available for personal computers. After PCI Ethernet cards, many network adapter cards came into existence. Most of these cards are designed for a particular type of network. One was PCMCIA devices which were also known as PC CARD adapters and other was USB devices. Network Adapters are very helpful in providing a dedicated and good connection to a network.
Network Adapters are also used in laptop computers particularly in the case where there is no in-built wireless network adapter in laptops while personal computers on a local area network normally contain a network adapter for accessing the internet or also for transmission purposes. But mostly the wireless network adapters are integrated within the circuit chip of the laptop i.e. they are pre- installed. Network Adapters are also called as Ethernet Adapters if in an Ethernet network or sometimes as token ring adapters when present in token ring network. Device Driver software is used for supporting wired as well as wireless network adapters in almost every operating system. Network Adapter interfaces directly to the hardware at its lower side while at the upper side it provide an interface such that the upper level drivers can send and receive packets or set or reset the network adapter. The Network drivers allow application software to communicate with the adapter hardware. It is often that the network device drivers are installed automatically when the adapter hardware is first powered on.
Network adapters should be compatible with the other network devices which are used to connect to the network and are also used to function in parallel. Some of the Network Adapters are purely the software packages that help in simulating the functions of a network card. Network Adapters are also some times called as Virtual Adapters and these virtual adapters are quite common in Virtual Private Networking which includes the building of different virtual private networks. Network Adapter cards are also known as Network Interface Cards i.e. NIC cards or the Local Area Network Cards i.e. the lan cards. *** A network adapter allows a computing device to interface with a local network. Adapters are a required component to include when building a network. Types of Network Adapters A network adapter is typically a small unit of hardware. Several types of hardware adapters exist:
Traditional PCI adapters fit inside a desktop personal computer (often called a NIC). A newer type of PCI adapter, "PC Card" adapters (sometimes called PCMCIA cards) insert into the side of a notebook computer. A USB adapter plus into a standard USB port of any computer A media adapter connects to the Ethernet port of an Xbox or Playstation game console or other home entertainment product, providing a bridge to Wi-Fi wireless capability. Newer notebook computers contain integrated wireless adapter chips
Every common adapter supports either Wi-Fi (wireless) or Ethernet (wired) standards. Special-purpose adapters that support very specialized network protocols also exist, but these are not found in homes or most business networks.