Analog Communication

Analog Communication:

Ø  The term analog refers to any physical device or signal that can continuously vary in strength or quantity. for example, voltage in a circuit.

Ø  The term analog communication refers to any method of communication based on analogue principles.

Ø Typically, this term is associated with voice transmission because voice transmission facilities such as telephone were initially.

Ø  Analog communication is used in phones (Both landline and cellular), modems, fax machines, cable television.

Ø  In analog communication, the data is transferred from transmitter to receiver with the help of analog signal. Analog signal possesses continuous varying amplitude with time. Any type of data such as voice, sound etc. can be transferred through an analog signal.

Ø  Firstly, the data needs to be converted into electrical form. As voice, sound is non-electric in nature, it can be converted into electric form with the help of transducer. Then this signal is passed through the communication channel.

Ø  Analog communication is appropriate for short distance communication. Although, we can also use it for long distance communication with the help of analog modulation technique such as amplitude modulation and angle modulation.

Ø  Modulation is the process of multiplying the low-frequency information signal with a high-frequency carrier signal. Then, this signal is transmitted through the channel. Thus, one modulator is required at the transmitter end, and one de-modulator is connected at receiving end for retrieving the original signal.

Ø The major drawback of Analog Communication is that the strength of the signal starts diminishing with the increase in the distance traveled. Thus, the signal to noise ratio starts getting degrade. Moreover, noise affects the Analog signal more than digital signal because analog signal is a continuous time-varying signal.

Ø  Analog signal requires less bandwidth for the transmission thus more power

Ø  Analog signal can be represented by sine wave.