SRB: Transmission fundamentals

 

This online course describes the characteristics, capabilities and applications of copper, optical fibre and wireless transmission media and explain the techniques used to maximise the traffic carrying capacity of those media. This course can be studied on its own or as part of the "PTT Level 3 Award in principles of telecommunications" study programme.

 

Target audience:

This course is designed for those who require an introduction to the fundamental technical concepts that underpin modern telecommunications. The course is suitable for those joining the industry in a technical role especially those in an apprenticeship.

 

Course prerequisites:

An understanding of the basic properties of analogue and digital signals. It is recommended that the PTT course SRA: "Analogue and digital signals" is studied before attempting this course.

 

Course objectives:
By the end of this course you will be able to:

• explain the conditions for maximum power transfer over a copper cable with reference to its characteristic impedance.
• describe the use of logarithmic units to express power loss and level.
• compare the characteristics and applications of twisted pair and coaxial copper cable.
• describe the principles of the transmission of information over optical fibres.
• describe the characteristics and applications of transmissions in the various frequency bands of the electro-magnetic spectrum.
• describe the principles, capabilities and applications of various types of modulation technique.
• explain the principles of Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) and describe the capabilities of TDM signals as used in modern telecommunications networks.
• describe the role, characteristics and format of the various types of signal transmitted over copper and optical cable systems.

 

Delivery platform requirements:
To access the course, a computer running a browser such as Internet Explorer 6+, Google Chrome, Firefox 2+ or Safari is required. The computer should have Internet access and be running Flash version 8 or above. A screen resolution of at least 1024x768 is necessary.

Number of modules: 8 
Approximate study time: 7 hours 

Download and view the course specification in Adobe PDF format