Chapter 12: Digital Modulation and Modems

TRUE/FALSE

1. Little data communication is carried over voice-grade telephone lines.

ANS: F

2. The word "keying" is still used to denote digital modulation schemes.

ANS: T

3. ASK is rarely used for data communications.

ANS: T

4. Information capacity is proportional to bandwidth.

ANS: T

5. Information capacity is independent of noise.

ANS: F

6. "Baud rate" is the same as bits per second.

ANS: F

7. A "mark" is a binary one.

ANS: T

8. "Space" is another term for bandwidth.

ANS: F

9. FSK is slow, but "robust".

ANS: T

10. FSK makes efficient use of available bandwidth.

ANS: F

11. FSK is used extensively in high-frequency radioteletype transmission.

ANS: T

12. PSK is typically faster than FSK.

ANS: T
13. "Dibit" is another term for PSK.

ANS: F

14. PSK is typically DPSK.

ANS: T

15. QPSK is typically DQPSK.

ANS: T

16. Digital amplitude modulation is called QAM.

ANS: F

17. QAM uses PSK.

ANS: T

18. A "constellation diagram" shows the "symbols" used in QAM.

ANS: T

19. CCITT is now ITU-T.

ANS: T

20. Equalization compensates for phase and frequency distortions in a channel.

ANS: T

21. Signal complexity compensates for low S/N during transmission.

ANS: F

22. Receiver equalization requires a "training sequence" be sent at startup.

ANS: T

23. 54 kbps is about the maximum speed you can get from a telephone line modem.

ANS: T

24. High-speed modems cannot do data compression.

ANS: F

25. High-speed modems cannot do error correction.

ANS: F

26. MNP4 is an error-correction protocol.

 ANS: T

27. V.42 is a data-compression scheme.

ANS: F

28. A computer is a DTE.

ANS: T

29. A MODEM is a DCE.

ANS: T

30. EIA-232D is the same as RS-232C.

ANS: T

31. RS-232 describes a parallel port protocol.

ANS: F

32. The response to RTS is DSR.

ANS: F

33. RTS and CTS provide a "handshake" between a DTE and a DCE.

ANS: T

34. +10 volts on an RS-232 control line is a HIGH or TRUE level.

ANS: T

35. +12 volts on an RS-232 signal line is a binary ONE.

ANS: F

36. A line is active when it is "asserted".

ANS: T

37. "Smart" MODEMS are initialized with a string of "AT" commands.

ANS: T

38. Twisted-pair telephone wire is not capable of more than about 4 kHz of bandwidth.

ANS: F

39. DSL carries high-speed data over twisted-pair telephone wire.

 ANS: T

40. CATV cables only carry signals one way: from the head-end to the subscriber.

ANS: F

41. Fiber-optic CATV cables carry analog signals.

ANS: T

42. Typically, a NIC is required to interface a PC to a cable modem.

ANS: T

43. A cable modem is always on.

ANS: T

44. A DSL connection is always on.

ANS: T

45. A cable modem shares the channel with other users.

ANS: T

46. A DSL connection shares the loop with other subscribers.

ANS: F

47. ADSL Lite is faster than standard ADSL.

ANS: F

48. ADSL Lite requires a splitter at the subscriber end.

ANS: F

49. In practice, both ADSL Lite and a cable modem have comparable data rates.

ANS: T

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. FSK stands for:

a. Full-Shift Keying c. Full-Signal Keying
b. Frequency-Shift Keying d. none of the above
ANS: B

2. PSK stands for:

a. Pulse-Signal Keying c. Phase-Signal Keying
b. Pulse-Shift Keying d. Phase-Shift Keying
 ANS: D

3. QAM stands for:

a. Quadrature Amplitude Modulation c. Quadrature Amplitude Marking
b. Quadrature Amplitude Masking d. none of the above
ANS: A

4. In the equation I = ktB, I is measured in:

a. amperes c. bits
b. amperes per second d. bits per second
ANS: C

5. In the equation C = 2Blog2M, M is the:

a. margin of noise c. number of possible states per symbol
b. modulation index d. maximum number of symbols per second
ANS: C

6. An "eye pattern" shows a good channel when:

a. the eye is maximally open c. the eye is half open
b. the eye is maximally closed d. the eye alternately opens and closes
ANS: A

7. What you see in an eye pattern is the effect of:

a. too many bits high c. intermodulation distortion
b. too many bits low d. intersymbol interference
ANS: D

8. High-frequency radioteletype systems commonly use:

a. FSK c. PSK
b. AFSK d. QAM
ANS: A

9. Instead of a single bit, a QPSK symbol contains:

a. a byte c. a dibit
b. 4 bits d. a Q-bit
ANS: C

10. To reduce the need for linearity, p/4 DQPSK uses:

a. angles of 0, 90, 180, and 270 degrees c. angles of p/4, 2p/4, 3p/4, and 4p/4
b. angles of 45, 135, 225, and 315 degrees d. double phase-shift angles
ANS: B

11. For QAM, a "constellation diagram" shows:

a. location of symbols in "symbol space" c. effects of noise on symbols
b. separation of symbols in "symbol space" d. all of the above
ANS: D

12. For QAM, the two dimensions of its symbol space are:
 a. amplitude and frequency c. frequency and phase angle
b. amplitude and phase angle d. I-bits and Q-bits
ANS: B

13. The specs of the old Bell type 103 modem were:
a. 300 bps, full-duplex, FSK c. 1200 bps, full-duplex, FSK
b. 600 bps, full-duplex, FSK d. 1200 bps, half-duplex, FSK
ANS: A

14. ITU is an abbreviation for:

a. International Telephony Unit c. International Telecommunications Union
b. International Telephony Union d. International Telecommunications Units
ANS: C

15. The ITU is under the auspices of:

a. CCITT c. IEEE
b. the U.N. d. ANSI
ANS: B

16. High-speed modems equalize the line to compensate for:

a. noise and interference
b. uneven phase and frequency response
c. low SNR
d. inconsistent bit rates at either end of channel
ANS: B

17. The bits sent to allow equalization are called:

a. Gaussian bits c. a training sequence
b. random bits d. a random sequence
ANS: C

18. The V.90 standard is issued by:

a. the EIA c. the ITU
b. the TIA d. the ISO
ANS: C

19. MNP2, MNP3, MNP4, and MNP10 are all:

a. data-compression schemes c. both a and b
b. error-correction protocols d. none of the above
ANS: B

20. MNP5 and V.42 bis are both:

a. data-compression schemes c. both a and b
b. error-correction protocols d. none of the above
ANS: A

21. In RS-232, flow control is done using:

a. RTS/CTS handshake c. both a and b
 b. XON/XOFF characters d. none of the above
ANS: C

22. The official name for RS-232C is:

a. RS-232C c. ISO-232C/D
b. EIA-232D d. ANSI-232C
ANS: B

23. In RS-232, a modem would be:

a. a DTR c. a DCE
b. a DSR d. a DTE
ANS: C

24. In RS-232, a personal computer would be:

a. a DTR c. a DCE
b. a DSR d. a DTE
ANS: D

25. On a DB-9 RS-232 connector, signal ground is pin:

a. 1 c. 5
b. 3 d. 7
ANS: C

26. On a DB-25 RS-232 connector, signal ground is pin:

a. 1 c. 5
b. 3 d. 7
ANS: D

27. The minimum lines required for RS-232 are:

a. TD and RD c. TD, RD, DSR, and signal ground
b. TD, RD, and signal ground d. TD, RD, RTS, CTS, and signal ground
ANS: B

28. Hardware flow control uses:

a. XON and XOFF c. RTS and CTS
b. TD and RD d. DSR and DCD
ANS: C

29. Software flow control uses:

a. XON and XOFF c. RTS and CTS
b. TD and RD d. DSR and DCD
ANS: A

30. Which voltage represents a binary zero on an RS-232 data pin:

a. +15 volts c. +9 volts
b. +12 volts d. all of the above
ANS: D
31. DSL stands for:
a. Data Signal Line c. Digital Subscriber Line
b. Digital Signal Line d. Double-Speed Loop
ANS: C

32. ADSL stands for:

a. Asynchronous DSL c. Analog DSL
b. Asymmetrical DSL d. All DSL
ANS: B

33. In a CATV system, HFC stands for:

a. Head Frequency Control c. Hybrid Fiber-Coax
b. Hybrid Frequency Control d. Hybrid Fiber Control
ANS: C

34. In a CATV system, CMTS stands for:

a. Cable Modem Terminal Server c. Cable Modem Terminal System
b. Cable Modem Transmission System d. Cable Modem Transmission Server
ANS: A

35. A "splitter" at the subscriber end is not required for:

a. Any DSL scheme c. ADSL Lite
b. ADSL d. none of the above
ANS: C

COMPLETION

1. RTS means Request To ____________________.

ANS: Send

2. The response to RTS is ____________________.

ANS: CTS

3. FSK stands for Frequency-Shift ____________________.

ANS: Keying

4. DSR stands for ____________________ Set Ready.

ANS: Data

5. QAM stands for ____________________ Amplitude Modulation.

ANS: Quadrature

6. The number of symbols per second is called the ____________________ rate.

 ANS: baud

7. The 2 bits of information in a QPSK symbol is called a ____________________.

ANS: dibit

8. QPSK uses ____________________ different phase angles.

ANS: four

9. DPSK stands for ____________________ PSK.

ANS: Delta

10. The QAM amplitude-phase combinations are shown with a ____________________ diagram.

ANS: constellation

11. ITU stands for International _________________________ Union.

ANS: Telecommunications

12. In QAM modems, ____________________ coding adds extra bits to improve performance on a
noisy line.

ANS: Trellis

13. ____________________ is used in a high-speed modem to compensate for uneven frequency and
phase response on a line.

ANS: Equalization

14. The maximum allowed speed for a modem on a dial-up line is about ____________________
bps.

ANS: 54k

15. The nominal maximum speed on an RS-232 cable is ____________________ bps.

ANS: 20k

16. In RS-232, the ____________________ line is asserted when the analog carrier from another
modem is being received.

ANS:
CD
DCD
RLSD

17. Between hardware flow control and software flow control, ____________________ flow control
is preferred.

ANS: hardware
18. A voltage higher than ____________________ volts should be considered a high on an RS-232
receiver.

ANS: 3

19. A ____________________ modem cable is used to connect two DTEs via their serial ports.

ANS: null

20. ADSL stands for ____________________ DSL.

ANS: Asymmetrical

21. A typical CATV system is organized as a ____________________ network.

ANS: tree

22. In a CATV system using cable modems, a ____________________ is used to put several
channels of data onto a fiber-optic backbone.

ANS: CMTS

23. ____________________ is the process of synchronizing transmitted data from cable modems to
a CMTS.

ANS: Ranging

24. ____________________ systems send high-speed data over a POTS line while sharing the line
with dial-up service.

ANS: ADSL

25. The ____________________ version of ADSL does not require a splitter at the subscriber end.

ANS: lite

26. ____________________ modulation divides the line bandwidth into many narrow bands called
tones or bins for ADSL.

ANS: DMT

27. A DSLAM is a DSL Access ____________________.

ANS: Multiplexer

SHORT ANSWER

1. Calculate the bits per second capacity of a system sending 1000 symbols per second with 16
possible states per symbol.

ANS:
4000
2. How many points will be on the constellation diagram of a QAM system using 8 phase angles
and 2 amplitude levels?

ANS:
16

3. A CATV system has 100 cable-modem customers sharing a single channel with a data rate of 36
Mbps. If half the modems are active at any given time, what bit rate can a customer expect?

ANS:
720 kbps

4. A DMT system uses 4.3-kHz bins on a 1-MHz cable. Approximately how many bins are there?

ANS:
230

5. Assuming a maximum symbol rate of 400 per second, how many possible states must a symbol
have to achieve a data rate of 1200 bps?

ANS:
8