TOPIC 4: LANDLINES

COURSE: SUPERVISORY CONTROL AND DATA ACQUISITION

 INTRODUCTION

Landline is the term used to describe a communications link that is constructed of one or more types of
cable.
A landline may be a privately owned cable in a factory or on an industrial site, installed, used and owned by
a company.
Alternatively, it may be a connection through the public network of a telephone company.
The choice of landline to be used depends on the application, the costs involved, the data speeds required,
the frequency of access required to the RTU and the available communication services and technologies at
this site.
BACKGROUND TO
CABLES
The connecting data cable is
defined as the complete
assembly required to join two
ends together, including the
conductors (or fibers), the
shielding, the insulation, the
supports, the connectors and the
terminations at both ends.
 The main factors that need to
be considered when
specifying data
communication cables are:
 INTERFERENCE AND NOISE ON CABLES

In contrast to power cables, the sources of external electrical noise and the cable’s ability to exclude it are
important aspects of data cable design and installation.
 A useful reference on the subject of noise is the IEEE 518-1982 guide entitled ‘IEEE Guide for the
Installation of Electrical Equipment to Minimize Electrical Noise Inputs to Controllers from External
Sources.’
 Interference and noise are important factors to consider when designing and installing a data
communication system, with consideration required to avoid electrical interference.
 Noise can be defined as the random generated undesired signal that corrupts (or interferes with) the
original (or desired) signal.
 Noise may be generated in the system itself (internal noise), or from an outside source (external noise).
 Some typical examples of these sources are outlined below.
SOURCES OF NOISE
SOURCES OF NOISE
 SOURCES OF INTERFERENCE AND NOISE ON CABLES

Noise is normally introduced into cable circuits through electrostatic (capacitive) coupling, magnetic
(inductive) coupling and resistive coupling.
 The reduction of these noise signals takes the form of shielding and twisting of signal leads, proper
grounding, separation, and good insulation.
 Shielding is the protection of the signal wires from noise or unwanted signals.
 The purpose of the shield is to reduce the magnitude of the noise coupled into the lowlevel signal circuits
by electrostatic or magnetic coupling.
 ELECTROSTATIC COUPLING

Electrostatic or capacitive coupling of external noise is illustrated in the figure below:

 The external noise source couples the noise into the signal wires through capacitors C1 and C2 and the
resulting flow of current produces an error voltage signal across R1, R2, (the cable resistance) and RL.
 The error signal is proportional to the length of the cable leads, the resistance of the cable leads, the
amplitude and the frequency of the noise signal and the relative distance of the cable leads from the noise
source.
 MAGNETIC COUPLING
Magnetic coupling is the electrical property that exists between two or more conductors, such that when
there is a current change in one, there will be a resultant induced voltage in the other conductor.
 Figure below illustrates a disturbing wire (noise source) magnetically coupling a voltage into the signal
circuit.
 MAGNETIC COUPLING

A common method of reducing the effect of magnetic coupling is the use of twisted conductors in the signal
circuits, as illustrated in Figure 4.6.
The distance of these two signal wires with respect to the disturbing wire is approximately equal and the
area of the circuit loop is almost zero. Reducing this area to practically zero will reduce the voltage induced
by the magnetic field to almost zero due to the equal magnitude of current induced in each lead that will
result in a near zero net circulating current. (The currents will induce voltages in the load that are equal and
opposite in magnitude and will therefore cancel.)
 IMPEDANCE COUPLING

 Impedance coupling (as illustrated in Figure 4.8) is the

electrical property that exists when two or more signal wires
share the same common return signal wire.
 If there is any resistance in the common return wire then the
signal current from any one of the loads will cause the voltage
to rise at all the loads.
 In addition, noise that induces current flow into the common
return will cause noise voltage at all the loads.
 IMPEDANCE COUPLING

A few alternative solutions to the problem of impedance coupling are indicated in the following diagrams.
 This figure indicates the ideal approach of separate signal returns:
 IMPEDANCE COUPLING

A few alternative solutions to the problem of impedance coupling are indicated in the following diagrams.
 This figure illustrates the use of a large low impedance return bus. Note that the individual returns from
each transmitter and receiver should also be as low impedance as possible.
 IMPEDANCE COUPLING

A few alternative solutions to the problem of impedance coupling are indicated in the following diagrams.
 This figure illustrates a compromise approach where there are too many transmitters and receivers to justify
each one getting a single pair of cables.
CABLE SPACING
In the practical world where there are normally many different cabling systems at one site, a system has been developed to
classify all wiring in a certain class of susceptibility to interference and to group the classes in an orderly manner as
indicated below.
There are four basic levels or classes of wiring, which can be identified. These classes or levels are listed below.
 Level 1 – high susceptibility
 Level 2 – medium susceptibility
 Level 3 – low susceptibility
 Level 4 – power
CLASS CODES
Within a level, conditions may exist that require specific high-quality cables to be used.
 A class coding system similar to the following may identify the conditions in each level:
EARTHING AND GROUNDING REQUIREMENTS

The earth (or ground) is defined as a common reference point for all signals in equipment situated at zero
potential.
Two key requirements when setting up an effective earthing system are:
 Minimize the effects of impedance coupling between different circuits (i.e. when different signal currents
flow through common impedance).
 Ensure three types of earthing systems possible. These are illustrated in the figure below:
VARIOUS
EARTHING
CONFIGURATIONS
TYPES OF EARTHING

In general, earthing can be classified into four different types of applications:

 Safety or power earth
 Low level signal (or telecommunications/instrumentation) earth
 High level signal (motor controls) earth
 Building earth
 SPECIFIC AREAS TO FOCUS
 Always tie the shield of the cable down at one point to reduce the electrostatic field coupling.
 Twisted pair signal leads are preferable to non-twisted pair cables as they result in far less inductive noise.
 Ensure that all cables (even if both are data signal cables) cross at right angles.
 Multiple conductor cable should have an overall electrostatic shield.
 Keep high power cables as close together as possible to maximize the cancellation of disturbing magnetic fields
 Terminate all unused wires and shields at one end of the cable.
 Terminate all electrostatic shields at one point only.
 Ensure isolation of electrostatic shields from ground at all points (once terminated at one end).
 At junction boxes, ensure that shield continuity is maintained even though the signal cables may be discontinued at this point.
 Ensure that signal cables avoid high noise areas.
 Do not assume that two signal cables of similar voltages will not interfere with each other electrically.
 It is important to tie all earths at one site to a common ground, so that if there is a severe earth fault (or lightning strike) all
points rise to the same potential and no one is electrocuted.
 GENERAL CABLE CHARACTERISTICS
To derive optimum performance from copper communication cables, the correct type and size of cable should be chosen for
the application.
 The wire size must reflect the current carrying requirements for the application while the voltage rating should equal or
exceed the anticipated circuit rated voltage.
 The type and specification of wiring chosen should also reflect the noise susceptibility and data rate criteria of the system
components.
 Of the many types of cables used in data communication systems, common types are two wire open schemes, twisted pair
cables, coaxial cables, and fiber optic cables.
 All types offer differing signal and mechanical characteristics, installation convenience and cost.
 The resistance, inductance, and capacitance are distributed along the length of the cable and, at high frequencies, combine
to present the effects of a low pass filter.
 The equivalent electrical circuit of a cable is illustrated in the figure below with these parameters shown distributed along
the length of the cable.
MAIN PARAMETERS OF A DATA CABLE
 GENERAL RULES FOR CABLES APPLICATIONS

The following general rules apply to most data applications, although there are some new types of twisted pair
cables that give good high frequency performance.
Another important consideration when choosing a cable is its type of outer insulation and protection.
 MAIN CABLE SPECIFICATIONS
Two wire open lines are the simplest forms of copper cable transmission media where each is insulated from
the other and separated in free space.
 For digital transmission, the scheme is limited to transmission rates of up to 19 kbps over a range of 50 m
and is susceptible to spurious noise. This type of line is most often used for power lines, rural
telephone lines, and telegraph lines. It is sometimes used as a transmission line between a transmitter and
an antenna or between an antenna and a receiver. An advantage of this type of line is its simple
construction.
Twisted pair cables are the most economical solution for data transmission and allow for transmission rates of
up to 1 Mbps on communication links of up to 300 m (longer distances with lower data transfer rates).
 MAIN CABLE SPECIFICATIONS
Coaxial cable is a type of electrical cable consisting of an inner conductor surrounded by a concentric conducting shield, with
the two separated by a dielectric (insulating material); many coaxial cables also have a protective outer sheath or jacket. The
term "coaxial" refers to the inner conductor and the outer shield sharing a geometric axis.
 Coaxial cable is a type of transmission line, used to carry high-frequency electrical signals with low losses. It is used in
such applications as telephone trunk lines, broadband internet networking cables, high-speed computer data busses, cable
television signals, and connecting radio transmitters and receivers to their antennas.
 MAIN CABLE SPECIFICATIONS

For full-duplex digital systems using balanced differential transmission, two sets of screened twisted pairs are
required in one cable, with individual and overall screens.
Due to the rapid increase during the 70s and 80s of twisted pair cables in data communications applications,
the EIA developed a structured wiring system for unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cables.
The structure involves dividing UTP into five categories of application. These are listed below:
 FIBER OPTIC CABLES

A fiber-optic cable, also known as an optical-fiber cable, is an assembly like an electrical cable, but containing one or more optical fibers that are used to
carry light.
The data transmission capability of fiber optic cables will satisfy any future requirement in data communications, allowing transmission rates in the gigabits
per second (Gbps) range.
There are many systems presently installed operating at approximately 2.5 Gbps.
Commercial systems are becoming available that will operate up to 5 Gbps.
The main benefits of fiber optic cables are:
 Enormous bandwidth (greater information carrying capacity)
 Low signal attenuation (greater speed and distance characteristics)
 Inherent signal security
 Low error rates
 Noise immunity (impervious to EMI and RFI)
 Logistical considerations (light in weight, smaller in size)
 Total galvanic isolation between ends (no conductive path)
 Safe for use in hazardous areas
 No Crosstalk
 THEORY OF OPERATION

The principle of communications in fiber optic cables arises from the fact that light propagates through different
media at different speeds (in the same manner as radio waves).
When light moves from one media of a certain density to another of a different density, the light will change
direction. This phenomena, is known as refraction.
It is possible to state the effectiveness of a medium to propagate light by expressing it as a ratio to an absolute
reference; light traveling through a vacuum (3 ×108 m), i.e. speed of light in free space.
 THEORY OF OPERATION

Typical optic fiber values:

 MODES OF PROPAGATION

Fiber types are generally identified by the number of paths that the light follows inside the fiber core called modes
of propagation.
There are two main modes of light propagation through an optic fiber, which give rise to two main constructions
of fiber, multimode and monomode.
 Multimode fibers are easier and cheaper to manufacture than monomode fibers.
 Monomode or single mode fibers are expensive and difficult to manufacture. They allow only a single path or
mode for the light to travel down the fiber with minimal reflections.
MODES OF PROPAGATION
 LIMITATIONS OF FIBER OPTIC CABLES

On the negative side, the limitations of fiber optic cables are as follows:
 The cost of source and receiving equipment is relatively high.
 It is difficult to switch or tee-off a fiber optic cable, so fiber optic systems are most suitable for point-to-point
communications links.
 Techniques for joining and terminating fibers (mechanical and chemical) are difficult and require precise
physical alignment. Special equipment and specialized training are required.
 Equipment for testing fiber optic cables is different and more expensive from the traditional methods used for
electronic signals.
 Fiber optic systems are used almost exclusively for binary digital signals and are not really suitable for analog
signals.