Analog signal
hideAn Analog or analogue signal is any continuous signal for which the time varying feature (variable) of the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity, i.e analogous to another time varying signal. It differs from a digital signal in that small fluctuations in the signal are meaningful. Analog is usually thought of in an electrical context; however, mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic, and other systems may also convey analog signals.
An analog signal uses some property of the medium to convey the signal's information. For example, an aneroid barometer uses rotary position as the signal to convey pressure information. Electrically, the property most commonly used is voltage followed closely by frequency, current, and charge.
Any information may be conveyed by an analog signal; often such a signal is a measured response to changes in physical phenomena, such as sound, light, temperature, position, or pressure, and is achieved using a transducer.
For example, in sound recording, fluctuations in air pressure (that is to say, sound) strike the diaphragm of a microphone which causes corresponding fluctuations in a voltage or the current in an electric circuit. The voltage or the current is said to be an "analog" of the sound.
Any measured analog signal must theoretically have noise and a finite slew rate. Therefore, both analog and digital systems are subject to limitations in resolution and bandwidth. In practice, as analog systems become more complex, effects such as non-linearity and noise ultimately degrade analog resolution to such extent that the performance of digital systems may surpass it. In analog systems, it is difficult to detect when such degradation occurs. However, in digital systems, degradation can not only be detected but corrected as well.
For more information about Analog signal, read the full article at
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News tagged with analog signals
700,000 callers phone digital TV hot line
Jun 13, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Nearly 700,000 calls were received by a federal hot line this week from people confused about the nationwide switch from analog to digital TV broadcasts that occurred Friday.
Digital TV likes clear signal path
Dec 31, 2008 |
1.3 / 5 (3) |
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Question: If I buy a new digital TV, can I just plug it in and use it, as I do the old TV now? My son insists that it has to be hooked to an antenna, but the old televisions worked fine without one.
Search results for analog signals
Analog TV signals to be interrupted in 'soft test'
May 20, 2009 |
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(AP) -- TV stations around the country will replace their analog broadcasts for a few minutes Thursday with reminders that those broadcasts will disappear completely in three weeks.
Stations must warn if new TV signals lack reach
Mar 16, 2009 |
2 / 5 (1) |
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(AP) -- TV stations must alert viewers if their new digital signals don't reach areas covered by their soon-to-be-defunct analog broadcasts, the Federal Communications Commission has ruled.
Another 158 TV stations to kill analog early
Mar 18, 2009 |
3 / 5 (1) |
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(AP) -- Regulators have cleared 158 TV stations around the country to shut down their analog broadcast signals before June 12, when the remaining full-power stations will end theirs.
Survey: Fewer than 2.2M households unready for DTV
Jun 11, 2009 |
2 / 5 (2) |
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(AP) -- A survey sponsored by broadcasters says nearly 2.2 million households that rely on antennas for their TV reception are unprepared for the shutdown of analog TV signals on Friday.
Friday is final curtain for analog TV signals
Jun 10, 2009 |
4 / 5 (4) |
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(AP) -- The last major TV stations that are still broadcasting in analog will turn those signals off Friday and go all digital. And this time, they really mean it.
Are you ready for digital TV?
Jan 20, 2009 |
1.3 / 5 (4) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- If everything goes as planned, on Feb. 17 the long-awaited switch from analog to digital broadcasting will take place and millions of analog television sets across the nation will go black. Temple University ...
Reception problems linger after DTV transition
Jun 17, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The shutdown of U.S. analog TV service on Friday appears to have gone relatively smoothly, but as expected, a lot of viewers are having problems getting the stations they want.
New analog circuits could impact consumer electronics
Feb 16, 2007 |
4.2 / 5 (46) |
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Advances in digital electronic circuits have prompted the boost in functions and ever- smaller size of such popular consumer goods as digital cameras, MP3 players and digital televisions. But the same cannot ...
Friday is last day to apply for digital TV coupon
Jul 30, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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(AP) -- The government program that provides $40 coupons for digital TV converter boxes is winding down.
Amazing minaturized 'SIDECAR' drives Webb telescope's signal
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Feb 20, 2008 |
4 / 5 (5) |
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Many technologies have become so advanced that they've been miniaturized to take up less space and weigh less. That's what happened to detector controls and data conversion electronics on the James Webb Space ...
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