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Inradio communication, atransceiver is an electronic device which is a combination of a radiotransmitter and areceiver, hence the name. It can both transmit and receiveradio waves using anantenna, for communication purposes. These two related functions are often combined in a single device to reduce manufacturing costs. The term is also used for other devices which can both transmit and receive through acommunications channel, such asoptical transceivers which transmit and receive light inoptical fiber systems, andbus transceivers which transmit and receivedigital data in computerdata buses.
Radio transceivers are widely used inwireless devices. One large use is intwo-way radios, which areaudio transceivers used for bidirectional person-to-person voice communication. Examples arecell phones, which transmit and receive the two sides of a phone conversation using radio waves to acell tower,cordless phones in which both the phone handset and the base station have transceivers to communicate both sides of the conversation, andland mobile radio systems likewalkie-talkies andCB radios. Another large use is inwireless modems in mobile networked computer devices suchlaptops, pads, and cellphones, which both transmit digital data to and receive data from awireless router. Aircraft carry automatedmicrowave transceivers calledtransponders which, when they are triggered by microwaves from anair traffic control radar, transmit a coded signal back to the radar to identify the aircraft. Satellite transponders incommunication satellites receive digital telecommunication data from asatellite ground station, and retransmit it to another ground station.
The transceiver first appeared in the 1920s.[1] Before then, receivers and transmitters were manufactured separately and devices that wanted to receive and transmit data required both components. Almost all amateur radio equipment today[when?] uses transceivers, but there is an active market for pure radio receivers, which are mainly used byshortwave listening operators.[citation needed]
Analog transceivers usefrequency modulation to send and receive data. Although this technique limits the complexity of the data that can be broadcast, analog transceivers operate very reliably and are used in many emergency communication systems. They are also cheaper than digital transceivers, which makes them popular with theCB andHAM radio communities.
Digital transceivers send and receivebinary data over radio waves. This allows more types of data to be broadcast, including video and encrypted communication, which is commonly used by police and fire departments. Digital transmissions tend to be clearer and more detailed than their analog counterparts. Many modern wireless devices operate on digital transmissions.
In a wiredtelephone, the handset contains the transmitter (for speaking) and receiver (for listening). Despite being able to transmit and receive data, the whole unit is colloquially referred to as a "receiver". On amobile telephone or otherradiotelephone, the entire unit is a transceiver for both audio and radio.
Acordless telephone uses an audio and radio transceiver for the handset, and a radio transceiver for thebase station. If aspeakerphone is included in a wired telephone base or in a cordless base station, the base also becomes an audio transceiver.
Amodem is similar to a transceiver in that it sends and receives a signal, but a modem uses modulation and demodulation. It modulates the signal being transmitted and demodulates the signal being received.
Transceivers are calledMedium Attachment Units (MAUs) inIEEE 802.3 documents and were widely used in10BASE2 and10BASE5Ethernet networks.Fiber-opticgigabit,10 Gigabit Ethernet,40 Gigabit Ethernet, and100 Gigabit Ethernet utilizeGBIC,SFP,SFP+,QSFP,XFP,XAUI,CXP, andCFP transceiver systems.
Because transceivers are capable of broadcasting information over airwaves, they are required to adhere to various regulations. In the United States, theFederal Communications Commission oversees their use. Transceivers must meet certain standards and capabilities depending on their intended use, and manufacturers must comply with these requirements. However, transceivers can be modified by users to violate FCC regulations. For instance, they might be used to broadcast on a frequency or channel that they should not have access to. For this reason, the FCC monitors not only the production but also the use of these devices.
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This article incorporatespublic domain material fromFederal Standard 1037C.General Services Administration. Archived fromthe original on 2022-01-22. (in support ofMIL-STD-188).
