The Brother Comunity ( TBC )

Pengertian dan Fungsi Modem

Modem adalah singkatan dari modulator dan demodulator. Modulator berfungsi untuk melakukan proses menumpangkan data pada sinyal informasi ke sinyal pembawa agar dapat dikirim ke pengguna melalui media tertentu, proses ini biasa disebut dengan proses modulasi. pada proses ini data dari komputer yang berbentuk sinyal digital akan diubah menjadi sinyal analog. Sedangkan Demodulator berfungsi sebagai proses mendapatkan kembali data yang dikirim oleh pengirim. Pada proses ini data akan dipisahkan dari frekuensi tinggi dan data yang berupa sinyal analog akan diubah kembali menjadi sinyal digital agar bisa dibaca oleh komputer. Jadi kesimpulannya fungsi modem adalah sebuah perangkat keras yang berfungsi untuk komunikasi dua arah yang merubah sinyal digital menjadi sinyal analog atau sebaliknya untuk mengirimkan pesan/data ke alamat yang dituju. Bisa juga diartikan sebagai perantara untuk menghubungkan komputer kita ke jaringan internet.

Banyak jenis - jenis modem yang ada pada saat ini, jenis modem dapat dibedakan berdasarkan pemasangannya dan jaringannya. jika berdasarkan pemasangannya modem bisa dibedakan menjadi modem internal dan modem eksternal sedangkan berdasarkan jaringannya modem bisa dibedakan menjadi modem dengan media kabel dan meodem dengan media tanpa kabel.

• Modem Internal merupakan sebuah kartu yang dipasangkan pada slot motherboard. keuntungan modem ini adalah cara pemasangannya mudah dan harganya relatif lebih murah.
• Modem eksternal adalah modem yang dipasang diluar komputer, biasanya ditancapkan pada slot USB.
• Modem yang menggunakan media kabel yaitu sebuahmodem yang menggunakan kabel sebagai media perantaranya ( contoh: TV kabel dan jaringan telepon)
• Modem tanpa kabel, modem ini menggunakan media tanpa kabel untuk perantaranya (contoh:modem GSM, Modem CDMA dan lain-lain)

 Short for modulator-demodulator. A modem is a device or program that enables a computer to transmit data over, for example, telephone or cable lines. Computer information is stored digitally, whereas information transmitted over telephone lines is transmitted in the form of analog waves. A modem convertsbetween these two forms.
Fortunately, there is one standard interface for connecting external modems to computers called RS-232. Consequently, any external modem can be attached to any computer that has an RS-232 port, which almost all personal computers have. There are also modems that come as an expansion board that you can insert into a vacant expansion slot. These are sometimes called onboard or internal modems.
While the modem interfaces are standardized, a number of different protocols for formatting data to be transmitted over telephone lines exist. Some, like CCITT V.34, are official standards, while others have been developed by private companies. Most modems have built-in supportfor the more common protocols -- at slow data transmission speeds at least, most modems can communicate with each other. At high transmission speeds, however, the protocols are less standardized.
Aside from the transmission protocols that they support, the following characteristics distinguish one modem from another:

bps : How fast the modem can transmit and receive data. At slow rates, modems are measured in terms of baud rates. The slowest rate is 300 baud (about 25 cps). At higher speeds, modems are measured in terms of bits per second (bps). The fastest modems run at 57,600 bps, although they can achieve even higher data transfer ratesby compressing the data. Obviously, the faster the transmission rate, the faster you can send and receive data. Note, however, that you cannot receive data any faster than it is being sent. If, for example, the device sending data to your computer is sending it at 2,400 bps, you must receive it at 2,400 bps. It does not always pay, therefore, to have a very fast modem. In addition, some telephone lines are unable to transmit data reliably at very high rates.

voice/data: Many modems support a switch to change between voice and data modes. In data mode, the modem acts like a regular modem. In voice mode, the modem acts like a regular telephone. Modems that support a voice/data switch have a built-in loudspeaker and microphone for voice communication.

auto-answer :An auto-answer modem enables your computer to receive calls in your absence. This is only necessary if you are offering some type of computer service that people can call in to use.

data compression :Some modems perform data compression, which enables them to send data at faster rates. However, the modem at the receiving end must be able to decompress the data using the same compression technique.

flash memory : Some modems come with flash memory rather than conventional ROM, which means that the communications protocolscan be easily updated if necessary.

Fax capability: Most modern modems are fax modems, which means that they can send and receive faxes.

To get the most out of a modem, you should have a communications software package,a program that simplifies the task of transferring data.