Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!vsi!friedl From: friedl@vsi.UUCP (Stephen J. Friedl) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems Subject: Re: Bits, baud rate, and bps Summary: "baud rate"? Message-ID: <721@vsi.UUCP> Date: 18 Jun 88 19:11:43 GMT References: Organization: V-Systems, Inc. -- Santa Ana, CA Lines: 36 Keith Petersen posts this article, of which he is not the author: > Baud rate is a measure of the number of times per second a > signal in a communications channel varies, or makes a transition > between states (states being frequencies, voltage levels, or phase > angles). One baud is one such change. [note: the article was a good one but my nit-picker is bored] I believe that "baud rate" is incorrect. My understanding is that a state change as above is a "symbol" and "baud" means "symbols per second". I contend that saying: > 300 bauds per second X 1 bit per baud = 300 bps Is like saying: "To calculate time to get to Omaha from Los Angeles: 70 MPH per hour x 1500 miles = .... (Geography flames should join the speed-limit flames on their way to /dev/null, please). Shouldn't it be: 300 baud X 1 bit per symbol = 300 bps Anybody have any comment? I contend that "baud rate" is redundant in the same way that "MPH per hour" unless you are talking about acceleration. When you want to say "baud rate", say "bit rate". -- Steve Friedl V-Systems, Inc. (714) 545-6442 3B2-kind-of-guy friedl@vsi.com {backbones}!vsi.com!friedl attmail!vsi!friedl Nancy Reagan on the Mac-II architecture: "Just say Nu"