Signal reflection

This effect is compounded if multiple discontinuities cause additional portions of the remaining signal to be reflected back to the transmitter.

These instruments work by sending a short pulsed signal into the cable and measuring how long the reflection takes to return.

If only reflection magnitudes are desired, however, and exact fault locations are not required, VSWR bridges perform a similar but lesser function for RF cables.

The combination of the effects of signal attenuation and impedance discontinuities on a communications link is called insertion loss.

The Bergeron diagram method, valid for both linear and non-linear models, evaluates the reflection's effects in an electric line.