Manchester code

In telecommunications and data storage, Manchester code (also known as phase encoding, or PE) is a
line code in which the encoding of each data bit is either low then high, or high then low, for equal time.
It is a self-clocking signal with no DC component. Consequently, electrical connections using a
Manchester code are easily galvanically isolated.

Manchester code derives its name from its development at the University of Manchester, where the
coding was used for storing data on the magnetic drums of the Manchester Mark 1 computer.

Manchester code was widely used for magnetic recording on 1600 bpi computer tapes before the
introduction of 6250 bpi tapes which used the more efficient group-coded recording.[1] Manchester code
was used in early Ethernet physical layer standards and is still used in consumer IR protocols, RFID and
near-field communication. It was and still is used for uploading commands to the Voyager spacecraft.[2]

Features
Manchester coding is a special case of binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), where the data controls the
phase of a square wave carrier whose frequency is the data rate. Manchester code ensures frequent line
voltage transitions, directly proportional to the clock rate; this helps clock recovery.

The DC component of the encoded signal is not dependent on the data and therefore carries no
information. Therefore connections may be inductively or capacitively coupled, allowing the signal to be
conveyed conveniently by galvanically isolated media (e.g., Ethernet) using a network isolator—a simple
one-to-one pulse transformer which cannot convey a DC component.

Limitations
Manchester coding's data rate is only half that of a non-coded signal, which limits its usefulness to
systems where bandwidth is not an issue, such as a local area network (LAN).[3]

Manchester encoding introduces difficult frequency-related problems that make it unsuitable for use at
higher data rates.[3][4]

There are more complex codes, such as 8B/10B encoding, that use less bandwidth to achieve the same
data rate but may be less tolerant of frequency errors and jitter in the transmitter and receiver reference
clocks.
Encoding and decoding

An example of Manchester encoding showing both conventions for representation of data, where :
133710 = 101001110012

Manchester code always has a transition at the middle of each bit period and may (depending on the
information to be transmitted) have a transition at the start of the period also. The direction of the mid-bit
transition indicates the data. Transitions at the period boundaries do not carry information. They exist
only to place the signal in the correct state to allow the mid-bit transition.

Conventions for representation of data

There are two opposing conventions for the representations of data.

The first of these was first published by G. E. Thomas in 1949 and is followed by numerous authors (e.g.,
Andy Tanenbaum).[5] It specifies that for a 0 bit the signal levels will be low–high (assuming an
amplitude physical encoding of the data) – with a low level in the first half of the bit period, and a high
level in the second half. For a 1 bit the signal levels will be high–low. This is also known as Manchester
II or Biphase-L code.

The second convention is also followed by numerous authors (e.g., William Stallings)[6] as well as by
IEEE 802.4 (token bus) and lower speed versions of IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet) standards. It states that a logic
0 is represented by a high–low signal sequence and a logic 1 is represented by a low–high signal
sequence.

If a Manchester encoded signal is inverted in communication, it is transformed from one convention to

the other. This ambiguity can be overcome by using differential Manchester encoding.
Decoding
The existence of guaranteed transitions allows the signal to be self-clocking, and also allows the receiver
to align correctly; the receiver can identify if it is misaligned by half a bit period, as there will no longer
always be a transition during each bit period. The price of these benefits is a doubling of the bandwidth
requirement compared to simpler NRZ coding schemes.

Encoding

Encoding data using exclusive or logic (802.3

convention)[7]
Original data Clock Manchester value
0 0
0
XOR 1 1
=
⊕ 0 1
1
1 0

Encoding conventions are as follows:

Each bit is transmitted in a fixed time (the period).

A 0 is expressed by a low-to-high transition, a 1 by high-to-low transition (according to G. E.
Thomas's convention – in the IEEE 802.3 convention, the reverse is true).[8]
The transitions which signify 0 or 1 occur at the midpoint of a period.
Transitions at the start of a period are overhead and don't signify data.

See also
Coded mark inversion
Differential Manchester encoding
Binary offset carrier modulation

References
1. Savard, John J. G. (2018) [2006]. "Digital Magnetic Tape Recording" (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20180702234956/http://www.quadibloc.com/comp/tapeint.htm). quadibloc. Archived
from the original (http://www.quadibloc.com/comp/tapeint.htm) on 2 July 2018. Retrieved
16 July 2018.
2. Hughes, Mark (2 July 2017). "Communicating Over Billions of Miles: Long Distance
Communications in the Voyager Spacecraft" (https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/voyager
-mission-anniversary-celebration-long-distance-communications/). All About Circuits.
Retrieved 27 September 2024.
3. Oed, Richard (22 April 2022). "Old, but Still Useful: The Manchester Code" (https://www.digi
key.com/en/blog/old-but-still-useful-the-manchester-code). DigiKey. Archived (https://web.ar
chive.org/web/20220822210500/https://www.digikey.com/en/blog/old-but-still-useful-the-man
chester-code) from the original on 22 August 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
 4. Ethernet Technologies (https://web.archive.org/web/20181228005303/http://docwiki.cisco.co
m/wiki/Ethernet_Technologies), Cisco Systems, archived from the original (http://docwiki.cis
co.com/wiki/Ethernet_Technologies) on 28 December 2018, retrieved 12 September 2017,
"Manchester encoding introduces some difficult frequency-related problems that make it
unsuitable for use at higher data rates."
5. Tanenbaum, Andrew S. (2002). Computer Networks (https://archive.org/details/computernet
works00tane_2/page/274) (4th ed.). Prentice Hall. pp. 274–275 (https://archive.org/details/c
omputernetworks00tane_2/page/274). ISBN 0-13-066102-3.
6. Stallings, William (2004). Data and Computer Communications (https://archive.org/details/d
atacomputercomm00stal_1/page/137) (7th ed.). Prentice Hall. pp. 137–138 (https://archive.
org/details/datacomputercomm00stal_1/page/137). ISBN 0-13-100681-9.
7. Manchester Data Encoding for Radio Communications (https://www.maximintegrated.com/e
n/app-notes/index.mvp/id/3435), retrieved 28 May 2018
8. Forster, R. (2000). "Manchester encoding: Opposing definitions resolved". Engineering
Science & Education Journal. 9 (6): 278–280. doi:10.1049/esej:20000609 (https://doi.org/10.
1049%2Fesej%3A20000609) (inactive 12 July 2025).
This article incorporates public domain material from Federal Standard 1037C (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20220122224547/https://www.its.bldrdoc.gov/fs-1037/fs-1037c.htm). General Services
Administration. Archived from the original (https://www.its.bldrdoc.gov/fs-1037/fs-1037c.htm) on 22
January 2022. (in support of MIL-STD-188).

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