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transceiver

/trænzˈsivər/
IPA guide

Other forms: transceivers

A transceiver is a device that both transmits and receives signals within a single unit. Transceivers are core components in things like radios, cell phones, and Wi-Fi routers, which simultaneously send and pull in data.

Traditionally, communication required two separate machines: a transmitter to send data, and a receiver to catch it. A transceiver combines these two functions into one piece of equipment, with shared internal circuitry to handle both functions. While best known for use in radios, walkie-talkies, and mobile phones, transceivers are also used in things like fiber-optic cables, which send and receive pulses of light. By performing both tasks, a transceiver turns a one-way broadcast into a two-way conversation.

Definitions of transceiver
  1. noun
    a device that both sends and receives signals in a single unit
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