A communication device in a network may receive a stream of frames from the network, in which each frame includes one or more beacon packets. A communication protocol being used by the network may be identified by tracking a preselected field within a sequence of beacon packets, in which the preselected field varies in a first known manner for a first protocol and in a second known manner for a second protocol. The communication device may then join to the network using the identified communication protocol to transmit and receive data.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, an access point includes a first communication interface having: a first coupler configured to receive, via a first transmission medium, first guided electromagnetic waves from a first waveguide system of a distributed antenna system, wherein the first guided electromagnetic waves propagate along the first transmission medium without requiring an electrical return path; and also a first receiver configured to receive first data from the first guided electromagnetic waves. A data switch is configured to select first selected portions of the first data for transmission to at least one communication device in proximity to the access point.

Systems and methods for setting a carrier-sensing mechanism in a PLC node are disclosed. In a PLC standard, coexistence is achieved by having the nodes detect a common preamble and backing off by a Coexistence InterFrame Space (cEIFS) time period to help the node to avoid interfering with the other technologies. In one embodiment, a PHY primitive is sent from the PHY to the MAC know that there has been a preamble detection. A two-level indication may be usedone indication after receiving the preamble and other indication after decoding the entire frame. The MAC sets the carrier-sensing mechanism based on the preamble detection.

Systems and methods for controlling power distribution in a power distribution system are disclosed. The system comprises a first group of impedance injection nodes that includes two or more impedance injection nodes. Each of the impedance injection nodes of the first group is attached to a respective powerline of the power distribution system, and is configured to: respectively receive messages from other impedance injection nodes in the first group sent at different respective time slots, where each of the received messages includes node information of at least one of the other nodes, and broadcast a message to the other nodes in the first group at a time slot that is different from the respective time slots of the other nodes, where the broadcasted message includes node information of the impedance injection node, or node information of the at least one of the other nodes, or both.

A communication device and a communication signal generation method are provided that perform receiving input data; and processing the input data according to a determined channel to generate a communication frame. The determined channel corresponds to one of a plurality of channels including at least one first channel defined by a first mode and at least one second channel defined by a second mode. A frequency band of the first channel including subcarriers is different from a frequency band of the second channel including subcarriers. A frequency interval of the subcarriers in the first channel is different from a frequency interval of the subcarriers in the second channel. A number of the first channel(s) in the first mode is different from a number of the second channel(s) in the second mode.

A power line communication device includes a DC power source device, a power line, and a master station that modulates a supply voltage VBUS supplied to the power line according to transmission data to be transmitted. The master station includes a modulation capacitor that is precharged with a modulation amplitude voltage, a polarity switch unit that determines a polarity of the modulation capacitor connected to the power line according to transmission data, and an inductor connected between the DC power source device and the power line.

In one embodiment, a device of a tractor unit determines that the tractor unit is connected to a trailer via physical cabling. The device sends, via the physical cabling, a powerline communication (PLC) message to the trailer that includes a service set identifier (SSID) and password for a Wi-Fi transceiver of the tractor unit. The Wi-Fi transceiver of the tractor unit receives an association request sent wirelessly from a Wi-Fi transceiver of the trailer that is based on the sent SSID and password. The device establishes the Wi-Fi transceiver of trailer as a Wi-Fi client of the Wi-Fi transceiver of the tractor unit.

A gateway device for a fire control system is described herein. One device includes a memory, and a processor configured to execute executable instructions stored in the memory to detect that an interface of a plurality of interfaces of the gateway device is connected to a control panel of a fire control system of a facility, select, from a plurality of communication protocol types included in the gateway device, a communication protocol type associated with the control panel to which the interface is connected, and communicate with the control panel to which the interface is connected using the selected communication protocol type.

Examples for logical to physical mapping of aircraft electronic components are presented. A system may include aircraft electronic components coupled sequentially to a power wire, corresponding controllers, and a master computing device. The computing device may receive a first identifier for a first component from a first controller in response to the first controller receiving power at a first time from the power wire and a second identifier for a second component from a second controller in response to the second controller receiving power at a second time from the power wire. The second time is subsequent to the first time. The computing device determines locations for the first and second component within the aircraft based on an order of reception of the identifiers.

An algorithm for the promotion of terminal nodes to switch nodes in a PLC network reduces overall network overhead and collisions, while ensuring the appropriate selection of a switch node and minimizing the number of levels in a PLC network. It also ensures that the terminal nodes with appropriate signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) are promoted. It is desirable to have a network with fewer levels. The disclosed approach favors the nodes that are closer to the DC to promote them as switch nodes. This is achieved by waiting for a smaller number of PNPDUs for a node that is closer to the DC in comparison to a node that is farther away from the DC.