Signal mutilation

Signal mutilation referred to in the communications technology , the undesirable change of signals in the message or data transmission by interfering influences. As a result, in the worst case, the message is completely lost. In any case, the information content is reduced, which can manifest itself, for example, in text messages with corrupted characters, in audio messages with background noise and dropouts and in picture messages in flickering, dropouts and noise . A signal is susceptible to mutilation in different ways depending on its strength ( level ) and type ( digital signal / analog signal ). Under certain circumstances, the signal can be restored to a certain extent by means of error correction methods.

In exceptional cases, a physical signal is deliberately exposed to such impairments in order to hinder the transmission of information, for example to prevent the reception of certain radio services.