How to Calculate Baud Rate
Baud rate is a fundamental concept in serial communication, representing the number of signal changes or symbol changes per second. It's often confused with bit rate, but they are not always the same. While baud rate measures symbol changes, bit rate measures the number of bits transmitted per second. In many common serial communication protocols like UART, one symbol typically corresponds to one bit, making the baud rate numerically equal to the bit rate. However, in more advanced modulation schemes, a single symbol can represent multiple bits, leading to a higher bit rate than the baud rate.
Understanding baud rate is crucial for ensuring reliable data transmission between devices. If two devices are not configured with the same baud rate, data will be received incorrectly, leading to communication errors.
Baud Rate Calculation
The most common scenario for calculating baud rate involves determining it based on the desired bit rate and the modulation scheme used. If each symbol represents one bit (a common case), then Baud Rate = Bit Rate.
However, if you're working with systems where one symbol can represent multiple bits (e.g., QPSK, 16-QAM), the relationship changes. The formula is:
Baud Rate = Bit Rate / (Number of bits per symbol)
In this calculator, we'll focus on the more common scenario where the baud rate is directly determined by the bit rate, as this is most prevalent in typical microcontroller serial communications.