Patent ID: 8242796

Claim:
Apparatus for transmitting and receiving data, comprising: a transmission line network having at least three input/output terminals; at least three transmit/receive units, respectively coupled to the at least three input/output terminals, each of the transmit/receive units having i) an active receiver having a receiver input coupled to a respective one of the input/output terminals; ii) an active driver having a driver input coupled to a driver output; iii) a termination resistor coupling the driver output to a respective one of the input/output terminals; and iv) a switching element configured to selectively couple the driver input to a DC voltage source and a signal source; and a control system coupled to the switching elements of the at least three transmit/receive units, the control system configuring the switching elements of the transmit/receive units to A) couple the driver input and the signal source of a transmitting one of the transmit/receive units, and B) couple the driver input and DC voltage source of at least one non-transmitting one of the transmit/receive units.