# Master station

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In [telecommunications](/source/Telecommunications), a **master station** is a station that controls or coordinates the activities of other stations in the system.

Examples:

- In a [data network](/source/Data_network), the control station may designate a master station to ensure [data transfer](/source/Data_transfer) to one or more slave stations.[1] Such a master station controls one or more [data links](/source/Data_link) of the data [communications network](/source/Communications_network) at any given instant. The assignment of master status to a given station is temporary and is controlled by the control station according to the procedures set forth in the operational [protocol](/source/Communications_protocol). Master status is normally conferred upon a station so that it may transmit a [message](/source/Message), but a station need not have a [message](/source/Message) to send to be designated the master station.
- In navigation systems using precise [time dissemination](/source/Time_dissemination), the master station is a station that has the [clock](/source/Clock) that is used to synchronize the clocks of subordinate stations.[1]
- In [basic mode link control](/source/Basic_mode_link_control), the master station is a data station that has accepted an invitation to ensure a [data transfer](/source/Data_transfer) to one or more slave stations.[1] At a given instant, there can be only one master station on a data link.

## Operation modes

In data transmission, a master station can be set to not wait for a reply from a slave station after transmitting each message or [transmission block](/source/Transmission_block). In this case the station is said to be in "continuous operation".[2]

## References

1. [Federal Standard 1037C](/source/Federal_Standard_1037C)

1. Federal Standard 1037C, entry for "Continuous operation".

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