In this article, I will describe how to estimate the carrier phase from an incoming waveform in a feedforward manner. This algorithm utilizes a sequence of known pilot symbols embedded within the signal along with the unknown data symbols. Such a signal is sent over a link in the form of separate packets in burst mode wireless communications. In most such applications with short packets, the phase offset $\theta_\Delta$ remains constant throughout the duration of the packet and a single shot estimator is enough for its compensation. Here, the primary task of the designer is to develop this closed-form expression
Continue readingCategory: Wireless/SDR
Wireless communications and Software Defined Radio (SDR)
Physical Layer Network Coding (PNC)
A wired channel such as an optical fiber or a coaxial cable carries the communication signal within a confined material. In contrast, a wireless channel has a broadcast nature in which the transmitted signal propagates in a 3D space in several directions. This gives rise to the multipath nature of this medium. In a multiuser scenario, this problem takes an interesting turn. A signal transmitted by any node reaches several nodes due to this property. Except the one for which the signal is intended, each node treats this transmission as an interference which is overcome through careful receiver design or
Continue readingBeamforming – Mindfulness of an Antenna Array
If beamforming has to be explained in the most succinct manner, it is the mindfulness of an antenna array where it focuses its attention towards one specific location (or a few specific locations). We find out in this article how it is achieved. As opposed to its reputation, beamforming is not a mysterious technology. It has been used by signal processing engineers for radio applications since long. For example, Marconi used four antennas to increase the gain of signal transmissions across the Atlantic in 1901. It has also been known since 1970s that multiple antennas at the base station help
Continue readingClassification of Carrier Frequency Synchronization Techniques
We have discussed before that carrier phase synchronization is done at the end of the Rx signal processing chain due to the very nature of the DSP implementation. And that almost all DSP based phase synchronization algorithms are timing-aided. Timing acquisition implies knowing the symbol boundaries in the Rx sampled waveform which is equivalent to identifying the optimal sampling instants where the eye opening is maximum and Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI) from the neighbouring symbols is zero. In the case of Carrier Frequency Synchronization (CFO), this is not true. From a previous post on the effect of CFO, we know that
Continue readingHow to Compute SINAD in a Radio Receiver
In theory, the quantity that determines the performance of a radio receiver is the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR). In linear terms, this is simply the ratio of the signal power versus the noise power appearing at the demodulator input. \[ SNR = 10\log_{10} \frac{P_S}{P_N} \] where $P_S$ is the signal power and $P_N$ is the noise power within the spectrum. However, when experimental measurements are carried out in order to verify the theoretical conclusions, SNR alone is not enough and there is another quantity, known as SINAD, that governs the receiver performance. What is SINAD SINAD stands for Signal
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