Performance of multi-level QAM with post-detection maximal ratio combining space diversity for digital land-mobile radio communications

A new type of post-detection maximal ratio combining for space diversity receivers in digital land-mobile communications is proposed. The combining scheme is designed for multilevel quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) and employs a pilot-symbol-aided fading estimator. It is realized at baseband using a digital signal processing (DSP) technique to simplify the receiver hardware. Computer simulation and laboratory experiments confirm that the proposed diversity scheme achieves a performance very close to that of ideal maximal ratio combining.<
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