Empirical prediction of BER in ESK data communication systems subjected to impulsive noise

A method is proposed for predicting the degradation in performance of FSK data communication systems subjected to impulsive noise. It involves overlaying a representation of the incoming noise, expressed in terms of the noise amplitude distribution (NAD), on a family of isodegradation curves drawn with BER as the parameter. A direct prediction of the BER to be expected in the presence of the noise can be obtained by reading off the value of BER corresponding to the point of tangency between the two sets of curves (termed the tangential BER), and multiplying this by a factor F, characteristic of the radio location. The value of F can be found either experimentally or analytically. The usefulness of the method has been demonstrated, using vehicle-born equipment, by a series of experiments designed to be representative of typical mobile radio reception conditions. The method is very powerful experimental assessment technique. It is simple in concept, easy to apply, and has the advantage of being readily generalized for applications with different modulation techniques.<
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