Synchronization improvements in software defined radios from the use of diversity

This paper discusses the use of spatial diversity to enhance symbol synchronization. The software defined radio (SDR) is used as a means of providing a realizable implementation for our method. We use offset-QPSK (O-QPSK) modulation with pre-detection combining in a channel environment that includes additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) and independent frequency nonselective slow Rayleigh-fading. Improved synchronization algorithms using diversity combining are especially well suited for SDRs because it is practical to implement rising the SDR's multi-channel structure. Results indicate that the use of spatial reception diversity, in the synchronization of waveforms, can substantially improve the probability of rapid synchronization and yet do so with less computational complexity.