A consumer synchronizer for T-DMB receiver based on cooperative communications in emergency alert systems

Currently, terrestrial digital multimedia broadcasting (T-DMB) systems offer an emergency alert service called automatic emergency alert service (AEAS) in emergency alert systems. The performance of T-DMB receiver for AEAS can be enhanced using cooperative communication techniques. This paper assumes the T-DMB receiver based on a cooperative communication model. Since synchronization is crucial in the performance of cooperative communications, a novel consumer synchronizer is proposed in this paper for the T-DMB receiver based on cooperative communications. The presented synchronizer includes the identification of the selected relays, which is especially required in the best-relay selection for cooperative communications. Furthermore, a channel estimation approach is suggested in the synchronizer, which is suitable for T-DMB receivers under high frequencyselectivity. The experimental results reveal that the proposed synchronizer further enhances the performance of T-DMB receiver based on cooperative communications in emergency alert systems.