Optimum selection combining using the maximum energy criterion for M-ary NCFSK in Rician fading channels

Optimum selection combining using the maximum energy (OSC-ME) criterion for M-ary noncoherent frequency shift keying signaling in independent and nonidentically distributed fading channels is examined. A weighted maximum energy selection combining (WMESC) scheme is proposed and found to provide virtually the same symbol error probability as OSC-ME in Rician fading channels. The WMESC always provides power gain over the classical selection combining regardless of diversity order and signal-to-noise ratio.