Decoding with partial state information on a convolutionally encoded channel

Abstract

The certainties of transmitted bits at predetermined locations in time are determine a priori. This information is then used to set the states of a Viterbi decoder to different state metrics in accordance with the certainties of the transmitted bits. High certainty of a transmitted bit results in resetting the states corresponding to that bit to a high state metric. In contrast, low certainty of a transmitted bit results in resetting the states corresponding to that bit to a low state metric. Resetting the states to different state metrics improves the decoding performance and shortens the time required to converge the decoding trellis by eliminating improbable paths.

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