Rapid estimation of wireless channel impulse response

A method of enabling a receiver to establish a communication link with a transmitter of a wireless digital data communication network comprising the steps of:

• (a) receiving a preamble message containing a sequence of data symbols that has been transmitted from said transmitter;
• (b) processing said preamble message received in step (a) to derive a first number of estimates of data symbols of said sequence;
• (c) repeating at least one of said first number of estimates of data symbols derived in step (b) to obtain a second number of estimates of data symbols, larger than said first number;
• (d) processing said second number of estimates of data symbols obtained in step (c) to generate an estimate of the channel over which said preamble message has been transmitted from said transmitter to said receiver;
• and
• (e) setting parameters of a signal processor by way of which a data message, transmitted by said transmitter to said receiver subsequent to said preamble message, is to be recovered, in accordance with said estimate of the channel generated in step (d).

A wireless communication apparatus comprising:

• a receiver which is operative to receive wireless communication signals that have been transmitted thereto over a communication channel from a transmitter and to produce digitized representations of received wireless communication signals;
• a digital signal processor, coupled to said receiver and being operative to process digitized representations of received wireless communication signals to recover digital data contained therein, said digital signal processor having operational parameters thereof established in accordance with an estimate of said communication channel;
• and
• a channel estimate generator, coupled to said receiver and to said digital signal processor, and being operative to process a preamble message containing a sequence of data symbols that has been transmitted over said communication channel from said transmitter and received by said receiver to derive estimates of data symbols of said sequence, and producing therefrom estimates of data symbols in which at least one of said data symbol estimates is repeated, and processing said data symbol estimates to generate said estimate of said communication channel.