Estimators Using Noisy Channel Samples for Fading Distribution Parameters

The problem of estimating parameters of two main fading distributions, Ricean and Nakagami- , is considered. Unlike most previous estimators which are designed to use samples from a noiseless channel, new estimators which use noise-corrupted samples are proposed. Both maximum-likelihood designs and moment-based designs are considered. The performances of the new estimators are examined and compared with those of previous estimators derived in the literature. Numerical results show the superiority of the new estimators for operation in noisy channels.