Performance evaluation of decision-feedback equalization in terrestrial microwave radio

This paper is devoted to the precise and fast performance assessment of high-order modulation quadrature amplitude schemes used for a terrestrial microwave radio which uses optimum diversity combining and decision-feedback equalization at the receiver. The equalizer using a few taps can not yield perfect equalization and would result in significant residual ISI. For such a case, the bit error rate calculation in DFE is, in general, complicated and extremely time-exhausting through computer simulation if high-order QAM schemes are used. In the bit error rate calculation, we use the Gaussian quadrature rule (GQR) which offers accuracy as well as considerable saving of computer time when other methods fail.