Extended symbol-aided estimation for non-selective Rayleigh fading channels

In this paper conventional symbol-aided estimation methods are extended to use not only the known pilot symbols but also previously estimated fading values to extract information of fading channels. The proposed estimation method is evaluated using theoretical analysis. Closed-form formulae are derived for calculating the mean square estimation errors, which are then used to calculate the BER performance of a BPSK system employing the proposed estimation method. The results show a strong BER performance in the region of high signal to noise ratio under fast fading of the proposed system compared to that of the conventional system. Moreover, the proposed system still sustains its performance under mismatched conditions, where the conventional system degrades exhibiting error floors. Finally the theoretical results are verified by using computer simulations