Comparison of code combining and MRC diversity reception in mobile communications

In this paper, we propose the utilization of code combining (CC) diversity branch combining scheme for diversity reception in mobile communications. The bit-error-rate (BER) performance of CC scheme is investigated by computer simulation at various conditions of transmission systems and channels, and compared with that of the counterpart systems using conventional maximal ratio combining (MRC) scheme. The simulation results show that CC scheme can directly improve the BER performance of the transmission systems by increasing the error correcting capability of the error control code after diversity branch combining, therefore, it is effective to combat not only the frequency flat fading, but also the frequency selective fading, co-channel interference, and so on. Furthermore, the system implementation of CC scheme is as simple as that of conventional selection combining (CC) scheme. It is confirmed that CC scheme is a better diversity branch combining scheme than conventional MRC scheme in mobile communications.