New syndrome decoder for (n,1) convolutional codes

The letter presents a new syndrome decoding algorithm for the (n,1) convolutional codes (CC) that is different and simpler than the previous syndrome decoding algorithm of Schalkwijk and Vinck. The new technique uses the general solution of the polynomial linear Diophantine equation for the error polynomial vector E(D). A recursive, Viterbi-like, algorithm is developed to find the minimum weight error vector E(D). An example is given for the binary non-systematic (2,1) CC.