TABLE OF CONTENTS DR. WILLIAM H.TRANTER
Professor of Electrical Engineering and Assistant Dean of Engineering for Graduate Studies and Research University of Missouri, Rolla, Missouri
Dr. William H.Tranter is a well-known professor, administrator, and research engineer in the field of digital communications engineering and coding techniques. Professor Tranter presents a clearly written, comprehensive overview of the principles and applications of forward error-correcting coding techniques. I wish to thank him for his valuable chapter.
Dr. K.Feher
In this chapter a brief overview of coding techniques, applicable to satellite communication systems, is presented. Curves are given that illustrate the system improvement that can be gained through the use of coding techniques. A complete development of algebraic coding theory requires an understanding of modern algebra, a subject that is beyond the scope of this treatment. We can, however, through the use of examples and performance curves, come to appreciate the importance of coding in the design of modern satellite communication systems.
There are two basic alternatives to be explored when coding is considered. These are block coding and convolutional coding. Both of these techniques are important and both have their place in the implementation of modern communication systems.
Although the basic intent of this chapter is to explore the use of error-correcting codes with a noisy communication channel, our understanding and insight will be enhanced if first we take time to examine several important results from the field of information theory. Of particular importance is the concept of channel capacity and the Shannon...
