#LyX 2.1 created this file. For more info see http://www.lyx.org/ \lyxformat 474 \begin_document \begin_header \textclass paper \use_default_options true \maintain_unincluded_children false \language english \language_package default \inputencoding auto \fontencoding global \font_roman default \font_sans default \font_typewriter default \font_math auto \font_default_family default \use_non_tex_fonts false \font_sc false \font_osf false \font_sf_scale 100 \font_tt_scale 100 \graphics default \default_output_format default \output_sync 0 \bibtex_command default \index_command default \float_placement H \paperfontsize 12 \spacing onehalf \use_hyperref false \papersize default \use_geometry true \use_package amsmath 1 \use_package amssymb 1 \use_package cancel 1 \use_package esint 1 \use_package mathdots 1 \use_package mathtools 1 \use_package mhchem 1 \use_package stackrel 1 \use_package stmaryrd 1 \use_package undertilde 1 \cite_engine basic \cite_engine_type default \biblio_style plain \use_bibtopic false \use_indices false \paperorientation portrait \suppress_date false \justification true \use_refstyle 1 \index Index \shortcut idx \color #008000 \end_index \leftmargin 1in \topmargin 1in \rightmargin 1in \bottommargin 1in \secnumdepth 3 \tocdepth 3 \paragraph_separation indent \paragraph_indentation default \quotes_language english \papercolumns 1 \papersides 1 \paperpagestyle default \tracking_changes false \output_changes false \html_math_output 0 \html_css_as_file 0 \html_be_strict false \end_header \begin_body \begin_layout Title A stochastic successive erasures soft-decision decoder for the JT65 (63,12) Reed-Solomon code \end_layout \begin_layout Author Steven J. Franke, K9AN and Joseph H. Taylor, K1JT \end_layout \begin_layout Abstract The JT65 mode has revolutionized amateur-radio weak-signal communication by enabling amateur radio operators with small antennas and relatively low-power transmitters to communicate over propagation paths not usable with traditional technologies. A major reason for the success and popularity of JT65 is its use of a strong error-correction code: a short block-length, low-rate Reed-Solomon code based on a 64-symbol alphabet. Since 2004, most JT65 decoders have used the patented Koetter-Vardy (KV) algebraic soft-decision decoder, licensed to K1JT and implemented in a closed-source program for use in amateur radio applications. We describe here a new open-source alternative called the Franke-Taylor (FT, or K9AN-K1JT) algorithm. It is conceptually simple, built around the well-known Berlekamp-Massey errors-and-erasures algorithm, and performs at least as well as the KV decoder. \end_layout \begin_layout Section Introduction \end_layout \begin_layout Standard JT65 message frames consist of a short compressed message encoded for transmissi on with a Reed-Solomon code. Reed-Solomon codes are block codes characterized by \begin_inset Formula $n$ \end_inset , the length of their codewords, \begin_inset Formula $k$ \end_inset , the number of message symbols conveyed by the codeword, and the number of possible values for each symbol in the codewords. The codeword length and the number of message symbols are specified with the notation \begin_inset Formula $(n,k)$ \end_inset . JT65 uses a (63,12) Reed-Solomon code with 64 possible values for each symbol. Each of the 12 message symbols represents \begin_inset Formula $\log_{2}64=6$ \end_inset message bits. The source-encoded messages conveyed by a 63-symbol JT65 frame thus consist of 72 bits. The JT65 code is systematic, which means that the 12 message symbols are embedded in the codeword without modification and another 51 parity symbols derived from the message symbols are added to form a codeword of 63 symbols. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard The concept of Hamming distance is used as a measure of \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset distance \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset between different codewords, or between a received word and a codeword. Hamming distance is the number of code symbols that differ in the two words being compared. Reed-Solomon codes have minimum Hamming distance \begin_inset Formula $d$ \end_inset , where \begin_inset Formula \begin{equation} d=n-k+1.\label{eq:minimum_distance} \end{equation} \end_inset The minimum Hamming distance of the JT65 code is \begin_inset Formula $d=52$ \end_inset , which means that any particular codeword differs from all other codewords in at least 52 symbol positions. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard Given a received word containing some incorrect symbols (errors), the received word can be decoded into the correct codeword using a deterministic, algebraic algorithm provided that no more than \begin_inset Formula $t$ \end_inset symbols were received incorrectly, where \begin_inset Formula \begin{equation} t=\left\lfloor \frac{n-k}{2}\right\rfloor .\label{eq:t} \end{equation} \end_inset For the JT65 code, \begin_inset Formula $t=25$ \end_inset , so it is always possible to efficiently decode a received word having no more than 25 symbol errors. Any one of several well-known algebraic algorithms, such as the widely used Berlekamp-Massey (BM) algorithm, can carry out the decoding. Two steps are necessarily involved in this process, namely \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate Determine which symbols were received incorrectly. \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate Find the correct value of the incorrect symbols. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard If we somehow know that certain symbols are incorrect, this information can be used to reduce the work involved in step 1 and allow step 2 to correct more than \begin_inset Formula $t$ \end_inset errors. In the unlikely event that the location of every error is known and if no correct symbols are accidentally labeled as errors, the BM algorithm can correct up to \begin_inset Formula $d$ \end_inset errors. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard The FT algorithm creates lists of symbols suspected of being incorrect and sends them to the BM decoder. Symbols flagged in this way are called \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset erasures, \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset while other incorrect symbols will be called \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset errors. \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset As already noted, with perfect erasure information up to 51 incorrect symbols can be corrected. Imperfect erasure information means that some erased symbols may be correct, and some other symbols in error. If \begin_inset Formula $s$ \end_inset symbols are erased and the remaining \begin_inset Formula $n-s$ \end_inset symbols contain \begin_inset Formula $e$ \end_inset errors, the BM algorithm can find the correct codeword as long as \begin_inset Formula \begin{equation} s+2e\le d-1.\label{eq:erasures_and_errors} \end{equation} \end_inset If \begin_inset Formula $s=0$ \end_inset , the decoder is said to be an \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset errors-only \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset decoder. If \begin_inset Formula $0X$ \end_inset . Correspondingly, the FT algorithm works best when the probability of erasing a symbol is somewhat larger than the probability that the symbol is incorrect. We found empirically that good decoding performance is obtained when the symbol erasure probability is about 1.3 times the symbol error probability. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard The FT algorithm tries successively to decode the received word using independen t \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset educated guesses \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset to select symbols for erasure. For each iteration a stochastic erasure vector is generated based on the symbol erasure probabilities. The erasure vector is sent to the BM decoder along with the full set of 63 received symbols. When the BM decoder finds a candidate codeword it is assigned a quality metric \begin_inset Formula $d_{s}$ \end_inset defined as the soft distance between the received word and the codeword, where \begin_inset Formula \begin{equation} d_{s}=\sum_{i=1}^{n}\alpha_{i}\,(1+p_{1,i}).\label{eq:soft_distance} \end{equation} \end_inset Here \begin_inset Formula $\alpha_{i}=0$ \end_inset if received symbol \begin_inset Formula $i$ \end_inset is the same as the corresponding symbol in the codeword, \begin_inset Formula $\alpha_{i}=1$ \end_inset if the received symbol and codeword symbol are different, and \begin_inset Formula $p_{1,i}$ \end_inset is the fractional power associated with received symbol \begin_inset Formula $i$ \end_inset . Think of the soft distance as made up of two terms: the first is the Hamming distance between the received word and the codeword, and the second ensures that if two candidate codewords have the same Hamming distance from the received word, a smaller soft distance will be assigned to the one where differences occur in symbols of lower estimated reliability. \end_layout \begin_layout Standard Technically the FT algorithm is a list decoder, potentially generating a list of candidate codewords. Among the list of candidate codewords found by the stochastic search algorithm, only the one with the smallest soft distance from the received word is retained. As with all such algorithms, a stopping criterion is necessary. FT accepts a codeword unconditionally if its soft distance is smaller than an empirically determined acceptance threshold, \begin_inset Formula $d_{a}$ \end_inset . A timeout is used to limit the algorithm's execution time if no codewords within soft distance \begin_inset Formula $d_{a}$ \end_inset of the received word are found in a reasonable number of trials. \end_layout \begin_layout Paragraph Algorithm pseudo-code: \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate For each received symbol, define the erasure probability as 1.3 times the \emph on a priori \emph default symbol-error probability determined from soft-symbol information \begin_inset Formula $\{p_{1}\textrm{-rank},\, p_{2}/p_{1}\}$ \end_inset . \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate Make independent stochastic decisions about whether to erase each symbol by using the symbol's erasure probability, allowing a maximum of 51 erasures. \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate Attempt errors-and-erasures decoding by using the BM algorithm and the set of erasures determined in step 2. If the BM decoder is successful go to step 5. \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate If decoding is not successful, go to step 2. \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate Calculate the soft distance \begin_inset Formula $d_{s}$ \end_inset between the candidate codeword and the received symbols. Set \begin_inset Formula $d_{s,min}=d_{s}$ \end_inset if the soft distance is the smallest one encountered so far. \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate If \begin_inset Formula $d_{s,min}\le d_{a}$ \end_inset , go to 8. \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate If the number of trials is less than the maximum allowed number, go to 2. Otherwise, declare decoding failure and exit. \end_layout \begin_layout Enumerate A \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset best \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset codeword with \begin_inset Formula $d_{s,min}\le d_{a}$ \end_inset has been found. Declare a successful decode and return this codeword . \end_layout \begin_layout Section Results and Comparison with KVASD \end_layout \begin_layout Standard Possible figures: \end_layout \begin_layout Itemize histogram of \begin_inset Formula $s$ \end_inset (number of erasures) for successful decodes with HF and EME data \end_layout \begin_layout Itemize histogram of \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset ntrials \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset (or execution time) \end_layout \begin_layout Itemize Number of decodes vs. ntrials \end_layout \begin_layout Itemize Probability of successful decode vs. Es/No or S/N in 2500 Hz BW \end_layout \begin_layout Standard \begin_inset Float figure wide false sideways false status open \begin_layout Plain Layout \align center \begin_inset Graphics filename fig_psuccess.pdf lyxscale 120 scale 120 \end_inset \end_layout \begin_layout Plain Layout \begin_inset Caption Standard \begin_layout Plain Layout \begin_inset CommandInset label LatexCommand label name "fig:Psuccess" \end_inset Percentage of JT65 messages ( \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset words \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset ) successfully decoded as a function of SNR in 2.5 kHz bandwidth. These results are for the idealized situation of a non-fading signal in additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN). Results are shown for the hard-decision Berlekamp-Massey (BM) and soft-decision Franke-Taylor (FT) decoding algorithms. Results for the FT algorithm are shown for two different sets of time-out and acceptance criteria. FT-1 was obtained with a limit of \begin_inset Formula $10^{4}$ \end_inset erasure vectors and with acceptance criteria \begin_inset Formula $d_{a}<72$ \end_inset and \begin_inset Formula $n_{hard}<42$ \end_inset , and FT-2 corresponds to \begin_inset Formula $10^{5}$ \end_inset erasure vectors and \begin_inset Formula $d_{a}<76$ \end_inset , \begin_inset Formula $n_{hard}<44$ \end_inset . \end_layout \end_inset \end_layout \begin_layout Plain Layout \end_layout \end_inset \end_layout \begin_layout Standard \begin_inset Float figure wide false sideways false status open \begin_layout Plain Layout \align center \begin_inset Graphics filename fig_wer.pdf lyxscale 120 scale 120 \end_inset \end_layout \begin_layout Plain Layout \begin_inset Caption Standard \begin_layout Plain Layout \begin_inset CommandInset label LatexCommand label name "fig:WER" \end_inset Word error rate (WER) as a function of \begin_inset Formula $E_{s}/N_{o}$ \end_inset for non-fading signals in AWGN. This is the same data that is shown in Figure \begin_inset CommandInset ref LatexCommand ref reference "fig:Psuccess" \end_inset , but plotted as the fraction of frames that were not decoded vs symbol SNR. \end_layout \end_inset \end_layout \end_inset \end_layout \begin_layout Standard \begin_inset Float figure wide false sideways false status collapsed \begin_layout Plain Layout \align center \begin_inset Graphics filename fig_ntrials_vs_nhard.pdf lyxscale 120 scale 120 \end_inset \end_layout \begin_layout Plain Layout \begin_inset Caption Standard \begin_layout Plain Layout The number of trials needed to decode a received word vs the Hamming distance between the received word and the decoded codeword plotted for 1000 simulated frames with no fading. The SNR in 2500 Hz bandwidth is -24 dB ( \begin_inset Formula $E_{s}/N_{o}=5.7$ \end_inset dB). Execution time will be roughly proportional to the number of trials. The mean and variance of the number of trials (and execution time) increase with the number of errors in the received word. \end_layout \end_inset \end_layout \end_inset \end_layout \begin_layout Standard \begin_inset Float figure wide false sideways false status open \begin_layout Plain Layout \align center \begin_inset Graphics filename fig_wer2.pdf lyxscale 120 scale 120 \end_inset \end_layout \begin_layout Plain Layout \begin_inset Caption Standard \begin_layout Plain Layout Word error rate (WER) as a function of \begin_inset Formula $E_{s}/N_{o}$ \end_inset for Rayleigh-fading with Doppler-spread \begin_inset Formula $\sigma_{f}=0.2$ \end_inset Hz. \end_layout \end_inset \end_layout \end_inset \end_layout \begin_layout Itemize other... ? \end_layout \begin_layout Section Summary \end_layout \begin_layout Bibliography \begin_inset CommandInset bibitem LatexCommand bibitem key "key-1" \end_inset "Stochastic Chase Decoding of Reed-Solomon Codes", Camille Leroux, Saied Hemati, Shie Mannor, Warren J. Gross, IEEE Communications Letters, Vol. 14, No. 9, September 2010. \end_layout \begin_layout Bibliography \begin_inset CommandInset bibitem LatexCommand bibitem key "key-2" \end_inset "Soft-Decision Decoding of Reed-Solomon Codes Using Successive Error-and-Erasure Decoding," Soo-Woong Lee and B. V. K. Vijaya Kumar, IEEE \begin_inset Quotes eld \end_inset GLOBECOM \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset 2008 proceedings. \end_layout \begin_layout Bibliography \begin_inset CommandInset bibitem LatexCommand bibitem key "key-3" \end_inset \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset Stochastic Erasure-Only List Decoding Algorithms for Reed-Solomon Codes, \begin_inset Quotes erd \end_inset Chang-Ming Lee and Yu T. Su, IEEE Signal Processing Letters, Vol. 16, No. 8, August 2009. \end_layout \begin_layout Bibliography \begin_inset CommandInset bibitem LatexCommand bibitem key "key-4" \end_inset “Algebraic soft-decision decoding of Reed-Solomon codes,” R. Köetter and A. Vardy, IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, Vol. 49, Nov. 2003. \end_layout \begin_layout Bibliography \begin_inset CommandInset bibitem LatexCommand bibitem key "key-5" \end_inset Berlekamp-Massey decoder written by Phil Karn, http://www.ka9q.net/code/fec/ \end_layout \end_body \end_document