Error-Control Tutorial '96

Introduction to Error-Control CodingJay M. Jacobsmeyer, P.E.1Pericle Communications CompanyAbstractThis paper is an introduction to the subject of error-control coding. The usual mathematicalapproach is bypassed to appeal to a wider audience. The operation, proper use, andlimitations of error-control codes are described. Several coding techniques are investigatedand the popular compact disc (CD) player is used to illustrate the successful application oferror-control coding. 1.0 Introduction Many of us have heard the terms error-control coding in connection with the latest commercialand military communications systems, but few of us understand what it is, what it does, andwhy we should be concerned about it. This tutorial describes what error-control codes do,how they work, and when they can be used successfully. The field is growing rapidly and aworking knowledge of the topic will soon become a prerequisite for anyone involved in thedesign of modern communications systems.Error-control coding is a discipline under the branch of applied mathematics called InformationTheory, discovered by Claude Shannon in 1948 [6]. Prior to this discovery, conventionalwisdom said that channel noise prevented error-free communications. Shannon provedotherwise when he showed that channel noise limits the transmission rate, not the errorprobability. ...