Patent ID: 8730855

Claim:
A method for detecting one of a channel and a carrier in a mixed mode Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) communications system, the channel comprising a time slot having a primary synchronization pattern located within a portion the time slot, the method comprising: detecting one of channel and carrier existence in the mixed mode TDMA communications system by determining that a match exists between a received primary synchronization pattern associated with a particular time slot in which the primary synchronization pattern was received and one of a plurality of predetermined synchronization patterns, wherein the received primary synchronization pattern is located in a central portion of the particular time slot; responsive to detecting one of channel and carrier existence: determining, as a function of a temporal location of the received primary synchronization pattern, a location of a first data edge of the particular time slot occurring temporally prior to the received primary synchronization pattern and a location of a second data edge of the particular time slot occurring temporally after the received primary synchronization pattern; and confirming the one of channel and carrier existence, in order to avoid false detection of the one of channel and carrier existence, by determining, via a look-back detector, that a first signal strength of the particular time slot in which the matched synchronization pattern was detected, from the first data edge to the second data edge of the particular time slot, exceeds a first predetermined signal strength.