Patent ID: 7319363

Claim:
A method for controlling amplification within a receiver ( 1 ) comprising: setting the gain of a variable gain amplifier ( 3 ) which amplifies an input signal ( 10 ) to obtain a gain-controlled signal ( 12 ); analog-to-digital converting ( 6 ) said gain controlled signal ( 12 ) thereby generating digital words ( 15 , 20 ) each digital word having a value of a plurality possible digital values; counting digital words having a value within a first subset (S 1 ) of possible digital values thereby generating a first counter value ( 51 ); said counted digital words belonging to a predetermined number of digital words; said first subset (S 1 ) comprising at least one value; characterized by counting ( 52 , 53 , 54 ) digital words having a value within a second subset (S 2 , S 3 , S 4 ) of possible digital values thereby generating a second counter value; said counted digital words belonging to said predetermined number of digital words; said second subset being different from said first subset; said second subset comprising at least one value; and setting said gain in accordance with the first and second counter value in a fashion that all counter values are as equal as possible.