Patent ID: 7990845

Claim:
A method of determining an FFT window location for reception of an OFDM signal received over a transmission channel, the OFDM signal including a plurality of symbols each having a guard interval, the method comprising acts of: a) determining, according to a first process, a location of maximum correlation in a first symbol of the plurality of symbols; b) determining an initial location of the FFT window; c) determining a plurality of permissible echo location options based upon the initial location of the FFT window and a second process, different than the first process; d) selecting a permissible echo location option from the plurality of permissible echo location options that corresponds most closely to the location of maximum correlation; and e) adjusting the initial location of the FFT window so that the adjusted FFT window location includes substantially all of a useful symbol length of the first symbol while a maximum number of echoes are included within the guard interval of the first symbol; wherein each of the plurality of symbols has a useful symbol length, and wherein a ratio of a length of the guard interval relative to a useful symbol length of each of the plurality of symbols is greater than one half an effective pilot sub-carrier to total sub-carrier ratio of the OFDM signal.