Patent ID: 8705679

Claim:
A method for detecting a synchronization field in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal, the method comprising: generating a plurality of discrete Fourier transform (DFT) values corresponding to the OFDM signal; determining a plurality of magnitude or power values corresponding to the plurality of DFT values; determining whether the plurality of magnitude or power values corresponds to a pattern of magnitude or power values, wherein the pattern of magnitude or power values comprises a first plurality of loaded subchannels and a first plurality of unloaded subchannels, and wherein determining whether the plurality of magnitude or power values corresponds to the pattern of magnitude or power values comprises determining a first sum of magnitude or power values corresponding to loaded subchannels, determining a second sum of magnitude or power values corresponding to at least some unloaded subchannels, determining a first ratio of the first sum to the second sum, and comparing the first ratio to a first threshold; and generating an indication that the synchronization field is detected in the OFDM signal based on whether it is determined that the plurality of magnitude or power values corresponds to the pattern of magnitude or power values.