E3.19 PARAMETER ESTIMATION OF QUASI-PERIODIC SEQUENCES

of a process described q(i); (i=1,2, ...), where ki and {q(i)} is a white noise, estimation of the "period" T by are are and "phase" 7 of such processes is often required in communications and radar. Popular linear regression techniques for this estimation problem are shown to fail and new algorithms are derived. Statistical properties of the estimators are presented, under reasonable assumptions. The suggested procedure is illustrated in the digital communications symbol timing recovery from eye-diagram zero crossings. The new bit synchronizer obtained is shown to be superior in many practical s ituations to known maximum-likelihood type algorithms.