A unique underwater, high data rate, acoustic communications transceiver has been developed that has widespread commercial applicability. The unique properties of direct sequence spread spectrum are applied to mitigate both deep fading and intersymbol interference due to multipath. The transceiver is designed to provide full-duplex operation at a data rate of 625 bps per channel with high reliability. Considerably higher data rates are achievable with half-duplex operation. There is substantial operating margin in the very stressing scenario of 1 km range in the horizontal plane at 12 m depth (assuming a severe surface bounce). Additionally, spread spectrum processing gain provides added rejection of interference that falls in or near the transmission band. These capabilities represent a significant advancement in hydro-acoustic communications.
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