Burst decoding of binary block codes on Q -ary output channels (Corresp.)

The burst-b distance between two binary vectors is defined and shown to be a metric. This definition is applied to a binary-input, Q-ary output channel where errors occur in bursts. A decoding algorithm is presented for such a channel that is an extension of Weldon's (1971) weighted erasure decoding. Examples are presented illustrating the techniques.