• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.30 no.8C
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• pp.754-761
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• 2005

We derive and analyze a bit error rate(BER) expression of a Gray coded rectangular QAM(R-QAM) signal with maximal ratio combining diversity(MRC) reception over Nakagami-n(Rician) fading channels. The derived result is provided in terms of the Whittaker function and the confluent hypergeometric function. In addition, by performance comparison with M-PSK, we see the Nakagami-n fading channel characteristics. Because the derived expression is general, it can readily allow numerical e·valuation for various cases of practical interest such as line-of-sight (LOS) or satellite communication channel analysis.