System and method for analyzing coded transmission sent to mobile message receivers

A pager decoding system is provided which is compatible with the POCSAG encoding standard and which improves battery savings. The disclosed pager includes a baud rate detector for evaluating incoming transmissions to determined if the baud rate is compatible with the decoder, and a preamble detector for determining if preamble code is being transmitted. Baud rate information and preamble code information are sampled frequently when the pager's radio receiver is tuned on, to evaluate whether a valid transmission is being received and whether the pager's internal clock is synchronized with the transmission. In the methodology of the invention, when the pager is on standby and waiting to receive a transmission the radio receiver is periodically energized to search for valid data having the correct baud rate, and to search for POCSAG preamble code. Signals with the incorrect baud rate are quickly detected and the radio circuit is shut off to save battery power. Once a valid transmission has been acquired, the pager verifies that it is synchronized with the transmission by confirming the absence of preamble code and the presence of the correct baud rate. The pager's radio circuit does not need to be turned on to receive any of the synchronization signals after the pager's clock is initially synchronized. The invention maximizes battery savings by allowing the radio receiver to be shut off as soon as there is confirmation that the pager's address is not being sent, even before an entire code word has been received. A decoding method is also disclosed.