Channel Effects on Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum Rake Receiver During the KauaiEx Experiment

(KauaiEx Group) Acoustic communications using a direct-sequence spread spectrum modulation with a RAKE receiver was tested during the KauaiEx experiment (in Hawaii). The oceanography was measured along the communications path during this test, so that the propagation of the communications transmissions could be subsequently modeled. Such simultaneous measurements provide a continuous picture of how the ocean waveguide evolved during the transmissions, enabling us to isolate what was influencing communications performance. This paper presents an analysis of DSSS Rake receiver performance at this shallow water coastal site.