Hughes Aircraft Company

Teresa A Hinkle

Thomas K Lo

Lop G Ng

Deceased Sacks

An improved method for finding the mask threshold for a maskable bilevel correlator operates on a series of frames of information. Beginning with an initial threshold, two rates are computed. The rate of change of the correlation peak magnitude P.sub.(T), a function of threshold T, with respect to the change in the value of the mask threshold T, or (dP.sub.(T) /dT), and the corresponding rate of change of correlation reference pixels with magnitude exceeding the mask threshold, U.sub.(T), a function of threshold T, with respect to the change in the value of the mask threshold T, or (dU.sub.(T) /dT), are measured. The correct, or best, value of the threshold occurs when .vertline.dP.sub.(T) /dT.vertline..gtoreq.0.5*.vertline.dU.sub.(T) /dT.vertline..

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Madison, AL, United States of America

Teresa A Hinkle