# What is the forward error correction in 802.11a?

I am trying to put together a baseband-equivalent simulation of 802.11a signals, which according to Wikipedia has a variable encoding (PSK, QAM, etc.) that have differing coding rates (1/2, 2/3, 3/4) depending on the choice of RATE bits. I can't find any details on the forward error corrector used in 802.11a. Could someone point me the the algorithm used in 802.11a?

• authorative source here is IEEE Std 802.11a-1999, Part 11 (assuming you're referring to the 5 GHz PHY), 17.3.5.5 Convolutional encoder. – Marcus Müller Jan 17 '20 at 22:01
• by the way, such a simulation does already exist. Look for Basti Bloessl's gr-ieee802-11. It's accurate enough a simulation that you can plug it into an SDR and talk to real WiFis. – Marcus Müller Jan 18 '20 at 12:36
• That might be overkill for my purposes, but thanks for the link! – Andrew Jan 18 '20 at 19:14
• well, since it contains all of the parts, including channel coding, might still serve as a reference. – Marcus Müller Jan 18 '20 at 20:04