Space diversity is a simple and cost-effective technique to combat fading in wireless channels. For small handheld devices with limited space and power for multiple antennas, cooperative diversity is proposed. In cooperative diversity, adjacent users to a certain user, using their own antennas, act as relays to create ”virtual space diversity” for the source user. The success of cooperative diversity depends heavily on the channel quality between users. To improve the interuser channel quality, coded cooperative diversity is introduced. Most of the research on coded cooperative diversity models the wireless fading channels as Rayleigh or Ricean. However, it was shown that the Nakagami-m channel model is more accurate and flexible in describing the fading conditions. In this paper, coded cooperative diversity with convolutional codes over Nakagami-m channels is analyzed. Code design considerations are developed from this analysis. Simulation results show that coded cooperation with convolutional codes is practical over Nakagami-m fading channels.
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