Moment-method estimation of the Ricean K-factor

In many radio propagation environments, the time-varying envelope of the received signal can be statistically described by a Ricean distribution. Traditional methods for estimating the Ricean K-factor from measured power versus time are relatively cumbersome and time consuming. We describe a simple and rapid approach wherein the K-factor is an exact function of moments estimated from time-series data. Comparisons with empirical distributions for fixed wireless paths validate the method.