A modified Blahut algorithm for decoding Reed-Solomon codes beyond the half the minimum distance

A modification of the Blahut algorithm is proposed for decoding of Reed-Solomon codes beyond half the minimum distance. An effective method is offered for the searching of unknown discrepancies needed for analytical continuation of the Berlekamp-Massey algorithm through two additional iterations. This reduces the search time by 2(q-1)n/((n+t+1)(n-t)) times, compared with the Blahut algorithm. An architecture of a searcher for unknown discrepancies is given. The coding gain of the proposed algorithm is shown for some practical codes.