FIELD: radio engineering; code-division multiple-access cellular radio communication systems. SUBSTANCE: method involves shaping reference signal which is, essentially, copy of signal being received, retarding reference signal according to received-signal delay hypothesis, calculating vector of signal indicating cross correlation between signal received and reference signal and defining it as source cross-correlation vector, generating output value to be compared with desired threshold level, and taking decision on signal detection using results of comparison; novelty is that L-1 additional reference signals similar in shape to main reference signal are generated, additional reference signals are delayed according to hypothesis of delay region for detected signal cluster beams, vectors of cross-correlation between signal received and additional reference signals are computed and defined as L-1 additional source cross-correlation vectors, and L source cross- correlation vectors are subjected to Q steps of transform, where Q is greater than or equal to unity. These characteristic features make it possible to process signal cluster as a whole and not separate components of broad-band multibeam signal. Two alternatives of device are proposed for implementing this method. First alternative of device is used when L source cross- correlation vectors are subjected to Q steps of transform, where Q = 1. Second alternative is used to transform L source cross-correlation vectors in Q steps, where Q is greater than unity. EFFECT: improved characteristics of signal cluster detection. 3 cl, 8 dwg
