The Step-by-Step Simulation tab provides a graphical interface for the processes of coding (State Machine and State diagram) and decoding (Trellis Diagram) of the selected rate-1/2 convolutional code. To run a simulation:

1. Click on the Start Simulation button.
2. Fill in all the fields in the windows that is displayed.
Use only integer numbers in the Number of bits field. Use a period (.) to separate the decimal and integer parts in the Eb/no field. Feel free to change the simulation parameters from those pre-loaded.
3. Click on the Ready button in the data input window. At this point, the trellis features and metrics can be seen under the Decoding: Trellis Diagram tab.
4. Click on the Next Bit button to start the simulation. The message bit currently being coded and then decoded is highlighted in a green rectangle. Any of these tabs can be examined at any given time during the simulation run.
5. Once the last message bit is reached (flushing bits are colored in blue) click on the Show Decoded Message button to see the message decoded by the Viterbi Decoder.
The errors of the decoded message are colored in orange. The correct bits are colored in red.
6. Click on the End Simulation button before starting a new simulation. The simulation can be stopped at any moment by clicking on this button.

The Code Performance tab provides an opportunity to estimate the Bit Error Rate (BER) for a given Eb/No value and to see the performance plot of the selected rate-1/2 convolutional code. The performance plot may take a while to load after clicking on the Eb/No Plot tab. To estimate the BER in the Estimation tab follow the next steps:

1. Click on the Estimate Performance button.
2. Fill all the fields in the windows that is displayed.
Use a period (.) to separate the decimal from the integer part in the Value of Eb/No field Some values are preloaded in the window. But feel free to change the simulation parameters.
Note: Estimating BER for values of Eb/No greater than 6 dB may take several minutes and even hours, and the interface may appear unresponsive.
3. Click on the Ready button of the data input window.
4. The estimated BER will appear next to the Estimated Bit Error Rate (BER): tag.
5. Click on the Cancel button to end the calculation at any time.