Handover processing in multiple access point deployment system

1. A method of handover processing comprising:

configuring at a receiver a roaming list comprising a plurality of entries, wherein each entry comprises one or more receive parameters of the receiver;

performing a measurement operation at the receiver on a current entry of the roaming list;

selecting an entry of the roaming list based on the measurement operation;

setting a transmitter based on the selected entry of the roaming list; and

transmitting an uplink signal to an access point at a time based on a slot start time and a random timing offset, and wherein the uplink signal is transmitted while at least a portion of a second signal is transmitted from a second node such that both the uplink signal and the second signal are received.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein an entry of the roaming list comprises a center frequency and a gold code.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the roaming list is received by the receiver during a prior transmission.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the roaming list is received by the receiver at a particular prearranged time.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the roaming list is received by the receiver at a particular prearranged frequency and at a particular prearranged gold code.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the measurement operation comprises setting the receiver based on the current entry, measuring an RSSI metric at the receiver, and recording the RSSI metric; and wherein the entry of the roaming list is selected based on a greatest RSSI metric.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the RSSI metric is based in part on a downlink RSSI measurement minus an access point interference signal.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the measurement operation comprises recording a frequency estimate and a timing estimate into the roaming list based on a successful demodulation of a broadcast channel and wherein the receiver is set based on a recorded frequency estimate and a recorded timing estimate.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the roaming list is ordered into a priority list based on previous iterations of the measurement operation.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

moving the selected entry to a last entry of the priority list;

repeating the measurement operation for each entry in the priority list;

selecting a second entry of the priority list based in part on a second measurement operation; and

setting the transmitter based on the selected second entry of the roaming list.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein repeating the measurement operation for each entry of the roaming list is interrupted when the measurement operation produces a result greater than a threshold value.

12. A node comprising:

a processor;

a receiver operatively coupled to the processor and configured to configure a roaming list comprising a plurality of entries, wherein each entry comprises one or more receive parameters of the receiver;

perform a measurement operation on a current entry of the roaming list;

select an entry of the roaming list based in part on the measurement operation;

set a transmitter based on the selected entry of the roaming list; and

transmit an uplink signal to an access point at a time based on a slot start time and a random timing offset, and wherein the uplink signal is transmitted while at least a portion of a second signal is transmitted from a second node such that both the uplink signal and the second signal are received.

13. The node of claim 12 , wherein the roaming list is received by the receiver during a prior transmission.

14. The node of claim 12 , wherein the roaming list is received by the receiver at a particular prearranged frequency and at a particular prearranged gold code.

15. The node of claim 12 , wherein the measurement operation comprises setting the receiver based on the current entry, measuring an RSSI metric at the receiver, and recording the RSSI metric; and wherein the entry of the roaming list is selected based on a greatest RSSI metric.

16. The node of claim 12 , wherein the receiver is further configured to:

order the roaming list into a priority list based on previous iterations of the measurement operation;

move the selected entry to a last entry of the priority list;

repeat the measurement operation for each entry in the priority list;

select a second entry of the priority list based in part on a second measurement operation; and

set the transmitter based on the selected second entry of the roaming list.

17. A system comprising:

a first access point comprising

a first downlink transmitter configured to transmit with a first transmit parameter;

a second access point comprising

a second downlink transmitter configured to transmit with a second transmit parameter; and

a node comprising

a processor,

a receiver operatively coupled to the processor and configured to

configure a roaming list comprising a plurality of entries, wherein a first entry comprises the first transmit parameter and a second entry comprises the second transmit parameter,

perform a measurement operation on a current entry of the roaming list,

select an entry of the roaming list based in part on a greatest RSSI metric,

set a transmitter based on the selected entry of the roaming list, and

transmit an uplink signal to an access point at a time based on a slot start time and a random timing offset, and wherein the uplink signal is transmitted while at least a portion of a second signal is transmitted from a second node such that both the uplink signal and the second signal are received.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the roaming list is received by the receiver during a prior transmission.

19. The system of claim 17 , wherein the roaming list is received by the receiver at a particular prearranged frequency and at a particular prearranged gold code.

20. The system of claim 17 , wherein the receiver is further configured to:

order the roaming list into a priority list based on previous iterations of the measurement operation;

move the selected entry to a last entry of the priority list;

repeat the measurement operation for each entry in the priority list;

select a second entry of the priority list based in part on a second measurement operation; and

set the receiver based on the selected second entry of the roaming list.