Abstract: A base station sends a synchronization signal in an assigned time slot to a user equipment in a time division duplex code division multiple access communication system. The base station has an assigned code group out of a predetermined number of code groups. The base station transmits selected secondary synchronization code signals out of a set of secondary synchronization code signals. The plurality of secondary synchronization code signals numbers less than half of the predetermined number of code groups. The user equipment identifies the transmitted selected secondary code signals. Based on in part the identified secondary synchronization code signals, the assigned code group is determined.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for synchronizing with communication traffic in a network without joining the network. The method and apparatus synchronize to the communication traffic by mimicking a BLUETOOTH slave device in order to obtain a preliminary or unconnected system clock time in a master page frequency hop synchronization (FHS) packet from a BLUETOOTH master device when the master device is not connected to any BLUETOOTH slave devices, and then updating the preliminary system clock time with a time-of-arrival of a communication traffic packet from the master device after a connection is formed between the master device and a BLUETOOTH slave device.