Abstract: A system and method for qualifying data peaks. A post-peak eliminator receives digital signals representing the amplitude of signal peaks. The digital value of a received peak is stored and compared with the value of subsequently received peaks. The peak having the largest amplitude is assumed to be the valid peak. The post-peak eliminator eliminates all invalid post-peaks and applies a signal stream representing valid peaks and any invalid pre-peaks to a pre-peak eliminator. The pre-peak eliminator includes a shift register and a control circuit therefor that operates on a state machine basis. The shift register receives and stores all signals, but eliminates any invalid pre-peaks immediately upon a determination that a received signal represents an invalid peak.