Abstract: A constrained fixed delay tree search receiver for an MTR=2 encoded communication channel includes a filter circuit responsive to a received signal for producing a channel impulse response including a plurality of filtered samples with at least one of the post cursor filter samples forced to zero; a feedback equalizer circuit responsive to the channel symbol identified at the output of the receiver and the filtered samples for producing corresponding truncated samples comprised of linear combinations of coefficients characterizing the channel and channel symbols constrained by the MTR=2 code; and a detector including a discrete time filter responsive to the truncated samples for generating a set of signals defining a multi-segment boundary which divides the combination of the set of signals into two groups; a comparator circuit responsive to the discrete time filter for determining to which of the groups the combination of the set of signals belongs, and a logic circuit, responsive to the comparator circuit,