receiving said transmitted signal, wherein said signal comprises a periodic information bearing point, at an information rate and wherein an information period is the inverse of said information rate;

sampling said signal at a sampling rate greater than said information rate;

down sampling from said sampling rate wherein more than N sample points are sampled per information period to a filtering rate of N sample points per information period prior to step of filtering each of N sample points;

during a first predetermined number of information periods, filtering each of N sample points for each information bearing point with a pulse-shaping filter and outputting a filtered signal;

measuring a variable of said filtered signal at each of said N sample points, wherein said variable is independent of information content in said signal;

determining the location of said information bearing point in said signal based on said information content-independent variable;

identifying one of the N sample points that most closely corresponds to said information bearing point in said signal;

synchronizing processing of said signal with said information bearing point; and

during a second number of subsequent information periods, filtering a subset of the N sample points for each subsequent information period, the subset of the N sample points including the identified one of the N sample points.