The problem of timing acquisition in decision feedback equalization (DFE) d
etectors for magnetic recording channels, in particular the multi-level DFE
(MDFE), is considered,We first address the issue of the optimal choice of
preamble pattern for timing acquisition and show that a 6T periodic pattern
(T being the bit period) is optimum for medium to high user densities, Nex
t, we show that the MDFE timing-error detector using the 6T-pattern is near
optimum for acquisition. Finally, we propose a novel threshold-based fast
acquisition scheme that can eliminate false lock and effectively prevent ha
ng up problems.