  This paper investigates simple means of analyzing the error rate performance
of a general q-ary Galois Field network coded detect-and-forward cooperative
relay network with known relay error statistics at the destination. Equivalent
relay channels are used in obtaining an approximate error rate of the relay
network, from which the diversity order is found. Error rate analyses using
equivalent relay channel models are shown to be closely matched with simulation
results. Using the equivalent relay channels, low complexity receivers are
developed whose performances are close to that of the optimal maximum
likelihood receiver.
