Error detection and correction system for long burst errors

The invention is an error detection and correction system which encodes data twice, once for error detection by using a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) code with a generator polynomial, g (x) [in octal form]: g(x) = 2413607036565172433223 and a second time for error correction by using a Reed-Solomon error correction code. The system then uses the CRC code to check the data for errors. If errors are found the system uses the error location information supplied by the CRC code and the Reed-Solomon code to correct the errors.