A method and apparatus for equalizing digital data signals is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of demodulating and decoding an input signal having input data to produce a data output, remodulating the data output to produce a training sequence including an idealized input signal, wherein the training sequence is comprised of adjacent symbols in the input data, and generating equalizer parameters from the training sequence. The apparatus comprises a demodulator (for demodulating an input signal to produce a data output), a modulator communicatively coupled to the demodulator (for remodulating the data output to produce a training sequence including an idealized input signal wherein the training sequence is comprised of adjacent symbols in the input data), and a parameter generation module communicatively coupled to the modulator (for generating equalizer parameters from the training sequence).