When a multilayer perceptron (MLP) is trained with the split-complex backpropagation (SCBP) algorithm, one observes a relatively strong dependence of the performance on the initial values. For the effective adjustments of the weights and biases in SCBP, we propose that the range of the initial values should be greater than that of the adjustment quantities. This criterion can reduce the misadjustment of the weights and biases. Based on the this criterion, the suitable range of the initial values can be estimated. The results show that the suitable range of the initial values depends on the property of the used communication channel and the structure of the MLP (the number of layers and the number of nodes in each layer). The results are studied using the equalizer scenarios. The simulation results show that the estimated range of the initial values gives significantly improved performance.