Slow Scan Television

[ke5mwm]

I am  really enjoying this mode of operation.It's really an "Immediate gratification" mode. You get instant proof of who you've heard and who has heard you, no waiting for qsl cards(unless you want the contesting credit)

All it takes to get going in slow scan now is a bit of software, and a rig that you can input and out put audio from.
(I've even recieved pictures without the computer hooked to the rig and recieving audio through the built in mic from the radio speaker! You could also have a computer speaker handy and hold your radio mic near it to transmit w/ perhaps some foam to keep out any background noise.)

for software I recommend the MMSSTV program I tried a few others but this one seems to be the easiest to use, has the most options, and is used by most of the SSTV operators out there. A search for "MMSSTV" should find it quite readily. It's free.

Once you have a way to get audio to/from your radio from/to the computer, be sure to tun off all speech processing, set your mic gain as normal, and turn your output power WAY down. 25% or less.(SSTV is a CONSTANT TRANSMIT mode for the length of time it takes to send the picture. If you do not turn down the power it would be very easy to burn up your PA or worse. The same aplies to external amplifiers,it would be very wise to keep it down to 25% or so)

I spent the first bit of time just recieving and practicing tweaking the radio and Computer input levels to get the best picture. Over all the "louder" the squeaky wheel sounds the better the picture.

Attached are the pictures from my fist QSO on SSTV.

[ke5mwm]

Ok What can I say I'm on a roll ..... a bit more about SSTV

It has a narrow band width an can be used on just about any phone frequency.
imagine some possibilities:

Finally seeing the face that goes with that call sign you've heard for years

Sending a schematic for a mod or repair

Show off your new rig or new antenna

Send pics back to home QTH territory while on vacation

Document tornado damage for sky warn

Send a pic of just what you're looking for to a ham friend going to a hamfest

Show off your awesome collection of barbed wire(ok maybe not for every one but you get the idea)

Get pictures of your grand kids from your licensed son or daughter then retransmit them to all your willing ham friends

Show off the youngest latest "work of art"

play "here's your sign" with a ham friend

share humorous cartoons/ pictures

finally prove that you really do have serial number 0000000001 of that rig

prove that "yes i really do have 10 dogs at home"

every time you've thought or said "you just gotta see this" "or that must have been a sight","i'd have loved to see that"...well you can!

as the say a picture is worth a thousand words(lets see thats about 333 words per minute for a 3 min transmission)


I'm using my old toshiba laptop with windows 98 and a whopping 100mhz processor with its stock sound card.

The most popular fequency for SSTV is 14.230-14.233, download the mmsstv program, put your echolink mic near you rig speaker, tune in and and see what you see.

oh just so you dont have any excuse not to... here's the link to the MMSSTV software    Just click the link and your download will begin.
http://mmhamsoft.amateur-radio.ca/files/programs/MMSSTV111G.exe

fo rmore info on MMSSTV:   http://mmhamsoft.amateur-radio.ca

[ke5mwm]

Now that a few more folks are a bit more familiar with the MMSSTV software I'll be standing by this weekend on 14.230 and looking forward to seeing some locals.
Take care and 73's