Slow-Scan TV – My Next Digital Mode

January 26, 2008 by 5 Comments

Now that I’ve started having fun with PSK31, I’m getting interested in slow-scan TV (SSTV). The term SSTV can be a bit misleading, as there’s both analogue SSTV and digital SSTV. Digital SSTV signals must be less than 500 Hz wide. That allows them to be used in the same band segment as PSK31 and other similar digital modes.

To find out more, one place you can go is K3UK’s Quick and Dirty Guide to Narrow Bandwidth SSTV. It focuses on using the MMSSTV software, but has a lot of good info on operating practices as well.

Another resource is CQ SSTV de KB4YZ. This page has hundreds of links to other sites with SSTV information. There are almost too many links here. It’s hard to decide where to start.

Since I’m now using a Mac laptop in my shack, I was interested in what software is available for the Mac. KB4YZ has two links:

  • MultiMode for the Mac by Chris N3JLY. This is commercial software and costs $89. It looks pretty good, but I’m not sure if I want to spend $89 on it.
  • MacRobotSSTV for the Mac by Sergei KD6CJI. This looks like a nice program, but the User’s Guide notes, “currently USB audio input e.g iMic is not working.” Looks like I’m going to have to wait for the next version.
Filed Under: Digital Modes

Small Wonder PSK31

November 6, 2002 by Leave a Comment

A couple of years ago, I bought and built the SST-20 20m QRP rig from Wilderness Radio. While I haven’t had that much success with this rig–I attribute this to my poor antenna skills–the kit went together pretty easily and was fun to build. (If anyone wants to buy this from me, you can have it for the kit price: $85)

Now, I’m thinking of trying it again. This time with one of the PSK31 rigs from Small Wonder Labs. They make several different models, including one for 10m that looks relatively easy to put together. Apparently, these rigs interface directly to a 16-bit sound card.

As for the computer, I have an old Windows box that I was thinking of converting to Linux. Another possibility is to buy an old laptop for use in the shack. The advantage of the laptop is that it would take up less space in the shack. A third option is to try to get one of the Linux PSK31 packages to run on my Sharp Zaurus. A Google search for “linux psk31″ turned up quite a few references to PSK 31 software running on Linux machines.

I have a couple of questions:

  • Has anyone built one of the PSK31 units? Having any success with them?
  • Am I crazy for thinking about the 10m unit? Should I go with one of the other bands?
  • Is anyone running PSK31 software on a Linux box? Which package do you think is best?
Filed Under: Digital Modes, Kits
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