Analog SSTV

Slow Scan Television or SSTV is essentially a derivative of the wideband broadcast television system that we are so familiar with. The fundamental principles of SSTV signal structure and modulation are fairly similar to that of the regular TV. However, the primary difference lies in the fact that while the regular commercial television displays motion pictures along with synchronized sound, the SSTV protocol only allows for still pictures to be transmitted over a radio channel. Secondly, picture frame size and resolution are far less for SSTV in comparison to regular TV.

SSTV had been conceived around the year 1957-1959. It was inspired by the existing Facsimile system known as Radio-Fax. However, it was not practically suited for amateur radio use over HF radio primarily because of the long frame transmission time required for Radio-Fax which was around 20 minutes. Although the frame resolution of Radio-Fax was high, the long transmit time was rather impractical for amateur radio use.

Amateur radio needed to derive a picture transmission protocol that even though might feature lower resolution would require less time and provide a robust transmission over a noisy and hostile HF radio channel.

by: Basu (VU2NSB)

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  P0

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  P1

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  P2

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  P3

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  P4

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  P5

This should be a good guide to help determine P ratings, but is not the final say since the quility of an image is in the eye of the receiver.

The latest Analog SSTV images recieved at my station.

Click On The Thumbnail to view the image

check the date and time stamp. page updates ever 60 seconds

Click on the links below to be directed to more SSTV sites.

• world SSTV
• wb9kmw.com

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