Last Saturday I decided to set up my G5RV Junior antenna and new radio in the backyard and try a mode I haven’t done lately: SSTV. It stands for Slow-Scan TV, and is a facsimile mode for transmitting images over HF. There are more than a dozen different “modes” for SSTV. The image below was received using “Scottie 1”, which takes just over a minute to send, line by line.

WD5JBB, Texas
Back in 2001, at the height of the last solar cycle, I was able to send SSTV reliably to Japan just about anytime I wanted to, using a small 10-M dipole right outside my condo window. I think the building itself must’ve been pointing in just the right direction to throw my signals over to Asia (see my Digital Modes page for a gallery of other SSTV images from that time).

Season’s greetings all the way from Japan.
If I recall, the QSO (or two-way radio ‘conversation’) with Gene (N7LFL) in Oregon (below) was made using 5W on 20M (14.230 MHz). The small image in the lower-left of Gene’s image is the “CQ” image I sent out. CQ is Morse code for “Hello is there anyone out there who wants to have a QSO?”.

N7LFL acknowledges my SSTV CQ call with a return image.
SSTV is just one of the many “digital” modes you can employ to reach out and communicate with others around the world. It’s a great way to integrate an old method of transmitting with all of our new-fangled gadgets and techniques.