QSSTV-Experimental User's Guide

QSSTV-Experimental User's Guide

QSSTV-Experimental sends and receives slow-scan television (SSTV) and digital SSTV (HAMDRM) pictures through your sound card. This guide explains how to install it, set it up and use it. It is built on the original QSSTV by Johan Maes, ON4QZ, and maintained by Jason Weisberger, NT0Y; free software under the GNU GPL v3.

Contents

  1. 1. IntroductionWhat QSSTV-Experimental is, what it can do, and where it came from.
  2. 2. Install and first runGetting the program on Linux or Windows, building from source, and the first things to set up.
  3. 3. Main window tourThe menus, the three main tabs, the spectrum and waterfall, and the status bar.
  4. 4. ReceivingReceiving SSTV and DRM pictures: toolbar, settings, indicators and saving.
  5. 5. TransmittingLoading a picture, choosing a mode, sending it, plus tones, templates and the other TX buttons.
  6. 6. GalleryBrowsing, viewing, sending and deleting received and transmitted pictures.
  7. 7. ConfigurationEvery page of Options > Configuration explained.
  8. 8. SSTV modesEvery analog SSTV mode the program knows, with duration, picture size and the name for --mode.
  9. 9. Digital SSTV (DRM)HAMDRM digital pictures: how they differ from SSTV, the transmit parameters, hybrid mode, and fixing incomplete pictures.
  10. 10. CalibrationMeasure your sound card's real sample rate with WWV, NTP, or another SSTV station.
  11. 11. Decode from file and command lineDecoding recordings in the window or headless, encoding pictures to WAV, and all command-line options.
  12. 12. Help menu, updates and desktop integrationUsers Guide, About, update checks, and adding the AppImage to your application menu.
  13. 13. Troubleshooting and FAQAnswers to common problems with audio, PTT, slanted pictures, files and updates.
  14. 14. Credits and licensesWho wrote what, and the licences that apply.

Quick start

  1. Install. Linux: download the AppImage, chmod +x it and run it. Windows: extract the zip and run qsstv-experimental.exe. See Install and first run.
  2. Set up. Open Options > Configuration. On Operator enter your callsign; on Sound choose the audio input and output devices connected to your radio. On CAT set up rig control and PTT if you want the program to key your transmitter. See Configuration.
  3. Receive. Tune your radio (USB) to an SSTV frequency and watch the Receive tab. With Mode on Auto, pictures start and are saved by themselves; they appear in the Gallery. See Receiving.
  4. Transmit. On the Transmit tab load a picture (or use File > TX Test Pattern), choose a mode and press the green button. See Transmitting.
  5. Try it without a radio. Use File > Decode SSTV From File... on a recording, or from a terminal: qsstv-experimental --batch --out-dir pics recording.wav. See Decode from file and command line.

Conventions

Menu items and button names are written like Options > Configuration. Screenshots were made with default settings and placeholder operator data. This guide works offline: every page and picture is in the same folder and no network access is needed to read it. It can be opened from Help > Users Guide.