[Elecraft] P3 and SSTV

[Alan Bloom]

Actually this was an idea Wayne had some time ago.  The P3 is just a
software-defined radio so adding an SSB demodulator and SSTV decoder is
certainly possible.  The color display would be very nice for displaying
the images at full resolution.

One issue is, which SSTV format(s) should be supported?  There's the
traditional analog black-and-white format from long ago.  A number of
color analog formats have appeared over the years, including various of
AEA's AVT modes, a number of Robot SSTV modes, and several flavors of
"Martin" and "Scottie".  Should the P3 support decoding VIS mode tags?
And how about digital modes?

Another issue is what to do about transmitting?  I believe the K3DVR
option in the K3 can record up to 90 seconds of audio, which is not
quite enough for a frame in the most popular Martin M1 and Scottie S1
formats.

If we want to do this I think it would have to be receive only, probably
supporting only Martin M1 and Scottie S1.  It would still be a cool
feature.

Alan N1AL


On Mon, 2011-04-25 at 20:35 +1000, Gary Gregory wrote:
> Sometimes when I have idle time on my hands the mind tends to wander off, so
> with this in mind please be kind ok?..:-)
> 
> Could the P3 become a SSTV decoder and display a digital image?..The is a
> program proving quite successful called EasyPal and it got me to thinking
> that if future expansion of the P3 features will include a PC keyboard I got
> to thinking what else could be added.
> 
> Given the room available my thought was that this could be achieved.
> 
> To load an image perhaps a USB port or USB/Serial connection to store SSTV
> images.
> 
> Certainly there are ways to use the K3 with a simple connection to a PC but
> when you are operating in a remote are or DXpedition environment the ability
> to TX/RX  SSTV would be an added bonus.
> 
> Anyone got any comments?
> 
> 73's
> Gary
>