Several us here at the makerspace have amateur radio licenses and like to help with that community also. This year at Field Day we did another educational session at the event organized by PCAuxCom, a local amateur radio group.

We decided to give a presentation on SSTV and how it can be used with phone or tablet app to send pictures using an amateur radio – no network connection or cell phone coverage needed! We started using SSTV here at the makerspace to see the occasional transmitted pictures from the International Space Station(ISS) when it passes overhead. Later we discovered the cell phone/tablet apps for SSTV reception and transmission – then realized it would be easy to hold a handheld radio up to the device and transmit images that way.

If you’d like to read more, I’ve created a webpage that describes how it works and includes the presentation made that day. We’re also experimenting with an interface to connect a cell phone or tablet directly to an amateur radio, will update the webpage or stop by the makerspace if you’re interested.