After a couple of weeks of getting things ready (new machine, etc.; part 1, part 2), finally a SSTV contact:
Sent:
Translation: Anybody out there? Dr. C calling...
Reply received:
Translation: Yep Dr. C, my name is Ian and here is the image you sent. Thanks for contact and Best Wishes, bye.
Final reply sent:
Translation: Ian, your signal is rough but useable. Thanks & Best Wishes, bye, - Dr. C
Sure, clunky interface, low-res results, and a whole lot of random ionospheric goings-on. But let's see you send images to and from North Carolina without any intervening infrastructure. No cell service, no internet, no satellites; just a few tens of watts out of transmitter and some wire for an antenna.
So, why? Because it's there, mostly. Also, it'll still work just as well after a bad hurricane. Here, have an eyeful of what I might have sent a few years ago.
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