SSTV PORNO
Sometimes we are our own worst enemies.
While playing around with a
new soundcard-Rig interface the other day, I decided a peek at SSTV was in order. I
downloaded some shareware, fired it up, and hit 14.360 to see just who the heck it is that
QRM's the W7PHO family hour DX net all the time.
It was interesting. Having spent little time playing with SSTV prior to this (old Robot days--when SSTV was way too expensive for my tastes) I enjoyed seeing the full color pictures coming across the screen. Some were showing off their grandchildren, others their shacks. It seemed like a very interesting part of the hobby, although QSO's took forever just to say the first hello's.
I thought maybe my wife would enjoy this. Ham Radio has not really appealed to her much, since she is a rather shy and visually oriented person. Pictures she likes to look at. Screeching tail-enders in a pileup, no.
I sat the XYL down, and proceeded to tune across. Wouldn't you know it? The bands were in transition that time of the afternoon, and the QSB was knocking a lot of the pics off. I also could never get to a good strong station in time to sync at the beginning of a transmission, so had to often force sync. We saw a lot of family cats sans heads, things that may have been architecture viewed from weird angles, etc.
Finally! A good loud signal popped up just as I had parked the VFO on frequency. It was in the Scottie mode I was set for, so the sync was right on, and the picture clarity was perfect.
Too perfect. What scrolled down my monitor was a display of female genitalia from a range that made them look like a red leather sculpture of the Rockies. This picture should have been in a medical text, right under the "care and use of the speculum" chapter heading.
Well, that was that. My wife wasn't very impressed, and has been understandably curious every time she hears the doodle-doodle's of RTTY from the shack. She thinks I'm getting my daily porno fix. Not to mention that she has certainly lost interest in SSTV and a possible good link into getting a license.
I don't know how the SSTV'ers get away with transmitting this stuff. It's digital data, sure, and the mode of transmission of data is regulated, not the content. Still, I fail to see how we can do it on SSTV and we can't do it on the Lifetime Network delivered via your DBS dish.
I'd be interested in opinions on this. Does anyone feel, like me, that this is an "Inside Edition" episode just waiting to happen? "Slammy Hammies get their Whammies with High Tech TV".