MMSSTV HELP · CHAPTER 12

DSP, Spectrum & AFC

A look inside MMSSTV's signal processing, demodulators and automatic frequency control.

MMSSTV demodulators

The original MMSSTV documentation describes three methods for demodulating the SSTV picture tones:

Zero-cross detector

Converts tone timing into picture-frequency information.

PLL

Uses a phase-locked loop to track picture-tone frequency.

Hilbert transform

Uses quadrature signal processing before frequency detection.

Signal path

MMSSTV separates received audio into several processing paths. Dedicated filters detect VIS symbols and synchronization, while another path demodulates the 1500–2300 Hz picture information.

Spectrum display

MMSSTV provides three spectrum-display choices:

OFF

No spectrum calculation.

FFT

Conventional frequency-domain spectrum display.

FM demodulator

Fast display suited to short synchronization pulses.

The original documentation notes that the FM-demodulator display has a fast response but does not represent signal level in the same way as the FFT display.

Automatic Frequency Control

AFC is enabled from the AFC button in the DSP pane. The original default is ON.

When AFC is locked to the received SSTV signal, MMSSTV changes the synchronization-frequency marker to indicate the lock state.

LMS filters

Later MMSSTV versions provide several LMS filter modes selectable from the DSP pane:

Noise smoothing Original/default LMS noise reduction mode.
Auto notch — fast Automatic notch filter with faster response.
Auto notch — slow Slower notch response intended to reduce image degradation.
Based on EMMSSTV.TXT and the MMSSTV revision documentation.
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