A QSSTV alternative for Linux
QSSTV has carried SSTV on Linux for years and deserves the credit for it. It is free, open source, and it speaks HAMDRM — so it talks to EasyPal stations, which Open Signal does not. This page exists because the two tools make genuinely different trade-offs, not because one is bad. If you want the honest version of that comparison rather than a sales pitch, here it is.
Credit where it belongs
QSSTV is genuinely good software. It handles analogue SSTV across the usual families, it does digital picture modes, it integrates with hamlib for rig control, and it has been doing all of that on a platform the commercial ham software world largely ignored.
It is also free and open source, which Open Signal is not. If that matters to you — and it is a perfectly good thing to care about — this comparison ends here, and it ends in QSSTV’s favour.
What QSSTV also has that Open Signal does not
One difference matters more than any of the packaging arguments: QSSTV does HAMDRM — the digital SSTV mode EasyPal uses. So a QSSTV station can exchange digital pictures with the existing EasyPal population.
Open Signal cannot. Its digital mode is its own waveform and it is not wire-compatible with EasyPal, which is stated plainly on the EasyPal page too. If interoperating with EasyPal stations is what you need, QSSTV does it and this does not. That is a straightforward point in QSSTV’s favour.
The install problem, honestly
QSSTV’s reputation for being painful to install is real but increasingly historical, and it would be dishonest to lean on it. The forum threads you will find are largely from before Flatpak.
- Flathub has it. A Flatpak install is one command and pulls its own dependencies. For most people in 2026 this is the end of the story.
- Most distributions package it too, though repository versions drift behind the source.
- Building from source is still a dependency tree — Qt5, FFTW, hamlib, OpenJPEG and a page of development headers. That is where the reputation came from, and it is only your problem if you need a version newer than the packages.
So “hard to install” is no longer a good reason to pick something else. The real differences are the ones in the table below.
The alternative approach
Open Signal takes the opposite position: compile everything in and ship one file.
- A single x64 executable, around 35 MB, for 64-bit desktop Linux — tested against Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04.
- The DSP, the SSTV codecs for all six families, SQLite and rig control are all inside it. There is no
apt installstep. - No hamlib to install separately, no FLDIGI, no virtual audio plumbing.
The cost of that approach is honesty about what it is: a proprietary binary, licensed for transmit, from one developer. You are trading openness for not having to care about dependencies. Whether that is a good trade is genuinely your call.
Side by side
| Open Signal | QSSTV | |
|---|---|---|
| Installation | One binary, no dependencies | Flatpak, distro package, or source |
| EasyPal / HAMDRM interop | No — own waveform | Yes |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Cost | RX free; TX £15/yr or £45 life | Free |
| Analogue SSTV | Six families, auto-detect | Yes |
| Digital pictures | Own OFDM waveform | Yes, different waveform |
| Self-filling logbook | Yes, with eQSL/Wavelog/ADIF | No |
| Also runs on Windows | Yes, same program | Not practically |
Audio is the real Linux question
Whichever program you choose, the thing most likely to cost you an evening on Linux is not the application — it is PipeWire, ALSA, and the serial-port permission that stops PTT working until you notice it.
That is covered properly in SSTV on Linux, and it applies equally to both.
QSSTV alternative — FAQ
What is QSSTV?
QSSTV is the long-standing SSTV program for Linux, handling analogue SSTV and digital picture modes. It is capable software and for many years it was effectively the only option on the platform.
Is QSSTV still hard to install?
Much less than its reputation suggests. It is on Flathub, so a Flatpak install is one command, and most distributions package it. Building from source is still a real dependency tree — Qt5, FFTW, hamlib, OpenJPEG — which is where the reputation came from, but you only meet that if you need something newer than the packages.
Can QSSTV do things Open Signal cannot?
Yes. QSSTV supports HAMDRM, the digital SSTV mode EasyPal uses, so it can exchange digital pictures with EasyPal stations. Open Signal's digital mode is its own waveform and is not wire-compatible with EasyPal. QSSTV is also free and open source, which Open Signal is not.
Does Open Signal need anything installed on Linux?
No. It is a single self-contained x64 executable of around 35 MB with the DSP, SSTV codecs, SQLite database and rig control compiled in. Copy it somewhere and run it — there is no dependency tree to satisfy.
Are Open Signal and QSSTV compatible on the air?
For analogue SSTV both implement the published specifications, so the modes are the same modes. Open Signal's own digital picture mode is its own waveform and is not wire-compatible with QSSTV's digital modes, in the same way that it is not wire-compatible with EasyPal.
More about Open Signal
One file, no dependency tree
Download, make it executable, run it. The receive side costs nothing permanently, so trying it costs an afternoon at most.