Amateur television (ATV and DATV)

Amateur television sends live, full-motion color video with sound, the way broadcast TV does, on amateur frequencies. It's different from SSTV, which sends one still picture at a time through a voice channel. Fast-scan TV needs megahertz of bandwidth, so it lives on 70 cm and up, where Technicians have full privileges.

There are two flavors:

Analog ATV: the older system, using NTSC-style video. Usually AM vestigial sideband on 70 cm and FM on 23 cm and higher bands.
Digital ATV (DATV): the same digital broadcast standards used by satellite and terrestrial TV (DVB-S, DVB-S2, DVB-T), often in much less bandwidth than analog. Weak digital signals give a perfect picture until they drop out, where analog fades into snow.

Independent guide, not affiliated with ARRL, ATCO, BATC, ARISS or any ATV group. Frequencies below are from the ARRL band plan and from one group's published repeater details, as examples. Your local coordinator's plan comes first.

ATV and DATV v1.0 · written 2026-10-08 · band plan, repeater example and rules checked as of Oct 2026

Where ATV lives (ARRL band plan)

Band	ATV segments	Notes
70 cm	420–426 MHz: ATV repeater or simplex, 421.25 MHz video carrier. 426–432 MHz: ATV simplex, 427.250 MHz video carrier. 438–444 MHz: ATV repeater input, 439.250 MHz video carrier.	An analog channel is about 6 MHz wide, a big share of the band. 420–430 MHz is unavailable in the far north (see rules).
33 cm	909–927 MHz: broadband multimedia, including ATV, DATV and spread spectrum	Divided regionally, for example into 2 MHz digital TV channels.
23 cm	ATV channels 1240–1246, 1252–1258 and 1276–1282 MHz; simplex ATV in 1260–1270 and 1288–1294 MHz	ATCO considers DVB-S the best DATV choice for 23 cm and above.
13 cm and up	Broadband segments on 5 cm and 3 cm "may be used for any combination of high-speed data, Amateur Television and other high-bandwidth activities"	The repeater example below has a 10 GHz FM ATV input and output.

ATCO's US ATV frequency guide goes band by band from 70 cm to 10 GHz with common channels and equipment notes.

How an ATV repeater works

An ATV repeater receives video on one frequency and retransmits it on one or more others, so stations that can't see each other can still exchange pictures. Most also send an ID card or test pattern when idle. Talkback usually happens on a separate 2 m or 70 cm voice frequency, or on a net.

Example (as published by ATCO, checked Oct 2026): the ATCO group's WR8ATV repeater in Columbus, Ohio has its antennas 650 feet above street level and runs five inputs and five outputs:

Inputs	Outputs
439.0 MHz DVB-T, 2 MHz bandwidth	423 MHz DVB-T, 2 MHz bandwidth
439.25 MHz analog	427.25 MHz VSB analog
1288 MHz FM analog	1258 MHz FM analog
1288 MHz DVB-S, 4167 symbol rate	1268 MHz DVB-S, 3125 symbol rate
10.250 GHz FM analog	10.350 GHz FM analog

When someone transmits on any input, all five outputs carry the picture. That mix of analog and digital, 70 cm and microwave, is typical of how larger ATV systems serve both old and new equipment. ATCO also runs a weekly net with an Ohio group; details are on its site.

Getting on the air

Watching first:

Analog on 70 cm: an older analog, cable-ready TV can tune ATV on 70 cm, because the 421.25, 427.25 and 439.25 MHz video carriers line up with analog cable channels.
Digital: a DVB-S/S2 receiver built for amateur use, such as BATC's Ryde receiver (a Raspberry Pi-based set-top box that finds DVB-S and DVB-S2 signals from a frequency and symbol rate, and DVB-T with an add-on tuner).
Online: many ATV repeaters stream their output, and BATC hosts streams for repeaters and members.

Transmitting:

Analog ATV transmitters for 70 cm and 23 cm, and FM video transmitters on 23 cm and up.
DATV transmitters built around software-defined radios. BATC's Portsdown project is a well-known open design, documented on the BATC wiki.
Talk to your local ATV group or frequency coordinator before you pick a channel, especially on 70 cm, where one analog signal fills a big part of the band.

Video from space: ISS HamTV

The International Space Station carries a DATV transmitter called HamTV in the Columbus module. According to the BATC wiki, it was repaired, returned to the ISS in March 2024 and powered on again on July 29, 2025. It normally transmits DVB-S on 2395 MHz, mainly for ARISS school contacts, and is often left on between them. Receiving it needs a tracking dish or helix on 13 cm, which is a challenging project. Ground stations share their reception in a combined online feed (linked from that page), so you can watch without building one.

The rules that matter

Where TV is legal. "Image" emissions are allowed on many bands under §97.305(c), but on 6 m and 2 m §97.307(f)(2) limits image signals to the bandwidth of a voice signal of the same modulation type. Full-motion TV is practical from 70 cm up, where image emissions are authorized across the whole band.
ID. You can identify in the picture itself: §97.119(b)(4) allows ID by an image emission that meets broadcast transmission standards when all or part of the communication is in that image emission. Most stations show their call sign on screen or on an ID card, plus voice or CW ID on the audio.
70 cm limits. No amateur may transmit in 420–430 MHz north of Line A, near the Canadian border (§97.303(m)). Amateur stations on 70 cm, 33 cm, 23 cm and higher bands must accept interference from US Government radar (§97.303(b)). §97.313 also caps power in some areas near military installations. Keep ATV out of the 435–438 MHz satellite segment.
Repeaters aren't allowed in some segments, including 431–433 and 435–438 MHz on 70 cm (§97.205(b)).
Content. No broadcasting to the general public, no program production or news gathering for broadcasters, no music, nothing for business, and no retransmitting signals from non-amateur stations such as commercial TV, apart from narrow exceptions (§97.113). Showing your shack, a club event or a public-service operation to other hams is fine.
Encryption is not allowed. DATV streams are standard formats anyone can decode.
Drone video (FPV). Many first-person-view video transmitters for drones work in amateur bands. ARRL notes that a ham license is needed to get useful range from them; when you use more power under your license, the video is an amateur transmission and the ID and content rules apply. FAA drone rules apply as well.

ATV and POTA

Pictures through an ATV repeater don't count for POTA, which doesn't accept repeater contacts. Direct simplex ATV between two stations is rare and isn't addressed in POTA's rules, so don't count on it for an activation. ATV fits better as a club demo or a public-service tool than as an award mode.

Habits / gotchas / checklist

Channel chosen with the local ATV group or coordinator.
Call sign visible in the picture or sent on the audio.
Out of 435–438 MHz on 70 cm, and out of 420–430 MHz if you're north of Line A.
No broadcast TV, music or commercial content.
Receive first: a repeater's idle test pattern is your first target.

Sources (checked Oct 2026)

ARRL, band plan (70 cm, 33 cm, 23 cm, 5 cm and 3 cm ATV segments) and ATV — Fast-Scan Amateur Television.
ATCO — Amateur Television in Central Ohio (WR8ATV repeater details, US ATV frequencies).
British Amateur Television Club, BATC wiki, Ryde receiver, HamTV from the ISS.
FCC rules via eCFR: §97.113, §97.119, §97.205, §97.303, §97.305, §97.307, §97.313.

SSTV — still pictures through a voice channel, including from the ISS
Microwave · Moonbounce (EME) · Meteor scatter
Technician HF and VHF overview

Notes & edits

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