DXing means listening to far-away - usually foreign - radio stations. Listening to your regular hometown station is not DXing, but listening to a similar station thousands of kilometers away, outside the normal coverage area, is DXing.

"D" is said to mean distance and "X" refers to the unknown. DXers - hobbyists who enjoy DXing - try to pick up radio stations, which normally would not be audible at such a distance. Most DXers concentrate on broadcasting stations. This refers to stations, which are meant to be listened to by the general public. Radio waves are also used by various utility stations from cellphone companies to sea and air traffic as well as the military, and some DXers enjoy hunting these signals as well.

Advanced hobbyists often buy a communications receiver specifically designed for the hobby, but these are fairly expensive. A beginner can start with any receiver which has shortwave bands (all or parts of the frequency range 3-30 MHz) and a digital frequency display.

DXers should not be confused with radio amateurs - also known as ham operators. Unlike a ham operator, a DXer doesn't transmit anything himself and doesn't therefore need any license. DXers don't need to know about electronics, radio technology nor about telegraphy, but as a hobby DXing can be equally challenging.

The challenge lies in picking up radio signals at an incredible distance. In other parts of the world there are still hundreds of radio stations, which no one on your continent has heard, but which could be picked up at your location under ideal conditions - by an experienced DXer, who knows what, where and when to hunt.

Night time is the right time

If you only listen to FM stations, you know that the same stations can be heard day after day. The FM radio signal radiates directly from the transmitter antenna to all directions. Because the earth is round, and the signal doesn't bend, FM radio stations are normally not heard much beyond the horizon. Under exceptional circumstances even an FM signal can bounce back from the atmosphere, and these kind of special reception conditions are what FM DXers are after.

Compare the mediumwave (AM) band in daytime and in nighttime - you will hear how the band if full of distant signals at night.

Most DXers however are interested in AM (mediumwave) and shortwave stations. If you have listened to the AM band, you know that more stations can be heard during the night than during the day. This is because at night a certain layer in the ionosphere (which is part of the atmosphere) reflects signals back to the earth. Sunlight dissolves this layer, which reappears after dusk. Therefore long distance AM reception is possible only when both the transmitter and the receiver - and the path in between - fall under darkness.

Radio propagation on most shortwave frequencies is rather similar. Therefore, around sunset, DXers are eagerly trying to hunt for signals coming from the east. Likewise, sunrise is the best time to hear stations from the west. At these times, interfering stations from other directions are not quite as strong as for example around midnight, when stations from all possible directions are heard and when they can cause interference to each other.

Reception conditions change constantly due to a variety of factors, some of which are very unpredictable. Therefore, scoring rare catches requires constant monitoring of the stations audible.

Send a reception report...

DXers use special equipment to monitor the airwaves. The so-called communications receivers are specifically designed for semi-professional listeners. An expensive receiver is however useless without a good antenna. Most DXers use antennas made of copper wire, which is hung on trees or poles outside.

After hearing an interesting station, DXers try to identify the station in question. This is often difficult because of poor reception quality. The station may also be transmitting in a language, which the DXer doesn't understand. Over the years DXers develep elementary skills in a wide range of languages and at least learn to recognize different languages, styles of music and identification patterns. Handbooks (especially World Radio TV Handbook), DXers' magazines and websites like DXing.info help in planning what frequencies and when to listen to.

For future reference, all interesting signals are recorded. By reviewing notes and recordings made at the time of listening, many DXers compile reception reports, which they send to the station by mail - or nowadays even e-mail. A reception report basically includes all the details of what, where, when and how the station was heard by the distant listener. Written program details or a cassette recording should be enclosed as proof of having heard the station. In the report, DXers request a confirmation in return - a letter or a "QSL" card from the station verifying that the signal was indeed theirs.

In the past reception reports used to be valuable feedback for international broadcasters, but nowadays when monitoring reception quality is in many causes automated and more professional, many stations find themselves inundated with letters that are not much use, and reply just out of courtesy.

... and hope for a reply

Traditionally QSLs have been in the form of cards like the above from the Mexican station XERED (1110 kHz), but nowadays letters and emails are more common.

DXers collect these verifications - known as QSLs - as mementos of their discoveries on the dial, and also to demonstrate how many stations they have been able to pick up. Even though QSLs can't be considered as definite evidence of hearing a station - as some stations routinely confirm even insufficient reports and other stations hardly ever reply to any reports - collecting QSLs remains a major pursuit for many DXers. Competitions between DXers are usually based on the number of QSLs received.

On DXing.info you can get a taste of many different aspects of DXing; read inside accounts on hunting elusive rarities on DX-expeditions (DXpeditions), listen to audio samples of distant radio stations, view images of some verifications received and browse articles on DXing or profiles of radio stations. Enjoy the site - but don't forget to switch your radio on, and discover for yourself, what surprising signals the airwaves may bring your way tonight!