DXing

Lore & Background

The practice of DXing arose during the early days of radio broadcasting. Listeners would mail 'reception reports' to radio broadcasting stations in hopes of getting a written acknowledgement or a QSL card that served to officially verify they had heard a distant station. Collecting these cards became popular with radio listeners in the 1920s and 1930s, and reception reports were often used by early broadcasters to gauge the effectiveness of their transmissions. Although international shortwave broadcasts are on the decline, DXing remains popular among dedicated shortwave listeners.

Types of DXing include AM radio DX, shortwave DX, VHF DXing, and amateur radio DX. Early AM radio listeners, often using home made crystal sets and long wire antennas, found radio stations few and far between.

By the 1950s through the mid-1970s, powerful North American 'clear channel' stations and Mexican border blasters pumped out Top 40 music. Shortwave DX has been popular especially during wartime and times of conflict, with signals propagating around the world. VHF DXing can involve signals skipping for hundreds or thousands of miles, such as North American FM stations received in Western Europe.

Amateur radio operators who specialize in making two way radio contact with other amateurs in distant countries are also referred to as 'DXers'. On the HF amateur bands, DX stations are those in foreign countries; on VHF/UHF bands, DX stations can be within the same country or continent. DXers collect QSL cards as proof of contact and can earn special certificates and awards from amateur radio organizations, such as the DX Century Club award for working and confirming at least 100 entities on the ARRL DXCC List.

Origins & the QSL Card Culture

The term DXing derives from the telegraphic abbreviation DX, which stood for "distance" or "distant." At its core, the hobby involves receiving and identifying radio or television signals from far away, or establishing two-way contact with distant stations across amateur radio, citizens band, and other two-way systems. The practice took root in the earliest years of radio broadcasting, when curious listeners would write reception reports and mail them to stations they had picked up from great distances. In return, many broadcasters sent back a written acknowledgement or a small card known as a QSL, which served as official proof that the distant signal had been heard.

By the 1920s and 1930s, collecting these cards had become a widely popular pastime among radio enthusiasts. The reports also served a practical purpose for early broadcasters, who used them to gauge how far their transmissions actually reached. Even today, many DXers still pursue written verifications—often called "QSLs" or "veries"—as tangible evidence of their distant receptions or contacts.

The Golden Era of Medium-Wave & the Shortwave World

In the earliest days of radio, listeners often relied on home-built crystal sets and long wire antennas to catch the sparse signals available. By the 1950s and into the mid-1970s, a golden age of medium-wave DXing unfolded in North America. Powerful clear-channel stations—KDKA, WLW, WGY, CKLW, CHUM, WABC, WJR, WLS, WKBW, KFI, KAAY, KSL, and a host of Mexican border blasters—pumped out Top 40 music at 50 kilowatts, reaching listeners hundreds of miles away once smaller local stations signed off for the night. That era faded as popular music migrated to FM in the 1970s, and the AM band grew increasingly crowded with low-power night stations, a trend that peaked during the conservative talk-radio boom of the 1990s.

In Canada, the shift to FM began even earlier, in the 1980s. Outside the Americas and Australia, government-run synchronous networks operated at hundreds or even thousands of kilowatts, making lower-powered stations and trans-oceanic signals prized DX targets. On shortwave, reception of international broadcasters surged during wartime, though organizations like the BBC and Voice of America have since scaled back their shortwave output as streaming audio rose. Missionary religious broadcasters, however, continue to lean heavily on shortwave to reach less developed regions.

Amateur Radio DX & the World of Awards

Amateur radio operators who specialize in two-way contact with distant hams are also called DXers. On the HF bands, a DX station is one in a foreign country, while on VHF and UHF bands the definition broadens—because long-distance VHF contact without satellite assistance is so challenging, even stations within the same country or continent can qualify. DXers collect QSL cards as proof of contact and work toward special certificates from organizations like the ARRL. The most well-known is the DX Century Club, or DXCC, whose basic certificate requires working and confirming at least 100 entities on the ARRL DXCC List.

The rules for what counts as a separate entity can be intricate: Reunion Island, a French territory in the Indian Ocean, is treated as its own DX country despite being part of France. To sidestep confusion, amateurs often say "entity" rather than "country." Some awards are based on island groups in the world's oceans, and on VHF/UHF bands, many operators pursue awards tied to Maidenhead grid locators. To give other hams a chance to confirm contacts at rare locations, DXers mount expeditions to countries or regions lacking a permanent base of amateur operators. Regular contests also challenge operators to work as many DX stations as possible within a fixed time window on designated dates.

VHF DXing & the Unconventional Signals

Although sporadic in nature, signals on the FM broadcast and VHF television bands—particularly those at the lower end of each band—can skip hundreds or even thousands of miles under unusual propagation conditions. North American FM stations have been received in Western Europe, and European television signals have been caught on the U.S. West Coast. Police, fire, and military communications on VHF are also DX'ed to some degree using multi-band radio scanners, though most listeners focus on local traffic. One significant difficulty with these non-commercial signals is identifying their exact origin.

Unlike commercial broadcasters, which must identify themselves at the top of each hour and often reveal their location through sponsor mentions or slogans, emergency and military transmissions rarely offer such clues. Beyond these, the shortwave spectrum hosts a rich tapestry of unusual signals: military communications, RTTY data, pirate radio, and the enigmatic broadcasts of numbers stations. Many of these transmissions use single sideband modulation, which demands specialized receivers better suited to serious DXing than to casual listening.

Reader's Guide

DXing has significance as one of the earliest forms of radio hobbyism, emerging alongside broadcasting itself. Reception reports mailed by early listeners served a practical purpose for broadcasters, who used them to gauge the effectiveness of their transmissions. The practice of collecting QSL cards became a widespread pastime in the 1920s and 1930s, and the tradition continues among dedicated shortwave listeners and amateur radio operators today.

In amateur radio, DXing drives a substantial portion of activity, including organized DXpeditions to exotic locations and frequent contests where operators try to communicate with as many DX stations as possible within fixed periods. Awards such as the DX Century Club provide structured goals, with complex rules determining what constitutes a 'DX country'—often using the term 'entity' instead to avoid confusion. The SINPO code offers a standardized but subjective method for listeners to report reception quality, allowing broadcasters to compare reports from multiple listeners in the same area.

While the popularity of AM band DXing has diminished due to format migration to FM and band crowding, and international shortwave broadcasts have declined with the rise of internet streaming, DXing persists through dedicated communities, clubs like the British DX Club, and the ongoing appeal of making contact with distant stations across various radio bands.

Did You Know?

• The SINPO code grades reception quality on a scale of 1 to 5 for signal strength, interference, noise, propagation, and overall merit.