An Introduction to DX'ing

This week, just to be different, I'm going to introduce you to the hobby of DX'ing--receiving radio stations over long distances. It's a simple hobby, on the face of it; but it could get you into areas you may never touch otherwise, including radio propagation; antenna theory; geography; even cartography. Done regularly, it'll even sharpen your hearing.

Dx'ing is an extremely accessible hobby. All you need is an AM radio (other bands also work; but...), to start with. Digital is great; analogue will do. It's probably best to start in the evening, when there are plenty of stations all over the band.

A note on location: try to be away from televisions and computer equipment. They can be quite radio-noisy. Tablets and phones are also noisy, but only over a short range. Other appliances can cause radio noise, including chargers/AC adapters, blenders and popcorn makers, aquarium heaters, fluorescent tubes, and basically anything using a neon light (see aquarium heaters).

That said, fire up your receiver. I always suggest dropping to the low end of the band and working your way up from there.

Slowly tune your way from frequency to frequency. When you hear something, try orienting the radio for the strongest signal. Oftentimes, you can use this trick to favour one signal over the other. Listen carefully for local references, call letters, station nicknames or slogans--anything that will help you to identify the station. In the United States, callsigns start with 'W' or 'K'. In Canada, it's CB, and CF through CK. Mexican stations are assigned XE callsigns; and Cubans start with CM.

Frequently you will hear Spanish. Don't immediately assume that the station must be from Mexico; there are hundreds, if not thousands, of stations in the United States which broadcast in Spanish. If you hear French, chances are very good that it's from Quebec.

The type of programming will often help in identifying a station. For example, some stations broadcast music, of various genres; some are sports-oriented; some are news, talk or news/talk. Many are religious. You soon get an ear for what a particular format sounds like. In any language.

The Internet is an excellent resource for identifying the stations you hear. Station lists top the... list. One of the best lists out there, for my money, is something called MW List. They have listings for all regions worldwide, one page per frequency, and a fair bit of information on individual stations. During a DX'ing session, I'm constantly referring to it via tablet.

In North America, AM radio stations are 10 KHz apart; in Europe, the spacing is 9 KHz; and many other regions of the world have similar or identical schemes. There are always exceptions, of course.

If this activity catches on with you, you'll probably want to start keeping logs of what you've received. Generally speaking, most log sheets consist of a table, with columns for Date, Time, Frequency, Callsign, Location, Other Notes. When logging an unidentified station, I often include its approximate compass bearing. Many people prefer to do this on a spreadsheet, while many of us still prefer paper. It's totally up to you.

Speaking of station lists, you'll probably want to keep a list of  the stations you've received. They tend to be a little more elaborate, as there are so many parameters to a station, which can be tracked. Location, latitude and longitude, daytime and nighttime power, schedule, format, network, etc.

Many DX'ers use a spreadsheet for this. You might be better off going with a program written specifically for this purpose. I can certainly recommend a product: StationBase, authored by me. It will be available in the very near future and is designed specifically for the needs of passive DX'ers (as opposed to active DX'ers--radio amateurs who seek to connect over long distances).

If you're still stuck on this hobby, you'll probably want to look into accessories and better equipment. Headphones are a good one, since DX'ing often occurs late at night, when other family members may be trying to sleep. A better receiver is always good; but the topic is so subjective that I can only advise you to do some research on the Internet. There are all types of receiver in all sorts of price ranges. Hang around the DX'ing message boards, and you'll soon learn which models are favoured by DX'ers. Personally, I swear by my old Realistic DX-200; my DX-440; and a Grundig Satellite Executive Edition, along with a three-foot box loop antenna.

You'll probably get interested in an external antenna at some point. Your basic options are a long-wire antenna, with fixed directionality; or a loop antenna, which can be steered and has quite sharp nulling (points where the signal is stronger or weaker). I'll be posting instructions soon for a strong loop made from cardboard boxes.

Some DX'ers go even more deeply into accessories, using such things as signal preamplifiers, audio filters, computer manipulation of the audio signal, etc.

If you DX over several nights, you'll notice that while the same stations tend to be audible all night, and from night to night, there are variations; and often a signal will pop up that doesn't belong in the usual mix. That's what we listen for. One some frequencies in the AM band, I've heard up to fifteen stations over a 30-year span.

You'll also begin to notice that some frequencies have more action than others. Powerful local stations, for example, may be all that you ever hear on their specific frequencies. You'll find that a number of frequencies are given over to 'clear-channel' stations, on which you can hear many of the major cities in North America.

Having been privileged enough to DX from the West Coast early in life, I found that there are a number of stations that can be heard from coast to coast, under the right conditions. I have about 25 stations that I've heard from both Sooke, and Ottawa.

Some of the more-prominent ones, going from memory, would be:

540 CBU, Vancouver; CBK, Saskatchewan
650 WSM, Nashville;
660 WOR, New York
710 WABC, New York
720 KDWN, Las Vegas;
740 Zoomer Radio, Toronto
760 WJR, Detroit
820 WBAP, Dallas-Ft. Worth
830 WCCO, Minneapolis
870 WWL, New Orleans
1040 WHO, Des Moines
1070 KNX, Los Angeles
1110 KFAB, Omaha
1120 KMOX, St. Louis
1140 WRVA, Richmond
1170 WWVA, Wheeling

In contrast, graveyard channels feature literally hundreds of stations, each with extremely low power, meaning at night those frequencies tend to be just a roar of noise. Some examples: 1230, 1240, 1340, 1400, 1450.

If you indulge in DX'ing over a period of some years, with relatively decent equipment, you will eventually amass thousands of loggings and hundreds to thousands of unique stations. If you live near a coast, you may also pick up trans-oceanic signals--Hawaii, Asia, Europe.

In the winter and spring months, and especially further north, you'll often experience DX during the daytime. It's not unusual to pick up Cincinnati or Boston from here in Ottawa, at midday. I had one day recently where a very specific region in upstate New York was open for about an hour. Needless to say, I took full advantage.

If you're interested in why signal propagation occurs in the AM band, look up the "Kenelly-Heaviside layer," and welcome to atmospheric dynamics.

Incidentally, all of this listening to the radio really sharpens your hearing. I can usually pick one conversation out of a jumble, and follow it, better than the people around me. It's a useful skill to have. It also helps with concentration.

I realize that this essay has only touched upon DX'ing as a legitimate hobby; but getting started literally is as easy as grabbing an AM radio and retiring to a quiet corner of the house. I encourage you to try it at least once in your lifetime.

-Bill