DXing

There is a special thrill in hearing a faint voice or a string of dits from the other side of the world, then hearing it come back with your callsign. Chasing those contacts is called DXing, and for many hams it is the heart of the hobby.

You do not need a tower or an amplifier to start. A modest station with a simple wire antenna can work a surprising part of the world. What makes the difference is knowing when to listen, where to listen, and how to call.

What Counts as DX

DX is simply distance, and what counts depends on the band. On HF, DXers usually mean stations in other countries, and especially on other continents. On VHF and UHF, a contact of a few hundred miles can be real DX.

The prefix at the start of a callsign usually tells you where a station is. Our prefixes and DXCC page explains how to read them, and our callsign lookup can help with the rest. Rare places with few or no resident hams are the most sought after, and those are often activated by visiting expeditions.

Bands and Times

As a rough guide, the higher HF bands, 20 meters and up, open during daylight hours and do best when the sun is active. The lower bands, 40, 80 and 160 meters, come alive after dark and through the winter. Twenty meters is often open to somewhere for much of the day and into the evening, which makes it a good place to start.

The strip of twilight between day and night, the gray line, can give strong signals along paths that are otherwise closed. Read our gray line guide and try the gray line map. For the bigger picture, see space weather and the solar cycle and reading propagation forecasts.

Listen First

Experienced DXers say you work them with your ears, not your transmitter. Before you call, make sure you have the DX station’s callsign right, and listen to how it is working. Is it taking calls on its own frequency or listening elsewhere? Is it asking for a certain area or only the last letters of callsigns?

Listening also tells you the rhythm. Some operators make contacts every few seconds, while others chat a little. Once you know the pattern, you can time your call for the moment the DX station is ready, instead of shouting into a crowd.

Pileups and Split Operation

A pileup is a crowd of stations all calling the same DX station. When it gets big, the DX operator will often work split: transmitting on one frequency and listening somewhere else, usually a little higher. You might hear “up 5,” which means call about 5 kHz above the DX frequency, or “up 5 to 10,” which means anywhere in that range.

To work split, put your receive frequency on the DX station and your transmit frequency where it is listening. Many radios do this with two VFOs and a Split button, and some let you briefly listen on your transmit frequency to find the station being worked. Check your setup before you call, because transmitting on the DX frequency by mistake covers the very station everyone is trying to hear.

The DX Code of Conduct is a short list of good habits for working DX, and IARU Region 1 publishes it on its website. Its main points, in brief:

• Listen until you can copy the DX station properly before you call.
• Do not trust a spot alone; confirm the callsign yourself.
• Never tune up on the DX frequency or where the DX is listening.
• Send your full callsign, then listen; do not call nonstop.
• Stay quiet when the DX calls someone else or asks for an area that is not yours.
• Be patient, be thankful and treat other operators with respect.

When someone does call on the DX frequency by mistake, resist the urge to tell them. A dozen stations sending “up” only adds to the noise.

Spotting and DXpeditions

DX clusters are networks where hams post spots: a callsign, a frequency and a short note. You can read them on websites or inside most logging programs. The Reverse Beacon Network adds automatic spots from receiving stations that decode CW and FT8 signals, which also shows you where your own signal is being heard.

A DXpedition is a trip to put a rare place on the air, sometimes a remote island. Big ones plan for years and post their frequencies and schedules online, so study their website before they start. Club Log keeps a most wanted list showing which places are in highest demand, which is a fun way to see what to watch for.

If you decide to add power or a bigger antenna later, the rules require you to make sure no one near your antennas is exposed to RF above FCC limits, so evaluate your station again after any change. Never climb a tower alone or without proper fall protection, and disconnect your feed lines when lightning is near.

Confirming and Getting Started

Most DX contacts today are confirmed through Logbook of The World, and many expeditions take card requests online. Our article on QSL cards and LoTW covers the options, and ham radio awards explains DXCC and other goals.

1. Spend a week just listening on 20 meters at different times of day, and note what you hear.
2. Practice split on a strong station before you need it on a rare one.
3. Call stations that are booming in and not drawing a crowd.
4. Log every contact in UTC and upload your log to LoTW.
5. When a big pileup forms, wait. Many crowds thin out later in the day or the expedition.