Dxing, Etc.

I ordered a shortwave (also called world band) radio last spring. I receive mailings all the time from Publishers Clearing House. Usually, I ignore their efforts to sell Ginsu knives and such. But their offer of a Bell & Howell world band radio for chump change intrigued me. By the time I received it, I had forgotten about ordering it. What a nice surprise I had for my birthday. However, not knowing much about radios or dxing made for some frustration in using the B&H.

Early on I did happen upon Radio Netherlands, which broadcasts in several languages all over the world. I like listening to RN because it has world news on a variety of topics. Their schedule for North America can be found here.

I happened upon DX Partyline, a show all about dxing (distance listening) this morning while unsuccessfully trying to get Radio Netherlands on its appointed frequency. I started switching bands and came upon the show. It has lots of information about the hobby of dxing. To find a schedule for the show check this link. Look on the sidebar to the right for the Program Selector. Arrow down to DX Partyline and hit enter. That will take you to the home page for the show. From there you can obtain the schedule.

I was pleased and surprised to pick up the BBC World News Service as the DX Partyline was fading out. The BBC notoriously ceased broadcasting via shortwave to North America about two years ago. For some reason they believe that North American shortwave listeners are not worth their time. I understand the move angered some people, and rightly so. The decision was short-sighted. Listening to the BBC on NPR in the wee hours or getting "streaming audio" via the internet (which is often more like hiccupping audio) are not viable alternatives to shortwave. Neither is satellite radio, which is not widely available at this time. Most of the fun of dxing is picking up distant stations at all times of day and night. And if you have a portable shortwave, as I do, being able to listen to stations from all over the world wherever you can plunk down your radio is nothing short of wonderful. Thankfully, I was able to pick up the BBC's broadcast to Central America and the Caribbean. Reception was excellent. The BBC's home page is here. The shortwave schedules can be found here.

Please note that if you are new to dxing, the broadcast times are in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). UTC is in a 24-hour format, so you'll have to figure out both the 24-hour clock and the time difference between where you are and UTC to get the correct times for shortwave station programming. My neck of the woods is on EST year-round thus is five hours behind UTC all the time. For instance, 12:00 UTC is 7:00 a.m. EST. A thorough explanation of Universal Time and its variations can be found at this very helpful website.