DXING-Why?

[missterled01]

Like has already been stated--BECAUSE IT'S THERE!!! I started DXing about 10 years before I knew about any particular terminology, and etc. As a youngster in south MS who did not know his geography very well, it was awesome to hear dominants (in that day) such as KWKH and XERF. Got My first GE Superadio in 1981 and within the first three nights of ownership had logged KFI-640, L

 

[tomservo]

Re: DXING-Why? Answer: Why not?

Why DX? I don't get it. It's pointless to dx distant am and fm stations when most of them sounds the same anyways because a handful of conglomerates who own them. People need to give up that boring hobby of theirs. Like or not, IBOC is here to stay. Give it a few years, the listener's interest for HD radio will exceed satellite and internet radio. Analog will disappear quicker than HD.

Why surf the internet? Most of the news comes from a few sources (AP, Reuters, BBC, Fox News) and the last two are huge conglomerates. Just read a newspaper - it comes to you each day, instead of you having to find it!

Sound silly? That's how you sound to us DXers.

Actually, I'm not much of an AM DXer anymore, I prefer FM. And I gave up on shortwave when every other station starting preaching religion to third-worlders. (Not that there's anything wrong with that. : ) The shutting down of so many short wave outlets (in English, anyway) due to the internet contributed to that hobby's downfall with me.

Anyway, a lot of us who like to band-scan do so for the technical aspect of it, not necessarily the programming. It's just fascinating that the atmosphere above us which we cannot really see changes around sunset and starts reflecting these signals. It's fascinating when temperature inversions, e-skip and ducting cause FM and TV signals to go all kerfluffle in the morning.

Sometimes it's a so-so experience (today I heard a few Little Rock FM's, 180+ miles to my northwest) and sometimes it's very engaging, like the time I was in Birmingham, going to work, and our locals were getting adjacent channel interference from stations in the Browsville-McAllen-Monterrey area. It was fun going to work and getting my Hispanic immigrant friends to turn their boomboxes to crystal-clear programming from their old homeland. Then, as quickly as the magic materialized, it went away an hour later.

Just because you don't "get it", don't disparage others. I'm sure you have a hobby or pasttime that others would find asinine, but that's life.

***AND*** if you think HD radio will eclipse satellite and internet radio in a few years, you're as hopeless as the HD spinmasters. Internet radio is a long way off but holds a heck of a lot more promise for urban listeners than any HD scheme could ever hope to accomplish. And satellite radio--merger or no--is doing okay for the forseeable future, and both companies are aggressively persuing the OEM market for new cars, which will ensure their product is in a lot more cars tomorrow than the idiotic add-on and aftermarket HD radios. You know how many HD-equipped car stereos I found for my car tonight on Crutchfield.com? Two. One was $200 and one was $1500. Way to cover the market, guys. Sure, there are 25 other "HD-ready" systems, but after spending $100 on a cheap stereo, who is going to spring for a $200 add-on? Who's going to spring for a $900 DVD player with flip out screen and then spend another $200 on HD? That's $200 that can go towards a decent set of speakers, amps or whatever.

The HD salesmen have got to get into the new cars through OEM partnerships, make affordable portables that won't burn through a set of AA batteries in 30 minutes and get their stuff to be standard in aftermarket stereos and home/table stereos.

Oh, and then the stations can work on their freakin' awful programming.

 

[tomservo]

Sometimes, DXing can be fun completely by accident!

This evening I was cleaning my bathroom and had my radio on. I flipped it from SW, by AM and to FM. But then I went back to AM, because I heard a familiar voice - Clark Howard. Turns out he's on now until midnight on KRLD 1080 in Dallas. A pleasant accidental discovery, because I like listening to his show but there aren't any affiliates for hundreds of miles. So after I cleaned up, I came in here to the computer and fired up their stream, which is only slightly more reliable than the AM signal here in MS.

 

[gr8oldies]

There's nothing like a hot summer afternoon hearing the FM dial full of Spanish and opther signals from Texas, Colorado or wherever. There even occasionally can be something interesting to listen to..at least something from another market, good promos and production that we can't hear on that same station's internet stream.

 

[Tom Wells]

This evening, the bridge collapse in Minneapolis gives a perfect example.
I do not wish to see the news on a computer, cable TV or wait for the local TV news coverage.
I have a lot of things to do, and errrands to run.
In Chicago, WCCO 830 is a natural choice to turn to for full coverage from the local viewpoint.
I do not wish to hear the national coverage.
The radios in the basement, kitchen and car allowed me to listen to this coverage DIRECTLY from Minneapolis.
The old system of clear channels allowed multi-state service so important in times of crisis.
If something happens in any specific city, I already know whether I can tune it in.
Am I dxing, or just excercising far more choice in media than I am supposed to be able to?
I don't consider 425 miles dx, just regional service.

 

[gr8oldies]

I do enjoy listening to breaking news events from "the source". (WWL before and after Katrina, for example). You can do that on the internet but its not the same.

DXing actually taught me a good command of Spanish in my high school days, much of which I've lost. Trying to pull tropical band stations out of the mud, enjoying a Spanish language CHR station out of Venezuela (Radio Juventud) and the relaxing "Lo Que Esta Noche Recuerda" from Ecos Del Torbes, 4980 in San Cristobal, Venezuela.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

We were in Virginia a few years ago when a serious tornado outbreak occurred in southern IN. Our rustic room had a TV with rabbit ears...no Fox News, No CNN, No Internet...no telephone. But I did have my GE Superadio with me and listened as WHAS 840 gave a blow by blow account of what was happening in real time. That was priceless to me. Of course, WHAS would probably be un-manned & not provide that excellence in 2007 on a 3 day weekend night...but it was great back in 2004 or so. IBOC would have reduced the quality of that reception or totally wiped it out had it been in use then. Bad idea during the day...really bad idea at night.

 

[simontemplar]

I love warm humid evenings since the FM band lights up in North Delaware with signals from the MD, VA, and NC coast. I love to hear a perfect stereo signal from a station 100's of miles to your S and know that you may not hear it again for months. It's a cheap thrill.

 

[FredRichards]

Tom Wells makes a good point. While on vacation in the U.P. it was via DX that I first heard of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis.

I've also found in this day of consolidation and crude automation, that DXing can be an informational source. 911 comes to mind, as does the power blackout in Ohio. In the latter case, while all the local stations were flogging their 12 in a row, DX was how we found out about the situation to the east of us where all the power was out.

As a kid growing up in NW Ohio, I usually listened to WCFL and WLS, which could be described as DX. I kind of toss WXYZ-1270 and WKNR into the mix as well. Although not technically DX, it was tough to hear at night when they switched patterns.

DX is both fun, and essential. I really hate to see the AM band ruined by IBOC, but in the end it's the guys with the money that set the standard, and not logic, technology, or public need. I have depended on DX in the past for information and news, and I guess I'll just have to find another way.