A DX-pedition is an expedition to what is considered an exotic place by amateur radio operators and DX listeners, typically because of its remoteness, access restrictions, or simply because there are very few radio amateurs active from that place. This could be an island, a country, or even a particular spot on a geographical grid. DX is a telegraphic shorthand for "distance" or "distant" (see DXing).
Early DX-peditions were simply exploratory and geographical expeditions in the late 1920s and 1930s, in which one or more radio amateurs participated to provide long-distance communications. At the same time they communicated with fellow radio amateurs who wanted to contact a new country. [1] [2] Most notable are the Antarctic expeditions of Admiral Byrd. [3] Another example is the voyage of the schooner Kaimiloa, which traveled the South Pacific in 1924. While the ship's wealthy owners enjoyed the islands, an amateur radio operator kept contact with, and sent QSL cards to, experimenters in the United States. [4]
The participation of radio amateurs in geographical expeditions was resumed after World War II, e.g. the participation of Bill Snyder, W0LHS, and Bob Leo, W6PBV, in the Gatti-Hallicrafters expedition in Africa of 1948. [1] The most unusual expedition to place reliance on amateur radio for communications was that of Kon-Tiki organized by Thor Heyerdahl in 1947 and using call sign LI2B. [5]
The activity of dedicated DX-peditions was pioneered by one-time ARRL president Robert W. Denniston, W0DX. Mr. Denniston's 1948 DX-pedition, using call sign VP7NG, was to the Bahamas and was called "Gon-Waki" à la Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki expedition the previous year. [6]
DX-peditions are planned and organized to help operators who need to contact that area to obtain an amateur radio award. There are several awards sponsored by various organizations based on contacting many countries. Perhaps the most famous of these is the DX Century Club (DXCC) award sponsored by the ARRL. The base level of this award involves contacting and confirming 100 distinct geographical entities defined by the ARRL – usually politically distinct countries, and sometimes well-separated administrative or geographical regions within them, such as outlying islands. [7]
There are currently 340 separate entities recognized for award purposes. An "entity" for such purposes is any location that is either politically separate or physically remote (or both) from other jurisdictions / locations. For example:
While the ARRL criteria for new entities were rationalized in 1999, those entities introduced before that date under relatively lax rules remain on the list, so long as they satisfy the original criteria.
Other DX-peditions focus on operation from islands with little or no local radio amateur activity, for the Islands on the Air (IOTA) award which is sponsored by the Radio Society of Great Britain. A small number of DX-peditions focus on activating specific, remote Maidenhead locator squares for the benefit of VHF and UHF operators.
Many DX-peditions take place from locations with adequate access to power and supplies, often where the country has a small resident amateur population or where licensing is not very difficult. Many Caribbean and Pacific island nations, as well as European micro-states, have very small populations, but have hotels, reliable power, and supplies, and are easy to gain operating permission in. Therefore, these states are regularly activated by amateurs, often in combination with a family holiday.
Other jurisdictions take a more stringent view of individual access to communications equipment, and are rare because very few amateurs are licensed in those countries and visitors find it difficult or impossible to gain operating permits or import amateur radio equipment. Examples include North Korea, Mount Athos and Yemen.
Some locations are also rare due to their extreme inaccessibility—examples include Peter I Island, Campbell Island, Clipperton Island, Navassa Island, or Desecheo Island. When amateurs travel to remote locations such as these they must first obtain permission to operate from that location from whatever political jurisdiction rules the area they wish to travel to. Even in countries such as the United States, this permission can be difficult and costly to obtain. For example, a recent DXpedition to Jarvis Island in August 2024 required a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for access to and use of Jarvis Island National Wildlife Refuge, which cost the team $27,000.
Once operating permission is assured, then transportation must be arranged. This can be both expensive and dangerous. Some locations are coral atolls that are almost submerged at high tide, such as Scarborough Reef; others are sub-polar islands with inhospitable climates such as Peter I Island. The amateur must also take care of the basic necessities such as food, water, and power.
In addition to licensing and survival issues, DX-pedition participants devote much attention to the radio equipment they use.
In an extremely rare location for a popular awards program like DXCC, hundreds of stations may be calling the DX-pedition at any one time (known as a 'pile-up'). Therefore, DX-peditioners will aim to use high power and gain antennas on as many bands as practical, to achieve a loud signal worldwide and keep control of the inevitable pileups that occur. Operators may also receive and transmit on different frequencies, called split operation, to be heard by distant stations without interference to their signal from the pile-up. This can also help the operation to make a substantial number of contacts with parts of the planet that have unfavourable propagation from the area visited, lying perhaps in the region on the Earth's surface which is diametrically opposite to it—its antipodal point. Examples would be the Central Pacific from Europe, or the Caribbean from Japan.
For smaller operations to remote locations, smaller radios which run off of a 12 V DC power supply and antenna systems which are more easily transported are favored over larger and more difficult to transport equipment. However, generators are usually used because of the power requirements for amplifiers and the ease of refueling versus recharging a battery.
When the individual or group arrives at the DX-pedition destination, they must set up their station and get on the air. DX-peditions are usually group affairs since the desire is to make as many contacts as possible from the location. Round-the-clock operations on multiple HF bands simultaneously are typical, which necessitates a group activity. The use of the Internet to upload logs (allowing quick confirmation of questionable contacts) and for QSLs (formal confirmation) has made the process somewhat easier.
Holiday operations from locations where there are few resident operators are often more leisurely affairs. Nonetheless, the operator will seek to make as many contacts as possible in the operating time available, with the result that contacts are often extremely brief, limited just to an exchange of signal reports.
Many DX-peditions are organized around various radio contests that happen throughout the year. This is often done so that the DX-pedition station can gain an advantage in contests and maximize the number of contacts that they make during the DX-pedition, since the radio bands are the most active during contests.
Kingman Reef is a largely submerged, uninhabited, triangle-shaped reef, geologically an atoll, 9.0 nmi (20 km) east-west and 4.5 nmi (8 km) north-south, in the North Pacific Ocean, roughly halfway between the Hawaiian Islands and American Samoa. It has an area of 3 hectares and is a unincorporated territory of the United States in Oceania. The reef is administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as the Kingman Reef National Wildlife Refuge. It was claimed by the US in 1859 and later used briefly as a stopover for commercial Pacific flying boat routes in the 1930s going to New Zealand; however, the route was changed with a different stopover. It was administered by the Navy from 1934 to 2000 and thereafter by the Fish and Wildlife Service. It has since become a marine protected area. In the 19th century, it was noted as a maritime hazard, earning the name Hazard Rocks, and is known to have been hit once in 1876. In the 21st century, it has been noted for its marine biodiversity and remote nature. Hundreds of fish and coral species are on and around the reef.
In amateur radio, QRP operation refers to transmitting at reduced power while attempting to maximize one's effective range. QRP operation is a specialized pursuit within the hobby that was first popularized in the early 1920s. QRP operators limit their transmitted RF output power to 5 W or less regardless of mode.
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the largest membership association of amateur radio enthusiasts in the United States. ARRL is a non-profit organization and was co-founded on April 6, 1914, by Hiram Percy Maxim and Clarence D. Tuska of Hartford, Connecticut. The ARRL represents the interests of amateur radio operators before federal regulatory bodies, provides technical advice and assistance to amateur radio enthusiasts, supports a number of educational programs and sponsors emergency communications service throughout the country. The ARRL has approximately 161,000 members. In addition to members in the US, the organization claims over 7,000 members in other countries. The ARRL publishes many books and a monthly membership journal called QST.
DXing, taken from DX, the telegraphic shorthand for "distance" or "distant", is the hobby of receiving and identifying distant radio or television signals, or making two-way radio contact with distant stations in amateur radio, citizens band radio or other two-way radio communications. Many DXers also attempt to obtain written verifications of reception or contact, sometimes referred to as "QSLs" or "veries".
Contesting is a competitive activity pursued by amateur radio operators. In a contest, an amateur radio station, which may be operated by an individual or a team, seeks to contact as many other amateur radio stations as possible in a given period of time and exchange information. Rules for each competition define the amateur radio bands, the mode of communication that may be used, and the kind of information that must be exchanged. The contacts made during the contest contribute to a score by which stations are ranked. Contest sponsors publish the results in magazines and on web sites.
QST is a magazine for amateur radio enthusiasts, published by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). It is a membership journal that is included with membership in the ARRL. The publisher claims that circulation of QST in the United States is higher than all other amateur radio-related publications in the United States combined. Although an exact number for circulation is not published by the American Radio Relay League, the organization claimed 158,238 members at the end of 2021, almost all of whom receive the magazine monthly, in addition to issues delivered to libraries and newsstands.
An amateur radio station is a radio station designed to provide radiocommunications in the amateur radio service for an amateur radio operator. Radio amateurs build and operate several types of amateur radio stations, including fixed ground stations, mobile stations, space stations, and temporary field stations. A slang term often used for an amateur station's location is the shack, named after the small enclosures added to the upperworks of naval ships to hold early radio equipment and batteries.
An amateur radio operating award is earned by an amateur radio operator for establishing two-way communication with other amateur radio stations. Awards are sponsored by national amateur radio societies, radio enthusiast magazines, or amateur radio clubs, and aim to promote activity on the amateur radio bands. Each award has its own set of rules and fees. Some awards require the amateur radio operator to have contacted other stations in a certain number of countries, Maidenhead grid locators, or counties. Because amateur radio operators are forbidden by regulation to accept financial compensation for their on-air activity, award recipients generally only receive a certificate, wooden plaque, or a small trophy as recognition of their award.
Amateur radio international reciprocal operating agreements permit amateur radio operators (hams) from one country to operate a station whilst traveling in another without the need to obtain additional licenses or permits.
W1AW is both the amateur radio call sign and the primary operating station of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). This station, which is commonly called the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, is located on the grounds of ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut. It was inspired by Maxim's 1AW callsign which predated the use of the AA-AL, K, N and W prefixes. The station routinely transmits bulletins and Morse code practice using common amateur radio frequencies. During a communications emergency bulletins are transmitted hourly in order to keep amateur radio operators informed.
Logbook of the World (LoTW) is a web-accessed database provided by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) to implement a contact verification service among amateur radio operators. Using LoTW, radio amateurs (hams) are able to claim and verify contacts (QSOs) made with other amateurs, generally for claiming credit for operating awards, such as DXCC. Previously, hams had to rely on paper QSL cards and submit to ARRL; a slow and somewhat expensive process. LoTW began operation in 2003.
Amboyna Cay, also known as Vietnamese: Đảo An Bang; Malay: Pulau Amboyna Kecil; Datu Kalantiaw Island ; Mandarin Chinese: 安波沙洲; pinyin: Ānbō Shāzhōu, and other names, is an island of the Spratly Islands group in the South China Sea located just outside (SW) of the southwest of Dangerous Ground. It is SW of Barque Canada Reef, south of the London Reefs, and NW of Swallow Reef.
Call signs in the Middle East are unique identifiers for telecommunications and broadcasting in the Middle East. Call signs are regulated internationally by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and nationally by local government and international agencies in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, The Palestinian Authority, occupied territories and other nations or DXCC entities.
Amateur radio call signs are allocated to amateur radio operators around the world. The call signs are used to legally identify the station or operator, with some countries requiring the station call sign to always be used and others allowing the operator call sign instead.
The Yasme Foundation is a non-profit corporation organized to conduct scientific and educational projects related to amateur radio, including DXing and the introduction and promotion of amateur radio in underdeveloped countries. It is located in Castro Valley, California.
The 630-meter amateur radio band is a frequency band allocated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to amateur radio operators, and it ranges from 472–479 kHz, or equivalently 625.9–635.1 meters wavelength. It was formally allocated to amateurs at the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12). The band is available on a secondary basis in all ITU regions with the limitation that amateur stations have maximum radiated power of 1 watt effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP); however, stations more than 800 km from certain countries may be permitted to use 5 watts EIRP.
The 3Y0J Bouvet Island DXpedition was an amateur radio event that occurred February 6–13, 2023. The expedition's goals were the same as other DXpeditions: to contact as many amateur radio stations as possible from a remote location.
The FO0XB Clipperton Island DXpedition was an amateur radio expedition that took place over two weeks in March and April 1978. The group left from San Diego on March 14, 1978 and was the first DXpedition to Clipperton Island in over 20 years and was the first a few other successful major DXpeditions including FO0XX (1985), FO0CI (1992), FO0AAA (2000), TX5C (2008), TX5K (2013) and TX5S (2024). The team was set up with three groups eight French members, six American members, and three Swiss members. The operators attempted to make contacts using the amateur radio satellite Oscar 7. Members of the expedition came from many walks of life including a police officer, medical doctor, teacher, horticulturist, and a judge. Contacts made with members of this expedition are mentioned by some ham radio operators as one of their more sought after and interesting contacts in their collection.
The 3Y5X Bouvet Island DXpedition was an amateur radio event that occurred from December 28, 1989, until January 13, 1990. The expedition had planned to land on Bouvet Island on Christmas Eve but was delayed due to weather, while on the island the operators managed to operate for more than two weeks. Of the contacts made approximately 16,800 were made using CW, 30,000 contacts on SSB, and 291 contacts were made with RTTY.
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