DXing in 2025

There was a time in this blog when DXing featured more often. Other than in the context of 6 meters I've said little about it the past few years. The change was not intentional, it just happened. On reflection I realize the reasons why. I've changed. That is worth a short article.

DXCC is easy to achieve, far easier than ever before. Here is a partial list of why that is:

• DXpeditions are announced well in advance, with schedules and operating plan.
• Human and skimmer spots are rapid and have alerting services, so you are always one click away from working them.
• Remote shacks mean you can work them from anywhere, anytime.
• DXpeditions have multiple stations which divides the pile ups, making them easier to penetrate for even the smaller stations.
• FT4/8 levels the playing field. It really doesn't matter where you transmit and how strong you are as long as the DX station decodes you. Hunting and timing (skill) mean very little.

In days of yore, DXing was not so easy. Here are some of the reasons why:

• Discovering that there exists a ham in a distant, rare country was difficult. Often we would only learn of activity after the fact. A lot of listening and luck (and personal networking) were required to learn of their existence. 
• Time is precious. Yet a lot of it was needed to regularly scan the bands.
• Travel was far more difficult that it is today so DXpeditions were not routine. Not all were announced in advance. Many were "surprises" due to work assignments, scientific expeditions, or simply hams enjoying the surprises they created.
• Split operation was less common since equipment often didn't support it, especially the ability to listen to two frequencies at the same time to quickly find where the DX is listening.
• With no spotting networks or just a small circle of DXing friends (if any) to alert us of an activity, rare DX was easy to miss.

Those are examples that quickly came to mind. There are certainly others. However, that isn't my point; rather it's that it is much easier than it once was. Nowadays you would have to be living under a rock to miss the activation of a rare DX entity.

Therein lies the problem, if it can be regarded as a problem: DXCC is easy with a small station and routine for the rest of us. In this fall's CQ WW SSB we logged more than 100 countries on 4 bands. It wasn't so very long ago that an achievement like that was uncommon. Now it's routine.

This has bred entitlement -- believing that we deserve to log the rare DX -- and impatience with reaching key DX award milestones. But if it was easy, what has actually been accomplished?

In my case the modern ease of DXing has resulted in mild lethargy and disinterest. I don't react quickly when the DX is spotted, unless it's truly rare or on a band where they are difficult to work, such as 160 meters. Filling up band slots to reach new DXCC Challenge plateaus is becoming less interesting. No matter, the numbers keep climbing on my LOTW account (Logbook of the World).

Some of this is due to the size of my station. I'm a big gun now. Quite often I crack deep pile ups with one call. Where's the fun in that? To compensate, many times I'll use lower power and a non-optimum antenna to practice my pile up skills and to make the chase more interesting. Skill development and practice was a major preoccupation of mine when I ran QRP with small antennas. Now I have to artificially recreate those conditions.

Despite the many changes making DXCC and even Honor Roll so much easier, these awards remain coveted by new and long time hams alike. I track my progress even though I have never applied for any DX award and I probably never will, no matter how stratospheric the achievement level.

That said, during a DX contest I take great pleasure in running up the country count as high as I can in the 24 or 48 hours of the event. It is a worthy accomplishment to do so while also making as many QSOs as possible. The challenge is one of deciding when and where to run while concurrently hunting for countries, whether assisted or unassisted. 

I am easily motivated to work DX in contests but the rest of the time, except for rare countries, 6 and 160 meters, and occasionally under difficult conditions, it doesn't mean all that much to me anymore. Times change and so have I. I use the available technology regardless, and I enjoy doing so. It's just that the accomplishment means little to me most of the time.

But putting rare DX in the log is far easier than it once was! There is no pride in drudgery, and to be honest that's what it once was. DXing was a game won by the well-connected, the wealthy (with their big stations) and retirees with lots of time to scour the bands. Technology levels the playing field. As much as we gripe about the price of equipment, it is not expensive hobby to build a station that allows one to work lots of rare DX.

Time is also not the impediment it once was. We can receive alerts, operate our stations remotely with widely available applications and product, or we may work from home just a few steps from the shack. These also level the field.

The main differentiators now are the willingness to pay attention (accept interruptions), following DXpedition schedules, perhaps "donations" to facilitate confirmations, and of course skill. The latter is still of significant value -- listen to most pile ups and you'll understand. Witness how many chasers are their own worst enemies.

Despite the negative tone of this article I still chase DX and I am certain to keep doing so. The allure of communicating across the globe with someone sitting on the beach of a remote island never pales, no matter the relative ease compared to years long past. It's enjoyable if not quite so exciting. Hams new to DXing are excited to work the rare ones and that is vicarious pleasure to enjoy as well. It's good to see enthusiasm in the newcomers to our great hobby. 

Will DXing eventually fade as one of the attractions of amateur radio? Perhaps. It is not easy to predict the future. By what I hear in the pile ups, that day won't arrive for many years.