DXING IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS

This is an edited version of the article that first appeared in my World of Shortwave Listening column in the April 2025 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine. Further details on this excellent publication are available at www.thespectrummonitor.com

While Australia is in the midst of winter, my friends in the Northern Hemisphere will be enjoying more pleasant summer weather. This is the perfect time to embrace fresh air while taking the radios outside. I absolutely love DXing the shortwave spectrum outdoors—listening to foreign languages and enjoying world music as I relax in a park, forest, or by the sea. Setting up the radio gear and antennas in a location different from the home QTH is such a blast!

DXpeditions have become a vital aspect of the radio hobby these days, especially for those living in a small home or apartment with no space for external antennas. Alternatively, you may be dealing with high levels of man-made noise in your usual listening environment. For many city-dwelling DXers, capturing intriguing shortwave signals has become incredibly difficult, if not impossible. The local noise levels at home are simply too high to detect those weak DX signals.

Early morning DXing in the Mapleton Forest in Far North Queensland.

You could embark on a three- or four-day camping trip or a family holiday. Maybe you could toss a radio in the car and set off for a day in one of our stunning national parks, down by the beach, or up into the mountains. It might even involve gathering with fellow radio enthusiasts and renting a shack in the countryside. There’s nothing better than finding a noise-free spot that reveals weak signals you can’t pick up from home.

Searching for the Perfect Spot?

Selecting the ideal DX location is of utmost importance. The goal is to be in an area that is free from local man-made noise. These locations provide the best opportunity for receiving weak signals. It’s remarkable how much a quiet spot can improve your listening efforts, potentially uncovering a variety of stations you wouldn’t catch at home.

Sometimes, others drop by for a listen, too!

Selecting the right location requires time, effort, and a dash of luck! DXing from a holiday resort is often a futile exercise, as these places are usually packed with the same electronic gadgets, creating similar electrical noise as you find at home, and occasionally even worse!

I often share the story of the day I picked my DXing spot in what I thought was a quiet part of the forest. I set up the radio and long wire antenna, then started tuning the bands. I couldn’t believe the amount of electrical noise blaring from the receiver’s speaker. Frustrated, I switched off the radio and wandered about, hoping to find the source of the noise. Eventually, I discovered that just beyond the trees, about 100 yards from where I had parked, there were several large farm sheds with agricultural machinery grumbling away! It’s crucial to choose your location wisely before setting up your gear!

Exercise caution near power lines. Maintain as much distance as possible from these omnidirectional broadband radiators of hash. Power poles can emit static and electrical hash due to damaged or dirty insulators, which can be detected from miles away. This is particularly true for poorly maintained poles in rural areas or corroded, salt-encrusted insulators on poles close to the beach. Even rural farming areas can pose challenges at times, especially if electric fences are used to keep cattle on the right side of the fence (a significant issue here in Australia!).

Forests, open bushland, mountain ranges, or coastal areas without power lines make for excellent locations to consider when setting up your radio. Take a drive to scout the area for potential noise sources. When you think you’ve found a good spot, set up the radio and antennas, and keep your fingers crossed!

Near Mount Hotham in the Aussie Alps with the Tecsun PL-680
and about 40 m of random antenna wire in the trees.

I recently spent a week on holiday in the Australian Alps. That's right! We do have alpine regions in Australia where winter snow is a regular occurrence! I recorded two videos of lunchtime DX monitoring in these high mountain spots. The first video showcases strong signals picked up near an alpine lake: DXing at Lake Catani. The second video illustrates how we can extract weak signals using a simple portable radio and a random wire antenna tossed into the trees: Lunchtime DXing in the Victorian Alps.

Which gear is best for the outdoors?

In the two videos just mentioned, I used quite different receivers. The ever-reliable and highly portable Tecsun PL-680 was featured in one video, while a traditional amateur transceiver, the Kenwood TS2000, was chosen for the other video. These are two very different beasts! The TS2000 is hefty and was set up inside the car’s trunk, powered by a 12V sealed lead-acid car battery. In contrast, the handheld Tecsun has internal batteries and is easy to operate. Although the Kenwood’s general coverage receiver boasts plenty of bells and whistles, the Tecsun held its own once connected to an external antenna. It was enjoyable playing with both setups outdoors.

The old Kenwood TS2000 is a big rig but fun to use.

These days, the quality of portable receivers is generally high. If they can accommodate an external antenna connection without overloading the front end, they perform exceptionally well in the field. Sangean, Tecsun, and Grundig offer a variety of portable models worth checking out. The new ultralight Qudosen DX-286 is generating excitement thanks to its excellent performance, given its tiny size.

This Qudosen DX-286 could be an ideal receiver for ultra-light DXing.

The range of software-defined radios (SDRs) also works well outdoors. Have a look at the DSP portables and computer-controlled Airspy, SDRplay, and others. Recently, I purchased the SDRPlay RSPduo and have enjoyed DX listening from the car with this great little rig and my laptop. See my recent YouTube videos at the Silvan Forest and the Walmer Forest Reserve. There are plenty of receiver choices available for the shortwave listener.

The SDRPlay RSPduo and laptop enable a technological "go anywhere" approach.

There are plenty of antenna options to consider as well. These range from a portable radio’s internal whip antenna to long wires, various end-feds, dipoles, inverted vees, and even beverages (for the adventurous and those with plenty of setup time on their hands!), along with different types of verticals. In some of the videos above, I used a Wolf River tunable coil with an extendable whip and nine radials, which proved to be most successful on the day! Once again, experimenting with different antennas is always great fun.

The Wolf River coil with a 5.6 m whip on top.

What’s the best time to head outside?

Deciding when to head out involves a few key considerations. Clearly, your availability and the length of time you'll be away from home are the main factors! Will it be part of a holiday, a day trip, or just a few hours? You should also check the weather conditions and how far you’re willing to travel. Spending time in a national park or by the beach can be uncomfortable on a hot summer day or during a storm.

Listening to Radio Vanuatu by the beach in Far North Queensland

Another consideration is the propagation conditions—both daily and seasonal. Listening in the middle of the day during mid-summer can be quite disappointing. Early mornings, late afternoons, and evenings are generally more fruitful for uncovering DX signals during the hotter months. Conversely, listening in the middle of the day during late autumn, winter, and early spring can yield excellent results. Understanding propagation conditions during these times of year and knowing what to expect to hear on the bands provides valuable knowledge that helps ensure you don’t waste your time and effort.

What should I bring?

There's nothing worse than arriving excited at your destination only to discover you've forgotten something. My frustrating experiences with missing gear, tools, and reference materials have prompted me to create a small checklist. This list includes spare batteries, chargers, spools of antenna wire, suitable connectors, antenna poles, and extra leads. References such as the WRTH, lists of station schedules on a laptop or tablet, and any useful printed resources, along with notepaper and pens, are also part of my list.

Sometimes I over-cater for my DXing activities! 😄

Lastly, if you’re planning a day or half-day trip, think about bringing along some creature comforts to help you through the listening sessions. Depending on your situation and destination, these could include a portable folding table, a folding chair, some snacks, a cell phone, a torch, warm clothes, and insect repellent. I’ve also found that having a small, well-equipped first-aid kit is invaluable on numerous occasions (stories for another column!).

DXing outdoors is one of the delights of the hobby, and it can be rewarding to uncover a new location free from RF and man-made noise. If you’ve never explored this side of shortwave listening or haven’t been out in the field for a while, I encourage you to give it a go this summer.

73 and wishing you good DX in the great outdoors!

Rob Wagner VK3BVW