“Why do you chase DX?”

Some of the subscribers are not into amateur radio – and this is a question received recently. The pursuit to make a contact with every country and geographical entity as per ‘the list’ goes back to 1930 when American amateurs started the chase. The first goal – and ‘evidence’ of a station’s performance and operator’s skills – was to make a contact with each continent. Not nearly as easy as today! With more amateurs being licensed and more chasers competing, the next goal was to make a contact with every country where radio amateurs were present; approximately 150. In the late 1930s American Radio Relay League (ARRL) set the rules and started administrating the Award. Today, the list of political and geographical entities known as DXCC list contains 340 ‘countries’. The goal is simple: to work them all and to confirm them all. Traditionally, a confirmation is in the form of a paper card (QSL card) which is exchanged between two stations after completion of contact. Obtaining a QSL card is not easy.

Needless to say, some amateurs spend a considerable amount of time trying to make contacts with all 340 DXCC. For almost 90 years, DX chasing has been a global phenomenon, and there are tens of thousands of chasers worldwide constantly looking for that elusive ‘new one’.

Here are just a few cards from my own collection. Obviously, cards from Japan, US and Europe are easy to obtain, but expeditions to rare entities and remote islands are highly prized.