1.           Read all the latest DX Bulletins on the Internet, great way to learn what DX is on the air along with operating frequencies in many cases. NG3K’s pages are the place to start.

2.           Check for the operating habits of the desired DX. Folks tend to come on the air at more or less the same time and frequency – use the DX Summit for spot information. Plan to be all tuned up and ready when the EK comes on every Monday night at 0330Z. In fact give him a call then, but that will attract attention and the big guns may beat you out.

3.           If a DXpedition has published or announced the operating frequencies for the DXpedition, have ALL of them in the radio memory. When the DX sez, I’m QSY, going to 12 meter CW – you will be ready.

4.           It is essential that you can recognize prefixes or have a Prefix Cheat Sheet handy – See Appendix A7. When an HM#DX comes on, you will know where to point the beam and realize you have just found the rarest of the rare. HM is North Korea!

5.           Antenna polarization is not a major consideration for DX as there is a great deal of bending of the RF wave as it bounces around the world. Vertical antennas are prone to noise however.

6.           Be aware of time differences around the world, e.g., Europe is 5 to 8 hours ahead of the USA.

7.           Gray Line Propagation -- use the twilight line (also known as gray line), DX can happen best along the line between day and night. Look for a time when the area you want or your area is in this twilight time of day. Some very nice programs for this – see Appendix A9.

8.           On phone, listen for accents; you will be able to distinguish a W6 from a VK easily.

9.           Listen for the distinctive DX sound, watery, polar flutter, lots of QSB, weak signal, and that far-off station “sound”, a VU doesn’t sound like a W6, that’s a given

10.       On CW listen for drifting signals and chirp, often indicative of older equipment or homebrew rigs - both common in some countries. Many countries have poor power line regulation, resulting in chirp and drift.

11.       Tune the entire band, you may find a TF (Iceland) at 28.700 during a contest and a ZD8 at 21.400! For CW, check off the beaten path e.g., 28.070 and above.

12. Tune the bands after they “go out” because they sometimes come back up. One night after the “band went out”, a fairly rare Asian station A4 called CQ on 17 meters late at night --  no one answered!!!

188 DX Secrets and 20 Pages in Chapter 8.