User:Skywaves FM & TV DXing

Introduction "Skywaves" is the name of a publication, first produced by the British FM & TV Circle back in 1995. The BFMTVC are a non-profit-making organisation and exist purely to promote the DX hobby. Their website can be found here ... http://skywaves.info/

Skywaves began in 1995 as a printed newsletter of the British FM & TV Circle. There were only a small handful of members to begin with but the membership quickly grew beyond expectations and there are now in excess of 600 members spread across the globe! The names "Skywaves" and the "British FM & TV Circle" have come to be known and respected globally.

Skywaves has earned a reputation of being a friendly hobby group with a membership who have a willingness to help others. Skywaves is open to everybody, irrespective of whether you are an experienced radio operator or a complete novice. Everybody is welcome!

Membership Membership to the British FM & TV Circle is free and is available via a simple subscription to either of the Skywaves forums.

The Forums Currently, the two forums are hosted at Yahoo. The first DX forum began in the 2000 and is called "Skywaves". This mainly deals with FM and TV DX, but satellite TV and radio, DAB and DTT issues are also covered.

Member's posts cover a wide range of related topics including news about their latest DX reception, receivers and arials, propagation and general chat. The "SkywavesMW" forum is very much the same but covers medium wave interests and the tropical bands.

Skywaves Bulletin Now in its thirteenth year, this is the DX publication of the British FM & TV Circle and is currently issued each month. It is freely available to members of the Skywaves forums in a downloadable pdf document.

So what is DXing ? The term "DX" refers to "distance" and in the case of Skywaves mainly involves the reception of radio and TV stations over large distances. The British FM & TV Circle caters for those interested in such reception but also covers the more recent technological innovations such as digital broadcasting platforms and low-VHF utility radio. In fact, virtually anything above 30 MHz can be covered and even a little bit below sometimes!

What's the point ? People often ask "what is the point of this unusual hobby?" It is a difficult question to answer. It is also a hobby some people may not be familiar with so it will not immediately be easy to understand the buzz we get out of it. Most people probably have a hobby of one sort or another, but to actually describe the fun you get out of it is very difficult. Some have compared the radio hobby to fishing since you are trying to catch something. The summer radio trips organised by Skywaves members are also very relaxing and can be rewarding, very much like fishing.

Skywaves members would probably argue it is one of the most fulfilling hobbies anybody could have. Many people may be interested without actually realising it too. Have you ever tuned up and down the radio to try and find a more interesting station to listen to? Or have you ever scanned through the TV channels only to discover new stations and maybe wonder what they were? To a large degree this is very much what our hobby is about - searching out distant stations and listening to them, or collecting loggings or recordings of the stations received and then moving on to the next, trying to break distance records or hear new countries.

In order to understand a little more about the hobby please search for articles covering "DXing".