FM DX is heating up.
DX is the abbreviation for the word "Distance", and comes from the telegraph days. DXing means to listen to distant radio or television stations. Have you ever noticed that you can hear many more AM station at night? That's DX. I'll talk about AM in another post. FM, however, is more stable. While it doesn't change every night, FM does have chances for DX. From about early June, until the end of July, in the northern hemisphere, there can be days where FM signals travel 1000 miles or more. There is a shorter season for this, around the winter solstice, as well. This FM DX is caused by activity on the sun, combined with it's position to the north or south. This is why it happens near the solstices. If the sun is very active, the FM DX may be, as well. So, if you notice FM station where there usually aren't any, this could be FM DX. Sometimes the conditions may even cause another station to override you favorite. For some, it's an annoyance...Others look at it as a chance to hear stations they have never heard. I'm one of the latter. Since June 6, I've picked up 12 new stations, and the season has another month to go. This will be a very good year. We'll see what July brings.