The VHF DX Podcast

Did the 2026 E-Skip season meet your expectations? For most of us in North America and Europe, it was a strong year that, in some cases, was a record setter.Bryce and Nick return on a late September afternoon to fill you in on the proceedings. Inside this episode, the DXing duo discusses:Nick offers some news from the Radio World landscape that has downstream affects on VHF DXing. He updates us on the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act and the ongoing 2022 Quadrennial Review by the FCC, the latter of which may lead to the easing of the local ownership subcaps in radio.RadioLand 2.0 is live for Apple and iOS! And could it be coming to a web browser near you soon? AI for DXing: More than slop? Seasonal highlights we noted in North America and Europe. Who made out like a proverbial bandit? Our next episode will be chalk filled of audio highlights. Please send us your best from 2026. And let us know if it was your favorite season ever. [email protected].

Better late than never.Bryce and Nick each took hits to their antenna arsenals after the rough east coast winter. Where the heck is Bryce's autologger, for crying out loud? He explains his DX dilemma. Meanwhile, Nick is very grateful for Lorenzo at the Bean and Blend Coffee shop, the must-stop cafe on Route 206 in Tabernacle, N.J., for saving his APS-13! BIG shout-out to Lorenzo, Maryjo, Marisa, Dom and the crew.Nick and Bryce have also been pair programming updates for the RadioLand app. Want to be a beta tester? Email [email protected]. Nick gets to cover the radio industry at large, and he brings some Radio World updates.His brother got him an nRSP-ST for Christmas, and is the ATS-Mini the cutest portable receiver ever?May wasn't necessarily a bang-up skip month, but the pair recaps what Es there was, including much in the way of double-hop in Europe on May 22.Finally, Nick and Bryce offer their DX wish list for 2026.

When Bryce and Nick last spoke, the U.S. had celebrated the Fourth of July the truly American way — with E-Skip! Sadly, the rest of July did not play out so actively, and thus, the DX duo was not particularly generous with their seasonal skip grade. Do you agree?Inside this fun-filled episode:At 5:00, Bryce talks about some of the excellent tropo he's experienced in late summer and early fall on Cape Cod, including as far south as Yulee, Fla.Are FM boosters originating their own ads coming to a market near you? Nick discusses his latest Radio World story on geotargeting at 10:00.At 21:00, we review the E-Skip season and share some highlight openings from others.At 41:00, we talk about technology, including Nick's experience with the fantastic Headless TEF Lite from the fmdx.org crew.We salute listener Stuart in Ann Arbor, Michigan!Nick and Bryce conclude with an audio spotlight of their recent tropo catches.Send in your 2025 DX highlights to [email protected] and we'll feature them on the next episode!

The summer tradition continues — Bryce and Nick reunite in person from Cape Cod, this time for the July 4th holiday, which include DX fireworks amidst a controversial E-Skip season so far. We discuss the season from both sides of the pond, chat about our DX shacks at and away from home, discuss SDR innovations (or lack thereof) and the art of DX'ing with fellow hobbyists in person!Timestamps:0 - :03 | 🇺🇸 4th of July weekend intro + live from Cape Cod:03 – :07 | Casual tower touring on the Cape, Radioland app, and July 4th festivities:07 – :14 | July 4–5 DX:14 – :27 | Season-to-date North America roundup: double hop, NOAA WX DX, West Coast short-skip:27 – :36 | Europe midseason report from fmdx.org community:36 - :51 | TEF talk; remote servers, headless TEF, fmdx.org projects:51 – 1:07 | Remote DXing, DX shacks, and the fun of DXing with a friend in 20251:07 – 1:19 | Taking stock of SDR hardware landscape: Hydra, stagnation, innovation, future hopesReferencesNick's RadioWorld article: "Double Hop Dreams"Randy Zerr: July 4th E-Skip (YouTube)Matt Sittel: July 4th E-Skip on NOAA Weather Radio band (YouTube)RadioLand app for tower touringChrome Remote Desktop (Nick's remote PC preference)PST Rotator (remote rotator control)RTL-SDR Blog: Hydra SDR review

Let the games begin.For the first time in 2025, Bryce and Nick convene and there's a lot to discuss.The duo address:- Nick's columns at Radio World and how some broadcast industry news might have DX implications.- The latest notable DX logs and the amazing catches heard in Bermuda in April, via the fmdx.org webserver.- Check out the latest Android app from one of fmdx.org's contributors and the plans they have in store this season.- DX prep videos from DXCentral's Loyd van Horn and our pending collab.- How to get the most out of SDRPlay's RSPDuo diversity mode. - Noise floor is everything.- Is the 2003 bounce back after the dreadful 2002 Es season a precursor for this year?Please rate, review and subscribe!