Tag Archives: Loyd Van Horn

DX Central Launches Season 7 of The DX Challenge and an All-New Web App; DX Central Live! Also Returns

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Loyd Van Horn (W4LVH) of DX Central, who shares the following announcements:

DX Central Live! Returns for Season 7, Introducing “The DX Challenge” and Enhanced Interactive Live Logging

MANDEVILLE, La. — September 11, 2026 — DX Central, the premier multimedia brand for the radio DXing community, officially launches Season 7 of DX Central Live! tonight. The season premiere ushers in a completely redesigned broadcast format, bringing DXers worldwide closer to the dial with new interactive tools, real-time logging sessions, and the debut of a comprehensive new weekly competition platform.

The live broadcast kicks off tonight at 18:45 Central (23:45 UTC), preceded by the community-favorite “DX Party” and “The Countdown” pre-shows beginning at 18:05 Central.

“This season is entirely about breaking down the barriers between the host and the audience,” said Loyd Van Horn, host of DX Central Live!. “We are spending significantly more time this year actually spinning the dials and DXing live right alongside the viewers. Whether you are chasing groundwave signals or waiting for the next massive tropospheric ducting event, we are doing it together in real time.”

Season 7 introduces several major upgrades and community features:

- The Launch of “The DX Challenge”: Retiring the former Mediumwave Frequency Challenge, DX Central is introducing “The DX Challenge.” Housed on a brand-new, custom-built web application with advanced radio logging and leaderboard analytics, the platform takes the weekly competition to an entirely new level. DXers can participate by visiting dxchallenges.com.
- Live Interactive DXing: A core focus of Season 7 will be dedicated, on-air live logging. The newly designed DX Central Live! studio allows the audience to follow along as signals are pulled from the static in real time, encouraging viewers to fire up their own receivers and log alongside the broadcast.
- Community Shoutouts: Recognizing the incredible catches made during the off-season—including the historic 2026 summer Sporadic E openings—the platform has integrated a dedicated shoutout system. Viewers can submit their latest loggings and milestones at dxchallenges.com/shoutout to be featured directly on the live broadcast and live permanently in our new challenge app.
- Expanded Pre-Show Entertainment: The season premiere sees the return of The DX Party hosted by Rachel and The Countdown hosted by Mark Munroe. These pre-show segments feature a curated rotation of exclusive DX-themed music from DX Radio, setting a welcoming, communal atmosphere before the main event begins.

In addition to the live stream updates, DX Central continues to offer exclusive benefits, beta-testing opportunities for new app features, and private live streams to its “Studio C” supporters via Patreon. Fans of the broadcast’s custom music can also access a 24/7 library of DX-themed tracks at the official home of DX Radio, thisisprobablydxradio.com.

DX Central Launches Season 7 of The DX Challenge Alongside an All-New Web App

Redesigned platform makes it easier than ever for DXers to submit logs, track awards, explore reception maps, and participate in weekly challenges

MANDEVILLE, La. — Friday, September 11, 2026 — DX Central has launched a rebranded Season 7 of The DX Challenge (formerly the MW Frequency Challenge), introducing an entirely new web application designed to make participating simpler, faster, and more rewarding for DXers of every experience level.

In previous seasons, participants often had to enter the same reception in multiple places: their personal logbook, services such as MWList or FMList, and a separate WPForms submission form. Results were then presented through Looker Studio dashboards. Although that system made the challenge possible, it also created extra work and could make participation feel more complicated than it needed to be.

The new DX Challenge app brings the entire experience together in one place.

“The goal for Season 7 was simple: spend less time entering the same information over and over, and more time actually enjoying the DX,” said Loyd Van Horn, founder of DX Central. “We wanted to create something that feels welcoming to a first-time participant while still providing the maps, statistics, award tracking, and detailed analysis experienced DXers love.”

After signing in, participants create their Home or portable receiving locations once. The app can then use that location to sort stations by distance, calculate reception paths, determine MW dayparts, and produce personalized geographic statistics.

DXers can submit a reception individually by selecting a station from the built-in station search and reviewing the details before saving. The app remembers frequently used settings—including band, frequency, live-versus-recorded reception, SDR use, portable operation, and propagation mode—to make consecutive logging quicker.

Participants with existing electronic logs can use the new bulk-import system. Dedicated importers support:

- FMList
- MWList
- WTFDA WLogger
- Custom CSV and Excel files

The custom importer allows DXers to map their existing columns to The DX Challenge fields. Imported records are normalized and reviewed before being accepted, helping reduce inconsistent station names, incorrect date formats, duplicate receptions, and false station matches.

Participants may also edit or delete their own reception records directly within the app. Their eligible logs can be exported for personal use without exposing the proprietary station databases used by the challenge.

Season 7 includes activity across the medium wave, FM, and NOAA Weather Radio bands. Season-long challenges remain available throughout their scheduled periods, while special weekly challenges automatically appear when active. The app applies the appropriate dates, frequencies, bands, geographic requirements, propagation modes, and other rules without requiring participants to learn a new submission process each week.

The new platform also provides:

- Personalized award progress and endorsement tracking
- Current, previous, and future challenge listings
- Season and challenge-specific leaderboards
- Reception statistics with extensive filtering
- Choropleth maps for states, provinces, countries, counties, and grid squares
- Interactive station-location and reception-path maps
- Bandscan and reception-history tools
- Multiple light, dark, and high-contrast display themes
- Accessibility and time-display preferences
- Support tickets and feature requests inside the app
- Community shoutouts and recently achieved milestones
- A complete illustrated user guide

The app was created with generative-AI coding assistance under human direction and review. DX Central has published an expanded privacy and transparency statement explaining what information the platform stores, how it is used, what participants may see, and how the app’s AI-assisted development differs from AI data processing. The deployed app does not automatically send participant profiles, locations, reception logs, imports, support tickets, or shoutouts to an AI model.

“The DX Challenge has always been about encouraging people to turn on the radio, learn their band, try something new, and share the excitement of what they hear,” Van Horn added. “The new app gives us the platform we have wanted for years, one that can grow with the community without placing more work on the DXers participating.”

The DX Challenge Season 7 app is available at:https://dxchallenges.com

DX Central SEDAP: A Sporadic Es Data Analysis Dashboard

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Loyd Van Horn, who shares the following announcement:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DX Central Unveils SEDAP: The World’s Most Advanced Sporadic Es Data Analysis Dashboard for the FM DX Community

MANDEVILLE, La. — April 29, 2026 — DX Central is proud to announce the official launch of version 2.0 of our popular Sporadic Es Data Analysis Project (SEDAP), a revolutionary, interactive intelligence dashboard designed to decode the mysteries of VHF propagation. Officially unlocking on Friday, May 1, 2026, at 7:45 PM CDT (0045 UTC May 2) at fmdxdata.com, SEDAP transforms nearly a decade of siloed radio loggings into a massive, cinematic data science suite, completely free of charge for the hobbyist and academic community.

Historically, analyzing Sporadic E (Es) propagation on the FM band has been an isolated effort, with individual DXers tracking their own localized season-over-season metrics and comparing notes with other DXers. SEDAP shatters that limitation by aggregating more than 95,000 North American FM broadcast logs and presenting them with brand new interactive visualizations to give DXers a whole new understanding of this elusive and magical propagation method.

“For years, our understanding of Sporadic E has been largely limited to individual observations,” said Loyd Van Horn, founder of DX Central and creator of SEDAP. “By bringing all of this data together, we aren’t just looking at spreadsheets anymore. SEDAP allows us to physically watch ionospheric clouds spawn, compress, and track across the continent in real-time. We can finally see what a typical season looks like on a macroscopic level.”

Built on a Google Cloud BigQuery architecture, SEDAP boasts a sleek user interface featuring dynamic visualizations, including:

The Es-Cloud Tracker: The newest and perhaps most exciting addition to the SEDAP dashboard. The Es-Cloud Tracker is a cinematic, multi-day playback engine that maps the approximate geographic formation location of FM DX Sporadic Es ionization clouds over North America. Openings can be “played” on a timelapse, allowing DXers to watch a simulation of the Es clouds as they develop, morph and transit throughout the day or a range of days.
Path Line Analysis: In-depth analysis on the most common and productive paths to and from a DXer or station location. Visually “see” the paths that evolved over the span of a day or date range.
Frequency & MUF Forensics: An interactive “SDR Tuner” interface to interrogate large scale band yields, signal paths, and daily Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF) ceilings.
Station & RDS Intelligence: Deep-dive forensics into the WTFDA station database, featuring PI-Code adoption maps, format/slogan correlation matrices, and gamified “Unheard Target” lists for US States and Counties.
DXer Network Intelligence: Long-term seasonal performance audits and multiple normalized metrics to filter out observer bias as much as possible
“We have certainly seen a huge growth in the number of DXers both reporting receptions and the amount of receptions they are reporting thanks to improved technology and resources from SDRs to propagation monitoring through Rabbitears and the FM DX Webservers,” says Van Horn. “So while we are not here to say one season was better than another, we can give DXers insights into Sporadic Es season that can help them strategize antenna placement and bearing, timing of monitoring, potential paths based on different periods within the season and a whole lot more. This is about improving our understanding of what happens when the ionosphere sends those FM signals back down to Earth.”

SEDAP makes no claim of ownership over the raw data presented, acting strictly as an analytical engine. The platform owes its immense capabilities to the unprecedented collaboration and public data provided by FMList.org, and the Worldwide TV-FM DX Association (WTFDA).

To protect the integrity of the database and respect the bandwidth of its data partners, SEDAP is strictly governed by a non-commercial usage policy. Automated scraping and commercial monetization are prohibited, but users are highly encouraged to explore, share, and cite the dashboard’s findings.

The Sporadic Es Data Analysis Project will be accessible to the public beginning May 1, 2026. To access the dashboard, view the real-time launch countdown, or read the full data usage policy, visit fmdxdata.com.

About DX Central: Based in Mandeville, Louisiana, DX Central is a premier hub for the radio monitoring community, dedicated to advancing the hobby of DXing through live streams, online receivers, regular DX challenges and contests, educational content, and data-driven propagation analysis.

Media Contact:

Loyd Van Horn | Founder, DX Central

Email: [email protected]

Web: dxcentralonline.com

Youtube: youtube.com/@DXCentral

Twitter/X: twitter.com/DXCentral

Loyd Van Horn
W4LVH – Mandeville, LA
Member: IRCA/NRC Courtesy Program Committee (CPC)
Founder: DX Central – Because we’re all about radio
Web: dxcentralonline.com
Twitter: @DXCentral
YouTube: youtube.com/c/DXCentral

DX Central: 2026 Summer of DX Challenge

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Loyd Van Horn, who shares the following announcement:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DX Central Announces the 2026 Summer of DX Challenge: The Biggest, Most Advanced Logging Event Yet

MANDEVILLE, LA — DX Central is thrilled to announce the return of the hobby’s most exciting seasonal event: The 2026 Summer of DX Challenge! Running from May 2 through August 31, 2026 at summerofdx.com, this year’s challenge pushes the boundaries of radio monitoring with brand-new bands, entirely new challenges, and a revolutionary, custom-built data terminal that makes logging easier than ever before.

For the first time in the event’s history, NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) joins Medium Wave (AM) and FM Broadcast Band II (FM) as an official challenge category, opening up an entirely new layer of tropospheric and meteor scatter chasing for scanner enthusiasts.

To handle the massive influx of summer logging, DX Central has completely eliminated registration requirements and launched a brand-new, custom-coded interactive dashboard.

New Features for 2026 Include:

Frictionless Logging & Bulk Import: Say goodbye to typing out callsigns and cities! The new terminal features a click-to-log Database Search utilizing WTFDA and Mesa Mike databases. Prefer to upload your logs rather than enter manually? The new Bulk Import tool allows you to upload CSVs directly from FMList, MWList, and WLogger, automatically mapping your data and updating your score in real-time.
The Multiplier Scoring Engine: Borrowing from traditional Ham Radio contests, DXers now earn massive score multipliers for every unique US State, Canadian Province, and International Country they log per band.
The John Cereghin Century Club: The legendary Grid Square challenge expands! DXers who log 100 unique US Maidenhead Grids on MW, FM, (20 on NWR) will earn our prestigious Century Club certificate, with endorsements for every 50 additional grids (10 for NWR).
County Hunters & Rovers: Chase US Counties across all three bands, and take your gear on the road! The new “Rover” category allows mobile DXers to activate rare grids and counties for special recognition.
Bi-Weekly Bounty Hunts: Tune in to our DX-themed Internet radio station, DX Radio (thisisprobablydxradio.com), for encrypted ‘targeted intercepts’ hidden through secret broadcast codewords revealed at the top of each hour. Enter the codeword into the DX Central terminal to unlock clandestine, time-sensitive DXing missions!

The 2026 Summer of DX active logging window opens on Saturday, May 2, 2026 at 0100 UTC and closes on Monday, August 31, 2026 at 2359 UTC. All receptions must be solely from this time period to qualify. To ensure everyone has plenty of time to review their SDR recordings, the DX Central terminal will remain open to accept logs and bulk uploads until September 30, 2026.

Whether you are a seasoned FM Sporadic E chaser, a dedicated MW night-owl, or firing up a weather radio for the first time, the 2026 Summer of DX has a challenge for you.

Get your receivers ready, prepare your antennas, and prepare to log! For more information, to view the live leaderboards, and to access the logging terminal, visit summerofdx.com

Loyd Van Horn
W4LVH – Mandeville, LA
Member: IRCA/NRC Courtesy Program Committee (CPC)
Founder: DX Central – Because we’re all about radio
Web: dxcentralonline.com
Twitter: @DXCentral
YouTube: youtube.com/c/DXCentral

WNAM Final Broadcast and DX Test Announcement: December 30-31, 2025

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The following announcement was shared by Loyd Van Horn of DX Central:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

1280 – WNAM DX Test Announcement

Dec 27, 2025

The Courtesy Program Committee (CPC) of the National Radio Club (NRC) and the International Radio Club of America (IRCA) announces a special DX Test for distant listeners for radio station WNAM on 1280 kHz in Neenah-Menasha,WI. The test is scheduled for Tuesday, December 30th and Wednesday, December 31st starting at Midnight local Central Standard Time through 5:05 AM Central Standard Time (This equates to 0600 to 1105 UTC on 30 December and 31 December).

This test is scheduled to run for 2 minutes after ABC News at the top-of-the-hour each hour from Midnight to 5am local Central time. ABC News runs from :00-:03 after the hour. The DX Test will run from :03-:05 after the hour, each hour of the window.

These test transmissions are being broadcast in conjunction with the final days of broadcast of WNAM. WNAM is scheduled to cease broadcast operations at 11:59 PM Central Time on December 31st.

These test transmissions are a way to honor the history of WNAM in its service to the community as well as provide an opportunity for DXers to hear WNAM one last time – or possibly the first time!

The test will consist of an assortment of classic station jingles, sweep tones, voice IDs, morse code and other sounds.

WNAM will be operating at their daytime power/pattern for the duration of the test events.

In addition, listeners/DXers are invited to tune in WNAM’s special 3-hour farewell broadcast on Wednesday, December 31, starting at 9:00 PM Central Standard Time. This will include a “recreation” of the station’s glory years as “Blue 128” complete with airchecks from previous on-air staff.

RECEPTION REPORTS & QSL REQUESTS

All reception reports will be verified through the station directly with a special QSL that was developed for the occasion. Reception reports along with MP3 recordings or .MP4 video recordings of your reception should be emailed to:

[email protected]. Please be sure to use the subject line: “WNAM 1280 DX TEST RECEPTION REPORT.”

The following are recommendations are in effect in order to expedite processing and receive a QSL verifying your report:

- Reports via email only – this is required. An MP3 file attachment of your reception (best reception) or an MP4 video clip are preferred. While written descriptions will be considered along with the recording, they may not suffice alone for verification.
- Reports must be submitted within 30 days of the test.
- The report must include your name, location, and return email address, clearly grouped together at the top of the verification request.
- Please also include a description of your receiver, antenna, and any interference noted.
- If you use a remote SDR to receive the test, you must clearly indicate that in your verification request. We will only accept one such report per DX’er. You cannot log the test on multiple remote SDRs and request multiple verifications.

The IRCA/NRC CPC would like to thank the owners and staff of WNAM}, Steve Edwards and CPC member Loyd Van Horn for helping to arrange the test.

Good luck to all DXers!

About the CPC

The Courtesy Program Committee (CPC) is a cross-functional group comprised of members of both the National Radio Club (NRC) and International Radio Club of America (IRCA) for the purpose of coordinating and arranging DX Tests with AM radio stations. These DX tests both allow radio stations to conduct valuable equipment tests on their transmitter and audio chain as well as enable DX hobbyists to receive the testing station from greater distances than would normally be possible. The CPC membership consists of: Chairman Les Rayburn, Paul Walker, George Santulli, Joe Miller and Loyd Van Horn.

For radio stations interested in coordinating a DX test with the CPC, please visit the following Web site for more information:

https://amdxtest.blogspot.com/

For more information on the types of content heard during a DX test, the video “An introduction to DX Tests” is available at DX Central:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQX_zmEC4fY

Rest In Peace, Larry Van Horn

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I’ve been away for almost a week and a number of readers have written in to express their condolences after only recently learning that a legend in our radio world, Larry Van Horn, passed away in August after a short period of illness.

I remember meeting Larry once when I stopped in unannounced at The Monitoring Times HQ in Brasstown, North Carolina. He was a true gentleman and shared his enthusiasm for the airwaves with me for a couple of hours. He was a passionate radio man through and through.

Of course, our condolences and hearts go out to his wife Gayle Van Horn and son, Loyd Van Horn, both of whom are also prominent figures in our radio world.

DX Central Announces Inaugural Grand Slam DX Challenge!

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Loyd Van Horn, who shares the following announcement:

DX Central Announces Inaugural Grand Slam DX Challenge

Chances are, if you ask a DXer how they began their love of DX, many will tell you it all began by searching through the static for the unmistakable sounds of baseball.

Radio and baseball have been intrinsically tied together since the early days of both. In fact, radio broadcasts of baseball games, long before the days of television, are what helped to turn it into “America’s National Pastime.”

It is with that history in mind that we are pleased to announce the inaugural Grand Slam DX Challenge.

Originating from an idea between DX Central’s Loyd Van Horn (W4LVH) and Sean Kutzko (KX9X), the Grand Slam DX Challenge (GSDXC) once again honors the link between radio and baseball by challenging hobbyists to log as many radio stations, from as many Major League Baseball teams, as possible during the MLB regular season.

“I knew I wanted to have some sort of challenge,” says Van Horn. “I just wasn’t sure exactly what or how that would work. Then Sean came to me with the idea of doing something around the baseball season and I thought ‘that’s genius!’”

The notion of tying America’s game with DXing came naturally to Kutzko.

“My love for baseball goes back probably on par with the same time that I got interested in AM DXing as a really, really small kid,” says Kutzko. “[The challenge] is a multi-month event focused around the two greatest things that I spend my time with which is radio and baseball.”

To help turn this idea into reality, Kutzko brought his experience building the ARRL’s National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) program in 2016 for the amateur radio community. In addition, Kutzko and Van Horn teamed up with Mike Leary (K7MSO), an experienced web developer and radio hobbyist, who volunteered his time and skills to the project.

The premise is simple: a participant should try to receive as many stations – and from as many different Major League Baseball teams – as possible. The broadcasts must be from the team-sanctioned radio network broadcast (national broadcasts from networks such as ESPN, Westwood One, etc. do not count).

There are nine entry categories that a participant can choose from, and include AM only, FM only or both AM and FM submissions.

Submissions for the challenge will be through the challenge Web site: grandslamdxchallenge.com. The full rules and scoring system for the challenge also available on the same site.

It is important to note that this inaugural edition of the challenge is a true beta version. Feedback from the community will be critical for resolving any defects or making any improvements for future iterations of the challenge.

“I just hope that this is something people will really be able to enjoy, perhaps even remind them of why they fell in love with radio in the first place,” says Van Horn. “With the Sporadic Es season coming for FM and the unique propagation opportunities that often occur during summer on AM, there should be plenty here to keep DXers glued to their radios throughout the summer!”

Click here to check out the Grand Slam DX Challenge website and register!

Livestream Video:

Click here to view on YouTube.

Inaugural DX Central MW Daytime Challenge starts today!

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Loyd Van Horn at DX Central who shares the following announcement:

The Inaugural DX Central MW Daytime Challenge

What a great season of DX Central Live! and the MW Frequency Challenge it has already been and we are just getting started! This season, you helped us cross 1,000 subscribers on our YouTube channel, have brought in a record number of MW Frequency Challenge submissions thus far, and have helped to generate a lot of energy around this DX season! We couldn’t do it without your support, so thank you!

First, a little housekeeping. We will be taking some time off to spend the holidays with family and of course – some DX! As such, there will be no DX Central Live! on Friday, December 23 or 30th. We will return on Friday, January 6, 2023.

Also during this time, we will be taking a brief pause on our weekly MW Frequency Challenge as well. I will be announcing the results from week 12 (576-600) when we return on Jan 6, as well as the next frequency range at that time.

Don’t worry, we have a challenge for our little break that should provide all of the fun and difficulty to push DXers to scratch new ones in their logbooks: The Inaugural DX Central MW Daytime Challenge.

The premise: Log as many stations as you can during daytime conditions. That’s it!

Nothing but daytime DX (period from 2 hours after local sunrise to 2 hours prior to local sunset) starting at 0200 UTC Saturday, December 17 and ending at 0200 UTC Monday, January 2, 2023. This challenge is open to all DXers around the world!

A few rules:
– Loggings must be during your local daytime period (2 hours after local sunrise to 2 hours prior to local sunset)
– Loggings must be from between 0200 UTC Saturday, December 17th and 0200 UTC Monday, January 6.
– Any stations are allowed for this challenge: local stations, TIS/HAR, part 15 transmitters not to mention anything distant you might be able to pull in!
– Stations do not need to be “new to you”, relogs are allowed
– Stations need to be on any mediumwave frequency between 530-1710 kHz.
– Loggings should be from a location within 50 miles of your home location. This includes use of online SDRs, portable operations, etc.
– If you are traveling for the holidays and will be away from home but have access to either your station remotely or another online SDR from your home location, those submissions will be allowed.
– Only submissions made using the Google Form sheet (link below) will be considered for the challenge. Social media posts, emails, etc will not count.

Categories for this challenge will include US and international versions of:
– Most stations logged
– Most US States/Canadian Prov logged
– Most countries logged
– Furthest reception
– Most frequencies with at least one logged station

Google Form for entries: https://forms.gle/TVgCPrHMpfDAzbzb6

I hope this challenge will be a fun one for all!

To all of our fellow DXers, supporters, family, friends….Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and may your logbooks be filled with DX and your hearts filled with joy and love!

73,

Loyd Van Horn
W4LVH – Mandeville, LA