Not too long ago, I received word that the Worldwide TV-FM DX Association (WTFDA) was planning to discontinue their online newsletter after this year. With that in mind, I have decided that starting in 2025, I'll be putting my FM, NOAA Weather Radio and TV DX logs in this blog.
I have been editing the TV DX Logs and Photos section of the newsletter for over a year now. I have had just one reporter (other than myself) since I took on the column. By contrast, I have a regular stable of reporters to Domestic DX Roundup, one of the columns I edit for the International Radio Club of America (IRCA). The only programming changes that I've read about in WTFDA in recent years have been on the FM band. I no longer read about changes in TV programming. I often wonder if the hobby of FM and TV DXing has been in decline in recent years. Several WTFDA members use the W Logger feature on WTFDA's Web site, something I have not done. I don't know if another club will take on covering FM DX on an occasional basis. TV DXing has been a challenge in the digital format, especially since the 2020 repack of TV spectrum. Will the loss of this newsletter result in a decline in interest in FM and TV DXing? That remains to be seen.
I took up FM DXing in 1982, TV DXing in 1983 and DXing the NOAA Weather Radio frequencies in 2001. The hobby of FM/TV DXing prepared me for operating on the 2 and 6 Meter Amateur Radio bands, just as much as shortwave and AM broadcast band DXing prepared me for operating on the HF Amateur Radio bands.
I'm hoping propagation conditions on the VHF and UHF bands will improve in 2025, especially after 2024 was my worst FM/TV DX season in the Midwest since 1995. I was only able to get one video capture of my TV DX in 2024. This one is of KHQA Hannibal, MO on their new RF Channel 22, taken in July 2024. (See the picture at the end of this entry.)
Thanks to everyone in WTFDA who made the effort to keep a newsletter going after the demise of The VHF-UHF Digest.
