About 40 years ago listening to international radio broadcasts on short wave crazed for teens.This hobby was called BCL (BroadCast Listening) too. Monthly magazine called "Tanpa" (Short wave) was being published at that time. In this magazine, MW DX was also introduced and this MW DX was getting different popularity compared to listening to international short wave radios because of its difficulties of reception within so many interference of domestic stations and fun of modification of receivers such as changing IF filters etc. I remember narrowing IF filter for YAESU FRG-7(FROG) and TRIO 9R-59D. Reception antennas for MW DX at that time were mainly loop antennas and long wire antennas including Beverage type.
Unfortunately this boom started shrinking rapidly after 1980 and the rise of Internet almost beat this hobby after 1990. But some fanatic Japanese MW DXers still had been enjoying MW DXpedition at ocean side with using AOR AR7030 etc..
Reference: Meeting Japanese DXers by Jim Solatie
As of today, I guess the population of MW DX in Japan would be less than one hundred. On the Internet, Japanese web sites that write mainly about MW DX are very few in total contrast to the popularity of MW DX in western countries.
However some enthusiastic Japanese MW DXers still keep their activities as of today. Their hunting styles have changed to recording all MW band at night with using software defined radios such as Perseus and analyzing the record very carefully taking very long time. The popular reception antenna for MW DX is now changed to flag type antenna.
In these days problems of noise interference on MW band in urban area is very severe for MW DX in Japan too. But Japanese MW DXers mitigate the noise by employing some handmade common mode choke filters (CMC) and a galvanic isolation filter effectively.
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| A scene of DXpedition in Japan as of today |
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| Setting up a twisted double delta flag antenna |
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