"DXing, one aspect of the hobby of
Amateur ("Ham") Radio,
is an abbreviation for "distance" and is used as
both a noun (DX, DXer) and a verb (DXing) to
refer to the pursuit of radio contacts, often
under extremely difficult conditions, with
distant stations all over the Earth (and beyond,
as some are now doing!). The enthusiasm of
DXers is exemplified by the frequent DXpeditions
mounted by Hams, in which operators venture
forth to some corner of the globe that may be
uninhabited, lacking Ham radio activity, or just
an interesting place to go, for the primary
purpose of providing the rest of us with radio
contacts with that spot! Some are true
expeditions in the classical sense, in which
equipment, shelters, generators, and supplies
must be carried in at great personal cost and
risk."
Ham Radio
Operators enjoy making contact with stations all
over the world. For ham radio purposes there
are 335 places in the world that have "entity
status"; that is, they each count as separate
countries.
Competition is strong among ham operators to
make contact with all of them. Intrepid
amateurs often make trips to Europe, Asia, South
America, Africa, etc. and set up stations in
hotels, cottages and private homes in those
countries to provide contacts from there. It's
fun!
Other countries are a bit more difficult to
operate from -- many such countries are places
where no one lives (it's difficult
to make radio contact with a country without a
population)!
From time to time, adventurous ham operators
make expeditions (called DXpeditions) to one of
those countries to provide radio contacts to the
international ham radio community.