DX Central’s From the Static Podcast

HOUR 1

HOUR 2

Tune in our season premiere of Season 7 of DX Central Live!

Hour 1 - We introduce the new, completely overhauled and rebranded DX Challenge and DX Challenge custom-built app!

NOTE:  This podcast was recorded on August 1, 2026.  Any activity after that date will not be reflected in our data/recap.

We continue our series of Data Analysis episodes with a look back at the month of July 2026 for the North American Sporadic Es FM DX season as part of our Sporadic Es Data Analysis Project (SEDAP) at fmdxdata.com.  

Somehow, even the word "historic" seems insignificant in the shadow of what we have seen from this season and that definitely rose to new dizzying heights in July.  We dive into the numbers - including some we have never looked at before - to see if we can try to put our arms around this absolute behemoth of a month of FM DX events.

NOTE:  This podcast was recorded on July 8, 2026.  Any activity after that date will not be reflected in our data/recap.

The 2026 Sporadic Es season is off to a roaring start, and June was the day that lit an absolute fire on the band(s).  High MUFs, massive openings, thousands of logs.  But what is in the data that can help us make sense of it all?

For Episode 32 of the From the Static podcast, we dive into the data from June 2026 for North American FM Sporadic Es. How did it stack up with previous years and can we gleam anything from the data to look ahead at the rest of 2026?

NOTE:  This podcast was recorded on June 5, 2026, before the ionosphere absolutely exploded with activity between June 8 and June 10.  For more information on that recent activity, be sure to pick up the July 2026 edition of The Spectrum Monitor magazine at The Spectrum Monitor.

The 2026 Sporadic Es season is off to a roaring start, but things took a while to get going in May, despite some considerable activity over a three day period in the third week of the month.

For Episode 31 of the From the Static podcast, we dive into the data from May 2026 for North American FM Sporadic Es. How did it stack up with previous years and can we gleam anything from the data to look ahead at the rest of 2026?

- Introduction to SEDAP (Sporadic Es Data Analysis Project) and walking through the new dashboard and data visualizations including our groundbreaking Sporadic Es Cloud Tracker

 - Season ending shoutouts

Using other bands to spot openings on FM from Tropo and Sporadic Es. Some folks use 6 Meters for Es and 2 Meters for Tropo as early warning signs of FM openings. How reliable are they? We talk through it.

Sporadic Es season is so close, here are your last minute preparations you need to wrap up to be ready, come what May (get it?)

The tropo forecast for next week looks promising. A bit too early to get excited but we may have some folks seeing the first "real" opening of the year!

Meteor Scatter - yes, Tropo and Es get all the headlines.....but Meteor Scatter can pay off too. Contrary to the belief of some, you can DX FM Meteor Scatter!

Let's talk about RDS. What it is, how it can help your DX and why you see weird things sometimes with it

TOH DX

All three hours will be a mix of FM and MW.....whatever you guys want to hear!

Hour 1

- Logging stations using FMlist.org and why this is important

- FM Antenna shootout - last week we looked at SDRs for FM season, this week we tackle Antennas

Hour 2

- Logging stations using WTFDA's WLogger and why this is important

- Early warning of openings - how to be ready just in case

TOH DX: FM DX with hopes of some at least mild tropo

HOUR 1

FM DX Webservers: Using them as a DXer, hosting one for yourself and other DXers

Updating SDR Console with the latest RDS information

HOUR 2

RDS Autologging through Rabbitears: How to use this information as a DXer, how to host your own autologger

SDR Options for high bandwidth (~10 MHz) IQ recordings for FM

TOH DX

We navigate the local FM band, keeping an eye on MW

If time permits, we will go through our 8/13/25 Sporadic Es recording

HOUR 1

Welcome to April! Time to change our focus to all things FM.

Before we do, though, a quick hit on MW: We wrap up The Frequency Challenge this week and what a challenge it has been! Just under 3,000 logs in one challenge? Unbelieveable!

Also, Loyd heard Uruguay this week!

To get us started on FM DX Preparedness Month, we do a quick recap on Tropo: how it works, how to know when it is happening and what to expect

Our new challenge launches: The FM Bandscan Challenge and this is unlike anything we have ever done before (details, below)

HOUR 2

We dive into our new FM Bandscan Challenge, how it will work, how you submit logs, etc.

For this hour, we are talking about FM Bandscans. How to do one, how to document your findings and why the data is important, how this will help you come Es season!

TOH DX:

Hour 1 - We finish The Frequency Challenge

Hours 2 and 3 - We start our FM Bandscan!

NEW CHALLENGE: THE FM BANDSCAN