The annual meeting of the European DX council has been taking place since 1967 when the organization was set up. Driven by their love for radio listening and their passion for DXing and sharing new worlds, several enthusiasts decided to embark on a more large-scale initiative.

In the 1950s and 1960s, national DX-Clubs appeared in a few European countries. Many people listened to domestic and foreign broadcasts on long, medium and shortwave. At that time, broadcasting on FM, TV and via satellite or the Internet did not exist! So the hobby of listening to far-away radio stations (DX-ing) mainly on short waves was thriving.

In 1965, Ellmann Ellingsen of the DX-listeners Club of Norway got the vision to establish a cross-national DX-organisation to improve the cooperation between DX-Clubs in Europe. At the inaugural meeting on June 3rd-4th, 1967, DX-leaders from Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden met to discuss and agree upon the foundation of the EDXC. The central venue was the private house of Anker Petersen in Skovlunde near Copenhagen, who also attended the meeting in Bulgaria.

Presently, members of the EDXC can become DX Clubs and organizations but also individual DXers from Europe. Some of them did arrive in Bulgaria for this year’s annual meeting that took place in the small picturesque town of Melnik at the foothill of the Pirin Mountain, famous for its beautiful old-time architecture and good wine cellars.

Why was Melnik chosen to become the venue of this DX forum that takes place in Bulgaria for the first time?

Has DXing nowadays become a hobby of old-fashioned ladies and gentlemen only?

What is the future of shortwave radio?

And how has Bulgaria changed from the 1980s until present day?

More on this and other radio related issues from the secretary general of the EDXcouncil, Mr. Tibor Szilagyi, in his special interview taken during the visit of DXers to Radio Bulgaria’s foreign service in Sofia.

We were really lucky to have such a large group of DXers and short-wave radio listeners as our guests here, in Sofia. We would like to thank once again Mr. Tibor Szilagyi and all members of the European DX Council for having chosen Bulgaria as their venue and for visiting us. We also thank everyone else on the group - Anker Petersen from Denmark, Engineer Harald Süss from Austria, Toshimichi Ohtake and Nobuya Kato from Japan, Gerald Kercher and Craig Thorston from the US, George Brown from Scotland, Dave Kenny from the UK, Alexander Beryozkin and Alexey Kulakov from Russia, Harald Gabler from Germany, and the 29 DXers from Finland, including the youngest in the group, Jan-Mikael Nurmela who is only 22, Tapio Kalmi, Pekka Rasanen, Herni Ekman, Jarmo Patala and everyone else.

We all believe that the medium of radio might seem to be an old-fashioned hobby nowadays given the enormous competition of all types of electronic gadgets. Nevertheless, there is nothing that could replace the thrill and enjoyment of listening to your favorite radio station!

Keep writing to us, keep sending us your reception reports, opinions, and musical requests! You could write to us at english@bnr.bg, or send letters by regular mail to: Sofia 1040, Dragan Tsankov Blvd 4, Radio Bulgaria.