DX Hunter is a free browser-based ham radio game that simulates real DX operating conditions including pile-ups, split operation, greyline propagation, rare DXpeditions and deceptive ghost signals. Work stations worldwide, build awards, and test your operating skill — no installation required.
📡 DX HUNTER — V6.3
Live-ish propagation toy. Map for context, panadapter for the actual catch, and just enough chaos to be educational.
No actual ionosphere was harmed in the making of this game.
Time
03:00
Score
0
Worked
0
Best DX
—
Run: 0 · Combo: —
📒 Logbook
No contacts logged yet.
Rare DX, pile-ups, and the mythical M7SQI will appear here with both reports.
🏆 Awards & Stats
No award progress yet.
WAC, WAZ, lifetime counts, streak records, and operating milestones.
Retro Panadapter
Locating QTH…
Click peaks in the panadapter to work stations. Map clicks are just context. Wrong-band catches hurt. Rare pile-ups and the mythical M7SQI event pay absurdly well.
Goal: work as much DX as possible before the timer runs out. The map shows where signals are coming from, but the panadapter is where you actually make the catch.
Basic Gameplay
Click signals in the panadapter before they fade.
Map markers are for context only — clicking them does not work the station.
Normal stations usually need one good click.
Pile-ups need several clicks to break through.
Split pile-ups are listening UP, so click the offset response area, not the DX itself.
Greyline Challenge is deliberately niche: if your station is not near sunrise or sunset, the band may feel quiet.
GL marks a greyline-favoured station; GL★ marks a stronger greyline opportunity.
Special Signals
DXP — DXpedition to a rare location. Harder to work but worth many points.
🌊 /MM — Maritime mobile station at sea. Drifts slowly across the ocean and may appear in unexpected places.
👻 Ghost signals — Weak or ambiguous traces. Most are false decodes and will cost points, but a few may be genuine.
🚨 M7SQI — Ultra-rare special appearance with a very high reward.
Strategy Tips
Watch signal strength and timing — fading signals are harder to work.
Split DX often listens slightly higher than instructed.
Not every signal is worth chasing — risk management is part of the game.
Maintaining a streak builds combo bonuses.
Scoring
Longer distance = more points.
Weaker signals = more points.
Rarer regions = more points.
Pile-up events and the ultra-rare M7SQI event = major bonus.
Some pile-ups may call for a specific region only. If you are not in that region and click anyway, expect pain.
Penalties
Wrong-band catches hurt, and become more costly once your score is high.
Clicking the DX instead of UP in a split pile-up carries a significant penalty.
Random misses also chip away at your score, especially later in a run.
False ghost signals are usually a bad gamble, but a genuine one can pay very well.
Map markers are context only — clicking them also costs points.
Bands
40m: lower-band workhorse, more local and regional.
20m: balanced DX option.
15m: stronger high-band DX under good conditions.
10m: feast or famine, but glorious when open.
Modes
Contest: 3-minute sprint.
Free Play: endless operating until you press Stop.
DX Hunter: 4-minute session with fewer, rarer, more valuable stations.
Greyline Challenge: 4-minute session where terminator-favoured paths score best. It is intentionally most playable when your own QTH is near dawn or dusk, so openings may be sparse outside true greyline windows.
Survival: 3-minute session where score decays unless you keep working stations.
Multi-Band Strategy: 4-minute session where band choice matters more.
Conditions
The game uses a simplified propagation mood model. “Live” follows a rough time-based solar mood, while the other settings let you force quieter, stronger, or stormier conditions. In Greyline Challenge, your local dawn/dusk timing matters much more than in the other modes.
Sound
SFX are browser-generated. For the rare M7SQI event, the game uses m7sqi_au.mp3 — an actual recording of M7SQI received in Australia via SDR, i.e. genuine long-path DX and a perfectly respectable excuse for modest boasting.
Privacy
DX Hunter stores a small amount of data locally in your browser so the leaderboard, logbook, and settings can persist between visits. This data stays on your device and is not sent anywhere by the game itself. No analytics, advertising trackers, or personal profile building are used.
Each successful catch starts with a base score, then bonuses are added for distance and weak signals. That subtotal is multiplied by rarity, and finally any special bonuses or penalties are applied.
After the base, distance, and weak-signal bonus are added together, the result is multiplied by a rarity value. Nearby/common regions score less; rarer DX regions score more.
Common regions: around ×1.0
Useful DX: around ×1.25 to ×1.45
Rare DX: around ×1.7 to ×2.2
M7SQI special event: ×4.5 before its special bonus
Special Bonuses
Pile-up: +40, plus +10 for each required hit
DXpedition: final score ×2.4
🌊 Maritime Mobile (/MM): +12
🚨 M7SQI special event: +220
Greyline Challenge: +10 or +22 for greyline-favoured paths
Multi-Band Strategy: final score ×1.25
Ghost Signals
👻 False ghost: costs points
👻 Genuine ghost: may still reward points
Ghost signals are designed as risky targets. Most are false decodes or phantom traces and will punish the gamble, but the rare genuine ghost can pay out very handsomely.
Combo Bonus
No combo bonus for the first 4 consecutive catches
5 in a row: combo bonus begins
Higher streaks: larger combo bonuses
Misses, penalties, and bad catches: reset the combo
Penalties
Wrong band: heavy fixed penalty plus a percentage of current score
Wrong region on “X ONLY” pile-up: heavy penalty plus a percentage of current score
Clicking a map marker: small fixed penalty
Panadapter miss: moderate fixed penalty plus a percentage loss
Clicking the DX instead of UP: stronger penalty plus a percentage loss
False ghost signal: severe penalty
Survival mode: score decays continuously through both flat loss and percentage loss
In short: penalties scale with success, so sloppy operating becomes more expensive once your score climbs.
Examples
Ordinary nearby contact: typically a few tens of points
Decent intercontinental DX: often several dozen points
Rare pile-up: often 100+ depending on difficulty
Ghost signal: risky — may cost heavily or reward well
M7SQI event: deliberately over-the-top
Actual scores vary widely due to distance, signal strength, rarity, combo bonuses, special events, and scaling penalties.
Precision and timing matter more than speed alone.
Privacy Notice
DX Hunter uses browser storage on your device to support gameplay features such as the leaderboard, logbook, and saved preferences.
What is stored
Leaderboard scores
Logbook entries
Gameplay preferences such as sound settings
What is not stored
No name, email address, or contact information
No analytics or advertising trackers
No cross-site tracking
No personal data is intentionally collected by the game itself
Where the data lives
All stored data remains in your own browser on your own device unless your browser synchronises site data as part of your own account settings.
How to clear it
You can clear stored game data by using the Reset and Clear buttons in the game, or by clearing this page’s site data in your browser.
Storage technologies
This page may use local browser storage and similar device-side storage mechanisms for functionality. These are used only to make the game work properly and remember your local game data.
🎴 Special QSL Received
You worked the mythical M7SQI event.
Callsign
M7SQI
Location
Boscastle, Cornwall
Band
20m
Distance
0 km
DX SNR
0
Your Report
0
Score Bonus
0 pts
Time
—
Actual Boscastle station. Rare appearance. Dubious pile-up etiquette from surrounding callers entirely intentional.
About DX Hunter
Skip Quester
Semper Quaerimus Inusitatum
DX Hunter is a browser-based ham radio game built around real operating ideas rather than pure arcade reflexes. The map shows where signals are coming from, but the panadapter is where you actually make the catch.
The game draws on genuine amateur radio themes including pile-ups, split operation, greyline-favoured paths, DXpeditions, maritime mobile stations, weak-signal work, and the occasional dubious ghost trace that probably should have stayed in the noise.
It is designed to be both entertaining and lightly educational: experienced operators should recognise the logic, while newcomers can get a feel for timing, band choice, propagation mood, and DX risk-versus-reward without needing a tower, amplifier, or forgiving neighbours.
DX Hunter runs entirely in your browser. Scores, awards, and settings remain on your device and are not sent to any server. No advertising trackers or external analytics scripts are used.
Bug reports, feedback, or propagation anomalies — QSL via DX-Hunter [at] macalchemist [dot] net (direct preferred)
🔧 Maybe in V7…
• QRP Challenge — weak-signal contacts may require multiple attempts rather than a single click.
• Regional Run Bonuses — reward working several stations from the same area in a row.
• Propagation-aware rewards — bonus points or time for exploiting real openings rather than random clicking.
• Expanded awards and stats — more ways to track operating style, streaks, and difficult contacts.
• Further audio polish — stronger conditions-dependent radio effects where it adds to the feel without becoming annoying.
DX Hunter uses local browser storage for leaderboard, logbook, and gameplay settings. No analytics or advertising trackers are used by the game itself.
