The night is full of stations. Most of the dial is static — but somewhere in it, somebody is broadcasting.
Sweep the big dial. When you near a station you'll hear it: a thin whistle over the noise. The whistle's pitch is your distance — high means far, low means close.
Ride the whistle down. Use the vernier for the last few kilocycles. When the whistle disappears and the signal steadies — hold it there. The station will come through clean.
Stations drift. Signals breathe. Nothing here can be failed — only found. Every lock earns a QSL card for your log.
If you can't hear: the needle and the wobbling dot say everything the whistle says. Still dot = tuned.