In October to November 2025, the radio amateur community is preparing for a significant DX expedition: 9U1RU, which will take place in Burundi (Central African Republic). Expedície do tohto regiónu patria medzi technicky a logisticky náročné výzvy – a projekt 9U1RU si ambiciózne kladie za cieľ priniesť spojenia do čo najodľahlejších oblastí sveta a zároveň umožniť záujemcom rozšíriť svoje DX kolekcie.
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Burundi and hamradio
Burundi is a small landlocked country in East Africa, bordering Rwanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The country with an area of approximately 27,800 km² and a population of around 12 million inhabitants is among the poorest in the world. The capital is Gitega, while Bujumbura remains the largest city and economic center.
From the point of view of radio amateurs, Burundi is an interesting and rare DX destination. The prefix is 9U, while amateur radio activity is only sporadic in Burundi. There is a minimum of licensed operators in the country and DX expeditions here are among the rarest African activations.
Local radio amateurs face challenges with difficult licensing, high equipment costs and limited infrastructure. The electrical network is often unreliable, which complicates the operation of the stations. Despite this, the activities of some foreign operators who come to activate this rare country occasionally appear.
For DX men, the connection with 9U represents a great achievement and an often missing country in the lists DXCC. Any activity from Burundi generates considerable interest in the radio amateur community.
Plans and schedule 9U1RU
A team of nine operators from several countries will meet on October 28, 2025 in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), from where they will continue to the capital of Burundi, Bujumbury. After arrival, on days 29-30 antenna installation and partial operation will take place in October, while the main broadcasting phase will take place from October 31 to November 17. Subsequently, 18.–19. on November the dismantling of the stations and the last connections will take place, and on November 20 the flight home is planned.
The main goal is to operate 24 hours a day for 20 days on all KV bands. At least seven high-performance stations will be available, which will allow parallel connections and coverage of several regions of the world.
The expedition also plans to work in digital modes, in particular FT8. Initially, a special frequency outside the standard frequencies will be used, or the team will move to the regular FT8 sub-bands at a later stage, if the interest in connections decreases. On the software side, MSHV (not SuperFox) will be used.
A team of operators
The 9U1RU expedition brings together nine experienced operators from several countries who are responsible for the technical, operational and organizational aspects of radio activity:
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R7AL – Vasily Pinchuk (expedition leader)
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W8HC – Hal Turley (experienced DX operator)
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OK8AU – Slav Rodin (low-band expert, co-responsible)
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RW9JZ – LEO Berezhnoy (technical head)
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SP6EQZ – Wlodek Herej (CW operator)
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RU3UR – Mike Alekseev
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UA3QLC – Vic Filimonov
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UA4CC – Ark Voloshin
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R5EC – Nick Tolkunov
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Operators are also specially mentioned RA1ZZ (Vasily Sukhanov), RA4DX (Andrei Soldatkin) and others who support operation in CW and SSB modes.
Technical equipment and antennas 9U1RU
Reliable equipment and robust antennas are key to success in a DX expedition. The 9U1RU team will deploy a mixed set of receivers, transmitters, amplifiers and antenna systems:
Radios
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EE SUNSDR2 DX (more pieces)
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Icom IC-7610
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Yaesu FT-891 and FT-991A
Power amplifiers
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Expert 1.3K-FA (3 pieces)
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Mercury III 1 kW
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Domestic 500 W PA (3 pieces)
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EB 500 W
Antennas
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Spiderbeam 30-17-12 m on a 12 m mast
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Spiderbeam 20-15-10 m (two pieces) on a 10 m mast
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Phased GP for 40 m band
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GP DL2KQ for 80 / 160 m band
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hexbeam monoband antennas for bands 20-17-15-12-10 m
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7-element yagi on the 6 m band
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GP antennas for 60 m and 40 m bands
Such a wide range of antennas will allow covering all common HF bands and optimizing operation according to propagation conditions.
Support, funding and QSL 9U1RU
DX expeditions of this scale are financially demanding - and the 9U1RU team counts on support from radio clubs, foundations, corporate sponsors and individual funders. Donors will receive benefits according to the amount of the contribution: fast LoTW potvrdenie, špeciálne trojitú QSL, magnet s logom danej expedície či výnimky pri zasielaní QSL kariet.
Connection logs will be uploaded regularly during the expedition ClubLog, where DX expedition statistics will be readily available. Users can through OQRS (Online QSL Request System) to request your QSL card - requests will be processed as a priority and shipped 3-4 days after the end of the DXpedition.
For supporters of the expedition, cards are planned to be sent automatically at no additional cost. For Russian-speaking operators, it is possible to send a QSL card directly by bank transfer (named sum and bank), indicating your challenge marking.
Importance and challenges of DX expedition
The 9U1RU expedition will bring radio amateurs around the world the opportunity to establish connections with Burundi, one of the less frequently active countries on the DX map. Coverage of all KV bands for a period of 20 days will allow effective reaching of several regions and spread of connections to more remote areas.
Medzi výzvy patrí logistika dopravy, montáže antén a staníc v náročnom prostredí, stabilné napájanie a spoľahlivá prevádzka počas celej akcie. Okrem technickej výbavy sú dôležité aj skúsenosti operátorov, flexibilita podľa podmienok šírenia a efektívne plánovanie prevádzky a rotácií pásiem.
Conclusion
DX expedition 9U1RU in Burundi (2025) is one of the significant projects of the radio amateur world planned for the coming period. The combination of a professional team, robust technology, advantageous localization and an emphasis on wide band coverage promises a high probability of success. Information on https://www.rudxt.org/ 9U1RU