Macau (Macao) is a special administrative region of China on the coast of the South China Sea, approximately 60 km west of Hong Kong. With an area of only 30.5 km² and a density of around 21,000 inhabitants per km², it is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. It was administered by Portugal for 442 years - from 1557 until it was handed over to China on 20 December 1999. For radio amateurs, Macau is a separate DXCC entity with the prefix XX9 in CQ zone 24 and the IOTA reference AS-075. According to Club Log statistics, it is the 93rd most requested DXCC subject, which makes it an interesting target especially for European and North American stations.
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Expedition in October 2026
Alberto VR2XAN (IV3TAN) oznámil prostredníctvom DX-World aktivitu pod značkou XX9TXN v termíne 23. – 29. októbra 2026. Plánovaná prevádzka pokrýva pásma od 160 m po 6 m v módoch SSB, CW a FT8, s osobitným dôrazom na spodné pásma. Nejde o Albertovu prvú aktiváciu z Makaa – v novembri 2016 tam pôsobil ako súčasť štvorčlenného tímu spolu s IV3SKB, IK2JUB a IK2PFL na päťdesiatich spojeniach na pásmach 10 až 160 m vrátane účasti v CQ WW CW conteste v kategórii Multi-Two. V júni 2026 sa do Makaa vrátil so sólo aktivitou. Októbrová expedícia je teda jeho tretím známym pobytom pod značkou XX9TXN.
CQ WW DX SSB Contest 2026
The core of the October activity is participation in the race CQ WW DX SSB Contest, ktorý prebieha 24. – 25. októbra 2026 od 00:00 do 23:59 UTC. Contestový kód z Makaa je RS + zóna 24. Pre európske stanice v zóne 15 (Slovensko) znamená spojenie s XX9TXN tri body za QSO (another continent) plus a potential new multiplier for both country and zone on each band. Macau is just that type entity, kde sa contestový bod stretáva s DXCC hodnotou – operátor získava bodovú výhodu aj vzácny subjekt v jednom spojení.
Diffusion conditions and technical challenges
The Macao - Central Europe route measures approximately 9,500 km. On the 15 and 10 m bands, a direct route over a short route is realistic in October, especially in the afternoon hours of Central European time. At 20 m, the window is more reliable, but the competition in the pile-up is tough. On the lower bands of 80 and 160 m, which Alberto explicitly emphasizes, the situation is significantly more demanding - the signal must overcome the entire night route through Asia and the Middle East, where attenuation and atmospheric noise are significant. On 160m, the European operator should expect that the connection window is short and requires a good receiving antenna and patience.
Macau's particular challenge is the city noise. Experience from XX9D expeditions (2017 and 2019) operating from a hotel resort on Coloane Island shows artificial noise levels of S7 to S9 on all bands, with an increase of approximately 10 dB during the night hours between 17:00 and 07:00 local time. With this level of noise, receiving weak signals from distant Europe on the lower bands is extremely difficult - even if a European station is broadcasting at full power, the operator in Macau may not be able to hear it. That is why including FT8 in the operation plan makes practical sense - the digital mode can extract the signal even below the noise level, where CW and SSB fail.
Antenna solutions in limited space
The specific equipment that Alberto will use for the October activity has not been released at the time of writing. It is known from previous XX9D operations that antenna systems in Macau are usually installed on the roofs of hotel buildings - wire verticals with raised radials for 160, 80 and 40 m, Delta loop for 30 m and wire beam for bands 20 to 10 m. Limited space and an urban environment preclude the construction of full-fledged directional antennas, which is a fundamental compromise, especially in the lower bands, where directivity helps suppress noise.
QSL XX9TXN
The QSL manager for XX9TXN is IV3SKB. The log will be uploaded to the Logbook of The World (LoTW). For stations that connect with XX9TXN during CQ WW SSB, the QSO will count as both a contest result and DXCC and IOTA credit (AS-075).