XX9TXN returns to the airwaves: Macau again

Pre DX-manov, lovcov IOTA a operátorov sledujúcich DX cluster je prefix XX9 vždy udalosťou, ktorá si zaslúži pozornosť. Alberto VR2XAN (IV3TAN) oznámil novú aktivitu z Macaa pod značkou XX9TXN, ktorá prebehne začiatkom júna 2026. Pre európskych rádioamatérov pôjde o zaujímavú príležitosť doplniť log, najmä na nižších pásmach alebo v digitálnych módoch.

When will XX9TXN be active?

The XX9TXN activity is scheduled for June 2-9, 2026.

According to available information, Alberto will be QRV on:

• SSB
• CW
• FT8

Operation is planned on the 160 m to 6 m bands, which covers practically the entire classic HF spectrum, including low-band segments and 50 MHz.

Osobitná pozornosť má byť venovaná smeru Severná Amerika, čo je z DX hľadiska logické vzhľadom na propagáciu a dopyt po tomto subjekte. To však neznamená, že európske stanice zostanú mimo hry. Pri správnom načasovaní podľa MUF , A-indexu, K-indexu a aktuálnej geomagnetickej situácie môže byť XX9TXN dobre spracovateľná aj z našich QTH .

The information about planned SSB operation on 80 m and potentially 160 m is interesting. For stations equipped for low-band DX, this can be a very valuable opportunity, as XX9 does not appear in the logs on these bands daily.

Macau – an exotic place that still attracts the DX community

Macau remains an attractive DXCC entity from an amateur radio perspective. Although it is not an absolutely rare entity of the type of expeditions to extremely remote locations, the XX9 prefix does not appear regularly in the DX cluster.

Geographically, it is an interesting point in southern China, on the coast of the South China Sea, which creates interesting path options between Asia, Europe and North America from a distribution perspective.

The designation AS-075 is also relevant to the IOTA community, as it is historically associated with this activity. Island reference hunters therefore remember this prefix well.

For European stations, reading the conditions correctly will be crucial. On higher bands, early morning long-path or greyline effects can help, while 80/160m will be more of a matter for experienced operators with a quality RX system, a reasonable QRN profile and patience in the pile-up.

Previous activities XX9TXN

The call sign XX9TXN is not new. The amateur radio community knows it from previous activity in 2016.

At that time, the team consisted of operators:

• Alberto VR2XAN / IV3TAN
• Andrea IV3SKB
• Stefano IK2JUB
• Luca IK2PFL

The expedition took place from November 21 to 29, 2016 from Macau (AS-075).

The deployment was quite broad:

• XX9TXN on 10, 15, 20, 40, 80 and 160 m
• XX9TKB on WARC bands 12, 17 and 30 m

Významným momentom bola účasť v CQ WW CW contest v kategórii Multi-Two.

The main activity was followed by an additional low-band continuation over the weekend of December 10-11, 2016, with the operator explicitly stating that it would focus exclusively on 160m. This shows a serious approach to the low-band community, where XX9 is a prized catch.

QSL management

The QSL manager for the current activity is IV3SKB.

Zatiaľ neboli publikované detailnejšie inštrukcie ohľadom OQRS , LoTW či eQSL , preto je vhodné sledovať bežné DX informačné kanály a Club Log, kde sa pravdepodobne objaví aktualizácia logu.

Pre DX-manov platí klasické odporúčanie: pred odoslaním papierovej QSL si overiť aktuálne podmienky QSL route. Ak sa objaví LoTW upload, pre mnohých to bude najefektívnejšia cesta k potvrdeniu DXCC.

Conclusion

XX9TXN represents a solid DX opportunity, especially for stations that are still missing Macao in their logo or want to add a new band or mode. The combination of CW, SSB and FT8 on the spectrum from 160m to 6m gives a good chance to a wide group of operators — from QRP experimenters to QRO DX chasers.