Here’s an excellent opportunity to add Azerbaijan to your list of DXing conquests for 2025. DL4XT as 4K/DL4XT is planning an HF operation from Azerbaijan Dec. 26-Jan. 3. You can try to reach DL4XT from this landlocked republic at the boundary of western Asia and eastern Europe on SSB, CW, and FT8.
In addition to DXpeditions from operators who travel to Azerbaijan, members of the Azerbaijan Radio Amateurs Society keep ham radio very much alive in this country of 10.2 million. On March 29-30, 2025, members of the group conducted a DXpedition from the Khizi Mountains using the call sign 4K0T during the CQ WPX SSB contest.
The Khizi region is home to the “Candy Cane Mountains,” so called because of their striking pink and beige shale slopes which vary in color due to mineral composition and iron oxidation that creates reddish-pink sedimentary layers.
In May 2025, the society used special call signs 4J100IARU/4K100IARU from Baku to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the International Amateur Radio Union. Baku, population 2.4 million, is Azerbaijan’s capital and the largest city on the Caspian Sea.
In September 2024, the Azerbaijan Radio Amateurs Society and Azercosmos, Azerbaijan’s space agency, organized a direct contact with NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, KD5PLB, who fielded questions from Khazar University students while she operated from the International Space Station (ISS).
QSL Cards
The active hams at DX Engineering have had great success contacting Azerbaijan over the years (a good reason to contact them for help with your gear if you’d like to do the same). Here are a few of the QSL cards from their collections.
Wayne, K8FF, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, reached UD6DFK on CW, a mode he’s well familiar with as the inventor of the famous Code Warrior key. Read K8FF’s story here.
Scotty, KG9Z, earned this QSL card from UD6CN for his CW contact back in 1981.
Mark, W8BBQ, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, sent us these cards from 4J3M and 4K6FO. Azerbaijan’s prefix changed from UD to 4J-4K after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Azerbaijan had been a constituent republic of the USSR since 1922. Alim, 4K6FO, a member of the Azerbaijan Radio Amateurs Society, participated in the 4K0T activation mentioned above.
George, K3GP, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, received this card from 4K9W in 1999.
Tom, KB8UUZ, DX Engineering technical writer, received this QSL card commemorating the first Formula One Grand Prix race in Baku, June 2016. Not only is it a very cool card, it presents an ideal opportunity to remind our readers that Summit Racing Equipment is the parent company of DX Engineering. Need both a transmission and a transceiver? We’ve got you covered. Incidentally, the winner of the 2016 Azerbaijan Grand Prix was Nico Rosberg. He went on to win the Formula One World Drivers’ Championship that year.
Visit DXEngineering.com for everything you need to upgrade your station to make sure you’re ready when entities like Azerbaijan are on the air.
You’ll find transceivers, antennas, amplifiers, CW keys and paddles, headsets and speakers, reference books like “Ham Radio DX: A Complete Guide,” and much more.
Editor’s Note: Every month, DX Engineering features QSL cards from our team members’ personal collections. To highlight upcoming DXpeditions, we’ll be displaying a few of our favorite cards along with details about what it took to make these contacts. We’re excited to share some of the special cards pulled from the thousands we’ve received over the years. We look forward to seeing your cards as well!
