DX Engineering sponsors November 2025 Burundi DXpedition
Whether you’re a Big Gun or Little Pistol, here’s a great opportunity for DX chasers to record an ATNO or fill bands with the 9U1RU DXpedition to the Republic of Burundi scheduled for Oct. 31 through Nov. 20, 2025.
A team of nine operators from four countries will be working seven stations around-the-clock, covering 160-6M on SSB, CW, and FT8. Stations will be equipped with these transceivers: Elecraft K3, Yaesu FT-891, Yaesu FT-991A, and an Icom IC-7610 donated by DX Engineering.
Per the 9U1RU website, “Our goal is to work as many stations as possible, paying attention to distant regions and low pistols. We have found a good location with a clear takeoff to all most common directions.”
Burundi, a landlocked country in East Africa with a population around 14 million, ranked as the 60th Most Wanted DXCC Entity per Clublog as of September 2025. At 10, 361 square miles (about the size of Massachusetts), Burundi is one of the smallest African nations. In February 2023, the two-operator 9U5R/9U4WX DXpedition to Burundi logged more than 60,000 QSOs over a month of operating.
In honor of the 9U1RU activation, here are a few Burundi QSL cards collected by the avid DXers at DX Engineering over the years:
Mark, W8BBQ, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, contacted the 9U0A Burundi DXpedition in November 2010 on 17M and 15M SSB. George, K3GP, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, contacted them on 40M, 20M, and 17M CW. The four-operator 9U0A team logged more than 13,100 QSOs. The card features the regal African crowned crane. The gray variety of the crowned crane can be found in Burundi.
Tom, KB8UUZ, DX Engineering technical writer, reached the highly successful 9U4U Burundi DXpedition on 20M and 15M SSB back in 2013. The team logged more than 70,000 QSOs during its ten days in Africa.
The back of the QSL card reads: “Once upon a time in a faraway land a bunch of crazy radio amateurs got this foolish idea of installing antennas and four radio stations to spread their message over the airwaves…When they reached their destination in the heart of Africa’s subtropical region, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, they bundled forces to build four stations with numerous antennas. Blazing heat, heavy rainfall, and countless mosquito bites did not prevent them to complete all work before nightfall.”
Wayne, K8FF, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, received these Burundi QSL cards from Bujumbura, the largest city (population 370,000) and main port of Burundi, where the country’s primary exports of coffee, tin ore, and cotton are shipped.
Scotty, KG9Z, DX Engineering customer/technical support specialist, reached James Bullington, 9U5JB, the U.S. Ambassador to Burundi under President Ronald Reagan, in February 1984.
Visit DXEngineering.com for everything you need to upgrade your station to make sure you’re ready when infrequently activated entities like Burundi 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!
