DX Marathon Sprint “The DX Marathon continues to grow and Cycle 25 has brought even more excitement to DXing,” the Programme Administrator (Mark Wohlschlegel, WC3W) says. “Participation has nearly doubled in the past few years and we would like to see it grow even further. This year, we are introducing something special – the DX Marathon Sprint.”
The Sprint will start on 18 October at 00:00 UTC and close on 27 October at 23:59 UTC. The rules are simple: within the 10 days window, work as many countries (346) and CQ zones (40) as possible, on 160 to 6 metres. There will be four classes (Unlimited, Limited, Formula, or QRP), All Modes or single mode (CW, SSB, Digital). All submissions must be made via the submission tool on the DX Marathon’ website and must be received no later than 2 November at 23:59 UTC. See https://dxmarathon.com/rules/2025-sprint/ for the complete rules.
Rwanda, 9X. Harald, DF2WO will be active as 9X2AW from Kigali from 1 to 21 September with activity on various HF bands and 6 meters using CW, SSB and digital. He will also be active on the QO-100 Satellite. QSL via M0OXO.
Benin, TY. Antonio, IK7WUL is active as TY2AA until 7 September. Activity is in his spare time on 20 meters using SSB. QSL via I8KHC.
Mali, TZ. Jeff, K1MMB will be active again as TZ4AM from Bamako, Mali starting sometime in September to December. He will operate CW and SSB on 80 to 6 meters. QSL via LoTW, or direct to KX4R.
Equatorial Guinea, 3C. Yuris, YL2GM and Yevgen, EA5EL will be active as 3C3W from Bioko Island, IOTA AF-010, in September. Activity will be on 160 to 6 meters. QSL via YL2GN.
Annobon Island, 3C0. After their Equatorial Guinea activation, Yuris, YL2GM and Yevgen, EA5EL will be active as 3C0W. Activity will be on 160 to 6 meters. QSL via YL2GN.
Palau, T8. Active on various bands and modes from the Palau Radio Club on Koror Island (OC-009) will be JG2RMR as T88CL (2 to 7 September) and JH2DFJ as T88DF (2 to 11 September), including for both participation in the Phone leg of the All-Asian DX Contest (6 and 7 September).
Christmas Island, VK9X. Team VK9QO (namely BA7LVG, BH6BEZ, JA1COU, JA3GEP) will be active from Christmas Island (OC-002) between 3 and 7 October. Main activity will be via satellite (RS-44 and QO-100), but they will also be active on 40 to 6 metres CW, SSB and digital. QSL via JA3GEP and LoTW (daily uploads).
Korea, HL. Members of the Gwangju DX Club (6L0NJ) will be active as D73G from Imja Island (AS-060) between 12 and 14 September. They will operate CW, SSB and digital on various bands, from 160 m to 70 cm. QSL via the bureau or direct, Club Log’s OQRS, LoTW, eQSL and QRZ Logbook.
Bhutan A5. Gerben, PG5M will be active as A52G from Dochula (3 100 metres above sea level), Bhutan between 3 and 9 October (+/- one day). He will operate CW and some digital on 40 to 10 metres, plus “perhaps some 6 m”. See https://dx.to/a52g/ for more information. QSL via M0OXO’s OQRS; full LoTW upload after six months.
Laos, XW. Maxim, OH7O will be active as XW4YY from Laos (grid OK18FF and other locations) from 29 August to 11 September. He will operate SSB and digital on 40, 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10 metres; “not sure I will have enough height for 160 m”, he says and adds that 80 and 6 m “are officially not allowed”. See https://oh7o.com/xw4yy/ for updates. QSL via M0OXO’s OQRS.
Moldova, ER. Look for Michael, ER/DF8AN to be active from Chisinau, Moldova between 6 and 13 September. He will operate CW and digital modes on 80 to 6 m. QSL via home call, and LoTW.
Svalbard, JW. Nick, F5FRM will be active as JW0B from the Svalbard Amatorradioklubb in Longyearbyen (EU-026) between 24 and 28 September. He will focus on the high bands CW and RTTY, with some 6 m if conditions allow and a casual participation in the CQ WW RTTY DX Contest. QSL via LoTW and M0OXO’s OQRS; Club Log’s livestream will be active.
Norway, LA. LA100IARU, LB100IARU and LM100IARU (the latter operated by NRRL staff and elected officials) are the special call signs for the Norwegian Radio Relay League to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the International Amateur Radio Union.
Market Reef, OJ0. Look for OJ0W (operated by Jari OH6QU, Juha OH6XX, and Panu OH7CW) and OJ0YL (operated by Anne OH2YL) to be active from Market Reef (EU-053) between 20 and 26 September. They will be active on 160 to 6 metres CW, SSB and digital with at least two stations around the clock and an emphasis on the low bands. QSL OJ0W via OH7CW, QSL OJ0YL via OH2YL; QSOs will be uploaded to LoTW and Club Log, whose OQRS will open when the operation finishes. A full VOACAP propagation forecast is available at https://www.voacap.com/dx/oj0yl/.
Sweden, SM. Frank, DL2SWW and Gaby, DF9TM will be active as either LG5LG or SJ9WL from Morokulien, the station on the border between Sweden and Norway, between 5 and 8 September (QSLs via LA7TIA). They will then proceed to Orust Island (SM6, EU-043), with POTA operations along the way and planned activity from the island between 12 and 16 September.
Sweden, SM. Eight special call signs (7S100SSA, 8S100SSA, SB100SSA, SC100SSA, SD100SSA, SE100SSA, SF100SSA and SM100SSA) will be in use from 10 September to 12 October in celebration on the 100th anniversary of the Foreningen Sveriges Sandareamatorer (SSA), Sweden’s IARU member society. Look for activity on 160 to 6 metres CW, SSB and digital
modes. Details of the award programme will be published on https://hamaward.cloud/awards.
Gibraltar, ZB. All Gibraltar licensed operators are allowed to switch to the “ZG” prefix during the week leading towards Gibraltar National Day (10 September).
Brazil, PY. PV203BR is a special call sign for members of the Liga de Amadores Brasileiros de Radio Emissao (LABRE) to celebrate the 203rd anniversary of Brazil’s independence between 5 and 15 September. Activity will be on all bands and modes and via satellite. QSL via LoTW.
Fernando de Noronha, PY0F. Mario, PY2DV as PY0FB (80 to 6 metres SSB and some digital) and Bruce, PY2BS as PY0FBS (23 cm EME) will be active from Fernando de Noronha (SA-003) between 8 and 15 October. QSLs via M0URX’s OQRS and LoTW.
USA, W. Organized by the Citrus Belt ARC, the 26th annual Route 66 On The Air special event celebrates the historic US Highway 66. Twenty-three amateur radio stations using 1×1 call signs (W6A – W6W) will be active from cities along the “Mother Road” between 6 and 14 September. In addition, W6Y will be an Aeronautical Rover station operating from the air on 2 meters simplex (146,490). See https://w6jbt.org/ for complete information about the event, QSL routes included.