9X0SP & 9U0A
Rwanda & Burundi - Oct/Nov 2010
Operation
We had choosen two destinations for our 2010 DXpedition. The first stop from Oct 26, 2010 to Nov 2, 2010 in Rwanda, 9X, operating as 9X0SP. The second stop in Burundi as 9U0A from Nov 2, 2010 to Nov 9, 2010. We were active with several stations on 160m through 10m on CW, SSB. One station was exclusively dedicated to RTTY, PSK31 and SSTV. Please check our News Page as well as the 9X0SP Pictures Page and the 9U0A Pictures Page .
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| Rwanda Flag | |
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| Burundi Flag |
We had three K2 transceivers, three amplifiers (2x XV600, 1x TY900), 2x 18m Lowband Vertical, verticals for 40m and 30m, a Spiderbeam for 20/17/15/12/10 and some Beverage antennas.
Team
Our experienced crew was:
- DL4WK, Wolf
- DL7DF, Sigi
- DL7UFR, Frank
- DL7VEE, Rolf
Pilot station for this DXpedition was Bernd, DF3CB.
Sponsors
We would like to express our sincere thanks to all our sponsors for this DXpedition:
Individual sponsors
Leszek - SP3DOI
Masa - JA5XWB
Tom - DJ6TF
Andy - DL5CW
Tom - DL2RUM
Manfred - DK1BT
About Rwanda
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| Country name: | Republic of Rwanda (short form: Rwanda) |
| National capital: | Kigali |
| Location: | Central Africa, bordering to the countries Burundi 290 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 217 km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km |
| Area: | 26,338 sq km (slightly smaller than Maryland) |
| Land boundaries: | 893 km |
| Coastline: | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Climate: | temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible |
| Terrain: | mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with altitude declining from west to east |
| Natural resources: | gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land |
| Population: | 11,055,976 (July 2010 est.) |
| Religions: | Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%, Muslim 4.6%, indigenous beliefs 0.1%, none 1.7% |
| Languages: | Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers |
| Independence: | 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) |
| Economy: | Rwanda is a poor rural country with about 90% of the population engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture and some mineral and agro-processing. In 2008, minerals overtook coffee and tea as Rwanda's primary foreign exchange earner. The 1994 genocide decimated Rwanda's fragile economic base, severely impoverished the population, particularly women, and temporarily stalled the country's ability to attract private and external investment. However, Rwanda has made substantial progress in stabilizing and rehabilitating its economy to pre-1994 levels. Rwanda joined the East African Community and is aligning its budget, trade, and immigration policies with its regional partners. |
| Reference: | CIA - The World Factbook -- Rwanda |
About Burundi
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| Country name: | Republic of Burundi (short form: Burundi) |
| National capital: | Bujumbura |
| Location: | East Africa, bordering to the countries Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km, 3 30 S, 30 00 E |
| Area: | 27,830 sq km (slightly smaller than Maryland) |
| Land boundaries: | 974 km |
| Coastline: | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Climate: | equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees centigrade but is generally moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m; average annual rainfall is about 150 cm; two wet seasons (February to May and September to November), and two dry seasons (June to August and December to January) |
| Terrain: | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains |
| Natural resources: | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum, vanadium, arable land, hydropower, niobium, tantalum, gold, tin, tungsten, kaolin, limestone |
| Population: | 8,390,505 (July 2006 est.) |
| Religions: | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% |
| Languages: | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) |
| Independence: | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) |
| Economy: | Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural with more than 90% of the population dependent on subsistence agriculture. Economic growth depends on coffee and tea exports, which account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings. The ability to pay for imports, therefore, rests primarily on weather conditions and international coffee and tea prices. Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short supply. Political stability and the end of the civil war have improved aid flows and economic activity has increased. |
| Reference: | CIA - The World Factbook -- Burundi |