West Africa is coming to a pileup near you. From November 11 to 23, 2026, the Belgian Rockall DX Group will activate Guinea as 3X4U, operating from the shores of Lac de Koba on all HF bands from 160 through 10 meters — with possible 6-meter activity — on CW, SSB, and FT8/FT4. Guinea remains a sought-after DXCC entity for operators worldwide, especially on the low bands and in mode-specific award chases, and this expedition is built to serve them all.
The team is not cutting corners. Five identical HF stations — Elecraft K3 transceivers paired with Expert 1.3K-FA amplifiers — will run at up to a kilowatt, feeding a serious antenna farm of hexbeams, phased verticals, four-squares, and verticals. The stated objective is maximum QSOs across as many bands and modes as possible, with special attention to human modes and the difficult propagation paths that keep Guinea near the top of many wish lists. A ten-operator team of seasoned DXpeditioners, plus a medical assistant, will keep the stations on the air around the clock.
QSLing is painless: Tim, M0URX, manages QSL duties, with requests handled through Club Log OQRS, direct mail, and Logbook of the World. The European DX Foundation has announced its support for the expedition, and the team has been running full dress rehearsals — computer networks, logging, RF interference checks between the five stations — before packing 35 equipment cases for the trip.
For North American chasers, the appeal is the low bands. West African openings on 160, 80, and 40 meters are among the most satisfying contacts a DXer can make — brief windows, tricky polar paths, and enormous pileups. Listen for 3X4U on the low-band watering holes during your gray-line window, have your CW or FT8 setup ready, and be patient: five stations means the rate will be fast, but the rare ones still get through. When that confirmation lands, Guinea on a new band will taste sweet.