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A distinctly international audience at Europe’s leading amateur radio trade fair – with a lively, well-received supporting program

Visitors from more than 50 countries bring the “ham spirit” to life

23.06.2019  | Final Report

Friedrichshafen, Germany – Cosmopolitanism, enthusiasm for technology and international understanding across all borders characterize the “ham spirit” that radio amateurs from all over the world are living out today. Over the weekend, 14,300 visitors from more than 50 countries extended their antennas at the Ham Radio on Lake Constance in order to make contact with each other face-to-face, to glean information about the latest technology, and to report on it to others by radio. “Visitors to the fair feature a high level of technical expertise, which means they are also quite demanding in terms of what they want from the exhibitors and the content of the supporting program. With the support of the German Amateur Radio Club (DARC) as the ideal sponsor, we once again lived up to our reputation as Europe’s leading trade fair for amateur radio. The 44th edition attracted some 400 more visitors than in the previous year,” says Messe Friedrichshafen CEO Klaus Wellmann and Project Manager Petra Rathgeber. With 184 exhibitors and associations from 32 countries presenting themselves, the lecture program was first-rate: in addition to presentations by industry leaders, Nobel Prize Laureate Joe Taylor attracted a great deal of interest among visitors with his remarks.


In Hall A1, you could find everything radio communication hobbyists need, from antennas to radio devices through to accessories. The flea market area proved to be a treasure trove of available equipment and a great gathering point for talking shop with fellow experts. In personal conversations, many commercial exhibitors explained that they were satisfied with how the fair had gone. Michael Bürck, JVCKenwood Germany, sums things up in this way: “We presented our new TS-890S transceiver to the public and were thrilled with the positive feedback. Here you come into contact with an audience that is very knowledgeable and motivated, leading to stimulating conversations and great opportunities for networking.” Alfred Kraemer, owner of Difona, reports: “We are pleased with our booth at the fair. Just as in previous years, visitors made the pilgrimage to this exhibition with interest in making purchases. We were able to achieve our sales target.”

The supporting program was highly professional and featured a wide variety of initiatives. Both the continuing education for teachers and the Ham Camp for children and teenagers were fully booked, with 137 junior radio operators participating in the Ham Rally. The balloon mission on Saturday was wildly popular. “We experienced a lively and positive atmosphere at Ham Radio 2019. The slogan of ‘Amateur Radio on Tour’ was palpable everywhere, especially since the visitors had traveled so far to be a part of the event. Our lecture program was very well received, with the remarks by Nobel Laureate Joe Taylor and the talk by Peter Gülzow on the new geostationary satellite drawing particularly large crowds. The many facets of amateur radio were on display at the Ham Radio, and we are really pleased,” say Stephanie Heine and Werner Bauer from DARC.

Taking place again in its traditional time frame next year, the Ham Radio will be broadcasting from Friedrichshafen from June 26th to 28th, 2020. Further information is available at www.hamradio-friedrichshafen.de.



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