While most hams in the U.S. are familiar with amateur radio conventions like Dayton Hamvention® and Orlando HamCation, many may not be aware of the Friedrichshafen Ham Fair, which is held every June on Lake Constance in Germany. The 2025 fair ran from June 27-29.
I had the opportunity to go last summer. Getting to know some of the Youngsters On The Air (YOTA) participants from Germany and other parts of Europe was quite an enjoyable experience.
My father, KE8LYZ, and I left for Germany the Sunday of ARRL Field Day. Carsten, DM9EE, hosted us at his hotel for the first few days of our stay before we made the road trip to southern Germany where the event takes place. The first few days of our trip were jam-packed with sightseeing. We visited the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the Autostadt museum, the Cologne Cathedral, and a few other interesting sites. We ended each day with some operating from DM9EE’s shack, so I could get a few QSOs in as DL/KE8LQR.
The fair is held Friday through Sunday, so on Thursday it was time to make the trip down from where we were staying near Hannover to the southern part of Germany. The host city for Ham Fair, Friedrichshafen, is very close to Austria and Switzerland, opening up attendance to not only Germans but residents of those countries and other locations around Europe.
While my dad stayed in an Airbnb for the weekend, I was able to participate in the Hamcamp at the fair, which is essentially a youth hostel. It’s open to attendees up to the age of 27 and provides the perfect opportunity for young operators to make new friends and catch up with old ones as well. I had previously spoken with many of these people on the air during YOTA month and contests, or while general operating, so it was exciting to meet them in person. I also got to catch up with many of the hams who I had met at previous YOTA camps and stayed in touch with.
The Ham Fair officially started on Friday. In terms of exhibitors and vendors, it was similar to hamfests in the U.S., like Huntsville and HamCation. Some highlights included visiting the ARRL, Begali, Icom, and other booths. After spending Friday touring the booths and flea market and spending time with friends, we started the evening with the YOTA dinner at a nearby restaurant.
Around 40 of the young operators who made up the Hamcamp or were just visiting for the day went out for dinner together to catch up on everything from YOTA month to YOTA camp and their own personal amateur radio-related activities. Then we returned to Hamcamp at the conference venue to chat for a while longer and get some sleep before a day full of YOTA activities on Saturday.
On Saturday, most of the young attendees of the conference went to the YOTA forum, where we got to learn about different opportunities and activities within YOTA in Europe. During the afternoon’s flag ceremony, the YOTA key (a key that travels with the YOTA group to each one of their camps) and a flag were presented to the upcoming YOTA camp’s hosts.
After that, we spent the rest of the day visiting other forums and booths before some of us went to the BCC (Bavarian Contest Club) dinner where we had the opportunity to network with contesters from around the world. After the dinner, we all headed back to Hamcamp for one last night of socializing before we went our separate ways on Sunday.
Since my father and I still had a relatively long drive back to Berlin for our flight out, we left fairly early Sunday morning after I had said my goodbyes to my friends and acquaintances (although some were only “goodbyes for now” since YOTA camp in Halifax was the next week!).
Even though the event was only for a few days, like the conferences in the U.S., getting to catch up with all of my YOTA friends and make some new ones while learning about a new culture was an amazing experience!
