The ARRL will be well represented later this month at the premier Amateur Radio gathering in Europe — Ham Radio 2016. The event, in Friedrichshafen, Germany, on the shores of Lake Constance, gets under way on June 24. ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, will head the League’s contingent to Friedrichshafen, which also will include International Affairs Vice President Jay Bellows, K0QB; CEO Tom Gallagher, NY2RF; Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R; Assistant Field Services and Radiosport Manager Norm Fusaro, W3IZ, and retired CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ. The annual show attracts upward of 15,000 visitors from around the globe. The co-sponsoring Deutscher Amateur Radio Club (DARC) has set a theme of “Amateur Radio — On land, on water, and in the air” for this summer’s event. Some 200 exhibitors from 34 countries will be on hand for this 41st “Friedrichshafen.”

“There are as many different ways to operate Amateur Radio as there are places from which you can send radio transmissions: On land, on water, and in the air,” DARC spokesperson Stephanie Heine, DO7PR, said. DARC invited attendees to take part in a photo competition showing Amateur Radio operation in unusual places. “For example, one member equipped his paraglider with an Amateur Radio station and sent us a spectacular photo from it,” Heine said. The best images of ham radio on land, on water, and in the air will be on display in the West Foyer in Messe Friedrichshafen during Ham Radio 2016.

This year’s program includes a “fox hunt” in woods near the fairgrounds, a youth camp, and the Ham Rally, where the next generation of radio amateurs can explore the world of technology and wireless. It’s open to young people between 8 and 18.

A Contest University (CTU) sponsored by the DARC will take place for radiosport beginners on Friday and experienced contesters on Saturday, with sessions aimed at how to improve contesting performance.

Emergency communication will be the focus of some Ham Radio 2016 activities. IARU Region 1 will host a meeting of those interested in emergency communication on Friday, June 24, in Room Rom. The session will include an open forum for national coordinators to report on activities in their respective countries. Also up for discussion will be GlobalSet and changes to the IARU emergency message procedure.

On Saturday, June 25, DARC will hold its fourth Notfunk Universität (Emergency Communications University) in Room London. Sessions will be held in German.

International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) President Tim Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA, will head the IARU team to Friedrichshafen, along with IARU Vice President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, and IARU Secretary Rod Stafford, W6ROD, a past ARRL president.

Next year’s big show in Friedrichshafen will take place July 14-16, owing to a scheduling conflict. The organizers of the event — the DARC and Messe Friedrichshafen — have announced that because the 2017 Outdoor Show at Messe Friedrichshafen had to be postponed until the traditional Ham Radio weekend in late June 2017, Ham Radio 2017 was rescheduled for the following month. The weekend coincides with the Seehasenfest (Lumpfish Festival) on Lake Constance.