[NLRS] VHF+ Contest Mentor Stations

[W. S. Mitchell]

As I was roving for the 10 GHz contest, I was thinking a bit about barriers
that hams have to getting on the air beyond 146/446 MHz FM.  It occurred to
me that one thing the ARRL could do to increase mentorship, increase on-air
activity, and forge connections among hams would be to have a Mentor
Station rule for VHF+ contests that would be similar in nature to the
Family Rule.

It would work like this: a station (fixed, rover, or portable) could be
used as a mentor station, at which operators who have not participated in a
VHF+ contest in at least a year (inclusive of the current contest) could
operate under their own callsigns on the same equipment.  The newer
operators would gain valuable experience and would not need to invest time
and money into designing and building a station.  Experienced operators
would get a chance to mentor these operators in a 1-on-1 or 1-on-few
situation, and the overall level of activity would be increased with more
callsigns to work.  The newer hams would also begin to get familiar with
some of the regular calls on the air, which strengthens camaraderie and
connections that may lead to further opportunities for development.

It may be prudent to establish a maximum number of trainee operators that
could use a station, but it has been my experience in trying to get a
multi-operator station together that huge numbers of trainees are
unlikely.  One way in which this improves on the current multi-operator
rules is that from a multi-operator station, each other station can be
worked once per band.  For a small VHF station, that might mean only one or
two contacts per operator, if that!  The mentor station rule would allow
each operator to work a full complement of stations, giving them the
maximum opportunity to gain experience.

The Mentor Station rule would give VHF+ clubs and operators additional
incentive for recruitment and mentorship because it increases local
participation directly in the short term, but also can yield additional
independent logs in subsequent contests, activity days, and general
operating conditions.  This would also be a great way to form partnerships
between contest/VHF-weak-signal clubs and public-service groups.

Technical and financial barriers to entry for VHF+ weak signal operation
are significant, but having a Mentor Station rule would get additional
operators on the air, interested in the hobby, and develop their skills in
radio communication.  With participation in VHF+ events often very low,
this would be an easy way to boost turnout and expose more hams to methods
and modes they don't usually use.

I'd be happy to discuss this further, if that would be helpful.

Regards,
  Bill Mitchell, AE0EE
EN34ix

cc: Matt Holden, ARRL Dakota Division Director