So for those who have recently studied and passed the extra, how do you get this stuff to stick in your mind long enough to pass the test?
I'm never likely to need half the stuff I have to remember, and if I
If I'm going to build an antenna, you bet your life I'm going to find
one on the internet that someone has already designed, tested, and tweaked.
So for those who have recently studied and passed the extra, how do you get this stuff to stick in your mind long enough to pass the test?
So for those who have recently studied and passed the extra, how do you get this stuff to stick in your mind long enough to pass the test?
I used HamTestOnline, studying 2 hours a day for 2 weeks. I barely
passed the test (back in 2007), but it was good enough. If you can
get a good grasp on the rest of the stuff, you don't have to worry
about the math and electronic theory...which weren't my high points,
either.
HamTestOnline does offer a money back guarantee, if you fail the exam.
But, in using them, I went from Technician to General in 14 days, and
from General to Amateur Extra 13 days later. To me, it was the best money
I ever spent in ham radio.
Then I'd argue you probably don't need extra. After a little over two years into radio, I've used something from every section of the test except
sat, and even that knowledge I've used in discussions with people.
I have operated with plenty of people of all sorts, including a bunch with extra class, and about 80% of them have damn near no idea what they're doing with antennas, setup, and/or operating. I promise that if you learn what's in extra and put it into practice as you need it, you'll find value in it.
I used hamstudy for the parts I mostly already knew. Then for the harder parts, especially electronics, I would listen to the Fast Track book on 1.25x and follow along with the regular book.
THe main reason for it is trying not to remember which frequencies I can use as tech and which I can't. It also means that if I'm eventually
going to put down stupid amounts of money for an antenna and radio
setup, I'll be able to get one that covers all the frequencies, not wasting any, and not having to upgrade later.
I guess it's not a matter of not needing it, but not having to needing to remember it when we have plenty of instant online resources. It'd
probably be quicker for me to look up some forumla calculator on Google than to perform it myself.
I really don't think I'm ever going to need stuff like "What is a
typical range for tropospheric propagation of microwave signals?"
I'm not really following this line of thinking.
I'm not really following this line of thinking.
Not at all.
I may invest if I can find the time to indulge myself in 2 weeks of relentless bombardment of facts, figures, and forumlas that I will
never care about again, probably :)
The only other thing is me balking at the cost of a decent radio setup.
Why are you interested in extra?
HamTestOnline does offer a money back guarantee, if you fail the
exam. But, in using them, I went from Technician to General in 14
days, and from General to Amateur Extra 13 days later. To me, it was
the best money I ever spent in ham radio.
I may invest if I can find the time to indulge myself in 2 weeks of relentless bombardment of facts, figures, and forumlas that I will
never care about again, probably :)
The only other thing is me balking at the cost of a decent radio
setup.
$3 from the app store (I have an Android phone, I'm pretty sure it's
also available on iOS). All it does is ask you the questions on the
once a day. It will also tell you how much of the question pool you've seen/answered.
I have a friend who just took (and passed, first time) his extra exam using this app. he said once he had seen 100% of the question pool, his test scores shot up to around 90%, which is a comfortable range to pass the actual test.
Meaning that general has access to every band that extra does. So any radio or antenna you buy to cover band X will be accessible whether you are a general or an extra.
There are only 500 kilohertz of spectrum that General Class hams can't use, and 250 kilohertz of spectrum that Advanced Class hams can't use; both in comparison to Amateur Extra. However, most hams that operate HF have the General Class license.
The only other thing is me balking at the cost of a decent radio
setup.
Yeah, why are hobbies always so damn expensive?
I'm currently studying to take my Technician and General exam at the same time, using an app on my phone from Hamstudy.org The app was like $3 from the app store (I have an Android phone, I'm pretty sure it's also available on iOS). All it does is ask you the questions on the test. if you get it
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