General Ham license study suggestions?

[Comanche Scott]

Hey guys,

If you knew then what you know now, what would you do to study for your General Ham license?

My buddy and I are going to study together. We both have the 8th gen ARRL G.C. License Manual (2015-2019).
I have the Tech license. He doesn't. Both of us have a good basic knowledge of electronics.

Thanks for the input! :beer:

 

[Airmapper]

Get on ARRL or QRZ's website and do the practice tests and questions until you can pass a practice test every time.

I prefer the ARRL one as it lets you do sub-sections easier and gives you a nice report for each sub-section.

 

[captadv]

I used this for all my upgrades, love how you can focus your studying. https://www.hamradiolicenseexam.com

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[Hilldweller]

Read though this 5 times: http://ham-cram.com/member-lounge/general-study.php
Take the practice tests a few times: http://www.eham.net/exams/

I studied for two days for a couple of hours. It's not so bad, Scott.

 

[DaveNay]

I studied for two days for a couple of hours. It's not so bad, Scott.

Yeah, it's not like taking the BAR exam. I just took my tests this past Sat and I passed the technician with no problem, basically just by "studying" the practice exams at http://www.qrz.com/hamtest/

I barely passed the general test even though I hadn't actually studied for it....mostly common sense stuff in the tech with some more applied knowledge in the general.

The extra exam though.....that's a different beast. Unless you are an EE, there is a lot of stuff that is going to be new to an average Joe.

 

[prerunner1982]

I am not a fan of taking practice test until you get it right. This puts the right AND wrong answers in your head.
I used the study guides from KB6NU for my Tech and General. Read through them a couple times, went through it once and wrote down what I had problems remembering and read through it again before I even looked at a practice test. This way the only answer I knew to the question was the right answer.
But everybody tests/studies differently so whatever works best for you.
http://www.kb6nu.com/study-guides/

 

[Comanche Scott]

Thanks guys! Sincerely appreciate the suggestions and input. :beer:
I have a bit of trouble with memorization, but if I understand the concept things come easily, and stay with me longer.
I enjoy electronics, it's a big part of my "day job".

 

[DaveNay]

Thanks guys! Sincerely appreciate the suggestions and input. :beer:
I have a bit of trouble with memorization, but if I understand the concept things come easily, and stay with me longer.
I enjoy electronics, it's a big part of my "day job".

You will do fine.

 

[uli2000]

I used hamtestonline for my tech and extra. It's a paid service, but I found it very good, especially for extra. I'm not sure I would have passed without it. For general, I used the ARRL manual and lots of practice tests with a friend. The general was the hardest test for me, I found it as hard as the extra.

Hamstudy.org is great as well, and is free. Had it been around when I was studying I don't think I would have used anything but them. Plus, they fund the site operations costs by selling little dual band HT antennas they make for a decent price.

 

[cybercat]

Once you've studied these tests help me.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/amateur-radio-exam-prep-general/id298756574?mt=8

 

[PhulesAU]

MFJ has good test books, they are the only MFJ products I'd recommend.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Yeah, it's not like taking the BAR exam. I just took my tests this past Sat and I passed the technician with no problem, basically just by "studying" the practice exams at http://www.qrz.com/hamtest/

I barely passed the general test even though I hadn't actually studied for it....mostly common sense stuff in the tech with some more applied knowledge in the general.

The extra exam though.....that's a different beast. Unless you are an EE, there is a lot of stuff that is going to be new to an average Joe.

That's what I did, got an EE degree and designed satellite electronics to prepare. LOL. Aced 50/50 on the Extra with just a quick read.

But (and it's important, I'm seriously not trying to brag) I missed plenty of answers on both the Tech or General. Neither of them was difficult technically but there's operational things to know that I had no clue.

So the only reason I nailed the Extra exam was I'd been active listening and operating, particularly on HF. That's honestly the best way to learn this stuff, key the mic and talk to your fellow hams. So the quick reading for the Extra I did was to get down the bands and FCC rules, it was targeted studying and having a BSEE and P.E. that kind of studying I can do in my sleep.

FWIW, the ARRL books are good, they give the question pool with answers and explanations. Read though that and try a few practice exams, you'll learn and know it.

 

[freedomrider]

FWIW, Pacificon 2016 has a one day General license training session coming up a week from Friday in the SF Bay Area. Slides can be downloaded from the website (sorry, having trouble providing link from my phone). I have no affiliation with the event or training.

 

[snare]

Hamstudy.org is great as well, and is free. Had it been around when I was studying I don't think I would have used anything but them. Plus, they fund the site operations costs by selling little dual band HT antennas they make for a decent price.

I am really liking hamstudy.org, especially due to the explanations found with each test question.

 

[JJS2]

Amateur radio exam preparation - what I did

1. I bought the ARRL Technician exam book.

2. I printed the list of questions & answers from the ARRL site. (First the Tech. and then the General questions.) It helped that I have access to a printer at work.

3. I watched a few of The HamWhisperer's YouTube test question reviews. This helped by explaining the logical approach to selection/elimination of answers. I only did this for the Technician test.

4. I visited the qrz.com site and REPEATEDLY took the practice exams. As a random question appeared, I would try to select the answer. If I was in doubt (or got it wrong), I had the printed question list as a ready reference - and something that I could write notes on. Also, if I saw that I had a pattern of struggling with questions in a particular section, I would re-read that section of the book.

Once I regularly began to get above ~90% on the tests, I referred to the printed list less and less. After I felt confident with my Technician Q&As, I printed the General test's list of questions, and did the General level practice test. I didn't get a book.

After about 3 or 4 weeks of this sort of preparation, I appeared at a local radio club, paid my fee, and took the Technician test. When the scorer told me I'd passed, I then sat for the General test, and passed that.