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It's easy though. You can memorize the Technician pool in 5-10 hours with https://www.hamstudy.org https://www.hamstudy.org or their app - the app is GREAT - (I

It's easy though. You can memorize the Technician pool in 5-10 hours with https://www.hamstudy.org https://www.hamstudy.org or their app - the app is GREAT - (I know, my wife and I just did it and are testing for the tech Saturday, I've passed the last 100 something practice tests in a row) and the General is only slightly harder. I'm working 60-70 hours a week, plus class, plus church responsibilities and I'm consistently getting 70-71% correct on the General already just from using the app for a half hour or so a day and listening to the question pool via KB6NU's book while I work since Monday morning. I probably won't get up to passing it Saturday but I can just do an online test in the next few weeks once my Tech is in the database Monday or Tuesday. Getting the General gives you plenty of room to do stuff like this.

genewitch 5y ago
I'm gonna be a little bit of a jerk, here. The general can be crammed for but I don't think it should be. Cram the technician license if you just "gotta get on air". The general and extra should be reserved for people who can answer questions at their level and below. Merely reading part 97 of the FCC regulations is enough to technically pass the parts of all three that don't have anything to do with "a station", yet 90% of every argument I've had with hams is interpretation of said rules ( and part 95, and part 90.) I don't want to discourage anyone, but the investment in effort and money between tech and general is in the 4-5 digit range of dollars and hours. By all means study. But cramming the test questions isn't studying and will leave you as an appliance operator that will constantly be told, if ever on the air, that they're doing something either rude, against the rules, or dangerous.
- ryanmercer 5y ago
  I don't feel that any of the questions on the general actually equip me to know how to even connect the components of a complete radio setup up, so I'll just have to agree to disagree. A good chunk of the questions are memorizing frequencies and wattages you're allowed to use for various things... something you can print off on a chart and tape to the wall.
  - genewitch 5y ago
    there's questions about common mode interference and other RFI things, cabling, antennas, and things like that. strict "rules only" is technician - what bands, how much power (which gets interesting in quite a few bands), and so on. Technician is like "set up a modem to get on a BBS."

genewitch 5y ago

I'm gonna be a little bit of a jerk, here. The general can be crammed for but I don't think it should be. Cram the technician license if you just "gotta get on air". The general and extra should be reserved for people who can answer questions at their level and below. Merely reading part 97 of the FCC regulations is enough to technically pass the parts of all three that don't have anything to do with "a station", yet 90% of every argument I've had with hams is interpretation of said rules ( and part 95, and part 90.) I don't want to discourage anyone, but the investment in effort and money between tech and general is in the 4-5 digit range of dollars and hours. By all means study. But cramming the test questions isn't studying and will leave you as an appliance operator that will constantly be told, if ever on the air, that they're doing something either rude, against the rules, or dangerous.

ryanmercer 5y ago
I don't feel that any of the questions on the general actually equip me to know how to even connect the components of a complete radio setup up, so I'll just have to agree to disagree. A good chunk of the questions are memorizing frequencies and wattages you're allowed to use for various things... something you can print off on a chart and tape to the wall.
- genewitch 5y ago
  there's questions about common mode interference and other RFI things, cabling, antennas, and things like that. strict "rules only" is technician - what bands, how much power (which gets interesting in quite a few bands), and so on. Technician is like "set up a modem to get on a BBS."