I'm an old ham on the air for many years. I have helped hundreds of
people get their licenses over the years from a 7-year-old boy to an 88
year old man and his 84 year old "honey".
One of the biggest mistakes people studying for their ham licenses of
the recent tests is to try to study electronics, propagation, the rules,
becoming Electrical Engineers and communications lawyers in the process.
The best course you can take to pass a ham license test is Dale
Carnegie, where you learn to MEMORIZE and ASSOCIATE the answer they're
looking for (notice I didn't say "correct") with the stupid questions
they ask on the tests. ROTE MEMORIZATION shows the best results. You
can learn all about electronics, radio theory, propagation, antennas,
and all that stuff AFTER you get on the air. It won't help you much on
these tests.
http://www.qrz.com/p/testing.pl
QRZ.com has free practice tests that make it easy. The tests are
assembled at random, just like the FCC does, by this .pl website. When
you start a test, always do a different test from what you used before
so you don't start learning the test sequence. Click the button at the
start that says "WAIT FOR ANSWER" and the test will let you click
answers UNTIL you get it right. When you "guess" the right answer, stop
and write down the question and its answer and some silly little mind
picture that will help you visualize the answer for the question at the
real test session. These are REAL questions, handed to you on a silver
platter.
When you answer the question correctly, it immediately goes to the NEXT
question, so you must write down the question and answer (or copy/paste
them to wordpad or notepad) BEFORE clicking the answer. Select the time
to be a LONG test, as long as they'll permit.
If you think you can visualize the answer or know the answer and get it
correct every time....forget all that and go on. At some point, taking
test after test, you'll soon be answering the questions without really
reading all the wording trickery these jokers are famous for. When you
get to the point where you recognize 75% of the questions, go try the
test, it's nearly free. You can retest every 30 days at any volunteer
testing session.
We are MEMORIZING the REAL test. Electronics/radio theory/etc. has
nothing to do with it.
I haven't "taught" a class in a long time because I've lost interest in
ham radio having been on it and fed up with the petty fighting since
1957. Just like Usenet, hams are a bunch of two-year-olds fighting in
the RF sandbox for male dominance. Give a listen and see for
yourselves. I used to teach 8 cl***** a year long ago.
Oh, that 7-year-old flunked his first Novice code test, not the written.
His letters were so big he ran out of paper before the test was over!
He was copying 10 wpm just fine. He's all grown up, now, and a bigshot
Electronics Engineer. I ruined his whole life and he loves to tell me I
did...(c; I kept hounding him after he got his technician to stay off 2
meter FM repeaters and work harder for the upper cl*****. This cost me
bigtime as the little **** took my challenges one after another! His
General cost me $20, as did his Advanced license. His EXTRA cost me
$50! He was 10 and I thought I was safe. After sleeping through the 20
wpm code test, he was the 2nd one done in the written session. HE GOT
ONE WRONG....saving me from DOUBLE OR NOTHING! $50 well spent. His
dad, an airline pilot, learned a lot and changed his mind about betting
with him about getting his pilot's license until much later. He's
multi-engine, instrument rated, now, but his dad refuses to let him fly
the 757s...(c;
I got an invitation to his graduation when he got his BSEE and MSEE.
Think "Dilbert" from the comics....(c;
Welcome to ham radio! It's been a helluva ride. I'm still recognized
by my kilowatt mobile stations with corona arcing off it from the
intense RF fields so powerful they light flourescent signs passing
by....(c; POWER is our FRIEND!
73 DE W4CSC. Put my call in the QRZ call lookup on the home page. That
insulator I'm holding in front of the tower is what happens when you run
70,000 watts on an old Canadian Fi****ng trawler....before the FCC shows
up to confiscate it all...(c; It lit up ALL the lights at Halsey-Cannon
boatyard....hee hee.
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