Thinking About Getting a Ham "Extra" License - Any Tips?

Some may not like the method but I took the study manual and highlighted the correct answers. Then read the manuals several times studying just the questions and the correct answers. Others go to sites such as QRZ.com and take online tests over and over until they are confident they can pass. I was lucky on my extra class test. I didn't feel I was ready at that particular test session and was going to wait but some of the VE's said I might as well sit in. I did and was lucky enough that the test I was issued had mostly stuff I was familiar with. My newest amateur radio is over 10 years old so don't have any suggestions on what's available now. Good luck with your test.
I used the same method of study for the technician and General class licenses as well. They had already dropped the novice class and dropped the advance license before I got that far. The biggest hurdle I had was the 5wpm code requirement which they have since dropped. Might never have gone beyond technician if they had kept the 13 and 20wpm requirements.

 

If you have a laurel VEC testing group in your area there is no charge. We have had people take and pass multiple tests in one session locally but I'm not sure it was all the way to Extra so it can be done. With testing for the 3license classes you would be looking at 150 multiple choice questions if I remember correctly.

 

I stand corrected on the number of questions.

 

Hi Gryphon! Going from zero to Extra in one sitting is quite ambitious, but I wish you the best! It has been done, often by people with an extensive background in radio and electronics.

My personal suggestion would be to obtain and use the Gordon West license manuals. He makes the process of learning more palatable and fun, often breaking down and explaining more difficult concepts and formulas so that even a mathmatical moron such as myself can grasp them. As others have suggested, the on-line mock tests are a big help when combined with the GW manuals to help you find where you are weak, as well as what your chances of passing a given test are at the next session. FWIW, about 3 years ago, I found my GW Extra manual one day. I hadn't seen it in over a year and just found it by chance. I started reading it and decided to take the next VE test when there was one. Looking it up online, I found that it would be given one week from that day. I started using the manual, but then got caught in the trap of just doing online mock tests and trying to learn from my mistakes. The day before the test, I decided to go back to the manual and try it for the formulas, which I had seriously been putting off and avoiding. Wish I had done more of that as Gordon West made them do-able, even for me. The next day, I loaded up on caffein and took enough money for two tests. Did I mention that the highest I scored on any of the mock tests that week was 71? Most were in the 50's with some in the 30's. Anyway, I took the test and still wasn't sure whether I passed or not, hoping I had passed with a minimal score. The VE approached me and asked which I wanted first, the good news, or the bad news. I told him I was kind of braced already for the bad news to go ahead with that. He said, "you were two questions short of a perfect paper". For that reason, I suggest you go and take the test, no matter how prepared or un-prepared you might think you are.


As I often tell people aspiring for their Technician license or an upgrade, "you don't have to understand all of it, just enough to pass the test" That doesn't mean that you shouldn't aspire to get the best score you can, just that there will likely be a few concepts that you may not be able to fully grasp, whether because you find them so wholly uninteresting or because they just won't digest for you. Don't worry about those. Most of us have at least one or two. Concentrate on what you CAN do.

If you only get to General in one sitting, there is no shame in that. Get on the air and enjoy the bands. Talk to people. Gain experience. This will provide you big building blocks from which to launch your next try at Extra, whether a month later, six months, a year, or more. I actually have felt bad and embarrassed for "one-session Extras" I have heard in QSO, who had no comprehension of simple, common, concepts such as how CTCSS works, how it is SO useful, and how it is used. Here are these "Extras" that a lot of people believe know "everything", and the most basic, commonly used terms or concepts are missing from their knowlege base.

One other thing, there really ARE "easy" tests and "hard" tests. The "easy" tests are the ones where the questions are all or mostly familiar and you feel that what you studied has much relevance to those questions. The "hard" tests are the ones where you don't recall seeing anything in the manual related to a lot of the questions you are encountering. For this reason, I recommend taking at least enough cash to pay for a second testing at that session and trying again if you fail the first time. Most(but not all) VE's will allow for a second testing if you pay another fee. The hope is, that if the first test was "hard", the next will be "easy".

Good luck and let us know how you do!

 

I also liked the Gordon West manuals for their humor. Not as dry and tedious as some manuals.