Upgrading from Tech to General ....

CountryGent · Jul 12, 2017

At the present, I have a Technician Class License for amateur radio. I've got too much on my plate in the summer months, but I am thinking of this coming fall studying for and taking the test to upgrade to a General License. Having access to HF is the primary motivation to upgrade.

Anywho, I am planning on reading the book published by ARRL and taking the practice exams online as a prep. I did that for the Tech License and it was a piece of cake. That said, if anyone has tips, guidance, etc., I'd value the information. And maybe others considering an upgrade will too.

Thanks much.

Jim Horn · Jul 12, 2017

Highly recommended. Even if you don't use the General privileges at first, it's good to have them available. I was a Tech for 25 years before upgrading and have finally gotten a set of HF gear - unfortunately all in storage. But looking forward to finally using HF SSB after 42 years...

PS: Since there's no 20 words per minute Morse requirement, the Extra class exam is much easier than it was in the past. Once you make General, keep going - it's fun and gives you more frequencies which could be a real help if needed.

CoastRange57 · Jul 13, 2017

I want to get General here soon as well. Just want that HF capability when I get to Central Oregon to reach some guys in Northern Idaho.

Lightborne · Jul 13, 2017

I used HamStudy.org: Cutting edge amateur radio study tools to practice for my Tech + General a few years ago. When you're going through the questions, it'll sort of give you flashcards that explain the answers for whatever you end up missing. I just kept going through all of the questions until it told me I had seen everything in the question bank for the tests, and did a few practice exams to confirm that I could reliably pass the real exams.

Aced my General.

Should probably go get my Extra at some point.