Resources to Pass the Exam

So how did I pass the Ham Radio Exams?  I don't have an engineering or electronics background.  Heck, I'm a history major, so trust me, if I can pass this exam, anyone can pass this exam.  Here's some free resources to help.

Free Ham Radio Resources:

• http://kb0mga.net/exams/ - KB0MGA probably has one of the best online exams.  It even tracks your progress, since you can setup a free account.
• http://www.ac6v.com/jargon.htm - AC6V has a great compilation of Ham Radio jargon.  Don't know how beneficial in helping you pass the exam(s), but it at least gives you a flavor of the culture that you are about to immerse yourself.
• http://kb6nu.com/tech-manual/ - KB6NU's no nonsense guides are great.  Honestly, I found his writings more useful than the ARRL study exams.  Blasphemy, I know, but his writing just made sense for my brain's wiring.  I'm not dissin' the ARRL study exams.  There are numerous reviewers on Amazon that provided glowing reviews.  Like I said, it just didn't jive with my brain's wiring or unwiring.
• http://www.hamradioinstructor.com/powerpoint.html - K3DIO has some great powerpoint presentations.  He's essentially turned the exam question sets into powerpoint decks.  I found scrolling through the document much easier for reviewing practice exam questions and concepts.

Strategies for Studying...

More the Better - My recommendation is to utilize as many different resources as possible.  Some resources do a better job at explaining things than others.  Also, consider utilizing Google or Wikipedia to look things up.  Many of these resources provide the bare minimum for you to pass the exam.  This does not imply that you will have a complete understanding of the concepts.  I'm the type of person who likes to understand the underlying theories that make up the concept.  Once I grasp the foundational or background tenets of what I'm trying to learn, I can comprehend the concept presented more accurately and retain this knowledge better. 

For instance, as I was studying the General, I had a difficult time understand resistance and reactance, and how they played a role in the total impedance of something.  All the resources at hand provided some basic tenets of resistance and reactance that I could have easily memorized for test taking purposes, but I needed more.  I googled and found a great website (http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/imped.htm) that explained impedance, resistance, and reactance along with capacitance and inductance, which makes up reactance.  This site really enhanced my understanding and allowed me to see the various inter-plays of these measurements.  I suspect this will be important for me as I start experimenting with antennas. 

Go Deep - At least for me Ham Radio is not only about getting on the air but learning the various fundamental concepts, so taking a detour from my exam studies to enhance my learning is not time wasted.  On the contrary, I think it will pay dividends later down the road.  Whether it's golf, photography, videography, or ham radio, I've noticed that having a deeper understanding of the fundamentals allows you to perform better or have a much richer experience.  My two cents...

Practice Exams - Try to take practice exams periodically.  You need to become accustomed to how the questions are typically structured as well as tricks they put into the exams to trip you up.  Unlike other standardized tests, here's the good news about the ham radio exams.  The questions for the exam are from a question pool that is available to anyone.  In addition, the wording of the questions and answer are verbatim to what's freely available for you to review.  Therefore, the more tests you take, the more likely you'll memorize the questions. 

I wouldn't recommend you just take tests and try to memorize the questions, though.  I think it will lead to greater frustration and honestly you won't be learning much.  Remember that the each of the license exams are designed to confirm you have a core set of knowledge to operate effectively and safely in the band privileges provided.  As a Tech, if you don't know proper RFI levels or how to measure them, you'll probably end up a dead tech let alone an ignorant one (especially on the higher frequencies where the microwaves can be harmful).  Remember, Ham Radio requires you to have greater knowledge than a layman.  That's why you need a license to operation, so you don't do something stupid.

Good luck on your studies.  If it gives you some fire in your belly, I once heard that a 9 year old girl got her general class license.  Dang, it took me several tries studying across 6 years on and off to get my general.  It can be done.  Hang in there.

-73 de KB3LLE