anyway i started looking at the General exam pool and honestly it seems pretty overwhelming. like theres stuff about propagation and feed lines and operating procedures i dont really know and some of the electrical theory questions are kind of rough. i did fine on the tech exam but that felt more manageable somehow

is there a good way to study for this or do i just grind through the question pool? i downloaded hamstudycom and been doing the practice tests but im only getting like 65-70% right now which i know isnt passing. does the actual exam have the same questions from the pool or what? any tips from people who recently upgraded would be great

my question is i guess how hard is the exam compared to Technician? i remember the tech exam being pretty straightforward but some people are telling me General has a lot more math and electrical theory stuff and that kind of thing makes my eyes glaze over. i dont have an engineering background or anything like that. i work in landscaping lol.

also is there a particular study method that works or should i just grind the question pool? i downloaded HamStudy already and been messing with it but im not sure if thats enough or if i should get a book too. any advice appreciated, just dont want to walk into the exam and embarrass myself

i downloaded the gordon west book from the library and flipped through it and some of it looks familiar but then theres sections on like impedance matching and propagation stuff that looks pretty intimidating. has anyone here gone from tech to general recently and how long did you study? and also once i pass what are the first things i should actually try to do on HF because i dont even really know where to start with that either. i have a baofeng and an old icom ic-718 i got at a hamfest that i havent even turned on yet because it felt pointless without the license

my question is basically where do people usually focus when studying for general, like is there specific sections that trip people up or stuff thats actually important vs stuff you can kind of just memorize without really getting it. ive been using hamstudy.org which seems decent but im not sure if thats enough or if i should get like a book too. been at it for maybe two weeks and im passing practice exams maybe 70% of the time which i think is ok but not sure

also once i pass, what HF bands am i actually going to have access to right away, i know general gets a lot but i always get confused about which portions of 40 and 20 meters i can use vs what extra gets. not a huge deal just curious

my question is basically how hard is the jump from Tech to General. like i studied for maybe a week and a half for my Tech exam and passed no problem but i've heard General is a different beast. the question pool seems way bigger and theres stuff in there about propagation and like... operating procedures i've never had to think about before. also some electrical theory stuff that looked pretty intimidating when i skimmed the pool.

is there a specific study method people recommend or do most people just grind the question pool and hope for the right ones show up. i downloaded ham study and been doing practice tests but im only hitting like 60-65% right now and the real exam feels scary. any advice from people who actually went through this recently would be helpful

the tech exam felt pretty manageable once i went through the question pool a few times on that hamexam website. is general like that too or is there actually harder concepts i need to understand for real? im worried about the electrical theory parts because i barely passed that section on the tech exam honestly. also once i get general what bands am i actually going to have access to that i dont have now, i know there are some HF privileges but im fuzzy on the specifics

my main question i guess is how long did people actually study before feeling ready? i dont want to show up and fail, thats kind of my worst fear. also is there anything specific that trips people up that i should really focus on? i heard the regulations section is annoying. and do i need to know all the specific frequency limits for each HF band or is that something you just kind of pick up later?

sorry if this is a vague question i just dont really know what i dont know yet if that makes sense

im using hamstudy.org which i used for my tech and it worked fine but im wondering if the general is just harder in general or if im overthinking it. some of the questions about like impedance matching and feedlines and stuff i feel like i kind of understand but then the question is worded weird and i get it wrong. is there like certain sections i should really nail down vs ones that are less likely to show up? or does it not really work that way

also once i actually pass what do i need to do before i can actually transmit on HF? do i have to wait for my callsign to update or can i use my tech call with the upgrade or something, i genuinely dont know how that works

• Should I focus on the new material or review everything?
• Any particular question pools that trip up new Generals?
• How much time did you spend studying after already having your Tech?

Is the upgrade really worth the effort for someone who mostly does local communications?

i downloaded the question pool and just kind of skimmed it and some of it looks familiar but then there's stuff about like propagation and operating practices and some electrical theory that I'm not sure i ever really learned properly. is there a certain section that trips people up the most? i feel like the regulations part is gonna be the hardest for me personally but maybe im wrong. also do the HF privileges kick in right away after you pass or do you have to wait for the FCC to update your license or something

Also wondering - is it worth taking both exams at the same session next time, or should I get comfortable with my Tech privileges first? Looking for practical study tips from those who've made the upgrade successfully.

anyway im thinking about upgrading to General but im kind of intimidated by the exam. the Tech test wasnt too bad but i keep hearing the General has a lot more theory stuff like impedance and propagation and all that and im not great at math. is it actually that hard or am i overthinking it? and like what would i actually be able to do once i pass that i cant do now? i know its more HF but im fuzzy on the specifics of which bands and stuff

anyway i ordered the gordon west book but its sitting on my shelf and i havent cracked it yet. i guess my main question is how hard is the jump from tech to general really? like the tech exam wasnt that bad once i sat down and just did the question pool a bunch of times. is general more of the same or is there actual stuff you really need to understand vs just memorizing? im kind of worried about the electrical theory parts because i never took physics or anything like that in school.

also what HF stuff am i actually gonna be able to do once i pass, i know i dont get all the bands or all the mode privileges right away but im fuzzy on the specifics. somebody at the club said generals cant use certain parts of 20m? not sure if that was right

is the General exam actually as hard as it seems when youre looking at the question pool cold, or does it start to click once you study more? and is it worth just cramming the question pool vs actually trying to understand all the theory? i kind of want to understand what im doing but i also have a job and two kids so time is limited lol. also what HF bands would i even have access to as a General vs waiting to go for Extra, trying to figure out if its worth the effort or if id just be frustrated by the band restrictions anyway

my question is i guess how hard is the general exam compared to tech? i remember the tech exam wasnt too bad, i used hamstudy for a couple weeks and passed fine. is general a big jump? i looked at some of the question pool and some of the electrical stuff looks a little intimidating, like the stuff about reactance and impedance and i honestly dont remember much from high school physics.

also once i pass, what can i actually do on HF as a general? i know there are some portions of the bands that are still extra class only but i dont know exactly which ones. is there enough room on the general portions to actually have fun or do you end up running into a wall pretty quick

i used the hamstudy.org site for my tech exam and it worked pretty well but the general pool feels way bigger and more complicated? like theres stuff about propagation and feed line losses and i dunno, operating practices on HF that i really dont have any context for yet. is it worth just grinding through the question pool or should i actually try to understand the material. also how much of the HF stuff will i actually need to know vs just passing the test. im asking because i dont want to get on 40m and embarrass myself not knowing what im doing

What additional HF bands and privileges do Generals get? Is the upgrade really worth it for someone mainly interested in voice operations?

• Which bands are most useful for DXing?
• What about digital modes on HF?
• Any power increase?

my question is basically how hard is the general exam compared to tech. i remember tech being not too bad once i just drilled the question pool for a couple weeks but ive heard general has more math and electrical theory stuff which im not great at. is it worth buying a study guide or just do the online question pools again

also like what can i actually do once i get it, i know i get HF privileges but i dont really understand what portions of the bands i get vs extra class. is it a big difference or does it matter

i guess my main question is how long did it take you guys to actually feel ready for the exam and is there a particular study method that worked. i tried hamstudy.org for a bit and it seems good but im not sure if just doing flashcards is enough or if i should actually understand the theory behind everything. also is there stuff on the test that i should just memorize vs actually understand, because some of the electrical formulas look kind of rough and i never took physics in school

• Should I focus on the areas that are completely new to Tech holders?
• How much time should I spend on antenna theory vs. regulations?
• Any recommendations for practice tests that simulate the real exam experience?

Looking to hit that 74% passing score without over-studying topics I already know from Tech prep.

my question is i guess, how different is the General exam from the Tech exam? i remember the Tech pool being kinda rough in some spots but i passed first try with maybe 2 weeks of studying. is General way harder or is it more of the same? i downloaded the question pool PDF and it looks like theres a lot of electrical stuff and propagation questions which i dont really understand yet. should i just use the HamStudy website again or is there something better for General specifically? also is there anything about the actual HF privileges that i should know before i even bother getting the license, like do i need totally different equipment or can some radios do both

anyway i downloaded the question pool and started going through it and some of it makes sense but a lot of the electrical theory stuff is really tripping me up. like i get ohms law fine but when it gets into reactance and impedance matching and all that my eyes kind of glaze over. do i need to actually UNDERSTAND all of it or can i just memorize the answers and pass and then learn the rest later

also whats the deal with HF privileges once you pass, do you get everything right away or is there some waiting period or additional steps. i honestly dont even know what bands i would have access to versus an Extra class

anyway i started looking at the General class pool and its kind of overwhelming. there's a lot of stuff in there about propagation and operating procedures and then all the electrical theory which i never really felt like i fully understood even for the tech exam. i've been using HamStudy and just grinding through the questions but some of them i genuinely dont understand why the answer is what it is, im just memorizing at that point.

is that okay to do, just memorize the pool? or will i be totally lost on HF if i dont actually understand what im doing. also how long did it take people to feel ready to actually sit for the exam

also how hard is the test compared to tech? i barely passed that one lol