so i picked up the ARRL technician manual at a hamfest a few weeks ago and ive been slowly reading through it but honestly im not sure if im doing this the right way. like theres so much in there about regulations and band plans and propagation and i cant tell whats actually going to be on the test versus what is just extra background info.

someone at the club told me to just use the question pool and memorize the answers but that feels wrong? like i dont want to just parrot back answers without understanding anything. but also i dont have unlimited time here and the test is coming up in about 6 weeks. does anyone have a good method for this, like should i be doing both the manual and the practice tests at the same time or one then the other

honestly the just memorize the pool approach works fine for passing the test, i wont lie to you. but i get what you mean about wanting to actually understand it. what worked for me was using HamStudy or the ARRL practice exams online and when i got a question wrong i would go look it up in the manual instead of just reading the whole thing front to back. that way you're spending time on the stuff that's actually tripping you up instead of reading sections you already kind of get intuitively.

the electrical stuff like ohms law and the basic formulas, those are worth understanding for real because they come up in weird ways and if you just memorized the answer without knowing why, a slightly differently worded question can throw you off. the regulatory stuff though, band privileges, the part 97 rules, a lot of people just straight memorize those and thats fine, theres not really a deeper conceptual thing to understand there its just rules.

six weeks is plenty of time dont stress about it

i passed mine like two months ago so pretty fresh memory here lol. i used the HamStudy app basically every day on my lunch break, maybe 20-30 questions at a time, and then watched some of the KB6NU no nonsense study guide videos on youtube for the parts i was really lost on. the manual is good but it can feel like a lot when youre just trying to get through the exam. i think i spent maybe 3 weeks total and felt pretty comfortable going in. got a 90 something on the actual test so the practice questions are pretty representative of whats on there