so ive been a tech for about two years now and i mostly just do 2m and 70cm stuff, some APRS, hit the local repeaters. but lately ive been really curious about HF and everyone keeps telling me to just go get my General already. i downloaded one of those question pool apps and started going through it and honestly some of it is making my head spin. the electrical theory stuff especially, like i can mostly follow the logic but then theres questions about reactance and impedance that just feel like they came out of nowhere compared to what i learned for tech.

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

honestly the General exam is very doable, dont psych yourself out looking at the full pool all at once. when i upgraded i just used HamStudy dot org every spare minute i had for about three weeks and passed no problem. the electrical theory does feel overwhelming at first but a lot of those questions are the same concept just worded differently so once you get the underlying idea the answers start to feel obvious.

as for the band access question, General gives you a really solid chunk of HF. youll have phone privileges on 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters which honestly is where most of the action is anyway. 20m especially is incredibly active. i went probably eight months as a General before i even thought about going for Extra because i was having too much fun just working stations and learning the bands. the Extra portions that are restricted are real but theyre not so crowded that youll feel locked out of anything meaningful as a new HF op. just get the General and start playing around with the bands, youll learn way more from actually operating than from any exam prep

im in the same boat kind of, took my General last spring after being a tech for like three years. the reactance stuff tripped me up too but i just memorized the formulas and moved on, didnt fully understand it at the time and tbh still dont completely but i passed. the exam itself felt easier than studying the pool made it seem if that makes sense.

one thing nobody told me before i upgraded was that you still need an antenna that actually works on HF lol. i passed my exam and then realized my setup was not ready at all so that was its own whole thing to figure out