so ive been a Tech for about two years now and mostly just messing around on 2m and some 70cm stuff, did some APRS, got into a few nets. but lately ive been really curious about HF and a buddy of mine keeps telling me i should just go ahead and upgrade to General because its not that bad. i guess my main question is how different is the General exam from the Tech exam and what kind of stuff do i actually need to know that i dont already know? like i remember the Tech exam had some electrical stuff and rules and all that, is General a lot more of the same or is there stuff thats totally new territory. also not sure how long i should study before i feel ready, i tried reading through the ARRL book once and kinda got lost in the HF propagation sections. any advice would help, im not in a huge rush but would like to get on HF before the summer when conditions are supposed to be good

honestly the General exam isnt as bad as people make it sound. i was in the same spot you are, had my Tech for like three years before i finally just sat down and did it. the question pool is bigger than Tech but a lot of it overlaps with what you already know from studying for Tech — regs, basic electronics, safety. the stuff thats new is mostly the HF band privileges, some more detailed propagation theory like knowing the difference between ground wave and sky wave and what frequencies work best at what time of day, and a bit more on operating practices. i'd say spend a few weeks going through the HamStudy website, its free and it drills you on the actual pool questions. once you're hitting 85 percent or so consistently you're probably ready. the propagation stuff clicks eventually, just takes a bit of time to wrap your head around the whole ionosphere thing. definitely worth it for HF access, 40m and 20m have been great lately

just passed mine last month so this is fresh for me. the electrical theory parts tripped me up a bit, stuff like impedance and feedline loss calculations. nothing crazy but if math isnt your thing give those sections a little extra time. the band plan questions are pretty straightforward once you memorize which parts of which bands Generals can use vs Extra. one thing nobody told me before i tested — the actual exam felt easier than the practice tests somehow, i think because i had drilled the question pool so many times. if you go through HamStudy or QRZ practice exams until you're consistently passing you'll be fine. and yeah get on HF before summer, 10m has been wild during good solar flux days