so ive had my tech license for about 2 years now and mostly been doing VHF/UHF stuff, some local repeaters, a little APRS. but ive been hearing people talk about HF and honestly it sounds way more interesting. i figure i should just go ahead and get my General already.

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

honestly the General exam isnt that bad. the math looks scary when you first see it but like 90% of what actually shows up is stuff you can just memorize the answer to without really understanding the formula. i studied for maybe 3 weeks using just HamStudy and passed no problem. the electrical theory section tripped me up a little at first, ohms law and impedance stuff, but if you run through the question pool enough times it starts to click even if you dont fully get the theory behind it.

the HF band plan questions are probably the most useful ones to actually learn vs just memorize because when you get on the air it helps to know why you can only operate certain modes in certain parts of the band as a General vs Extra. saved me from accidentally transmitting somewhere i wasnt supposed to be a few times early on.

get the ARRL General book if you want something to read, i used it more like a reference when HamStudy flagged something i kept getting wrong. you dont need to read it cover to cover or anything

i upgraded last spring after sitting on my tech for like 4 years, wish i had done it sooner tbh. the exam itself was fine, passed first try. the math questions i just kind of brute forced by memorizing which answer went with which question, not gonna pretend i actually understood all of it.

what nobody told me though was how different HF actually feels compared to VHF. like you think you know what radio is and then you throw up a wire antenna and work somebody in italy on 20 meters and its just a completely different thing. even with a modest setup, dipole in the backyard, the bands can be pretty wild. 10 meters has been opening up lately which is good for new generals since its easy to hear stuff from far away when its going.