so ive been wanting to get into ham radio for a while now and finally decided to just go for the tech license. i downloaded like three different apps and bought a study guide book from amazon but honestly im kind of overwhelmed. like there's a lot of stuff about electrical theory and regulations that i dont really understand and im not sure how much of it i actually need to know vs just memorizing the answers to the question pool.

is it better to just do the practice tests over and over or actually try to learn the material? some people told me just memorize the pool and youll be fine but that feels kind of wrong? i dont know. also how long did it take you guys to feel ready for the actual exam

honestly the memorize the pool approach works fine for passing the test, not gonna lie. the tech pool is only 423 questions and you only get 35 on the actual exam so if you can consistently hit like 80-85% on practice tests you're pretty much there. HamStudy.org is probably the best free resource, it tracks which questions you keep getting wrong and drills those specifically.

that said i'd at least try to understand the basic electrical stuff — ohms law, what frequency bands you get with tech privileges, the safety stuff. not because itll be on the test differently but because youll actually be able to use the license once you have it. i've seen people pass and then have no idea what to do with their HT because they just memorized answers without any context. took me about 3 weeks of like 20-30 minutes a day before i felt solid.

i just passed mine like two months ago so maybe i can help. i used the Gordon West book which some people hate but i thought it explained things pretty well for a total beginner. the practice tests on QRZ are also good. for me it was maybe 2 weeks? i was doing it pretty intensely though, like an hour a night after work.

the electrical theory questions tripped me up at first but there are really only a few formulas you need and once you see the pattern they kind of click. dont stress too much about the regulations section, a lot of it is just common sense once you read it a couple times