Emily Thomas

so ive been sitting on my general for about two years now and keep telling myself ill study for the extra but then i look at the question pool and just kind of close the tab. the stuff about filter design and transmission line theory and whatever smith charts are... i dont even know where to start honestly. like i passed the general okay but that felt manageable, this feels like a whole different animal. is there stuff on the extra exam that actually requires you to understand the math or can you mostly memorize your way through it like i did with the general? i took calc in college like fifteen years ago so its not completely foreign but id definitely need a refresher. just wondering if anyone whos gone through it recently has a feel for how much of the advanced theory you actually need to internalize vs just recognizing the right answer on the question pool. also curious if the privileges are even worth it for how i operate, im mostly just doing some HF SSB and the occasional digital mode, not really into contesting or DX chasing seriously. though i guess having the extra subbands would be nice on 20 and 40 where it gets crowded.