Fall is Here and Where Am I?

Well, it is a beautiful fall day here in the Upper Midwest.  The morning was crisp and the afternoon is turning out to be warm and sunny.  So why am I sitting here in the middle of the afternoon, inside, at the computer?

Study for the Amateur Extra test is really turning my brains to mush.  According to Ham Test Online, I have completed 18:54 of the suggested 30 hours of study and I have been cramming more information in my skull than I ever thought humanly possible.  The good news is that I am actually getting some of it down.  Of the practice runs I have taken thus far, I have gotten 50% (using another study method), 64, 76, 82, 86, 85 and 74.  You have to have a minimum of 74% to pass and the 74 I got was when I directed the program to only give me hardest questions - the ones missed by most people that take the test.

The following is a full report card of where I stand currently with my study:

KDØMCV		QuQuestions	Percentage of test	Current score
Extra Class Exam (element 4) (valid 7/01/08 – 6/30/12)		50	100.0%	86.00%
Sub-element E1	Commission’s Rules	6	12.0%	92.00%
Sub-element E2	Operating Practices and Procedures	5	10.0%	91.00%
Sub-element E3	Radio Wave Propagation	3	6.0%	91.00%
Sub-element E4	Amateur Radio Technology and Measurements	5	10.0%	83.00%
Sub-element E5	Electrical Principles	4	8.0%	81.00%
Sub-element E6	Circuit Components	6	12.0%	87.00%
Sub-element E7	Practical Circuits	8	16.0%	86.00%
Sub-element E8	Signals and Emissions	4	8.0%	83.00%
Sub-element E9	Antennas and Transmission Lines	8	16.0%	84.00%
Sub-element E0	Safety	1	2.0%	89.00%

For those that think this test is easy, lets look at a couple questions from the actual pool.

E3A07 What frequency range would you normally tune to find EME stations in the 2 meter band?A. 144.000 - 144.001 MHzB. 144.000 - 144.100 MHzC. 144.100 - 144.300 MHzD. 145.000 - 145.100 MHz

E3C08 What is the name of the high-angle wave in HF propagation that travels for some distance within the F2 region?A. Oblique-angle rayB. Pedersen rayC. Ordinary rayD. Heaviside ray

E5C22 In rectangular coordinates, what is the impedance of a network comprised of a 10-microhenry inductor in series with a 40-ohm resistor at 500 MHz?A. 40 + j31,400B. 40 - j31,400C. 31,400 + j40D. 31,400 - j40

Now, I am not saying that these are impossible, but for an 'old dog" like me, I really found a lot of these to be difficult at best.  It has been way too many years since I had to do some of the complex math calculations and, quite frankly, my memory is not as sharp and keen as it was when I was a "young buck."

So, I am really being serious about this.  I set a goal that I would get my Extra Class before my anniversary and that is tomorrow.  That is when I will take the test for real - in West Liberty, Iowa at the Southeast Iowa Hamfest.