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.

My Journey to Amateur Radio

It has finally come to fruition - I am officially an amateur radio operator. A Ham.


How this all began is a long story that begins with listening to my folks talk on the CB radio, eventually having my own CB, learning and studying for my Amateur Radio License, failing multiple times and finally giving up on it. Every time that I took the test for the first license, I would pass the written part, but inevitably fail the CW (Morse Code) part of the test. It was frustrating, to say the least.

There have been some changes in the past few years with the licensing structure and, at first, licenses were offered that did not require the operator to pass a CW test. Last year, the rules were changed again and CW was dropped as a requirement for all classes. Dropping the CW requirement initially caused a rift within the community, but I think that has waned. Sure, there are a few that see those of us that do not know code as overrated CB enthusiasts, but the amateur community as a whole, has really gone to great lengths to remove barriers that would otherwise hinder the growth of the hobby.

So, on June 19, 2010, I traveled to Rockford, IL to take the test to finally become a Ham Operator. I took the the Technician test as well as the General test. While I passed the Tech, I missed the General and so (for now) I just have the basic license. I have a lot of frequencies that I can use, but the most important thing is that I am finally a Ham.