The FCC just issued my upgrade to Extra today. I was first licensed in March of this year (2018) as a Tech, but was encouraged buy the VE to keep going and upgrade to General as soon as I could. I took his advice and started studying and took the General at the end of March. That same VE encouraged me to go ahead and keep forging ahead, so I took his advice and used the entire month of April to study. It wasn’t easy due to work and family commitments, but I used all of my spare time to study. I took my Extra exam on the last Saturday in April and they just issued my upgrade today. I did have some motivation though. I took my Grandfathers call sign, and when he passed away, he was an Extra. I figured I couldn’t take his call and be just a Technician or General, because he wasn’t so that was very personal to me. I found the challenge to be a lot of fun and I think I learned a lot along the way. Thank you for videos Michael! You really have some great ones! 73, Brian W5LGQ
Studying for the Extra class now and plan to take exam on May 2 (April 30 exam was cancelled). My path seems similar to yours. Fighting with opposing time commitments and impositions. But this will be worth it. My ultimate goal is to be an VE to help extend the hobby.
Upgraded at age 71 about a month ago for the worry free band privileges and just to prove I could do it. Rewarded myself with a vanity call sign and Texas radio operator plates and mobile radio setup on my Ram 2500.K1DLA, 73.
I passed my amateur technician exam last week and my general today. I still haven't made my first contact because I live in the middle of nowhere. I have an antenna on the way and look forward to testing it out. I'll start studying for extra soon.
I recently upgarded to Extra, I suppose the main reason was so I wouldn't have to keep track of where I could and couldn't transmit. Got my tech last June and General earler this year figured I'd upgrade before I forgot everything from the other tests lol.
I've been a licensed 13 WPM General since 1976, and had my exam administered by the FCC. I have all the privileges I need or could possibly want to use.
Well, after being a general class for well over 30 years I decided the day that I retired it would be a good little challenge to add to my list of things to do with the extra time I would have. I always appreciated being a general but the extra band space and great group of folks found in the extra portion turned out to be all the reward I really needed. I no longer have to worry about my privilege limits or other things of the sort and never have to be sorry about not being able to call that nice DX station that is not in my segment of the band. It is very worth the study time to get!
I upgraded to extra for the intellectual challenge, and for the desire to understand electronics and radio theory on a deeper level. The additional band privileges were another incentive. The possibility of becoming a VE is also an enticing prospect as it affords you an opportunity to give back to the hobby. I spent months studying and prepared from multiple sources, including AF7KB's fantastic audio book, the Fast Track to your Extra Class. I too listened to it daily, it was great to be able to study during my work commuting. Passing is really a great sense of accomplishment. But passing is just the beginning of a whole new world of opportunities in the greatest electronics hobby that is amateur radio.
Go Badgers! Just upgraded to Extra. I’m the kinda guy that just has to get the highest level license for anything I’m working on. Looking at your videos to send to friends. I’m mailing out a couple new radios to friends tomorrow to try to get them into the hobby.
I just took the Technician and General exams and passed them today (09-14-20) on the day of my father's birthday (R.I.P. dad, we love you). I took the Extra test as a practice test and I got 21 out of 50 questions correct without studying. My VE Team encouraged me to continue my journey and I have already signed up for the Extra Exam again in December of 2020. I have an 8 month old daughter and I cant wait to introduce her to the art of Amateur Radio and all of its facets. Thank you for the great videos!!! I cant wait to get my call sign, and get on the air!!!!
I got my tech license in Nov. of 2022. General in Dec of 2022, Yesterday, 04-22-2023, I earned my extra license. It was hard to study for it, but I did it, and am glad I did.
Just got my AE ticket stamped this Saturday. I did it because at the time I upgraded to General I found out the VEs would be testing in my city so that I didn't have to drive almost 40 minutes away. I also had a lot of fun learning in the process of upgrading my General. I was committed and started studying some three months before the next exam data.Then the shelter-in-place happened. It didn't look like I was going to get my AE anytime soon. I stopped studying. Eventually, remote exams started happening. My VEs offered me to chance to take it as their first trial run, and I wanted to give back to that club. So I jumped at the chance. To summarize, the reasons were multi-fold. I updated because I thought the testing place would just be 10 minutes away, I wanted to help my VEs by volunteering to be a genie pig, and because I had a lot of fun studying. I learned a lot in the process. What's ironic is I have a degree with some minor emphasis on electrical engineering but I never really learned the materials back in college. It took ham radio to help have what I learned make sense. I also never studied so hard for a hobby. Lol.
This just came across my feed. Having been in a data communications MOS in the military where I both operated and repaired radios , it was just logical apply my education and experience when I decided to get into Amateur Radio. I did both Technician and General test at the same time, but didn’t have time to do the Extra that VEC session. That gave me a month to learn the administrative subjects pertaining to Amateur Radio. The Extra test came easily too. That was 2008. I still consider myself a relative new by, using my license for Skywarn and monitoring events more than anything. Enjoy your videos and learn lots.
I passed my Technician and General test on October 11, 2018 after 6 weeks of pretty intense study of Gordon West’s exam prep books and watching many RUclips ham related videos including many of yours. Just for the challenge I have been studying for the Extra license and have learned a lot. I will take the Extra exam on December 6, 2018 and I feel confident I wil pass. This is a fun hobby and continuing education and new activities keeps the mind sharp. I am 73 and retired. Please keep up your very interesting and educational videos.
After I passed the test for General I tried for Extra. I was lost, I had to guess at to many questions. I've since bought the Gordon West CD course and his book. I'll try again soon.
We routinely offer the Extra exam to people that have just passed the General. Don't feel bad that it was overwhelming, I'd say that those that take the test after passing the general only score at about 20-30%. Most VEs don't expect you to pass, but instead want to give you a taste of that exam.
I’m a old school advanced class and I probably will never upgrade. I passed my 20 wpm code test way back in 1993 and failed the written extra. I was never a big fan of dropping the code requirements. I’m satisfied with advanced class.
I thought they should have left it at 13 wpm for the extra. To be totally honest I didn't like the fact that they changed it at all. They cheapened it in my opinion.
I'm okay with no code for entry-level people wanting to get into Amateur Radio, but I believe code should be mandatory for at least Extra Class, but probably even General Class, too.
After 12 years as a general, and being off of the air for a couple of years, I had about forgot my license was set to expire. Renewed and got back on the air. I had tossed getting the extra for all of those years, but knew it was time. It was the end of October, 2022, and the next testing session was two weeks away. I got some good apps for study material, watch videos and such, and studied every available moment I could. Went in and passed it on the first try. I am now a member of the same VE team that graded my exam. For me, that is still the main reason I got my extra, was being able to grade all exams. It is very gratifying to hand someone their CSCE paper and tell them congrats, they are now a ham or their upgraded class.
I tell people I'm on the "2.1 release" of my ham radio journey. I started as a novice license holder back in the day and worked dang hard to upgrade to general class the following year. I immediately turned my attention to the extra class and geared up for the exam. I never took it, though, as life got unexpectedly busy and, over time, I drifted away from the hobby. I filed the notion of extra class away as a relic of the past and didn't give it much thought. Fast forward 20+ years and some friends were getting interested in amateur radio and talked me into getting back into it. I took a couple weeks to brush up before acing the tech and general tests. A couple of weeks later I aced the extra exam. While I like the additional privileges and so forth, this is something I did for me. In spite of drifting away from the hobby, no matter what I told myself, it felt like unfinished business. I'm proud to have corrected that. 73 de N8ESP
Got my ticket in March 2017. I went straight to general. I deliberately didn't try for extra out of respect for all the extras that I know who had to work a lot harder than I. No code, unlimited free research library(internet), and 2 35 question, multiple choice tests are a drop in the bucket of what many of them had to do. My goal is to get fluent with Morse at 15 words or better, then I'll upgrade.
Just curious. It’s been 3 years, did you hit your CW goals? I’m currently a General Class with an eye on Extra. (It’s true that DX loves to lurk in the US Extra portions!) I was licensed in the later 1970’s so I had to do the code tests. Just wanted to encourage you! I hit several plateaus, places where I got stuck at a particular speed, until I finally got faster. I’ve hit 20wpm, which is as fast as I can write…and still read it. HiHi! If you can learn to copy CW in your head, you’ll be able to copy some very fast code. I’ve found some stations run at about 30wpm, especially DXpeditions. Good DX & 73! WB3CFN.. dit dit
@@joekrepps Thanks for the check in. And thanks for the encouragement. I have reached the 15 wpm goal. In short bursts, I can copy 20wpm. I was studying for extra when covid hit our family and interrupted my progress. I was hoping to upgrade before the new fees took effect. Not sure that will happen. Thanks again for your interest. Your gesture is more proof that the ham community is the best community. 73 de KG5SAG
I went for Extra for two reasons. One was it was the next step forward, It gives me all the amateur frequencies plus a new call sign. Now I just need a radio that will actually let me use either the General or Extra bands. :D The second reason was to be a VE, and currently I'm signed up as a VE with ARRL, W5YI, and Laurel. I'm looking at another step forward, and that might be the FCC Commercial Radio Operators License, we'll see what comes.
I went through several license structure changes since 1967. Having the Extra means whatever they do, I have the whole package. That, and being able to do effective 'VE work.
I got my Tech back in March 2023 and my General in October 2023. I am currently debating on studying for my Extra. But as of right now I’m planning on learning more about the hobby, as soon as I get my HF radio. Since I have i until 2033 when my license expires. Right now I’m in no rush to upgrade again.
I'm scheduled to take my Technician exam next weekend (Aug 10). Once I was confident with that one, I started studying for the General shortly after. I'm confident with both now, and am now trying to be ready for the Extra in the same session. My dad got his Technician license a short time ago... trying to outdo him. :)
Right when I knew I wanted to pursue ham radio I knew that I was going for Extra. Just got my ticket a few weeks ago and am having so much fun doing FT-8 and learning CW to become a Yes Code Extra. Just about everything this hobby has to offer fascinates me and I knew that going all the way would be a great springboard for me to more easily leap into any particular topic I wanted. 73 and thanks for the videos, they really helped when I was getting started out.
I got my Novice Class license back in 1989. I did upgrade to Technician very quickly, but then got out of radio for many, many years. After several decades I'm now studying for my Extra Class. It's now or never.
Hi I got my Novice ticket long ago. Frankly the code requirement held me up. I finally sat for the general and the VE said why not do the extra and I did. I passed and am now AG4TD Thanks
I did it all in less than a year… Tech on February 1st at a hamfest. I wouldn’t have tested if they hadn’t offered it at the hamfest. General at the end of March and Extra in September. I haven’t gotten my VE but I should. was introduced to “tune in the world with ham radio”, we had a 2 meter stacked yagi in the high school courtyard and the Oscar Satellite had just been launched.
I held a tech ticket for 15 years or so. Got the bug one day to upgrade so I upgraded at the same hamfest I originally got my ticket. Got my Extra ticket when my Son help up his end of the deal on got his tech ticket I wanted to wait till the VABeach Hamfest and get it there but I was ready and the hamfest was 6 months away. I didn't even have an HF radio for several years. An advantage of the extra class is all I need to remember is the band edges. 73 KE4HTS
Tested and passed the Tech and General a few days ago after studying for ~ 4 days. Two days on tech, two days on general. (Haven't even gotten my callsign or a radio yet) The next testing session for that club is in a month. I think this video has convinced me to go upgrade, mind as well get out of it the way now, before the FCC raises the piece.
I'm studying for my upgrade now. I've been a ham for 25 years; I should be at the top of the game. ;-) I may pursue a 2x1 or 1x2 vanity call sign afterwards. 73, Scott
The reason there is more DX in the extra portion of the bands is simple. The band allocations are different in Europe and other countries so they cannot operate in what is our general band here in America. I was an advanced for over 25 years and finally upgraded to extra just for the heck of it. As many advanced guys are, I was proud of that ticket because you can't get them anymore and I worked hard to get it. I finally figured it was time to get the missing band space I was not allowed to operate in after all these years. The extra test is pretty tricky, but not nearly as hard as the old advanced test. I took practice tests on QRZed for about half an hour per day for a week and took the test. Passed it on the first try.
I have never had any desire to be an Extra Class.All I ever wanted was General Class & I got it with the 5 WPM Code.I HATE CW so I do NOT use it.The Extra Class offers me nothing that I don't have now since I don't have time for the band space I already have now & I am Retired.Get what License Class that makes you happy but don't complain that you can't use any portion of any band because you chose to not upgrade.Getting a license of any class is easy enough if you just put a little effort into it but to me the General Class License is the Perfect License for me & I have ZERO plans of ever upgrading in this lifetime.If it's for you then that is great so go enjoy it. 73 de W4KVW {:>)
My primary reason for upgrading to Amateur Extra was to allow me at function as a VE for all license classes. I also just set it as a personal "stretch" goal since my education and experience is in business and not in engineering.
Just to have the highest license, just like I did in auto, HD truck, motorcycle and Rv trailer mechanics. Got my tech license in April 2024, general in June 2024 testing in August for extra. So far so good
I don't see a lot of reason to upgrade past General. I have studied the Extra material, but I'm not all that interested in what it gets me. Seems like the best ROI is General right now.
I am contemplating attempting the Extra exam in a couple weeks, but I am hesitant. I have heard a few Extras say that an operator should stay at General for at least 5 years before attempting the Extra ticket exam. I just passed my Tech and General exams last Monday and don't even have my callsign issued yet, but I have already been studying for the Extra exam as well as learning CW. What are your thoughts on someone trying to get all three ticket levels in the same month?
I certainly wouldn't wait five years, but maybe a month is rushing things. Get comfortable first and let the knowledge start to sink in. You'll soon feel when it is right to upgrade.
I have been an Advance Class Ham since 1979 (gee 40 years) First Licensed in 1977 as a tech (5 wpm). In 1979 I went to Tampa and got my Advance license (15 wpm cw) and have held it since. My brother was licensed as a general in 1957 and around 1980 got his extra. I had a friend who was an extra and he commented it meant he could do cw where ever in the ham bands.
Funny story to why i upgraded to extra last week. 3 weeks ago i challenged my 11 year old daughter to get her tech. She's a smart kid so i know she can do it. So she challenged me to upgrade.(I WON) not that i wanted to but she didn't test at this session. Lets just say she is out of school so summer has taken over her brain. She is how ever still working at it and should test next month. 73's KB1EZZ/AE
Congratulations! It's good to get your feet wet in HF before you plow ahead with studying for your Extra. But as you gain experience, you'll know when you are ready to upgrade.
Thank you ! I agree, I'm not studying yet, but I do enjoy listening to the following gentleman as he explains Ham Radio concepts. For me, it's like turning on an AM radio station and listening to talk-radio : ruclips.net/video/JlUyP5UzpXg/видео.html
We had a swap meet with a ve session coming so figured it was time. Was getting 50% ish without studying tho lots of overlap with general (& materials engineering school prob helps). 4 weeks of studying plus plain old remembering the right answers & I was getting 80s.
If you decide to travel outside the US, the Extra class will usually give you full privileges and the ability to transfer your ticket to a new license in a foreign country.
Yes, another great reason. A friend of mine used to travel to Europe frequently for work and found his amateur operation quite limited until he got his Extra class license.
@@KB9VBRAntennas I am currently living in Italy and there are no novice or intermediate licenses. You must have an Extra ticket to get a transfer accepted. So, no Extra, no Italian callsign.
I got my tech one year then general the next year. I waited 15 years before I tried to get my extra. I didnt really see the purpose as you really dont get much band wise for the work. I finally took the test and passed. I guess the best part is that I can say im at the top of the ham license. That said people think you know everything and I sure as heck dont. LOL. I think we should really get something special and cool for doing so. I guess I did it because I got the job of being the E.C. of ARES in my county. I figured I was more official having the highest rated license class then.
Hello. My name is Joshua. I am 45 years old and live in Los Angeles, CA. I have been playing around with a Baofeng UV-5R walkie talkie for around four years now and have watched, studied and learn a lot about my radio and ham radio repeaters, antennas,call signs and whatnot. I REALLY want to talk with my walkie talkie via a repeater with other folks out there but I get scared or whatever to key up because I do not have a legitimate call sign to throw out there and also I'm scared of triangulation (I don't want to get caught up legally for ANYTHING!) I guess the next obvious thing is to get licensed. Please excuse my ignorance, but I don't know how or where to begin this journey to acquire a valid license. I guess I could Google it, but that would NEVER be the same as getting it straight from the horse's mouth. If there is anybody out here in RUclips land that remembers the passion you felt for getting your license and start to be a legitimate ham operator I humbly ask that you please reply to this comment and let me know what you did step by step to achieve your goal. I'm not stupid, well, maybe just a little slow. What do I need to do? How much $ do I need to do it? Where do I do it? When do I do it? For how long do I do it? Are there support groups for It? Can I talk on a repeater and ask around? I might sound off but the only stupid question I've learned is the question not asked. Please help me figure it out. Thank you...
The Amateur Radio Service is a licensed radio service so you will need a valid license to start. Fortunately it is not difficult to get your license and I have a video that outlines the five easy steps: ruclips.net/video/9mcVLxQUSak/видео.html This should give you a starting point on your journey.
The US has three levels of license: Technician, General, and Amateur Extra. The Technician license gives broad access to bands above 30Mhz, along with a smattering of HF privileges, most notably on the 10 meter band. General adds wide access to HF spectrum between 160 and 10 meters. Amateur Extra adds slivers of spectrum at the bottoms of the 80, 40,. 20, 15, and 10 meter bands. There are other benefits granted to Extra class license holders, but that's the main difference between the classes. That should give you a good indicator of how US licenses line up with the Canadian equivalents.
@@KB9VBRAntennas I guess they are quite different. The basic entry level in Canada is a 100 question written exam. You need 70% The basic advanced standing is an 80% pass. Thanks for your reply.
I upgraded to extra because i heard DF2BO calling CQ DX on extra portion of 80m. And i couldnt respond to his call.... But i am an extra now. and i have made a hand full of DX contacts on 80m.
You do need to first pass the Technician and General exams before you may take the Extra exam. Passing those exams would assume that you have a bit of prior knowledge that will be quite helpful in comprehending the Extra exam material.
Yes, got mine tonight, started with Tech in April 2019. I've held a General RadioTelephone since 1983, I drove to Atlanta Georgia to the FCC and took 100 question test, so it was a challenge to myself. Now I should get a radio. KJ7EOX
Congratulations! I got my Tech in Jan, 2020. I nearly passed the General test that same day, but came up 3 answers short. So, I studied like mad for both the General and Extra tests, and passed both in February 2020. I wanted to go all the way to Extra so I wouldn't have to worry about remembering what the cut-offs per band were, LOL. 73, KO4AZY
I drilled exam questions for a few weeks and took all three exams in one sitting. I'm glad I got it all out of the way, but now I'm brand new to the hobby but look like I should be very experienced. Oops.
I have my advanced class. I took my extra tests in 90s but did not pass the code tests. But.. now would need to pass extra tests apparently. Think they should just upgrade us advance operators to extra..
The next step would be an FCC Commercial Radio Operators License. Even if you don't operate commercially, achieving these would be the next logical step: www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/commercial-radio-operator-license-program
I technically didn't upgrade to Extra... I took and passed all three exams in one day back in 2018. I did this for a couple reasons. One was so I didn't have to worry as much about accidentally transmitting out of my allowed frequencies (more so when replying to a CQ call then calling CQ) and the other was the stupid reaaon to save money in the future on paying to attend another testing session. Oh how naive I was... And lastly, it was because after studying and being ready for Tech and General I had time to study for Extra before the local exam date. As a bonus, it's also fun to have an "AD" prefix call that shows no previous call sign or license class in the FCC database...
The FCC just issued my upgrade to Extra today. I was first licensed in March of this year (2018) as a Tech, but was encouraged buy the VE to keep going and upgrade to General as soon as I could. I took his advice and started studying and took the General at the end of March. That same VE encouraged me to go ahead and keep forging ahead, so I took his advice and used the entire month of April to study. It wasn’t easy due to work and family commitments, but I used all of my spare time to study. I took my Extra exam on the last Saturday in April and they just issued my upgrade today. I did have some motivation though. I took my Grandfathers call sign, and when he passed away, he was an Extra. I figured I couldn’t take his call and be just a Technician or General, because he wasn’t so that was very personal to me. I found the challenge to be a lot of fun and I think I learned a lot along the way. Thank you for videos Michael! You really have some great ones! 73, Brian W5LGQ
got my tech in may 2018,, general dec 2018 and working on extra now.
Studying for the Extra class now and plan to take exam on May 2 (April 30 exam was cancelled). My path seems similar to yours. Fighting with opposing time commitments and impositions. But this will be worth it. My ultimate goal is to be an VE to help extend the hobby.
Upgraded at age 71 about a month ago for the worry free band privileges and just to prove I could do it. Rewarded myself with a vanity call sign and Texas radio operator plates and mobile radio setup on my Ram 2500.K1DLA, 73.
I passed my amateur technician exam last week and my general today. I still haven't made my first contact because I live in the middle of nowhere. I have an antenna on the way and look forward to testing it out. I'll start studying for extra soon.
I recently upgarded to Extra, I suppose the main reason was so I wouldn't have to keep track of where I could and couldn't transmit. Got my tech last June and General earler this year figured I'd upgrade before I forgot everything from the other tests lol.
The"only" reason is band space........
I've been a licensed 13 WPM General since 1976, and had my exam administered by the FCC. I have all the privileges I need or could possibly want to use.
I upgraded just to see if I could do it. Maybe a dumb reason, but that is my answer.
Not a dumb reason at all.
It's a great mental workout!
What's the cost for the exam
That is actually one on the main reasons i did it. The other was that i have a thirst to learn as much as i can about radio and electronics.
Terry Steward....similar here. Doing it only to do it. Will likely not exercise the benefits of having the Extra.
Well, after being a general class for well over 30 years I decided the day that I retired it would be a good little challenge to add to my list of things to do with the extra time I would have. I always appreciated being a general but the extra band space and great group of folks found in the extra portion turned out to be all the reward I really needed. I no longer have to worry about my privilege limits or other things of the sort and never have to be sorry about not being able to call that nice DX station that is not in my segment of the band. It is very worth the study time to get!
I upgraded to extra for the intellectual challenge, and for the desire to understand electronics and radio theory on a deeper level. The additional band privileges were another incentive. The possibility of becoming a VE is also an enticing prospect as it affords you an opportunity to give back to the hobby.
I spent months studying and prepared from multiple sources, including AF7KB's fantastic audio book, the Fast Track to your Extra Class. I too listened to it daily, it was great to be able to study during my work commuting.
Passing is really a great sense of accomplishment. But passing is just the beginning of a whole new world of opportunities in the greatest electronics hobby that is amateur radio.
Go Badgers!
Just upgraded to Extra. I’m the kinda guy that just has to get the highest level license for anything I’m working on. Looking at your videos to send to friends. I’m mailing out a couple new radios to friends tomorrow to try to get them into the hobby.
I just took the Technician and General exams and passed them today (09-14-20) on the day of my father's birthday (R.I.P. dad, we love you). I took the Extra test as a practice test and I got 21 out of 50 questions correct without studying. My VE Team encouraged me to continue my journey and I have already signed up for the Extra Exam again in December of 2020. I have an 8 month old daughter and I cant wait to introduce her to the art of Amateur Radio and all of its facets. Thank you for the great videos!!! I cant wait to get my call sign, and get on the air!!!!
I got my tech license in Nov. of 2022. General in Dec of 2022,
Yesterday, 04-22-2023, I earned my extra license.
It was hard to study for it, but I did it, and am glad I did.
Easy in this day and age......
Just got my AE ticket stamped this Saturday. I did it because at the time I upgraded to General I found out the VEs would be testing in my city so that I didn't have to drive almost 40 minutes away. I also had a lot of fun learning in the process of upgrading my General.
I was committed and started studying some three months before the next exam data.Then the shelter-in-place happened.
It didn't look like I was going to get my AE anytime soon. I stopped studying. Eventually, remote exams started happening. My VEs offered me to chance to take it as their first trial run, and I wanted to give back to that club. So I jumped at the chance.
To summarize, the reasons were multi-fold. I updated because I thought the testing place would just be 10 minutes away, I wanted to help my VEs by volunteering to be a genie pig, and because I had a lot of fun studying. I learned a lot in the process. What's ironic is I have a degree with some minor emphasis on electrical engineering but I never really learned the materials back in college. It took ham radio to help have what I learned make sense. I also never studied so hard for a hobby. Lol.
This just came across my feed. Having been in a data communications MOS in the military where I both operated and repaired radios , it was just logical apply my education and experience when I decided to get into Amateur Radio. I did both Technician and General test at the same time, but didn’t have time to do the Extra that VEC session. That gave me a month to learn the administrative subjects pertaining to Amateur Radio. The Extra test came easily too. That was 2008. I still consider myself a relative new by, using my license for Skywarn and monitoring events more than anything. Enjoy your videos and learn lots.
I took the technician and general tests today and I passed both.
I passed my Technician and General test on October 11, 2018 after 6 weeks of pretty intense study of Gordon West’s exam prep books and watching many RUclips ham related videos including many of yours. Just for the challenge I have been studying for the Extra license and have learned a lot. I will take the Extra exam on December 6, 2018 and I feel confident I wil pass. This is a fun hobby and continuing education and new activities keeps the mind sharp. I am 73 and retired. Please keep up your very interesting and educational videos.
Congratulations, passing both Tech and General on one sitting is quite an accomplishment. I'm sure you will do well on the Extra exam.
Most people don't understand that the Europeans can't talk above 3800 kHz and as a general class license you can't talk below 3800 kHz
After I passed the test for General I tried for Extra. I was lost, I had to guess at to many questions. I've since bought the Gordon West CD course and his book. I'll try again soon.
We routinely offer the Extra exam to people that have just passed the General. Don't feel bad that it was overwhelming, I'd say that those that take the test after passing the general only score at about 20-30%. Most VEs don't expect you to pass, but instead want to give you a taste of that exam.
I’m a old school advanced class and I probably will never upgrade.
I passed my 20 wpm code test way back in 1993 and failed the written extra. I was never a big fan of dropping the code requirements. I’m satisfied with advanced class.
I thought they should have left it at 13 wpm for the extra. To be totally honest I didn't like the fact that they changed it at all. They cheapened it in my opinion.
I'm okay with no code for entry-level people wanting to get into Amateur Radio, but I believe code should be mandatory for at least Extra Class, but probably even General Class, too.
half the Extras would still be general class.........many generals would be Techs with no morse proficiency
After 12 years as a general, and being off of the air for a couple of years, I had about forgot my license was set to expire. Renewed and got back on the air. I had tossed getting the extra for all of those years, but knew it was time. It was the end of October, 2022, and the next testing session was two weeks away. I got some good apps for study material, watch videos and such, and studied every available moment I could. Went in and passed it on the first try.
I am now a member of the same VE team that graded my exam. For me, that is still the main reason I got my extra, was being able to grade all exams. It is very gratifying to hand someone their CSCE paper and tell them congrats, they are now a ham or their upgraded class.
I tell people I'm on the "2.1 release" of my ham radio journey.
I started as a novice license holder back in the day and worked dang hard to upgrade to general class the following year. I immediately turned my attention to the extra class and geared up for the exam. I never took it, though, as life got unexpectedly busy and, over time, I drifted away from the hobby. I filed the notion of extra class away as a relic of the past and didn't give it much thought.
Fast forward 20+ years and some friends were getting interested in amateur radio and talked me into getting back into it. I took a couple weeks to brush up before acing the tech and general tests. A couple of weeks later I aced the extra exam. While I like the additional privileges and so forth, this is something I did for me. In spite of drifting away from the hobby, no matter what I told myself, it felt like unfinished business. I'm proud to have corrected that.
73 de N8ESP
Got my ticket in March 2017. I went straight to general. I deliberately didn't try for extra out of respect for all the extras that I know who had to work a lot harder than I. No code, unlimited free research library(internet), and 2 35 question, multiple choice tests are a drop in the bucket of what many of them had to do. My goal is to get fluent with Morse at 15 words or better, then I'll upgrade.
Just curious. It’s been 3 years, did you hit your CW goals? I’m currently a General Class with an eye on Extra. (It’s true that DX loves to lurk in the US Extra portions!) I was licensed in the later 1970’s so I had to do the code tests.
Just wanted to encourage you! I hit several plateaus, places where I got stuck at a particular speed, until I finally got faster. I’ve hit 20wpm, which is as fast as I can write…and still read it. HiHi! If you can learn to copy CW in your head, you’ll be able to copy some very fast code. I’ve found some stations run at about 30wpm, especially DXpeditions. Good DX & 73! WB3CFN.. dit dit
@@joekrepps Thanks for the check in. And thanks for the encouragement. I have reached the 15 wpm goal. In short bursts, I can copy 20wpm. I was studying for extra when covid hit our family and interrupted my progress. I was hoping to upgrade before the new fees took effect. Not sure that will happen.
Thanks again for your interest. Your gesture is more proof that the ham community is the best community. 73 de KG5SAG
I went for Extra for two reasons. One was it was the next step forward, It gives me all the amateur frequencies plus a new call sign. Now I just need a radio that will actually let me use either the General or Extra bands. :D The second reason was to be a VE, and currently I'm signed up as a VE with ARRL, W5YI, and Laurel. I'm looking at another step forward, and that might be the FCC Commercial Radio Operators License, we'll see what comes.
I was licensed Tech Plus in 1994, and General in 2006. No need for Extra. I have access to all bands now regardless.
I was having fun studying for my licenses. I did all three in a five month time frame. KG7IRJ/8
I went through several license structure changes since 1967. Having the Extra means whatever they do, I have the whole package.
That, and being able to do effective 'VE work.
I think one of the best rewards of having your Extra is to be a VE and have the opportunity to give back to the Amateur Radio Service.
I got my Tech back in March 2023 and my General in October 2023. I am currently debating on studying for my Extra. But as of right now I’m planning on learning more about the hobby, as soon as I get my HF radio. Since I have i until 2033 when my license expires. Right now I’m in no rush to upgrade again.
I'm scheduled to take my Technician exam next weekend (Aug 10). Once I was confident with that one, I started studying for the General shortly after. I'm confident with both now, and am now trying to be ready for the Extra in the same session. My dad got his Technician license a short time ago... trying to outdo him. :)
Took and passed all 3 written exams this morning..pretty stoked. :)
@@JonathanSnow Nicely Done! After I passed my Tech exam, I studied like mad and then passed the General and Extra a month later. 73, KO4AZY
@@JonathanSnow You know nothing Jon Snow!!!!
LOL
Congrats!
Right when I knew I wanted to pursue ham radio I knew that I was going for Extra. Just got my ticket a few weeks ago and am having so much fun doing FT-8 and learning CW to become a Yes Code Extra. Just about everything this hobby has to offer fascinates me and I knew that going all the way would be a great springboard for me to more easily leap into any particular topic I wanted. 73 and thanks for the videos, they really helped when I was getting started out.
got my tech in may 2018,, general dec 2018 and working on extra now. upgrading because I can
I got my Novice Class license back in 1989. I did upgrade to Technician very quickly, but then got out of radio for many, many years. After several decades I'm now studying for my Extra Class. It's now or never.
Got my Tech April 2020, passed General August 2020, and studying for Extra now.
Hi
I got my Novice ticket long ago. Frankly the code requirement held me up.
I finally sat for the general and the VE said why not do the extra and I did. I passed and am now AG4TD
Thanks
Running full-legal power on all of the bands is a blast.
Life is to short for QRP. 👍🏻
I am a General class for 50 years, I probably would have trouble passing it again now, except for morse code...you never forget that!
I did it all in less than a year… Tech on February 1st at a hamfest. I wouldn’t have tested if they hadn’t offered it at the hamfest. General at the end of March and Extra in September. I haven’t gotten my VE but I should.
was introduced to “tune in the world with ham radio”, we had a 2 meter stacked yagi in the high school courtyard and the Oscar Satellite had just been launched.
I held a tech ticket for 15 years or so. Got the bug one day to upgrade so I upgraded at the same hamfest I originally got my ticket. Got my Extra ticket when my Son help up his end of the deal on got his tech ticket I wanted to wait till the VABeach Hamfest and get it there but I was ready and the hamfest was 6 months away. I didn't even have an HF radio for several years. An advantage of the extra class is all I need to remember is the band edges. 73 KE4HTS
Tested and passed the Tech and General a few days ago after studying for ~ 4 days. Two days on tech, two days on general. (Haven't even gotten my callsign or a radio yet)
The next testing session for that club is in a month. I think this video has convinced me to go upgrade, mind as well get out of it the way now, before the FCC raises the piece.
I'm studying for my upgrade now. I've been a ham for 25 years; I should be at the top of the game. ;-) I may pursue a 2x1 or 1x2 vanity call sign afterwards. 73, Scott
The reason there is more DX in the extra portion of the bands is simple. The band allocations are different in Europe and other countries so they cannot operate in what is our general band here in America. I was an advanced for over 25 years and finally upgraded to extra just for the heck of it. As many advanced guys are, I was proud of that ticket because you can't get them anymore and I worked hard to get it. I finally figured it was time to get the missing band space I was not allowed to operate in after all these years. The extra test is pretty tricky, but not nearly as hard as the old advanced test. I took practice tests on QRZed for about half an hour per day for a week and took the test. Passed it on the first try.
I have never had any desire to be an Extra Class.All I ever wanted was General Class & I got it with the 5 WPM Code.I HATE CW so I do NOT use it.The Extra Class offers me nothing that I don't have now since I don't have time for the band space I already have now & I am Retired.Get what License Class that makes you happy but don't complain that you can't use any portion of any band because you chose to not upgrade.Getting a license of any class is easy enough if you just put a little effort into it but to me the General Class License is the Perfect License for me & I have ZERO plans of ever upgrading in this lifetime.If it's for you then that is great so go enjoy it. 73 de W4KVW {:>)
As an extra license holder I have to say that the primary reason was access to the entire band plan.
73 K2CCT
My primary reason for upgrading to Amateur Extra was to allow me at function as a VE for all license classes.
I also just set it as a personal "stretch" goal since my education and experience is in business and not in engineering.
Just to have the highest license, just like I did in auto, HD truck, motorcycle and Rv trailer mechanics.
Got my tech license in April 2024, general in June 2024 testing in August for extra. So far so good
I don't see a lot of reason to upgrade past General. I have studied the Extra material, but I'm not all that interested in what it gets me. Seems like the best ROI is General right now.
I live in Italy and was able to get my Italian license because I have an Extra ticket. Italy does not allow anything less than Extra to transfer.
I am contemplating attempting the Extra exam in a couple weeks, but I am hesitant. I have heard a few Extras say that an operator should stay at General for at least 5 years before attempting the Extra ticket exam. I just passed my Tech and General exams last Monday and don't even have my callsign issued yet, but I have already been studying for the Extra exam as well as learning CW.
What are your thoughts on someone trying to get all three ticket levels in the same month?
I certainly wouldn't wait five years, but maybe a month is rushing things. Get comfortable first and let the knowledge start to sink in. You'll soon feel when it is right to upgrade.
I have been an Advance Class Ham since 1979 (gee 40 years) First Licensed in 1977 as a tech (5 wpm). In 1979 I went to Tampa and got my Advance license (15 wpm cw) and have held it since. My brother was licensed as a general in 1957 and around 1980 got his extra.
I had a friend who was an extra and he commented it meant he could do cw where ever in the ham bands.
Funny story to why i upgraded to extra last week. 3 weeks ago i challenged my 11 year old daughter to get her tech. She's a smart kid so i know she can do it. So she challenged me to upgrade.(I WON) not that i wanted to but she didn't test at this session. Lets just say she is out of school so summer has taken over her brain. She is how ever still working at it and should test next month. 73's KB1EZZ/AE
Hello good sir my name is also Michael, and I want to say your videos helped me a lot!
Passed the tech. Exam2 weeks ago, then Passed my general exam last weekend. Will get my amateur in a few weeks.
For the extra frequencies
Why not have the best ticket? It looks good as well.
After the holidays I plan to start studying for my extra KE8JQO
Still on the path . . . .
Got my Gen today - Extra will happen but not tomorrow... Thank you!
Congratulations! It's good to get your feet wet in HF before you plow ahead with studying for your Extra. But as you gain experience, you'll know when you are ready to upgrade.
Thank you ! I agree, I'm not studying yet, but I do enjoy listening to the following gentleman as he explains Ham Radio concepts. For me, it's like turning on an AM radio station and listening to talk-radio : ruclips.net/video/JlUyP5UzpXg/видео.html
We had a swap meet with a ve session coming so figured it was time. Was getting 50% ish without studying tho lots of overlap with general (& materials engineering school prob helps). 4 weeks of studying plus plain old remembering the right answers & I was getting 80s.
If you decide to travel outside the US, the Extra class will usually give you full privileges and the ability to transfer your ticket to a new license in a foreign country.
Yes, another great reason. A friend of mine used to travel to Europe frequently for work and found his amateur operation quite limited until he got his Extra class license.
@@KB9VBRAntennas I am currently living in Italy and there are no novice or intermediate licenses. You must have an Extra ticket to get a transfer accepted. So, no Extra, no Italian callsign.
I got my tech one year then general the next year. I waited 15 years before I tried to get my extra. I didnt really see the purpose as you really dont get much band wise for the work. I finally took the test and passed. I guess the best part is that I can say im at the top of the ham license. That said people think you know everything and I sure as heck dont. LOL. I think we should really get something special and cool for doing so. I guess I did it because I got the job of being the E.C. of ARES in my county. I figured I was more official having the highest rated license class then.
Hello. My name is Joshua. I am 45 years old and live in Los Angeles, CA. I have been playing around with a Baofeng UV-5R walkie talkie for around four years now and have watched, studied and learn a lot about my radio and ham radio repeaters, antennas,call signs and whatnot. I REALLY want to talk with my walkie talkie via a repeater with other folks out there but I get scared or whatever to key up because I do not have a legitimate call sign to throw out there and also I'm scared of triangulation (I don't want to get caught up legally for ANYTHING!) I guess the next obvious thing is to get licensed. Please excuse my ignorance, but I don't know how or where to begin this journey to acquire a valid license. I guess I could Google it, but that would NEVER be the same as getting it straight from the horse's mouth.
If there is anybody out here in RUclips land that remembers the passion you felt for getting your license and start to be a legitimate ham operator I humbly ask that you please reply to this comment and let me know what you did step by step to achieve your goal. I'm not stupid, well, maybe just a little slow.
What do I need to do? How much $ do I need to do it? Where do I do it? When do I do it? For how long do I do it? Are there support groups for
It? Can I talk on a repeater and ask around?
I might sound off but the only stupid question I've learned is the question not asked.
Please help me figure it out.
Thank you...
The Amateur Radio Service is a licensed radio service so you will need a valid license to start. Fortunately it is not difficult to get your license and I have a video that outlines the five easy steps: ruclips.net/video/9mcVLxQUSak/видео.html
This should give you a starting point on your journey.
Canada has 3 levels of license - Basic - Basic with honours - Advanced ---- What are the equivalents in the USA?
The US has three levels of license: Technician, General, and Amateur Extra. The Technician license gives broad access to bands above 30Mhz, along with a smattering of HF privileges, most notably on the 10 meter band. General adds wide access to HF spectrum between 160 and 10 meters. Amateur Extra adds slivers of spectrum at the bottoms of the 80, 40,. 20, 15, and 10 meter bands. There are other benefits granted to Extra class license holders, but that's the main difference between the classes. That should give you a good indicator of how US licenses line up with the Canadian equivalents.
@@KB9VBRAntennas I guess they are quite different.
The basic entry level in Canada is a 100 question written exam. You need 70%
The basic advanced standing is an 80% pass.
Thanks for your reply.
I upgraded to extra because i heard DF2BO calling CQ DX on extra portion of 80m. And i couldnt respond to his call.... But i am an extra now. and i have made a hand full of DX contacts on 80m.
Dbigpinoy do as I do and Never listen where you can’t legally talk.The General Class is Perfect.
I am A extra class and I got my extra class to eat, EV because I wanted to get back to the hobby
Hello all,
can I just study for the extra or is there information from lower levels not provided in the extra exam and study book?
vr,
You do need to first pass the Technician and General exams before you may take the Extra exam. Passing those exams would assume that you have a bit of prior knowledge that will be quite helpful in comprehending the Extra exam material.
Why not? That's the real question.
I have no plans to upgrade from an Advanced Class license.
Yes, got mine tonight, started with Tech in April 2019. I've held a General RadioTelephone since 1983, I drove to Atlanta Georgia to the FCC and took 100 question test, so it was a challenge to myself. Now I should get a radio. KJ7EOX
Congratulations! I got my Tech in Jan, 2020. I nearly passed the General test that same day, but came up 3 answers short. So, I studied like mad for both the General and Extra tests, and passed both in February 2020. I wanted to go all the way to Extra so I wouldn't have to worry about remembering what the cut-offs per band were, LOL. 73, KO4AZY
Congrats on that. It is an accomplishment.
I drilled exam questions for a few weeks and took all three exams in one sitting. I'm glad I got it all out of the way, but now I'm brand new to the hobby but look like I should be very experienced. Oops.
plenty of those around now days...............
hi am tech ham My call KI6NBZ plan to upgrade to extra class I do have yaesu 817nd QRP radio HF
Just to anyone whose reading this it took me a year to get this class
Thank you.
👍
The comments and mike has been a big influance
Wife died. So. Had to be dad. I think I will go extra from advanced. At 70 years old. Hi hi De kv4li
I upgraded for the extra band privileges.
I have my advanced class. I took my extra tests in 90s but did not pass the code tests. But.. now would need to pass extra tests apparently. Think they should just upgrade us advance operators to extra..
I would like to upgrade beyond extra. What might the next level be. I know it's beyond amateur radio. I am an extra class now.
The next step would be an FCC Commercial Radio Operators License. Even if you don't operate commercially, achieving these would be the next logical step: www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/commercial-radio-operator-license-program
a comercial radio operator license is basicly the same test with an additional part of maritime and overseas operations and laws
I just kept taking the test till all the questions were done. 0-Extra in one go.
I technically didn't upgrade to Extra... I took and passed all three exams in one day back in 2018.
I did this for a couple reasons. One was so I didn't have to worry as much about accidentally transmitting out of my allowed frequencies (more so when replying to a CQ call then calling CQ) and the other was the stupid reaaon to save money in the future on paying to attend another testing session. Oh how naive I was... And lastly, it was because after studying and being ready for Tech and General I had time to study for Extra before the local exam date.
As a bonus, it's also fun to have an "AD" prefix call that shows no previous call sign or license class in the FCC database...
I upgraded purely for the clout.
I just upgraded an hour ago. KI5AUR/AE