Extra Class Exam

Created Saturday 20 April 2024

In the 1970s when I tested for the Novice, General, and Advanced class licenses, I set aside the goal of attaining an Extra Class licence. At the time a 20 wpm code test was required and I'd pretty well peaked at 13 wpm. Additionally, the written exam seemed to be beyond my technical reach.

Fifty years later things have changed. The code requirement was eliminated decades ago. I've done course work in physics, math, computer science, and engineering.

With the changes in requirements and changes in my abilities I went ahead and took the test today, and passed. It's cool to have acheived a status symbol that I once coveted.

Nothing appears on the 50 question exam that is not in the published question pool of 622 questions, so methodical memorization can lead to success. I started one week before the exam and dedicated one to two hours daily to perpare. I did, in fact memorize a fair number of questions. But I also relied on prior experience and education. I used the very helpful resources of hamstudy.org. Their question study mode kept sending me back to challenging concepts until I had internalized them.

I'm happy to have the enhanced license, but I'll feel more like it is an earned right once I get my Morse code speed up to 20 wpm. That was part of the original criteria, after all.