sandyeggoxj
Well-Known Member
KG6GUL here. Been licensed since 2001. Sometimes I think that I should test for my general and use the TS-50 that is sitting in storage. Have radios in all my vehicles and a couple HTs here and there.
One of my buddies had to temporarily move into his parents' house while he was searching for a new job. Wasn't going to put up a tower there, so he strung wire through the trees at the perimiter of the property. I forget how long he said he ended up having for an antenna.I've been debating on taking both the technichan and general at the same time. I've been studying the online tests for about 6 weeks now and have been getting 85-95 on both every time I try one. So all in all, I'm not that worried about passing the tests.
The only problems I have with getting my ticket is:
1) time to get on the radio and not pi$$ off SWMBO but not being around and
2) figuring out a good place for a 40m-10m antenna. I live in a neighborhood with an HOA so an outdoor antenna is a challenge. I have a fairly large two story house with a pretty big attic, but climbing around those trusses and not being able to see where I'm stepping is a huge worry because of the blown in insulation. So I'm not thrilled with putting an antenna up there.
I've always enjoyed listening to my Icom R75 (SWMBO thinks I'm a nerd but got me into brewing so it's not all bad) but I'm just not sure I want to invest the time and money for the equipment and not be able to use it very often.
I'm digging up an old-ish thread just to say another ham here. Been licensed since 1991, although I rarely use the radio and most of what I've learned by way of electronics has been put into good use building an electric brewery and a fermentation chamber (using an old chest freezer and a Raspberry Pi).
And I am also in an HOA. I have a trap dipole in the attic that works well enough on 10, 20, 40, and possibly 80, but my plasma TV interferes with anything 30-160 when it's on.
73 de KE8P
Funny, this resurrects itself as I'm running a pile of practice exams to finally bump up to General at the end of the month (theoretically).
Still haven't unpacked most of my gear since moving last year, beyond my AllstarLink node (43441). But that's pretty minimal. Fun though.
73
KK4VRW
I found two websites pretty helpful.
https://hamexam.org/
www.kb6nu.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2014-no-nonsense-tech-study-guide-v20.pdf
You left out one of the best out there https://hamstudy.org
Very easy flashcards to use. Explanations on almost every question.
Tracks your progress and will hit you with missed questions more frequently than ones you get right, BUT if you get too many in a row wrong it starts throwing some of the ones you like back at you so you don't feel defeated.
Also has a fantastic mobile interface too.
I've talked to the guy who runs it online several times, good guy. He also makes the "Signal Sticks" flexible handheld antennas too.
Check this one out if you want to blow through the questions fast.
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