ARRL or Gordon West w5yi

[KC2USH]

Hello,
Im looking to upgrade to extra but as far as buying a study book Im stuck between buying the ARRL licence manual or the W5YI Gordon west book. What do you guys suggest?
Thanks KC2USH

[KL7AJ]

Hello,
Im looking to upgrade to extra but as far as buying a study book Im stuck between buying the ARRL licence manual or the W5YI Gordon west book. What do you guys suggest?
Thanks KC2USH

I'm not a reliable source since I've written material for both entities.

Eric

[KI6DKC]

I like them both. I used ARRL for tech and Gordon West for General. Both are well written. Currently have Gordon West for Extra but if I had the extra $$$ I would also get the ARRL.

[WC5B]

If you want exact questions and the exact answers and nothing else, Gorden West. If you want more of a classic text book that lead into the question pool, ARRL. It depends on your learning style. Personally I love Gorden West and his drive to educate new hams and many of his products, but I prefer the ARRL manuals better.

[KD8OQM]

Personally I love Gorden West and his drive to educate new hams

i would have to agree. i passed my test with Gordo but have not tried ARRL. i would suggest gordo to anyone who wants to pass their tech test. Go, Gordo, GO!!!!!!!!

[AB8RU]

I used both ARRL and Gordon West also the math formulas you can only use certain calculators for the exam and examiner must verify it.

Unlike NCEES exams they will list either

• Casio fx155xxx series
• HP35S

the HP 35S has programs written for loading into the calculator so I would not reccomend that one VEs please note this one .

so my Texas Instruments TI89 may squeek by for a graphing Eng / Sci calc in a exam depends on the Exam Manager .

also brush up on your math free sites and ipod-casts are out there

Good Luck!

[KJ6KUW]

also the math formulas you can only use certain calculators for the exam and examiner must verify it.

Where does this info come from?

I haven't taken my Extra exam yet, but I've never heard of this. I was at a testing site last week and none of the VEs checked the calculators of the guys taking their Extra exams.

[KB1NXE]

Which entity do you plan on taking you test with? That's hoiw'd I'd make the choice.

[NC9Z]

Well I just passed my Extra test this past weekend, and I can't vote.

To prepare I used the W5YI book, the ARRL book, the AD7FO study guide and the AA9PW and QRZ practice tests. I also picked up two basic electronics books from the library.

W5YI and the practice tests are great for getting the right answer out of the bunch and the terminology down. The ARRL book and the electronics books gave me the theory needed to reason with the electronic and circuit theories, and the AD7FO study guide helped me break down the steps for the math.

For the Tech I read the ARRL book cover to cover and passed 1st try but without much breathing room, for the General I read the book cover to cover, didn't grasp the material well enough to pass so I had to take the question pool and hand write out a study guide to cement the information covered in the book to memory, only missed one; when the Extra rolled around I missed a couple out of the 15 allowed. The good news is the tests are just the start so as I progress deeper into the hobby I can learn more and more, but from here on out I can check to make sure I have the right formula.

[NA0AA]

If you want exact questions and the exact answers and nothing else, Gorden West. If you want more of a classic text book that lead into the question pool, ARRL. It depends on your learning style. Personally I love Gorden West and his drive to educate new hams and many of his products, but I prefer the ARRL manuals better.

I have nothing against Gordo, but I too prefer the ARRL manuals for their more detailed background. More like traditional learning. Gordo is ham-cram style, IMHO.

I have his code CD's and oh, my, he's way too perky for my taste - sort of like Richard Simmons...<G>

"OK, Now, what we want to do is remove the Liver: cut the suspension ligiments and get ready to life it out of the abdomen...ISN'T THIS FUN!?!?!"