New Amateur Extra class question pool released

From the ARRL...



The National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators' Question
Pool Committee has released a revised and expanded Amateur Extra
class (Element 4) question pool into the public domain. The new
question pool becomes effective July 1, 2002, and must be used to
generate all Extra class written examinations administered on or
after that date. It replaces the Extra class question pool released
April 15, 2000--the day Amateur Radio ''restructuring'' became
effective.




The new Element 4 pool expands the number of questions by more than
20 percent--806 questions--as opposed to 665 in the current Extra
class pool, and it contains more technical material. More than half
of the questions cover electrical principles, circuits, signals and
emissions.



The 50 questions in an Extra class examination are drawn from the
question pool consistent with FCC rules and according to a formula
that specifies the number of questions to be asked from each of nine
topic areas. Applicants must correctly answer at least 37 questions
to pass.



The new Element 4 question pool is available on the ARRL Web site,
http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/pools.html. The just-released Extra
class question pool will remain valid through June 30, 2005.



The Question Pool Committee now will turn its attention to
developing an outline for the Technician class (Element 2) question
pool. A draft Element 2 syllabus is scheduled for public release and
comment next spring. The QPC invites suggestions for the Element 2
syllabus and question pool revision.



Questions and comments about the QPC's work can be directed to,
Chairman Scotty Neustadter, W4WW, w4ww@arrl.net; ARRL VEC Manager
Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, vec@arrl.org; Fred Maia, W5YI, w5yi@w5yi.org; and
John Johnston, W3BE, johnston.john1@worldnet.att.net

 

its becoming more expencive study for hams and too much over load for hobby.

 

It is more than a hobby, rather a method of maintaining a pool of people with experience in radio communication for emergencies.

 

Huh?

1)Go to the library, it's free.

2)Go to the provided URL, you obviously already have Internet access, so reading the question pool is free. The exam books don't have a whole lot more than that.

Or simply don't bother upgrading to Amateur Extra.

 

Why complain? People were just cramming the pool anyway. Besides....

Ham theory doesn't really change.
I've known this from experience. I bought my first RAE manual in 1990 and didn't write the RAE exam until 1997. Furthermore I didn't study that much when it was time to get my FCC license. All I did was go online and learn the FCC regs and US frequency allocations (which werent that different anyway). My first RAE manual was the first and only licensing study guide I ever bought, I didnt need another one.

Endless resources are available online for those who want to learn theory and those who want to cram. Why worry? The new pool is not going to make a big difference.

Incidentally compare the cost of a book like "now you're talking" and the price of your latest ham appliance. To notion that the new question pool is making the hobby more expensive is simply absurd.

 

You're kidding, right? I've never seen it much easier to get licensed or to upgrade.

 

Why would this be kidding? You learn how to handle emergencies by training for them, not by taking a test.





As for it being easy to get a license, they're adding a couple hundred questions to the pool. Doesn't that make it harder? Whereas guys like me who just upgraded are going to get it from both directions, since my test will have been "easier" than the ones before restructuring <I>and</I> the ones after the expanded pool. Never mind that I've been preparing for it for years.





I for one am a lot more concerned about what someone actually does with their license once they have it than I am about what test they took to get it.





73, Creede

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>Why would this be kidding? You learn how to handle emergencies by training for them, not by taking a test. </BLOCKQUOTE> </P>



Our hobby is first and foremost an experimenter's hobby. Our involvemement in "handling emergencies" is secondary. Emergencies are what organizations like REACT live for. No ham radio license required. Public safety agencies are increasingly improving their communications systems so that they don't have to depend on volunteers like us anymore. Aren't you glad?</P>



<BLOCKQUOTE>As for it being easy to get a license, they're adding a couple hundred questions to the pool. Doesn't that make it harder? </BLOCKQUOTE> </P>



No, not if you've been learning the theory like you're supposed to. On the other hand if people have been cramming the pool and learning nothing at all, of course it must be harder. And that's a good thing.</P>

<BLOCKQUOTE>

Whereas guys like me who just upgraded are going to get it from both directions, since my test will have been "easier" than the ones before restructuring and the ones after the expanded pool. Never mind that I've been preparing for it for years. </P> </BLOCKQUOTE>



Why worry? It's not going to affect your privileges in any way.</P>



<BLOCKQUOTE> I for one am a lot more concerned about what someone actually does with their license once they have it than I am about what test they took to get it. </P> </BLOCKQUOTE>



Me too, but I always think that a good finish starts with a good foundation. It's like elementary school. A good foundation for a remarkable finish.</P>

 

Our hobby is first and foremost an experimenter's hobby. Our involvemement in "handling emergencies" is secondary.



Depends on who you ask. The FCC keeps us around because we provide service for emergencies, and to have a pool of trained radio operators on hand should the need arise. Or so I've always been told. Your mileage may vary.



Why worry? It's not going to affect your privileges in any way.



I didn't mean to imply that I was worried, about my privileges or anything else. It was just a statement of fact. Besides, if someone is going to judge me on something as shallow and superficial as when I passed my Extra test, I probably didn't want to talk to them in the first place.



73, Creede

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>Depends on who you ask. The FCC keeps us around because we provide service for emergencies, and to have a pool of trained radio operators on hand should the need arise. Or so I've always been told. Your mileage may vary.</BLOCKQUOTE> </P>



It's not our primary purpose. While we do help in emergencies it's not why I got my license. It's entirely voluntary when we help in emergencies. I find it disturbing that we have to use emergency communications as the only reason for keeping our frequencies. In my opinion that is watering down the hobby.</P>

 

Go ahead, whine whine whine. The test will be the same level of difficulty if you actually study the theory and not just cram the question pools.

 

I think you're missing my point. I'm not saying you HAVE to, or should have to, be in RACES or ARES to be a ham. I'm saying that the reason the FCC continues to allocate valuable spectrum space to the Amateur service because hams provide a valuable service in times of need. Basically, when the FCC asks the hypothetical question, "Letting hams have that spectrum space? What's in it for us?", that's the answer. Or at least one of the answers.


I agree with you in that I didn't get my license to be an emergency operator. I got it because I had a radio itch I couldn't scratch any other way. But, after the events of 2001 (a major earthquake in the Puget Sound region, not to mention 9/11) I'm seriously considering at least getting some emergency training. It's like first aid training, a valuable thing to know if, God forbid, you ever have to use it.



73, Creede

 

Oh, believe me I am definitely no stranger to emergency communications! </P>



All I am saying is that we should not relax the rules because we want more emergency communicators. There should not be any opposition to making the tests fair to those who take time to learn the theory. Cramming the pool does no one any good. Can you imagine someone knowing nothing about ham theory and holding any license, much less an extra class license? Cramming the pool defeats the whole purpose of the test. If they make it harder for the crammers, no one should be complaining. You have to just buckle down and learn the theory.