notbob wrote:
I'm new to these newsgroups and amateur radio. I would like to study
for my ticket but am confused on the dates of the question pools.

In the Mar '09 issue of CQ magazine, an article on A Beginner's Guide
To Becoming a Ham Radio Operator, element 3 dates are given as,
"Element 3 (General) pool between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2011".
Yet, two study guides I've dwnlded (pdf) from the web, both give the
ending year for General as 2010. Which is it? What am I missing?

Another question. Being a big usenet user, but new to amateur radio,
I've been looking at all the groups available. This one appeared to
have the least noise for a general discussion group, so I posted here.
Is this type of question ok, here, or is there a more appropriate
group for rank newbie questions I'm sure to be pestering the ham
community with?


notbob... fearless geezer

Different question pools have different expiration dates.

Here are the dates for current question pools:

Technician class (Element 2) Pool is effective July 1, 2006 and is valid
until June 30, 2010.

General class (Element 3) Pool is effective July 1, 2007 and is valid
until June 30, 2011.

Extra class (Element 4) Pool is effective July 1, 2008 and is valid
until June 30, 2012.

You need to pass the Tech test before you can take the General.

You need to pass General before you can take Extra.

If you pass one test, you can take the next test immediately. I took
Tech and General on the same day. If I'd had time to prepare ahead of
time, I could have taken Extra too.

This web site has some good practice tests:

http://www.qrz.com/testing.html

It is worth looking for a local ham radio club as often they'll be able
to help you find testing sessions.