Instead of studying electronics you should have been studying the
qusetion
and answer book. When the questions are the same as in the book , it is
no
use learning anything for a test.

Where do you get that, Ralph? That license isn't the final goal. It's
the beginning. If all a person wants to do is pass some test, I suppose
they could memorize Q and A. - although I might postulate that
memorizing over 800 questions for the Extra might be harder than simply
learning the material.



Getting the license is the first goal. You have to memorize the rules to
answer many of the questions. Might as well memorize the other parts too.
You get your license and you can start to learn about ham radio.
Sometimes the questions can be deceiving and what may be a correct answer
may not be the "best" answer.

As far as getting good answers about most anything at RAdio Shack or many
other stores , what do you expect from someone making the wages they pay ?
You do not get a salesman and electronics engineer for those wages. Try
going into any store, say Wal-Mart and pick out an area and ask some
specific questions about the products and see what they have to say.
Chances are you will get the same dumb look and maybe a dumb answer.

Ralph Mowery wrote:
. . .
As far as getting good answers about most anything at RAdio Shack or many
other stores , what do you expect from someone making the wages they pay ?
You do not get a salesman and electronics engineer for those wages. Try
going into any store, say Wal-Mart and pick out an area and ask some
specific questions about the products and see what they have to say.
Chances are you will get the same dumb look and maybe a dumb answer.

One of the reasons this is the only choice we have is that in times
past, there were stores which did pay the employees enough to get people
who understood the products. People would go in, get their questions
answered, then go to the Wal-Marts and Radio Shacks to buy the item
because it was cheaper there. We've gotten what we created and what we
collectively deserve.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

Roy Lewallen wrote:
Ralph Mowery wrote:

. . .
As far as getting good answers about most anything at RAdio Shack or many
other stores , what do you expect from someone making the wages they
pay ?
You do not get a salesman and electronics engineer for those wages. Try
going into any store, say Wal-Mart and pick out an area and ask some
specific questions about the products and see what they have to say.
Chances are you will get the same dumb look and maybe a dumb answer.


One of the reasons this is the only choice we have is that in times
past, there were stores which did pay the employees enough to get people
who understood the products. People would go in, get their questions
answered, then go to the Wal-Marts and Radio Shacks to buy the item
because it was cheaper there. We've gotten what we created and what we
collectively deserve.


Thanks for the reminder, Roy. But that has been a long while.

Phil w7ox

Roy Lewallen wrote:


One of the reasons this is the only choice we have is that in times
past, there were stores which did pay the employees enough to get people
who understood the products. People would go in, get their questions
answered, then go to the Wal-Marts and Radio Shacks to buy the item
because it was cheaper there. We've gotten what we created and what we
collectively deserve.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

Support your local hardware store, support your local ham store....

I have paid a slight price penalty plus state and local tax to buy from
my local ham store for almost 20 years. I can also sometimes get break
when I have a rig that needs fixing 3 days before a contest or trip to
FL and the service wait sign says "3 weeks".

Buy local if you want good service from people you know and who know you.

Tom
K0TAR

Hi Roy,

"Roy Lewallen" wrote in message
...
One of the reasons this is the only choice we have is that in times past,
there were stores which did pay the employees enough to get people who
understood the products. People would go in, get their questions answered,
then go to the Wal-Marts and Radio Shacks to buy the item because it was
cheaper there.

What, have you been talking to the guys at HRO again at how people will come
in and get technical advice for an hour and then go home and order on-line
again or something? :-)

Seriously, your point is well taken, although I'd suggest that all the product
reviews you get from, e.g., Amazon.Com can actually be more useful than the
information you'd get from a salesperson. There's no inherent bias (to want
to sell you something), and you get to see comments from people with a wide
range of background. (It's always kinda amusing to see people trash, say,
some classical technical book when the real problem is that they're just not
well enough educated yet to appreciate what they're reading!)

Ralph Mowery wrote:
Instead of studying electronics you should have been studying the

qusetion

and answer book. When the questions are the same as in the book , it is

no

use learning anything for a test.

Where do you get that, Ralph? That license isn't the final goal. It's
the beginning. If all a person wants to do is pass some test, I suppose
they could memorize Q and A. - although I might postulate that
memorizing over 800 questions for the Extra might be harder than simply
learning the material.




Getting the license is the first goal. You have to memorize the rules to
answer many of the questions. Might as well memorize the other parts too.
You get your license and you can start to learn about ham radio.

Hmmm, I suspect that someone who wanted to learn about ham radio would
start that process during the preparations for the test. Those who would
want to memorize entire question pools probably won't be too interested
in actually learning anything both before or afterward the memorization.
As well as not too bright.

Sometimes the questions can be deceiving and what may be a correct answer
may not be the "best" answer.

Sure enough. I once took a test in which I was required to answer "the
temperature at which solder melts. A through D were all possible answers
in this case, because they didn't specify which ratio the solder was. I
wrote "E, all of the above" Turns out they "meant" 60/40 solder. So I
got the "wrong answer" even though I was a lot more correct than they were.

But that is life sometimes.

As far as getting good answers about most anything at RAdio Shack or many
other stores , what do you expect from someone making the wages they pay ?

I expect a correct answer, or "I'm sorry, but I'm don't really know".

You do not get a salesman and electronics engineer for those wages.

One doesn't need to be an electronics engineer to have an intelligent
outlook.


Try
going into any store, say Wal-Mart and pick out an area and ask some
specific questions about the products and see what they have to say.
Chances are you will get the same dumb look and maybe a dumb answer.

Set your expectations low enough, and you'll seldom be disappointed! 8^)

- 73 de Mike KB3EIA -

Mike Coslo wrote:
Ralph Mowery wrote:

Instead of studying electronics you should have been studying the


qusetion

and answer book. When the questions are the same as in the book ,
it is


no

use learning anything for a test.


Where do you get that, Ralph? That license isn't the final goal. It's
the beginning. If all a person wants to do is pass some test, I suppose
they could memorize Q and A. - although I might postulate that
memorizing over 800 questions for the Extra might be harder than simply
learning the material.




Getting the license is the first goal. You have to memorize the rules to
answer many of the questions. Might as well memorize the other parts
too.
You get your license and you can start to learn about ham radio.


Hmmm, I suspect that someone who wanted to learn about ham radio
would start that process during the preparations for the test. Those who
would want to memorize entire question pools probably won't be too
interested in actually learning anything both before or afterward the
memorization. As well as not too bright.


I've seen it done both ways. And I've seen "rote learners" blossom in
their knowledge and breadth of the hobby after getting licensed that
way. Also the opposite.

Since it is a hobby, what works for the individual seems to be all that
is important.

Phil w7ox

Phil Wheeler wrote:
I've seen it done both ways. And I've seen "rote learners" blossom in
their knowledge and breadth of the hobby after getting licensed that
way. Also the opposite.

At 14 years of age in 1952, I had little choice except to
mostly memorize the 90 or so general class questions
and answers in The License Manual. Being an amateur radio
operator is what motivated me through a EE degree and a long
career in electrical engineering.
--
73, Cecil http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp

Cecil Moore wrote:
Phil Wheeler wrote:

I've seen it done both ways. And I've seen "rote learners" blossom in
their knowledge and breadth of the hobby after getting licensed that
way. Also the opposite.


At 14 years of age in 1952, I had little choice except to
mostly memorize the 90 or so general class questions
and answers in The License Manual. Being an amateur radio
operator is what motivated me through a EE degree and a long
career in electrical engineering.


Similar to my history. General Class at 16 in 1953. That motivated me
to get (eventually) three degrees in EE. Extra Class came 40+ years
later when I finally wrenched my code speed up to a reliable 20 WPM ..
not that it would matter now

73, Phil w7ox