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

On Mar 11, 8:12*am, 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 *

Hi, notbob - I am not really up on amateur radio regs just now, but I
can tell you, you've caught this newsgroup at a relatively stable and
noise-free time. It is usually 90% wackos. I would love to see it
stay this way, but no guarantees.

Bruce Jensen

On 3/11/10 10:16 , bpnjensen wrote:
On Mar 11, 8:12 am, 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

Hi, notbob - I am not really up on amateur radio regs just now, but I
can tell you, you've caught this newsgroup at a relatively stable and
noise-free time. It is usually 90% wackos. I would love to see it
stay this way, but no guarantees.

Bruce Jensen




Now, now, Bruce. This group is 85% whackos. Max.

::::now, where's my Transoceanic Telescopic Xenoboom VHF Hat
Detector::::


Oops, hold on...trapezoid on the Pocketscope. Gotta go.

bpnjensen wrote:
On Mar 11, 8:12 am, 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

Hi, notbob - I am not really up on amateur radio regs just now, but I
can tell you, you've caught this newsgroup at a relatively stable and
noise-free time. It is usually 90% wackos. I would love to see it
stay this way, but no guarantees.

Bruce Jensen

Anyone say "RHF"? When he departed noise dropped significantly.

On Mar 11, 8:45*am, BobS wrote:
bpnjensen wrote:
On Mar 11, 8:12 am, 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 *

Hi, notbob - I am not really up on amateur radio regs just now, but I
can tell you, you've caught this newsgroup at a relatively stable and
noise-free time. *It is usually 90% wackos. *I would love to see it
stay this way, but no guarantees.

Bruce Jensen

Anyone say "RHF"? *When he departed noise dropped significantly.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

SSSHHHH - it's nice and quiet now ;-)

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.

[Note: Followup-To is set - rec.radio.shortwave is NOT an amateur radio
group]
"Mark S. Holden" wrote in message
news
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.

Even when the questions change (i.e. the pool expires), usually 80% of the
questions carry to the next period. If you study by learning the material
and not the questions, this shouldn't be a problem.

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.

If you pass, taking the next exam at the same session is covered under the
SAME fee most (if not all) places.

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.

Or look he http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/examsearch.phtml

On Mar 11, 8:23*am, "Mark S. Holden" wrote:
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.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thanks for this.

Hmm - are these practice tests typical? I just took several of the
technician tests and passed with flying colors, no study at all. I
can only assume that they are easy. I cannot see why any radio person
would be concerned about these tests.

I tried two General tests, but missed because of shortcomings in my
knowledge of a few of the most technical equipment and computer-
related terms. I would guess a couple hours' study of the manual
would fix that problem.

Bruce

bpnjensen wrote:
On Mar 11, 8:23 am, "Mark S. Holden" wrote:
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.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thanks for this.

Hmm - are these practice tests typical? I just took several of the
technician tests and passed with flying colors, no study at all. I
can only assume that they are easy. I cannot see why any radio person
would be concerned about these tests.

I tried two General tests, but missed because of shortcomings in my
knowledge of a few of the most technical equipment and computer-
related terms. I would guess a couple hours' study of the manual
would fix that problem.

Bruce

Those tests are the actual questions. When you take the actual test,
you might get a different mix, but if you can reliably pass every
practice test, you'll do great on the real one.

On Thu, 11 Mar 2010, notbob wrote:

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?

Well you're really confused, because this newsgroup has nothing to do with
amateur radio. There's a whole hierarchy, rec.radio.amateur.* that's
intended for that. They cover a wide variety of topics, and there's even
a moderated one.

This newsgroup is about listening. "Shortwave" is in the title since it
sort of defined what the newsgroup was supposed to be about, the same way
that back forty years "SWL" meant "shortwave listening" but often the same
people also did BCB DXing and monitoring the public service bands. It's a
description of the type of person, not the spectrum to be covered.

That confuses a lot of people, they think this is for amateur radio
because it's "shortwave". But it was never meant to be a place to discuss
amateur radio, beyond discussing monitoring the ham bands (which has
always had some followers). The charter defines that, and the fact that
there is a whole hierarchy intended for amateur radio should also
reinforce that. Besides. amateur radio isn't just about shortwave,
indeed while once you couldn't really get a ham license without starting
out on the shortwave bands, now I suspect there are a good percentage,
maybe even a small majority, who have never operated on the shortwave
bands.

Michael