I received an e-mail yesterday from someone who recently purchased my General Class and Extra Class study guides and has begun working toward getting his Extra Class ticket. He writes:
Current status: Just now starting to understand what Ham radio is all about…
I’ve made a lot of progress and have been passing the General and Extra sample tests on a regular basis, but all the while there’s been this growing feeling of uneasiness. It would be insincere and morally fraudulent to now pretend I’ve earned anything close to the Extra level of licensure.
I replied:
I wouldn’t worry about this in the least. Seriously.
The Extra Class license used to be an “honorary” license. By that I mean that it conferred no extra privileges on a ham, but rather was just a recognition of the knowledge that someone had gained. If that were still the case, then I might agree with you somewhat. Since the FCC decided to make the Extra Class license a requirement to get all amateur privileges, that’s no longer a consideration—in my book, anyway.
What’s most important is not the class of license that you hold, but your approach to ham radio. Just keep an inquisitive mind, keep learning new things, and you’ll continually earn the right to be called an Extra Class licensee every day.
I’d love to hear what you all think.
I got all three licenses in a few months — do I fell like I know anything like what the guys in my club know after all their decades of practice? Of course not. The point isn’t that it means you know everything or that you’re superior. The point is that you’ve mastered the science and the math required to understand the regulations enough to not mess up. If you pass, we can be pretty sure you understand how to not accidentally harm yourself or others or cause harmful interference.
There are so many aspects of ham radio that even the guys doing this for all those years may be an expert in a ton of things.. but it doesn’t mean they know anything about some of the modes. There are people who mostly do HF, or mostly just VHF/UHF and might not know much about HF at all. (Especially if they live somewhere they can’t put up antennas….) Some people are really into data modes and others never use them at all. And so forth.
After I passed the general, the guys with the VEC just recommended that we push through and do the AE while we were “still in study mode” and I’m so glad I did. It would be hard to pick all that back up a year or more later. Plus, I really like HF! :D
The more the better! I have an extra, and it was back when one had to take CW to get it, and the questions were not published… Makes no difference, but for a few more areas on CW, and phone… We need more hams, else we will lose frequencies… So welcome to ham radio! Just remember, Ham is not CB, and you will get along perfectly with 98% of the hams out there.
I had the opposite feeling, almost an obligation to get Extra. My degree is in EE, with a concentration in signals and systems, and I worked in DSP for five years after school. I felt like my license should reflect my expertise.
It shouldn’t matter whether a technical answer comes from a Technician or an Extra, but it if helps people trust the answer, I’m OK with that.
Plus, I could never remember edges of the sub-bands. Drove me nuts.
If you want the privileges, pass those tests!
Last time I checked, the FCC prints you a license that says “Amateur Extra” on it if you pass the test and that conveys the same privileges as my “Amateur Extra” license earned under a different testing regime. I used to think this was a big deal. It’s not. The only people who care aren’t worth hanging out with. A ham radio license certifies you to operate a ham radio station and that’s about it, although it also is a rite of passage into a fraternity…
The ticket is simply your opportunity to START learning! As Katie says, it’s just a government sign-off that you know enough not to mess up (big). If you do mess up, well, we’ve all been there before. The theory and the rules are all well and good, but until you’ve put them to practice you’re missing a big part of the picture. (General to Extra is a bit less of a leap than no license to Technician or Technician to General, since you’re obtaining very few truly new privileges, but since this ham seems on his way to Extra with little time in between, it applies here!) Get that ticket, be proud that you’ve jumped the hurdles, and then put that book learning to use to gain some practical experience. Then you’ll feel like you fit right in. :-)
As Walter says, it doesn’t matter what level of license wisdom comes from — and the converse is also true, some Extras really *don’t* know their stuff.
Keep learning!
The way I look at it, any amateur radio license is simply a license to learn, Anyone claiming to know it ALL is blowing smoke. I’ve been licensed 54 years…since I was 13…and learn something new just about every day. If I waited until I knew everything there was to know about the hobby before I took the test to upgrade, I’d still not be an Extra.
There was also once a time period in which a person had to be licensed before he or she could upgrade to Extra. Now, a person can upgrade anytime. You can only take the exam that is offered. You can ask the VE team if you can be required to draw schematics or take the 20 WPM code test as we once did, but you won’t be able to.
Upgrade. Be proud. Enjoy! And 73,
Don N4KC
http://www.n4kc.com
http://www.donkeith.com
A couple things:
Amateur radio licenses are learner’s permits, and always have been. Your amateur radio education doesn’t stop after you take the exams; if you’re doing it right, the learning only accelerates.
The hobby is in no way harmed by licensees who know there are deficits in their knowledge. On the other hand, operators who are convinced they know everything can be a real problem.
I love the way you put it…”Amateur radio licenses are learner’s permits.” Indeed they are!
I got my Extra way back in the 1970’s because the FCC took away privileges from my General Class license while implementing the incentive licensing system. Before that, there was no reason to upgrade.
Now, it is a new day. With the disappearance of the code requirement, and the restructuring of the licensing system, I believe that Ham Radio has a future it might not otherwise have. It matters not whether we are all code monkeys (CW is my favorite mode), or whether some are more technically astute than others. The current system is attracting NEW PEOPLE into the hobby, and that is the most important thing.
Well, back when I got my Extra License, I had to travel to the FCC office in Denver, sit for a 4 hour verbal interrogation from an FCC engineer, assemble a tube transmitter blindfolded, send and receive Morse Code at 45 wpm while reciting the Gettysburg Address, …
73, Bob K0NR
Yeah, I always thought the Gettysburg Address requirement was a bit much.
Yea right ! 45wpm ?
This month marks the 102nd anniversary of licensing. Prior to September 1913 there were no license requirements. The original license exam was 5 essay questions and code at 5 WPM. The important thing is a “license” is meant to be a no harm and qualification as well as accountability. In Amateur Radio we all make mistakes, fortunately those mistakes rarely result in death or injury. Consider your license regardless of the class as a license to learn.
I’ve always thought that a ham license was nothing more than an authorization to expand the domain of your experimentation and learning. The exams for each are only gateways to make sure that you’re somewhat committed and won’t interfere with others in your new domain.
I’m a newly minted Technician. Last week, I spent part of my day showing an Extra how to program his ICOM HT. He had passed the exams but had never gone beyond that. It’s what you do with the license after you get it that matters. Experiment, learn, rinse and repeat.
I got to Extra just for the DX Windows.. With my work schedule, my best opportunity for rare DX is after midnight Eastern time. Hearing all the great DX below 7.025 and 3.025 finally drove me insane enough to crack open the books again and get that Extra over with.. Do I know more about electronics? A little… And Im sure that nobody cares about that. But all I wanted was all that DX – and if passing an exam is all I had to do to increase my DXCC, then so be it!