At Hamcation earlier this year, I got to talking to Tom, K8TB about classes, and he mentioned that the Holland (MI) Amateur Radio Club has been doing a onen-day General class. I’ve been doing one-day Tech classes for a long time, and know the amount of work that’s involved, so I was kind of skeptical. The more we talked about it, though, the more it seemed doable. So, I asked Tom if he would write up something for my blog. Here it is…Dan
Many amateur radio clubs have ham-in-a-day Tech classes. These Tech classes are designed to get folks their Tech licenses as quickly as possible, and they have been generally pretty successful. Despite the name, though, the key for students is to study before coming to class.
The Holland Amateur Radio Club (HARC) started its ham-in-a-day classes about ten years ago. As the number of classes increased, team leaders noticed that the more a student studied before the five-hour “class,” the higher the pass rate. After a while, the HARC began to send out emails to people as they registered for classes, noting that studying before class was very important and suggesting a variety of study materials.
A few years ago, our VE team leader, Bob Broene, K8RJB, himself a ham-in-a-day graduate, started asking if the club could hold a general-in-a-day class. After much discussion, the club agreed to give it a try. They named it General in a Day…Kinda.
The reason for the “kinda” is that this class requires three weeks of studying before the class. Registrations are cut off three weeks before the class is to be held, and students are advised to use those three weeks to prepare for the class. When students register for the class, they are sent a confirmation email, with details on how to study. The email strongly urges students to study 20-30 minutes for each of those 21 days before the class.
Here’s the text of the confirmation email:
Hello: Thank you for signing up for the General-in-Day class. Registration is now closed, as the class, which consists of a 5-hour study session and the test is 3 weeks from tomorrow.
Maybe you have studied all along. The word “Kinda” in the “General in a Day, Kinda” is all about you.
Your success rate will be much higher if you devote 30 minutes a day for the next 21 days.
For week one, we are going to recommend that you start to study from a study guide. One of the best is the No Nonsense General Class License Study Guide by Dan KB6NU. The electronic version costs $10. Look here for more information:
https://www.kb6nu.com/study-guides/
Other study guides are very useful, such as those from the ARRL, W5YI and many others.
In addition to the study guide, having just the questions with only the correct answers is very handy to study. You will be given a copy of one of these at the study session.
Two versions are here:
https://www.hollandarc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Gen2023k8tb.pdf
https://www.hollandarc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Gen2023ad7fo.pdf
Next week you will be sent another email giving you more studying information.
Bob Broene K8RJB
Tom Bosscher K8TB
Two weeks from the class, we send students the following email:
Hello,
We hope you have spent some time in the last week studying for your General. Now, it’s time to switch things up a bit. Some of you may already be using one of the many online study sites, but there are a few we would like to suggest to you.
The most effective online study guide we have found is https://hamstudy.org/
There is no cost for the online version, but you do have to register. By registering, the site will keep track of your progress. They have an app for the site for $ 3.99 . We have had many people tell us this is the best way to study. Have a few minutes to kill at the doctors office? Study from the app. Have a few days to kill at the Secretary of States office? Study away.Other sites include:
And there are many more. The key for you is that 30 minutes a day. In 15 days, you test. 30 minutes a day, plus the 5 hours at the test site, and you should have no problem passing.
Look for another email next week Friday.
Bob Broene K8RJB
Tom Bosscher K8TB
And, one week before the class:
Hello:
We hope you have spent some time in the last two weeks studying for your general.
The test will be next week Saturday. Your study session starts at 1 PM.
You’ve been studying using a study guide, and the questions with just the correct answers.
The final step is to review this material in the form of videos online.
Please go to You tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xymjJ_cRvY
Look for David Casler general class videos.
Just key in and search for amateur radio general class, and there are several very high quality videos.
Don’t forget to show up for the study hall starting at 1 PM on November 13, at the Chick-awa Sportsman Club at 9279 E Ottogan St Holland, MI 49423
Testing will be at 6 PM. Please remember to take a copy of your current technician license.
Bob Broene K8RJB
Tom Bosscher K8TB
The results were surprising At our very first session, we had a 100% pass rate. Same with the second.
We noticed that all students were very motivated, and everyone that talked to us, indicated that the three weekly emails, requesting the study time, and showing them where to get the information, was a key factor.
The Holland ARC views the General in a Day…Kinda Class to be a success. We are rather pleased with the result, especially for a smaller club.
I’m thinking of trying this myself here in Ann Arbor. Have any of you tried something simliar? If so, please get in touch and let me know how it worked out…Dan
chris g tucker says
I am all for getting more new Hams!
The study app is a great idea, and is proving to be a great success!
Rob W4ZNG says
I like this idea of helping motivate along some already motivated people, and the 100% success rate speaks for itself. Good job, both the students and instructors!