Getting my license

[Gulfstream Greg]

Well, my daughter got her tech, I failed the general. Thirty minutes later word had gotten around the hamfest about her passing and people were stopping out of the blue and asking her if she was the young lady who passed her test.

Got a Kenwood TS-820S for $200, and a MFJ Versa Tuner II for $70 so we came out under budget. Playing around with that small slice of 10 meters that has tech voice.

We've both decided to study the whole month of April and take our general upgrades together in May. Then we're gonna work Field Day as a home station-emergency power. My baby sister will be out of school then we're gonna try to get her to come up from Georgia and work it with us.

Give her my congrats!! I have been doing the practice tests on www.qrz.com not great so far. I have a book on the way. We have a testing date coming up next Saturday but I will not be ready. The next testing date is on the 21st but I will be at a Toyota Motorhome Rally in Big Sur. So I guess its into May. I should have no excuse for not being ready by then. $200 for that kenwood is a great deal. Hope I find one like that. As for my wife getting a ticket I really do not know why she is holding out, I think she is afraid she can't learn the stuff. I tell her about all the young folks who pass the test. Ya it was easy for me because I have a radio and electronics background but really its just study, take the practice tests and before you know it its done.

Greg

[knowltondata]

Try this: W5AC at the bottom of the page are some really good study guides. I wish I had found these BEFORE we tested. Just remember they are changing the General pool in July!

If she's worried about learning the stuff, remind her a 10 yr old who studied for six days got it. Actually, exposure would probably work best... Field Day GOTA station would be great. It seemed on the QRZ tests that we both scored higher on the practice tests than on the real thing, so if you're just barely passing the practice tests, study more cause you probably won't pass the real thing untill you score higher on the practice.

Good thing is hamfest season is in motion! FIRST thing we did was look for a radio and tuner, these were the only deals we found. As you know, a lot of times at hamfests people are selling junk for way too much. The Kenwood is a hybrid unit, but it got great reviews at eham.com, and it's worked great so far. So, get there early! Buddy of mine got his for $275 on ebay a while back, but I wouldn't buy any radio equipment from anyone on there I couldn't verify as being a ham. Have you seen the new Icom IC-7800? That's a $10,000 radio! Yikes! It probably would even wash your clothes but gee wiz. I like the simple Kenwood, the only thing extra you have to do is make sure you load the tubes properly but it's not hard.