The Wrong Way to Test?

I’ll be the first to admit I never studied electronics as a kid. Never took a course through high school and never built a home made radio. I could take electronics apart with the best of them, but often times putting them back together posed a bigger problem.

In ham radio, electronics, theories, principals and formulas make up the backbone of what an amateur does. Sure there are many electrical engineers who are hams, but you do not have to be one in order to enjoy the hobby. I am far from an engineer and really just want to act as an end user, making QSOs.

So what happens when it comes time to upgrade your license? There are a few different theories on how to test. First and probably not recommended by many old hams is the method of studying the question and answer pool, memorizing each section. The other would be to learn and understand the theory and how to apply what you learn in order to take the exam. Are either route wrong? I don’t think so.

Personally, I have been studying The ARRL Extra Class License Manual for months. I have read through the book and I have even subscribed to HamTestOnline.com in order to help prepare myself for the Element 4 exam. But I am not learning the theory, nor am I memorizing formulas in order to calculate my answers.

I want to enjoy what ham radio offers, the chance to talk to others in distant lands, swap QSL cards and enjoy the broad range of modes that ham radio offers. Unfortunately there will always be a group of hams who are bitter, upset with the ARRL for their decision to “dumb down” the Extra and General exams by removing the Morse Code requirement.

I see it all the time on ham related web sites I go to, some user will have a tag that says, “I am a KNOW code extra, not a NO CODE extra.” Okay, great. I too will be an Extra Class amateur because I have passed the written exam. I like many other hams will pursue what I find enjoyable in the hobby. That could be playing with digital modes or homebrewing antennas, whatever it is that makes you, the amateur happy.

I look forward to my Element 4 exam on June 20, I have no doubt in my mind I will pass the 50 question test and look forward to receiving my new ticket in the mail saying I am an Extra Class operator. But because I memorized answers instead of learning theory does not make me less of a ham than an OM who never had study guides like we have today.