Yesterday (Aug. 9th) I passed the Amateur Radio Element 3 written examination to obtain my General class license. This probably took a lot longer than it should have, seeing as I’ve been licensed for over 25 years.
For my study guide I used the “General Class Study Manual” from Gordon West/W5YI. I also used a combination of Youtube and Google to help me answer some of the more theoretical quesions, forumlas, etc. My Elmer (see below) happens to be my father and that certainly helped a great deal. For practice tests I used the test sites at AA9PW, eham.net and qrz.com. I really appreciate the way that the QRZ test exam shows you immediate feedback whether you answered correctly or not.
The VE test session was helmed by Ian Kahn, KM4IK and the whole process was very smooth from start to finish. My 3 VE’s were KK1B, AF4IA, and KS4KJ and I appreciate them taking time out on their weekend to come perform this service for the Ham community.
With the passing of my General exam I am looking forward to chasing DX of a kind I could rarely get on 10m.
Here is a souvenir I brought home from my test session:
Who is “Elmer” ?
From Wikipedia “The term first appeared in the March, 1971 issue of QST magazine’s “How’s DX” column by Rod Newkirk, W9BRD (now also VA3ZBB). Newkirk called them “the unsung fathers of Amateur Radio.” While he probably was not trying to coin a term at the time, here’s how Newkirk introduced “Elmer” in his column and, as it turned out, to the rest of the amateur radio world: “Too frequently one hears a sad story in this little nutshell: ‘Oh, I almost got a ticket, too, but Elmer, W9XYZ, moved away and I kind of lost interest.’” Newkirk went on to say, “We need those Elmers. All the Elmers, including the ham who took the most time and trouble to give you a push toward your license, are the birds who keep this great game young and fresh.”