Customer Reviews

The ARRL General Class License Manual for Ham Radio, Level 2

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This latest edition of the ARRL General Class License Manual (Sixth Edition) covers the newest element 3 question pool that became effective July, 2007 and goes through June, 2011. (Another review here is not talking about this book - this book is the latest and will be good until mid-2011.) Just make sure you get the the Sixth Edition which you are looking at if you are reading this review. If you buy it used, make sure it is the sixth edition!

This book covers every question in the General Class question pool very well. It is broken into bite size pieces so you can study a little and then review the questions from the pool related to the topic you just studied. ARRL provides a great support web site for this book at www.arrl.org/gclm that even includes a PDF of the question pool with the questions arranged by the book topics so you can easily review the questions as you go. (The book tells you what questions to review at the end of each topic.)

I got my technician license three months ago and just passed my element 3 General Class exam with a score of 100% using just this book and an online exam study site. For an online exam study site, I strongly recommend www.kb0mga.net This site lets you take sample tests from the official study question pool. It remembers which questions you haven't seen yet or got wrong so you will see these questions more often if you take several practice exams. It also randomizes the multiple choice answers so you don't get lulled into memorizing which answer (A,B,C, or D) is correct for a specific question. This is good since the real exam you take also randomizes the answers from the official question pool.

Note - this book is not for getting your first amateur radio (ham) license. If you don't have your technician license, get the book Arrl Ham Radio License Manual: All You Need to Become an Amateur Radio Operator (Arrl Ham Radio License Manual) This is also a great book.

I agree with David F 's review. I am fairly new to amateur radio and also recently received my (first level) Technician's license. I do not have a background in radio or electronics but was interested in moving up to the (second level) General license.

This ARRL book, like the Technican's book, provides the information needed to pass the current FCC General exam (always choose the latest edition for current exam information), along with every question on the exam and the correct answers. Technical information is provided in relatively small chunks, in a manner that is fairly easy to learn and understand.

Due to the contents of the exam, some of the material is quite technical and some (such as which frequencies are assigned for specific uses) simply must be memorized. But the book does try and explain other exam material (such as circuits, components, antennas, etc.) and gives examples.

Again, this book will not teach you everything about ham radio but will help you pass the FCC General license test. It can be used as a self study guide for someone with a technical background, or together with a course taught by a local radio club to really learn the material.

I joined a group within the Men's Auxilliary of the VFW to study for the test for the Technician License. The class met every week for six weeks. Five days before the test, I recieved my copy of the General Study Guide. I read about 1/3 of the book and read through all of the study questions. I also took 2 of the free practice tests online. I missed 2 on the first attempt, and a bunch (too many to pass) on the second attempt. I decided it was worth attempting the General test, if I passed the Technician. I passed the Tech test with no problem, so tried the General. I passed (just barely!) I should have taken more time to study, but a pass is a pass! This book really helped! I did have one year of electronics training in high school (one hour a day class 30 years ago) and obtained my Novice License at that time. I had to pass a 5 words per minute Morse code test. I never did have a radio back then, but now have a portable 2 meter handheld that I've been having fun with the past 2 weeks. I recommend this book (and the other 2 in the series) for anyone interested in obtaining their Ham License or wanting to upgrade. I am now studing for my Amature Extra License. KD0CMF

I just passed the General test using only this book and an exam site online. Same question pool but it was just easier to read the questions online instead of flipping through the book.

Read the book cover to cover. Stop and answer the questions when prompted. Don't move on until you understand the material. Review the question pool over and over. Done.

Please don't just memorize the questions in the book and take the test. You are just hurting yourself and other Ham's who understand the hobby. But I digress...

This book covers every topic necessary to pass the test. The is the second tier of Ham license and the book does expect you to know the basics of amateur radio as well as have a good grasp of basic electronics and electronic theory. It hits heavily on radio wave propagation, electric principles, circuit components and antennas. The intent in my opinion is to really make sure you won't screw up once you start hitting HF bands and start using the higher end equipment.

Buying this for the test is a no-brainer.

The test was much harder than the Technician test but if you study and understand the material presented in the book you will pass easily.

Got my Tech license in Feb 09 and wanted to get a General upgrade ( that is what I was shooting for in the first place )...I bought the book and planned on a 3 to 6 month learning process before I took the exam...After about one and half weeks of studying ( around an hour a day ), I decided to try the test ( $15 and a 2 hour drive )...I missed one question on the test and was in and out of the test area in about 15 minutes...I highly recommend this book for preparing for the General test...

Excellent for electrical study as well, explanation very easy understandable.
Answers should have been hidden just in a better way.

After passing my Technician class exam 11 years ago, I decided to go for my General class ticket. I bought this book 2 weeks ago and passed my exam today by missing only one question! This book was VERY helpful along with online practice exams. I recommend this book and just ordered the Extra class book for my next ticket.

I am just another voice adding my opinion to an already well reviewed book. I bought this book and ran through it pretty quickly to prepare for the general exam. It is laid out fairly well (not by question set though) and the pool in the back is great. The book boasts detailed question explanations which it does, just not right next to the question. Each question references the page number in the book which has the information relating to the question. So, it references where you can find the answer but does not explain each individual question separately. However, there is another book put out by the arrl I think that does that, the Q&A general book. I like this book because I want to learn how to be a better operator and not just how to pass a written multiple choice exam. Anyways, great book and amazon has had it on sale for some time now, so pick it up and upgrade, you will be glad you did. With a little work, you could upgrade in a few weeks tops.

I used the ARRL book for my General - as the only study source, as I wanted to actually know the material, not just memorize answers. I nailed the exam, with 1 wrong. That's not to suggest that that's the only way to pass the exam, but it is a comment on the quality of the material. It is well laid-out, taking the reader through a nice progression of topics and a nice progression from basic to more difficult concepts. I also find that the manual is nice to keep on hand as a reference.

The steps to upgrade to General class amateur license are achievable and worth the time investment. If you want to take the exam with confidence, then using this book as your study guide will help do that.

First, some info about the Element 3 exam to upgrade from Technician to General class. The exam consists of 35 multiple choice questions that are selected from the officially released pool (effectivity July 2007) of over 480 questions (with answer key). At least 26 questions must be answered correctly to pass. The exam is administered by a team of volunteer examiners who are Amateur Extra Class radio operators.

So, what makes this book the study guide to own?

The chapters are organized by topics that align with the sub-elements in the exam and provide the much needed context and background for all the questions. This additional material fosters understanding and minimizes memorization.

For reference, the appendix lists the entire Element 3 question pool of over 480 questions, also organized by sub-element. I was able to work off each chapter and its related questions one sub-element at a time in my spare time over the course of a few weeks. The toughest sub-element topic for me to learn was Propagation. This sub-element topic identifies several of the various atmospheric effects on RF communication and describes their effect on the different amateur bands and modes.

BTW: This is the book I used to study and pass (100%) the General Class license exam. As such, I definitely recommend this study guide.

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