This afternoon, I took the Element 4 exam and passed! I now have an Extra Class License (well, officially…just temporary operating privileges with a CSCE until the FCC processes the paperwork). I have been in non-stop study mode on these three radio license exams (Technician, General, and Extra) since August. The past four months have been dominated by studying and test-taking and my free time has pretty much been dedicated to this one set of activities. I’ve had to study radio more than I’ve been able to participate in radio. As excited as I am about passing the Extra license exam today, I am even more excited to have my brain space back. It’s been filled with over a thousand multiple choice questions these past few months and I would like to use my brain for more creative pursuits (and actually participating in the hobby).
My feedback on the tests have been consistent – more procedures and rules, more underlying science, less electronics. The amount of electronics, especially in the General and Extra license tests, compared with the relevancy of electronics as a requirement to participate in the hobby, is out of synch with the present day. If anything, there should a license type specific to radio electronics. I have great respect for the hardware engineers in this hobby, but that’s just one path of many paths of this diverse hobby. I will never pick up a soldering iron or use Ohm’s Law as an amateur radio hobbyist. Some will, but I suspect I am more representative of the new wave of people entering the hobby than electrical engineers are.