General License Training Class – Session 8 of 10

General Class License:

The General Class license opens up the full amateur radio experience. In addition to the VHF, UHF and limited HF privileges enjoyed by Technician Class operators, the General Class operator has access to the broadest and most capable set of communication privileges available to private citizens.

To obtain an amateur radio General Class license, one must take and pass two FCC test elements; Element 2 and Element 3. If you hold a Technician Class license, you have already passed the Element 2 exam.

Element 3 is similar to the Technician Element 2 test, in that, it also has 35 multiple-choice-answer questions, 26 of which must be answered correctly in order to pass. The 35 questions are randomly generated from a pool of, roughly, 400 questions.

Course Objectives:

This course has two objectives:

1. Help you pass the test and get your license.  You will be exposed to all potential questions showing the correct answers and identifying some strategies for eliminating some of the wrong choices.
2. Give you a bit more knowledge than just “how-to-pass-the-test”.  Knowing some basic electronics will allow you to better understand conversations you will hear in your future amateur radio activities, and that will help your knowledge expand even more.

Course Materials:

This course is based on:

ARRL General Class License Manual for Ham Radio (ARRL Inc. (2023). ARRL General Class License Manual:  Complete Study Guide with Questions and Answers for Upgrading Your Ham Radio License (Tenth ed.). ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio®. arrl.org)

The manual is available at the ARRL Store website or Amazon.com,  as well as other locations.  Just make sure to get the 10th edition.  The Test Question Pools change every four years, and the 10th edition is the one that covers the current set of questions.  There are two binding choices;  most students find the wire-bound manual is much easier to work with.  It lies flat on the table, while the softcover version is more like a regular book and is more cumbersome to keep open.

The answers may be checked against ARRL’s General Q&A 7th Edition – Quick and Easy Path to Upgrading to a General Class Ham Radio License (ARRL Inc. (2023). ARRL’s General Q&A 7th Edition – Quick and Easy Path to Upgrading to a General Class Ham Radio License (7th ed.). ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio®. )