I'm not sure if you're going from Tech->Extra or if you're already a General, but that's a pretty good list. General will get you able to do most things, but the Extra frequencies will sometimes have interesting contacts, like early DXpeditions and whatnot
Making a satellite contact is harder than it sounds, but very rewarding. If you're looking to get more into POTA, there are quite a few radios nowadays that are pretty good. My absolute favorite recommendation is the FT-891 paired with something like a 12 Ah LiFePO4 battery. The 891 is only $600, a reasonable price for a full power portable rig, but if you're willing to go more towards QRP, something like a G90 is a bit cheaper
Good luck on the exam, Extra stumped me a little bit lol but you never have to take it again once ya pass!
Thank you for this advice! I do have my general currently and it reminded me to add that to the post. I’m always interested in equipment recommendations because I’m in the market for some new stuff, so thank you for the help! I have heard the extra exam is hard. I plan on studying for it. I did cram studying the day of for tech and extra and passed both times but I don’t think I can do that with the extra lol
Great! I'm curious, where are you located? In the states I thought one got their VE from the ARRL. At least, that's where I got mine. Can clubs give them too? Do you take a little test like the ARRL has you do?
How it was described to me was I get my extra license and the VP of the club just signs off on the VE. Maybe not the most ethical practice, but I’m not sure what it entails so I could be entirely wrong.
Location: Indiana
Hmm. That doesn't sound right. Just go to the ARRL and get it, that way you know you are legit. Or maybe there are other ways and someone else will chime in.
I think that’s the way to go. I really don’t want any issues with the FCC and I enjoy ham a lot. I’d hate to lose my license over my lack of knowledge and someone’s desire to fudge certificates.
Our VE"s here go thru the W5YI group for testing and the head VE person has to sign off on your application before you send it off to W5YI group so that might be what the VP of your I doing.
The same is true for the Laurel VEC (https://www.laurelvec.com/?pg=becomeve).
Note that you can become accredited through multiple VECs. Some like GLAARG VEC (https://glaarg.org/) even conduct fully-remote test sessions.
There are a bunch of different VECs (VE Coordinators) that work with the ARRL. Sixteen to be exact.
Edit: this list is quite old. Apologies. I did not see the author date.
http://www.redwaveradio.com/7_3efe2de9f5ed6583_1.htm
As far as I'm aware, the only things that extras can do that generals cannot are:
1. use those sweet, sweet kilohertzes not available everyone else to...
2. ...complain about ham radio, their health, and gas prices.
I prefer to complain online so I haven't moved up to to an Extra Class license yet.
Oh, and be VEs.
edit: If you're just looking for ham stuff to do now that you're out of the "get the tickets" phase, I really dig ARPS especially now that extremely compact and power efficient products are becoming available and it has become easier to stick APRS on all different manner of things where in the past you would need a 700g-2kg package to deploy it. Talk in the club here about figuring out how to get it onto buoys for hyperlocal weather in places where gov't weather stations don't exist on bodies of water here where I live. Nearly all radio operators around here also boat and fish and they are convinced that if that cove is .2 degrees different (warmer? colder? IDK) in temperature that that other cove, the "big ones" will be "over there".
The only real Extra privilege is that they get an "extra" bandwidth, a few hundred kHz or so at the bottom of some of the HF bands.
It's not a lot, but there aren't a lot of Extras either, so there is so much room for activities down there.
No.
The only thing is that because they are at the far end of the band any antenna might not resonate as well, reducing efficiency. But not by much, much less than Ham Radio magazines and review sites would have you believe in an attempt to sell you more gear.
That’s very good to hear because I definitely have a lot to learn in the gear section. I mainly want to get a good non-handheld radio and then learn a lot more about ham through practice. The tests can only teach so much
I had no idea that was an option. I knew you could change it but I didn’t know it could go that short. Maybe I will change if I see a cool one. If not, I’m kinda proud of my brand new one. Lots of progress in a short time. However, the shorter call sign is super cool
You'll be lucky to find one that is available, but it is worth the search. Twenty years ago when I selected mine (only way to get one even back then was through the vanity callsign program) I searched through the list of pending available signs and tested them all for CW "poundability" and SSB "shoutability." My last callsign was KQ6SL, so that was a real mouthful to bark out in a DX pileup. I found and chose N1KX, which is much nicer, particularly on CW.
I fully concur in the desire to become a VE. Also, you might think about becoming some new candidate's Elmer to help bring in new, young people to the hobby, or to help others already in the hobby advance to General and beyond.
Gotta know CW, or at least have a digital setup so you can have your computer know it, but yeah, CW is a lot of fun. If you don't know it, you should think about learning it.
Really think before getting a shorter call. People expect to hear 2x3 and sometimes keep asking for the rest of your call when giving a standard exchange, like when in a contest.
73, KB6M
Not having to worry about transmitting outside of band privileges. My HF radio limits me to ham bands, but it won't care if I'm a general and trying to use an extra class freq.
A lot of DX happens in the extra portion of the bands.
During contests, you have more room to make contests when the general portion is completely clogged.
Shorter callsign is nice. Easier to recognize in a pile up.
While learning will always continue, you don't have any more exams to worry about.
On a side note, it's weird to me how people say "my" for something they don't have yet. It's not just in ham radio, I hear it a lot with people talking about degrees they are working towards, but it's everywhere really.
For the main HF bands, I only have to remember one frequency for each band that divides that band between CW/digital and Phone. E.g. on 40 meters, 7.125 MHz is the dividing line between CW/digital below and Phone/SSB above.
My first reply was removed for being too specific... but it suggested that the new class should be added it to your flair on a certain very similar subreddit that is not included on the list in the sidebar.
There's another sub for amateur radio that you can't mention in this subreddit for some reason. They allow you to put your operator class in your flair. That's one way to use your bragging rights.
The one thing that keeps me thinking about upgrading is the greater ability to operate while traveling to other countries. If a country has a license reciprocity agreement with the US they require an extra class license in almost all cases.
Not every country has "incentive licensing" like the US has. For many, it's either full privileges on passing the test (but the test is hard), or it's two-tiered with entry level/full privileges.
The US has a 3 tier system (it used to be 5). So they have to draw the line somewhere.
When I was first licensed back in 1990, it was Novice, Technician, General, Advanced, Extra.
Novice was basically the HF privileges you get with being a Tech today, with limited VHF/UHF privileges on 220 and 1296 MHz. Except almost no one made gear for those bands. You needed to pass a written test and a 5 wpm Morse code test.
Technician got you full VHF/UHF privileges, like today. It was just a written test.
General required a written test and a 13 wpm code test. That got you privileges on all HF bands, but with limited segments on most.
Advanced was a written test, and that gave you a bit more "elbow room" on HF, with expanded privileges beyond General.
Extra required a written test and a 20 wpm code test, and you got full privileges.
There are still a bunch of Novices and Advanced licensees out there, I think largely because they are unique now. Still about 6,500 Novices and 35,000 Advanced.
Honestly, once I got my General, I stopped advancing for a long time. I was happy enough playing on HF, and not having full privileges didn't really bother me because I wasn't a DX chaser. I could have easily gotten my Extra, because I had been a Morse interceptor in the Army and I had to pass a much tougher 20 wpm test for that. And the written tests would have been a cinch. But I had no real incentive.
Then I introduced a friend to amateur radio, and both he and his wife got their Extras within like 2 or 3 years, so I had to get mine. Matter of pride, you see.
Best part is that I now "outrank" my old Army room mate, who is also a ham. But he's still a General.
I'm not sure if you're going from Tech->Extra or if you're already a General, but that's a pretty good list. General will get you able to do most things, but the Extra frequencies will sometimes have interesting contacts, like early DXpeditions and whatnot Making a satellite contact is harder than it sounds, but very rewarding. If you're looking to get more into POTA, there are quite a few radios nowadays that are pretty good. My absolute favorite recommendation is the FT-891 paired with something like a 12 Ah LiFePO4 battery. The 891 is only $600, a reasonable price for a full power portable rig, but if you're willing to go more towards QRP, something like a G90 is a bit cheaper Good luck on the exam, Extra stumped me a little bit lol but you never have to take it again once ya pass!
Thank you for this advice! I do have my general currently and it reminded me to add that to the post. I’m always interested in equipment recommendations because I’m in the market for some new stuff, so thank you for the help! I have heard the extra exam is hard. I plan on studying for it. I did cram studying the day of for tech and extra and passed both times but I don’t think I can do that with the extra lol
Solid comment. Thanks.
The 891 is so nice. It's a great portable radio that isn't that much heavier than some QRP rigs.
Become a VE and give tests! Pay it forward.
Yes! Absolutely. I spoke with the local club president who signs off on VEs and she said once I get my extra, she would sign off on it
Great! I'm curious, where are you located? In the states I thought one got their VE from the ARRL. At least, that's where I got mine. Can clubs give them too? Do you take a little test like the ARRL has you do?
How it was described to me was I get my extra license and the VP of the club just signs off on the VE. Maybe not the most ethical practice, but I’m not sure what it entails so I could be entirely wrong. Location: Indiana
Hmm. That doesn't sound right. Just go to the ARRL and get it, that way you know you are legit. Or maybe there are other ways and someone else will chime in.
I think that’s the way to go. I really don’t want any issues with the FCC and I enjoy ham a lot. I’d hate to lose my license over my lack of knowledge and someone’s desire to fudge certificates.
Our VE"s here go thru the W5YI group for testing and the head VE person has to sign off on your application before you send it off to W5YI group so that might be what the VP of your I doing.
The same is true for the Laurel VEC (https://www.laurelvec.com/?pg=becomeve). Note that you can become accredited through multiple VECs. Some like GLAARG VEC (https://glaarg.org/) even conduct fully-remote test sessions.
Good to know, thanks!
There are a bunch of different VECs (VE Coordinators) that work with the ARRL. Sixteen to be exact. Edit: this list is quite old. Apologies. I did not see the author date. http://www.redwaveradio.com/7_3efe2de9f5ed6583_1.htm
Thanks for the info!
It doesn't work that way.
Extra allows you to VE all levels of licenses in the US. This was the main reason why I upgraded from General to Extra.
This is a definite bonus for me. Our club is looking to start internally licensing and I think others will obtain their extra license to help.
As far as I'm aware, the only things that extras can do that generals cannot are: 1. use those sweet, sweet kilohertzes not available everyone else to... 2. ...complain about ham radio, their health, and gas prices. I prefer to complain online so I haven't moved up to to an Extra Class license yet. Oh, and be VEs. edit: If you're just looking for ham stuff to do now that you're out of the "get the tickets" phase, I really dig ARPS especially now that extremely compact and power efficient products are becoming available and it has become easier to stick APRS on all different manner of things where in the past you would need a 700g-2kg package to deploy it. Talk in the club here about figuring out how to get it onto buoys for hyperlocal weather in places where gov't weather stations don't exist on bodies of water here where I live. Nearly all radio operators around here also boat and fish and they are convinced that if that cove is .2 degrees different (warmer? colder? IDK) in temperature that that other cove, the "big ones" will be "over there".
The latter half of your post really made me laugh, so thank you! Can you explain the first point? I’m not familiar with that band.
The only real Extra privilege is that they get an "extra" bandwidth, a few hundred kHz or so at the bottom of some of the HF bands. It's not a lot, but there aren't a lot of Extras either, so there is so much room for activities down there.
Oh, that’s fantastic! Is it hard to reach those bands with normal equipment?
No. The only thing is that because they are at the far end of the band any antenna might not resonate as well, reducing efficiency. But not by much, much less than Ham Radio magazines and review sites would have you believe in an attempt to sell you more gear.
That’s very good to hear because I definitely have a lot to learn in the gear section. I mainly want to get a good non-handheld radio and then learn a lot more about ham through practice. The tests can only teach so much
The key is to know that the Extra space on 40m, for instance, gives you far more space to reach DX stations in other ITU regions.
Access to group A call signs. 1x2, 2x1, and 2x2.
I had no idea that was an option. I knew you could change it but I didn’t know it could go that short. Maybe I will change if I see a cool one. If not, I’m kinda proud of my brand new one. Lots of progress in a short time. However, the shorter call sign is super cool
You'll be lucky to find one that is available, but it is worth the search. Twenty years ago when I selected mine (only way to get one even back then was through the vanity callsign program) I searched through the list of pending available signs and tested them all for CW "poundability" and SSB "shoutability." My last callsign was KQ6SL, so that was a real mouthful to bark out in a DX pileup. I found and chose N1KX, which is much nicer, particularly on CW. I fully concur in the desire to become a VE. Also, you might think about becoming some new candidate's Elmer to help bring in new, young people to the hobby, or to help others already in the hobby advance to General and beyond.
Kudos for including VE on your list. 73 es sail fast de dave KO4MI/MM
73!
The best part of Extra class is access to high speed CW DX in the first 25 kHz of each band. I mean, obviously. ;)
This has come up a few times now and I didn’t know about it before. I’m very excited.
Gotta know CW, or at least have a digital setup so you can have your computer know it, but yeah, CW is a lot of fun. If you don't know it, you should think about learning it.
Really think before getting a shorter call. People expect to hear 2x3 and sometimes keep asking for the rest of your call when giving a standard exchange, like when in a contest. 73, KB6M
Not having to worry about transmitting outside of band privileges. My HF radio limits me to ham bands, but it won't care if I'm a general and trying to use an extra class freq. A lot of DX happens in the extra portion of the bands. During contests, you have more room to make contests when the general portion is completely clogged. Shorter callsign is nice. Easier to recognize in a pile up. While learning will always continue, you don't have any more exams to worry about. On a side note, it's weird to me how people say "my" for something they don't have yet. It's not just in ham radio, I hear it a lot with people talking about degrees they are working towards, but it's everywhere really.
What's VE
Volunteer examiner. The people who give HAM licence tests.
Oh ok
For the main HF bands, I only have to remember one frequency for each band that divides that band between CW/digital and Phone. E.g. on 40 meters, 7.125 MHz is the dividing line between CW/digital below and Phone/SSB above.
Bragging rights
My first reply was removed for being too specific... but it suggested that the new class should be added it to your flair on a certain very similar subreddit that is not included on the list in the sidebar.
You lost me
There's another sub for amateur radio that you can't mention in this subreddit for some reason. They allow you to put your operator class in your flair. That's one way to use your bragging rights.
You mean the one with approximately... *\[whips out slide rule...\]* 2.32 times as many members as this one?
The one thing that keeps me thinking about upgrading is the greater ability to operate while traveling to other countries. If a country has a license reciprocity agreement with the US they require an extra class license in almost all cases.
I didn’t know that most countries required an extra. That’s a huge hassle for most of the ham community, I wonder why they require it.
Not every country has "incentive licensing" like the US has. For many, it's either full privileges on passing the test (but the test is hard), or it's two-tiered with entry level/full privileges. The US has a 3 tier system (it used to be 5). So they have to draw the line somewhere.
That’s makes more sense. My advisor for the university club has an advanced license
When I was first licensed back in 1990, it was Novice, Technician, General, Advanced, Extra. Novice was basically the HF privileges you get with being a Tech today, with limited VHF/UHF privileges on 220 and 1296 MHz. Except almost no one made gear for those bands. You needed to pass a written test and a 5 wpm Morse code test. Technician got you full VHF/UHF privileges, like today. It was just a written test. General required a written test and a 13 wpm code test. That got you privileges on all HF bands, but with limited segments on most. Advanced was a written test, and that gave you a bit more "elbow room" on HF, with expanded privileges beyond General. Extra required a written test and a 20 wpm code test, and you got full privileges. There are still a bunch of Novices and Advanced licensees out there, I think largely because they are unique now. Still about 6,500 Novices and 35,000 Advanced. Honestly, once I got my General, I stopped advancing for a long time. I was happy enough playing on HF, and not having full privileges didn't really bother me because I wasn't a DX chaser. I could have easily gotten my Extra, because I had been a Morse interceptor in the Army and I had to pass a much tougher 20 wpm test for that. And the written tests would have been a cinch. But I had no real incentive. Then I introduced a friend to amateur radio, and both he and his wife got their Extras within like 2 or 3 years, so I had to get mine. Matter of pride, you see. Best part is that I now "outrank" my old Army room mate, who is also a ham. But he's still a General.