Extra Class License Passed!
On May 31, 2023 I passed my Amateur Extra FCC Exam with a grade of 98%. I answered one question incorrectly within the pool of fifty questions on my exam.
When I was first licensed as a Novice in 1969, there were five classes of Ham Radio Licenses. Novice, Technician, General, Advanced and Extra. In those days you were required to demonstrate sending and receiving proficiency in Morse Code. The five license levels also required passing written exams. Ascending to the higher license classes involved greater understanding of radio theory and higher Morse Code speed proficiency. I stopped upgrading when I earned my Advanced license in 1972. I had no interest in Morse Code and the Extra Class License granted more privileges mostly for Morse Code operation.
Today there are only three levels for Ham Radio licenses and none require Morse Code proficiency. The passing grade for all exams is 74%.The dates in the table are the start and end dates of the particular exam versions. The exams are only used for 4 years, then they are revised. Schematic Diagrams is the number of electrical drawings on the exam that the applicant needs to explain. If you are currently unlicensed, you need to pass all 3 elements to qualify for the Extra Class License. My existing Advanced License gave me credit for Elements 2 and 3 so I only had to take Element 4.
| Class | Element | Start Date |
End Date |
Exam Questions |
Total Questions |
Schematic Diagrams |
Passing |
| Technician | 2 | 7/1/2022 | 6/30/2026 | 35 | 412 | 3 | 26/35 |
| General | 3 | 7/1/2023 | 6/30/2027 | 35 | 429 | 1 | 26/35 |
| Extra | 4 | 7/1/2020 | 6/30/2024 | 50 | 622 | 14 | 37/50 |
After I retired I thought it would be a good time to take my Extra exam. During the Covid social distancing there wasn't much else to do but study. But I continued to drag my feet. Then in July 2020 the FCC revised the Extra exam questions. They became significantly harder and required more detailed knowledge of modern radio and electronics theory. I finally scheduled my exam for May 31, 2023.
The current Extra exam contains questions on the following topics along with 14 schematic diagrams.
- FCC rules and regulations
- Operating procedures
- Radio wave propagation
- Amateur practices
- Electrical principles
- Circuit components
- Practical Circuits
- Signals and emissions
- Antennas and transmission lines
- Safety
Some people compared this exam with a graduate course in electronics. I thought the questions were all around the undergraduate level. For example, some of the questions involved understanding polar to rectangular conversions, antenna radiation patterns, Smith Charts, radiation resistance, gain, beamwidth, efficiency; effective radiated power, digital communication modes; information rate vs. bandwidth; error correction, digital logic, satellites and things like that.
Here are two sample questions with the correct answers in bold.
E2A06 (A) What are Keplerian elements?
A. Parameters that define the orbit of a satellite
B. Phase reversing elements in a Yagi antenna
C. High-emission heater filaments used in magnetron tubes
D. Encrypting codes used for spread spectrum modulation
E4C08 (D) An SDR receiver is overloaded when input signals exceed what level?
A. One-half the maximum sample rate
B. One-half the maximum sampling buffer size
C. The maximum count value of the analog-to-digital converter
D. The reference voltage of the analog-to-digital converter
Many of the questions were just a review of college course material. Much of the new theory such as digital communications was learned over the years as I adopted the new technology and studied its operation. When I was in college, digital communications concepts such as Fast Fourier Transforms were taught only with math. Today I can physically and visually experience them at home while operating and viewing the displays of my modern equipment.
In December 2023, a revised set of questions for the Amateur Extra exam were created. They will go into effect on July 1, 2024. This update created 83 new questions and eliminated 100 old questions bringing the total number of questions from 622 to 605. Ten graphics are included in the pool. Many are schematic diagrams. The update brings the questions in line with modern technology, technical accuracy, and modern radio practices. It also resolves grammar, syntax and redundancy between other questions. About 350 questions were modified.
I passed my Extra Class License Exam just a month away from my 70th birthday. My "report card" is shown below. Not bad for a old man. Only about 16% of all Hams in the US have earned the Extra Class License.
