Last July, the National Council of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) released a new question pool for General Class license examinations. Shortly after, the ARRL (and others) came out with a new license manual. That meant, of course, that I had to come up with a new outline for my General Class license course.
The new outline is below. One thing I notice about the new manual is that it seems to be better organized than the previous one. I would have organized Chapter 4: Components and Circuits a bit differently, but overall, I like this manual better than the old one.
WEEK 1
Introduction
- Why get a General Class ticket?
- Text: The ARRL General Class License Manual, ISBN 0-87259-996-5
- KB6NU’s No-Nonsense Study Guide
DC Circuits – Section 4.1
- voltage
- current
- resistance
- Ohm’s Law
AC Waveforms – Section 4.1
- peak voltage
- peak-to-peak voltage
- RMS voltage
- wavelength
- frequency
Power – Section 4.2
- deciBels
- peak envelope power (PEP)
WEEK 2
Circuit Components – Section 4.3
- circuit parameters
- resistors
- inductors
- capacitors
- transformers
- vacuum tubes
Series and Parallel Circuits – Section 4.3
- Kirchoff’s Laws
- capacitive reactance
- inductive reactance
Impedance – Section 4.4
- resonance
- impedance matching
WEEK 3
Solid-State Components – Section 4.5
- diodes
- transistors
- integrated circuits
- microprocessors
Practical Circuits – Section 4.6
- power supply circuits
- batteries, alternative power
- connectors
Test Equipment – Section 4.7
WEEK 4
Amplitude Modulaton, Angle Modulation – Section 5.1
Digital Modulation – Section 5.2
Radio Building Blocks – Section 5.3
WEEK 5
Transmitters – Section 5.4
Receivers – Section 5.6
The HF Station – Section 5.7
WEEK 6
Antenna Basics – Section 6.1
Dipoles, Ground Planes, and Random Wire Antennas – Section 6.2
Yagi Antennas – Section 6.3
Loop Antennas – Section 6.4
Specialized Antennas – Section 6.5
Feedlines – Section 6.6
- standing wave ratio (SWR)
- impedance matching
- losses
The Ionosphere – Section 7.1
The Sun – Section 7.2
Scatter Modes – Section 7.3
WEEK 7
Basic Operating Procedures- Section 2.1
Digital Modes – Section 2.2
Nets and Emergency Operation – Section 2.3
Regulatory Bodies – Section 3.1
Licensing Rules – Section 3.2
Control Operators and Their Responsibilities – Section 3.3
Technical Rules and Standards – Section 3.4
WEEK 8
Electrical Safety – Section 8.1
RF Exposure – Section 8.2
Outdoor Safety – Section 8.3
Exam Review
I’ll be adding more detail to the outline as I go along.
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