Yes, it’s “Amateur Extra,” as you can see from my own license. But everyone just calls it “Extra.”
www.ke0og.net/extra. You’re in the right place! Does this method of video-aided self study work? Click here to read a selection of the numerous comments I get.
Is it “Amateur Extra” or just “Extra?” Well, technically it’s “Amateur Extra,” but everyone just calls it “Extra.”
Studying for your Extra Class Ham Radio License
The Amateur Extra Class License is the top level of amateur radio licenses and conveys all amateur radio privileges. Watch the video below to learn how these videos work hand-in-hand with the manual. It tells you what self-study manual to buy and where to get it.
Guided Self Study
The manual is designed to support both self-study and classroom training, but sometimes neither works—self-study might be a little overwhelming, and sometimes an elmer (a mentor) is not available. That’s where this series of videos comes in—each provides an introduction to the material in the manual. Out here where I live in Southwestern Colorado, there aren’t very many people, let alone hams! That’s why I’ve created these videos. This divides the material into convenient chunks—short videos followed by short sections of self study. Enough – let’s watch this eight minute video!
The links I talked about
The 12th Edition of the ARRL Extra Class License Manual For Ham Radio is a mandatory adjunct to this course. In fact, just as with the Technician set of videos and the General set of videos, it is the course! Just to reiterate: you need the manual! These videos give you an overview of the sections you’ll be studying, along with a few videos of how things actually work. So here’s the paradigm: each video introduces a section of the text, which you then study. Try out the test questions, then come back for the next section’s video.
You can get the 12th Edition ARRL Extra Class License Manual by via Amazon by clicking on this link. It’s actually somewhat less expensive on Amazon than at the ARRL website, and Amazon’s shipping charges are less too, which will save you a few dollars. NOTE: You want the 12th Edition. Any earlier editions are great books, but will not fully prepare you for the current question set, valid July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2024.
There’s an Extra Class License Manual Support Page on the ARRL website that provides additional material to supplement the manual.
If you have a question about any section, simply post a comment under that particular video or directly on YouTube. Others may have the same question! I’ll post a reply to every question.
All the videos
All videos have been updated for the 12th Edition of the license manual.
- Chapter 1, Introduction and Overview #1
- Section 2.1, General Operating. #2
- Section 2.2, Amateur Satellites, consists of two videos.
- Part 1: Orbital mechanics #3
- Part 2: Telecommunications aspects of amateur satellites #4
- Section 3.1, Operating Standards #5
- Section 3.2, Station Restrictions #6
- Section 3.3, Station Control #7
- Section 3.4, Amateur-Satellite Service #8
- Section 3.5, Volunteer Examiner Program #9
- Section 3.6, Miscellaneous Rules #10
- Section 4.1, Radio Mathematics #11
- Section 4.2, Electric and Magnetic Fields #12
- Section 4.3, Principles of Circuits, consists of two videos:
- Section 5.1, Semiconductor Devices #15
- Section 5.2, Display Devices #16
- Section 5.3, Digital Logic, #17
- Section 6.1, Amplifiers, #18
- Section 6.2, Signal Processing #19
- Section 6.3, Digital Signal Processing and Software-Defined Radio #20
- Section 6.4, Filters and Impedance Matching #21
- Section 6.5, Power Supplies #22
- Section 7.1, Test Equipment #23
- Section 7.2, Receiver Performance #24
- Section 7.3, Interference and Noise #25
- Section 8.1, Modulation Systems #26
- Section 8.2, Digital Protocols and Modes #27
- Section 8.3, Amateur Television #28
- Section 9.1, Basics of Antennas #29
- Section 9.2, Practical Antennas #30
- Section 9.3, Antenna Systems #31
- Section 9.4, Transmission Lines #32
- Section 9.5, Antenna Design #33
- Section 10.1, Electromagnetic Waves #34
- Section 10.2, Solar Effects #35
- Section 10.3, HF Propagation #36
- Section 10.4, VHF/UHF/Microwave Propagation #37
- Section 11.1, Hazardous Materials #38
- Section 11.2, RF Exposure #39
- Section 11.3, Grounding and Bonding #40
- Final Logistics to Take Your Examination: this video explains exam prep. #41
What do you do when you’re ready to take the test?
Go to www.arrl.org/exam_sessions/search, enter your zip code, and search for an examination session in your area. Good luck!
Yes I want your comments!
No instructional course is ever complete, nor is it perfect. Please comment! Please put the comments right on the same post as the video you’re commenting about. Or, you can comment on the video on YouTube. Don’t worry, I see them all!
Have fun!
There’s probably a ham radio club near you. Go to www.arrl.org/find-a-club to locate a club near you. Attend their meetings and introduce yourself. You’ll find yourself instantly among friends. And your new friends can provide assistance as you study for your test. After you pass your test, they can help you get on the air, too. Enjoy!
Its highly annoying that these video links are behind the ARRL paywall which requires the enabling of third-party tracking cookies in order even enable the login page for ARRL members.
So far Ive been able to only view the videos not behind the paywall.
Dave, please disregard the previous comment (about the player not running full screen). FYI (and for anyone else who finds the tidbit useful… I was watching on my Android tablet, Chrome on THAT device doesn’t offer an option to see the embedded videos on the ARRL site in full-screen. However, on the PC (Windows), Chrome DOES let the embedded player run full-screen. 🙂
Also, if anyone is interested, in addition to the nice, spiral-bound 12th edition of the Amateur Extra Class book, there is also a Kindle version on Amazon. I find that especially handy because I can split-screen it side-by-side with the video and follow along.
Dave, thanks for the speedy reply. I am an ARRL lifer, like my grandfather before me (thanks to the vanity call program, I was even able to get his callsign!) I’ve always loved ham radio since I was a little kid and used to stand back there and talk to him and watch him run the nets on 10 meters back in the day.
I’ll play around on the ARRL site, but do you know off-hand if there is a way to download the videos from there? Like I was saying in my OP, the captive player in the web browser won’t run them full-screen.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I’ve removed (hopefully) all the offending links. I no longer sell thumb drives with my videos. They are all hosted on the ARRL website. The Tech videos are hosted on an ARRL YouTube page, and the General and Extra are hosted on https://learn.arrl.org. Use your ARRL login credentials to access these files. If you are not an ARRL member, note that the cost of a year’s membership in the ARRL is almost exactly the same as the cost was for the Amateur Extra thumbdrives. Good luck with your studies! 73, Dave, KEØOG
Hi Dave. Really enjoying the videos, but a couple of questions… First, while I appreciate the fact that the videos are consolidated and up to date here on the site, unlike Youtube, the captive player on the page won’t let the video run full=screen, which makes it REALLY hard for me to see things.
Second, and on a related notte, I was just going to buy the thumb drive so I could watch them natively on my PC, however the link on the page for the thumb drives seems to be broken. When I click it, it doesn’t take me anywhere. It currently appears to just be a bookmark (#ae) on the page.
Yes. Join the ARRL!
Hi Dave,
The most current version of the Amateur Extra study guide videos appear to be hosted behind the ARRL paywall, making them unavailable to non-ARRL members.
Is this correct?
Thanks,
Ed – WA5ZEG
Hmm…I just checked the link and it works. Try again.
Dave,
I am in the process of studying to take my Extra Class Exam. This evening, I attempted to access Section 4.3 Part 2 entitled Part 2: Resonance, Q (quality factor), magnetic cores. This action produced an error stating that the page does not exist. Please verify your link. This comment is for your use as user feedback. I do not expect or wish for it to be posted.
Thank you and 73. Scott. K4ETA
See http://www.ke0og.net/extra for current status.
Hello Dave;
im wondering when the Amateur Extra videos will be out for the 12th edition? Your work is so valuable to the Amateur community!
73
Check the Temperature Altitude before you fly out of Phoenix in th daylight. Dangerous some time. Bill K7VIA
Hi Dave, not sure if you had this or a better way of getting the link to you.
http://www.ncvec.org/page.php?id=356
hope it works and might help speed up your updates for the changes
Dave, I credit you with the passage of my General Test, I WILL be taking my Extra in July or Aug, likely Aug. I’ve been watching the Extra vids on YouTube and feel like I want to buy the Extra-Class thumb drive- but want to ask- how relevant is its content to the new exam test pool that is out for 20-24? I want to support you and the thumb drive would be great to study while on a trip I am taking!
God evening Dave. I was on the Bridecom site and they do not support the code plugs on thier site. It is a collection point for codeplug donors that are shared there but not supported by Bridgecom. Thought you ought to know. It didnt want to put this on your YouTube channel.
Joe
Dave-
I want to thank you for your Amateur Extra video series. I used your videos, the ARRL 11th Edition manual and a couple test question drilling websites (Mostly Hamexam.org) to prepare for my test. I work in Agriculture and have 5 children, so I knew I needed to be efficient and effective in my study practices. I found that if I listened to your videos for a section (while driving my truck around our area) and then followed it up with question drills (often at halftime of my kid’s basketball games), I was able to not only retain the answers better, but I had enough conceptual knowledge to eliminate most of the wrong answers during the exam.
I am a follower of your page and I saw you briefly during Quartzfest last month. I greatly appreciate what you bring to the hobby and am in your debt for giving me the tools I need to achieve a high personal goal of mine. I teach technician licensing classes quarterly and I have started sending out a link to your technician class playlist with the advanced study materials.
I have one burning question for the future of your website: What color shirt will you use for the 12th Edition? I swear I can recite the original intro to your AE2016 videos by rote. In fact, when I refer to these videos with my friends (who are all studying now) we call them the Orange Shirt/Blue Shirt videos. Thought you might get a kick out of that.
73 and Thank you! KM6NUY/AE
Not good! I’ll have my assistant audit the whole list.
Section 9.4, Transmission Lines, click here for the introductory video –> link shows RF exposure Video instead of transmission lines
For each exam I first read the manual but the key to my success was this: I downloaded the question pool in Word and deleted all the wrong answers. Then I printed it out and studied the questions with the correct answers – over and over again. That way your head isnt full of wrong answers only right ones. I scored 100% on the tech and general and only missed 2 on the extra.
Yes, clubs offer classes from time to time. Also, checkout my Amateur Extra videos by clicking here.
I passed the General amateur exam. For technician and general, I found self study
a good method. However, extra is a bit, well….extra.
I am wondering, is there such a thing as class room study for the extra exam?
Thanks for pointing this out. I’ll get it fixed.
Hi Dave,
Studying for the extra exam now and I appreciate the material you have put together here it’s very helpful. However, I have noticed that several of the links in this page are pointing to the wrong material on YouTube. (3.1 for example)
Thanks for all the help!
HI DAVE
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE INFO
Thank you. Fixed.
I just watched your Amateur Extra Course Introduction: Updated for the 11th Edition video. I used both headphones and “CC”. At the 7:34 minute mark, you gave out you website but it came over on “CC” as http://www.canyonbeachwear.com. Not sure if you knew this or not.
Hello Dave
Thanks to you i am now a extra class this all started with your youtube video on how to become a tech it took me a year to do it now the learning really begins.
73
KM4VWJ
Hi
I am really thankful to you for giving us an opportunity to ask any question related to antenna design. Here is my question: Usually in microstrip antennas people would like to have slots on radiator, ground plane or in feedline. May i know what is the basic purpose of it? Is there any method to find the position to create slots? Also, please reffer any paper or book related to this.
Thank You very much in advance.
Hi Dave,
Thanks in part, a significant part, a passed my Extra exam yesterday at a VE session in Poughkeepsie, NY.
I posted the comment below which mentions your excellent work on my QRZ.com page.
Thanks for your help and all you do for Hams and Ham radio.
Paul KD2LXQ
Whew! Passed the Extra Exam 2017.01.29 at the VE session held in Poughkeepsie, NY. Thanks to the VEC and the Ves who volunteered from the Mt. Beacon ARC and the Orange County ARC.
To prepare for the exam I studied and used the following:
The ARRL Extra Class License Manual
The ARRL Exam Review website
http://arrlexamreview.appspot.com
The Ham Test Online.com interactive learning website.
https://www.hamradiolicenseexam.com/contact.htm
The above is an awesome site based on scientifically proven principles of how people learn exactly the type of material on all three Ham License Tests.
Be prepared to invest the study time .
I logged 60 hours plus additional time with the ARRL License Manual and the ARRL Exam Review website (belt and suspenders).
I heartily recommend Ham Test Online to those who not only want to pass the exam but actually learn during the process.
The Dave Casler KE0OG website.
http://dcasler.com/ham-radio/extra/
Dave Casler is an excellent teacher and provides the ‘glue’ needed to truly understand the science and the principles behind the exam questions.
He also has some excellent animations, demonstrations, examples and suggestions for further study.
The YouTube Page of W2AEW – Alan Wolke
Particularly the lesson on I Q Signals and I Q modulation and demodulation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_7d-m1ehoY&t=164s
A good teacher with a pleasant manner and excellent illustrations and demonstratons with oscilloscopes and other test instruments. This young man knows his stuff.
73 Take care.
Paul, KD2LXQ
Thank you
Thank you for your videos, Dave. I greatly appreciate your taking the time and effort to put them together. They have helped me a lot in my study for the exams. I passed my Technician exam in November, and this morning I passed my General exam. Your videos not only introduce new material, but they seem to help lock important concepts and facts into my brain. This evening, I’m starting to study for my Amateur Extra exam, and, of course, my first step is to watch your videos prior to each section of the manual. You’re a great teacher and presenter, Dave. I say that as a fellow teacher, having taught computer science, physics, and math at the college level. I wish you a long, healthy life, complete with the satisfaction that you have been a significant blessing to many people. 73
Hi, thanks for your idea. I am not an expert at any of the automotive stuff, so I keep my videos focused on amateur radio.
It would be nice if you could release a similar series on automobile rf systems covering remote, ECU and antennas working in 433.92MHz/330 MHz executing functions such as keyless entry, immobiliser, vehicle location indication etc…
Dave…your videos have been extremely helpful. I passed my extra after watching all the video’s and studying through the ARRL manual. Thanks so much…and I hope to hear you on 20!
Rusty
W3ECP
Hi Dave
I want to know about the design of metal plate dipole antenna on white space band.
and your videos are really helpful for me thanks for the videos.
Yes, the updated book is on order. I’ll issue supplemental videos as necessary.
I’ve ordered the new book. I’ll evaluate the changes and may add some supplemental videos.
Just wondering if you plan on updating these videos to the new extra questions that become effective July 1st, 2016? I am planning on upgrading, and usually do better learning in classroom enviroments. These videos appear to be the closest I’ll find. Too bad I didn’t find them sooner.
Hi Dave,
I ran into your videos on YouTube and here on your web.
How soon are your videos going to coincide with the July 1st question pool?
Keep up the great work.
You’re welcome! 73
Passed my Extra class examination today. Thanks for the videos!