Advanced exam tonight at 19:00 gmt - wish me luck...

**M0WAO** · Mon 5th Dec 2011, 12:29

as the title says

**M6PAP** · Mon 5th Dec 2011, 13:33

Good Luck from this bit of West Sussex.

**G6NHU** · Mon 5th Dec 2011, 18:08

Good luck!

**5B4AJB** · Mon 5th Dec 2011, 22:18

I have complete faith, you don't need luck, you need a new callsign

**M0WAO** · Mon 5th Dec 2011, 22:51

back and... what a mess!

i did not found that this advance exam had a lot to do with amateur radio but all about english. no not english as we speak on the bands but what those politicians speak at no. 10.
i had about 15 questions i simply didn't understand, not even after reading them 10 times! so i don't know, might going to do gmdss long range ssb certificate as the only reason i wanted advance was to use radio on my yacht when out of vhf reach.

**techiesteve** · Tue 6th Dec 2011, 06:43

Biton, fingers crossed that you hit on the right answers for those 15 questions. Can you remember any of those questions?

I took my advanced in April, then the exam questions related to the RSGB advanced book content and the course I took. Practise exams were useful to check understanding. I remember moving quickly through most, I was left with about 7 to really think about. Two of these I could only answer with estimated guesses. I believe the only change in the exam since then should be faster marking and result, and knowing what score you achieved.

Hope all goes well for you.

**G4LNA** · Tue 6th Dec 2011, 06:55

Sorry to hear it was such a mess, but it might have done you a favour, it even might save your life by forcing you to go the GMDSS route and also getting your long range SSB certificate. You will have to use type approved equipment for that, whereas amateur equipment isn't type approved and shouldn't be used as emergency equipment, sorry, it sounds like I'm lecturing you, but I'm just concerned I would hate to see you come to grief.

What sort of preparation did you carry out prior to going for the exam? Because that should have prepared you for the type of questions and the format of them. There seems to be plenty of sites on the internet were you can get example questions so you can practice, even the RSGB has one.

Do you remember any of the questions? That might be difficult if you didn't understand them, but if you can maybe we can help you. I hope you have another go at it?

If it's any consolation I fluffed my exam the first time and I'm an electrical engineer

I'm not making excuses but the first time I had 6 hours of exams prior to going for the amateur exam in the evening for another 3 hours and the brain just stopped working and I don't think I even completed one question. The second time was not a problem as I only had one exam on that day in the morning so it gave me a chance to unwind in the afternoon.

**M0WAO** · Tue 6th Dec 2011, 09:20

well i have done both foundation and intermediate exams at the same day. the questions asked that time we more amateur radio related as in both books. i did self study and didn't took any courses.

with advanced i did attend a course at our local amateur radio club what was good, did this rsgb mock exam also. did about 8 advanced test exams at ham test web site passed 7 of them with ease. i have to warn that the questions at ham test are not really coming back in the exam. i have found the language (words) used at the exam was different then in the advance book. also conflicting about pme! in the book states that you should NOT earth your RF station ground to the house earth. while on the exam the only logical answer was to bound your RF ground to the electrical earth... other questions i can really recall them as i was stumbled and angry.

well to be honest looking back i don't really care and have much more important things to do at the moment as looking for a new job. i have spend the last couple weeks way too much time on this amateur radio stuff so it's back to business without playing with the radio.

as for gmdss i have short range certificate and busy with yacht master for next year and was always wanted to do gmdss long range but also having advance will give you a bit more radio to play with. due my family all over europe advance also gives me the freedom of leaving the 2m rig in the car when touring through europe. it's illegal to own / touch / feel etc radio equipment without having a license in my home country.

**G4LNA** · Tue 6th Dec 2011, 12:37

Originally Posted by 2E0WAO

i have found the language (words) used at the exam was different then in the advance book. also conflicting about pme! in the book states that you should NOT earth your RF station ground to the house earth. while on the exam the only logical answer was to bound your RF ground to the electrical earth... other questions i can really recall them as i was stumbled and angry.

That is concerning, as it can be downright dangerous if it isn't made clear what you should do with the RF earth in PME areas. If you get it wrong, under certain fault conditions your RF earth lead could end up carrying the whole street's electrical load. It was illustrated a few years ago to a GW station who I was speaking to and he was complaining that his earth lead was getting hot, I did try and explain to him the reason and the correct way of installing an RF earth, but to be honest he didn't understand.

Good luck with the job hunting, you are not a BioMed engineer by any chance are you? There seems to be a shortage of decent experienced engineers at the moment.

**M0WAO** · Sat 10th Dec 2011, 11:38

got letter in the my letterbox this morning, passed so now i'm m0wao

**techiesteve** · Sat 10th Dec 2011, 12:58

Congratulations, good to hear you passed.

**M0WAO** · Sat 10th Dec 2011, 13:07

thx, i didn't expect to pass as this exam was difficult

**G4LNA** · Sat 10th Dec 2011, 14:33

That's excellent news, congratulations.

**M6PAP** · Sat 10th Dec 2011, 16:47

Very well done, your suffering wasn't in vain.

**M0WAO** · Sat 10th Dec 2011, 18:11

will be /mm soon (after the winter and launch of my yacht)

**techiesteve** · Sat 10th Dec 2011, 18:41

Biton, what yacht do you have? My brother-in-law had a Contessa 32 for many years, most of the time he sailed it single handed. He spent 4 years in the Caribbean based on the Dutch half of St. Martin. Once the yacht was washed onto a beach during a hurricane and holed. He sold his story and pictures to a yachting magazine to go towards the repairs. He had a Yaesu HF transceiver installed, but no license. It was just there if an emergency arose. Once back in the UK he spent much of his time working on luxury boats, and the Contessa was out of the water at a boatyard near Clacton until he sold it. We went out on it a few times.

**2E0JTP** · Sat 10th Dec 2011, 21:11

Originally Posted by M0WAO

got letter in the my letterbox this morning, passed so now i'm m0wao

Hey Biton,

Congrats!

**M0WAO** · Sat 10th Dec 2011, 22:23

Originally Posted by techiesteve

Biton, what yacht do you have? My brother-in-law had a Contessa 32 for many years, most of the time he sailed it single handed. He spent 4 years in the Caribbean based on the Dutch half of St. Martin. Once the yacht was washed onto a beach during a hurricane and holed. He sold his story and pictures to a yachting magazine to go towards the repairs. He had a Yaesu HF transceiver installed, but no license. It was just there if an emergency arose. Once back in the UK he spent much of his time working on luxury boats, and the Contessa was out of the water at a boatyard near Clacton until he sold it. We went out on it a few times.

an evolution 25 more info here due my sailing back ground i'm used to own lifting keel yachts