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Amateur Extra course

10 lessons that cover all 599 questions in the 2024-2028 Amateur Extra Class (Element 4) pool, valid July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2028. Each lesson is one topic of the official syllabus.

Your route

Your progress through the course shows here. It is worked out from your answers in this browser.

  1. Lesson 1: Commission Rules E1

    6 exam questions, one from each of 6 groups.

    The rules come first: Extra privileges, station restrictions, space and remote operation, and the volunteer examiner program.

  2. Lesson 2: Operating Procedures E2

    5 exam questions, one from each of 5 groups.

    Operating procedures cover satellites, television, contests, DX and digital modes, building on the General operating lesson.

  3. Lesson 3: Radio Wave Propagation E3

    3 exam questions, one from each of 3 groups.

    Propagation at this level adds the specialized modes: Earth-Moon-Earth, meteor scatter, transequatorial and long path.

  4. Lesson 4: Electrical Principles E5

    4 exam questions, one from each of 4 groups.

    Electrical principles move to resonance, Q, time constants and phasors, which the circuit lessons need.

  5. Lesson 5: Circuit Components E6

    6 exam questions, one from each of 6 groups.

    Circuit components at this level are semiconductors, digital ICs, inductors, piezoelectric and optical devices.

  6. Lesson 6: Practical Circuits E7

    8 exam questions, one from each of 8 groups.

    Practical circuits combine the components into amplifiers, filters, power supplies, software defined radios and oscillators.

  7. Lesson 7: Signals and Emissions E8

    4 exam questions, one from each of 4 groups.

    Signals and emissions cover Fourier analysis, peak and average power, modulation and digital signal design.

  8. Lesson 8: Antennas and Transmission Lines E9

    8 exam questions, one from each of 8 groups.

    Antennas and transmission lines at this level add patterns, matching, line behavior and the Smith chart.

  9. Lesson 9: Amateur Practices E4

    5 exam questions, one from each of 5 groups.

    Amateur practices at this level are measurement and receiver performance, which draw on the circuit and signal lessons.

  10. Lesson 10: Safety E0

    1 exam question, one from each of 1 group.

    Safety closes the course: RF exposure, hazardous materials and grounding.

Why this order

The Extra course keeps the shape of the earlier courses: rules, operating procedures and propagation first, then the electrical lessons in sequence from principles through components, circuits, signals and antennas. Amateur practices, which at this level are measurement and receiver performance, come after the circuit and signal lessons they depend on, and safety closes the course.

The official syllabus numbers the topics differently. Switch the route to syllabus order to see them as the question pool lists them; the lessons are the same either way.

When a lesson is complete

The exam draws one question from each group in the syllabus, so each lesson tracks its groups. A group is ready when you have answered every one of its questions and learned at least 80 percent of them; a question counts as learned when your last three answers to it were correct. A lesson is complete when all of its groups are ready.

Progress comes from your answers in this browser, wherever you gave them: lessons, study mode, guide quizzes and practice exams.