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I would like to prepare for the Technician exam. I think I read somewhere that the ham Technician exam has material that is revised every 4 years. And that the new set of questions will be coming out later this year. Is this correct?
Is this book the latest version of questions?....or should I wait a few months to get an updated guide about new exam questions?: http://www.arrl.org/ham-radio-license-manual
The beauty of the license exams is that they are not trying to trick you with material you've never seen before. In fact, they go out of their way to publicize the questions for you ahead of time.
You can actually see all of the exam bank questions at the ARRL website. As of the time of this post, ARRL provides the following schedule for when the exam questions will change:
TECHNICIAN Class (Element 2) Pool is effective July 1, 2018 and is valid until June 30, 2022.
CURRENT GENERAL Class (Element 3) Pool is ONLY valid until June 30, 2019.
NEW GENERAL Class (Element 3) Pool will be effective July 1, 2019 and will be valid until June 30, 2023.
EXTRA Class (Element 4) Pool is effective July 1, 2016 and is valid until June 30, 2020.
The Technician pool was revised in 2018. The General pool is scheduled for a revision in 2019. The Extra pool is scheduled for a revision in 2020. No question pools will be updated or released in 2021. The question pools review is part of a regular process. Each question pool is reviewed and updated on a four year rotation.
That's not to say paper books are worthless, they are actually very good instructional manuals for principles that don't really change. I have a paper copy of the study guide for all three classes that I refer to frequently. Just pay attention to that exam bank schedule when you're studying for the license exam to make sure you have the current list. No point in handicapping yourself with things you've never seen before!
When I was studying for the exams, I personally used an app called Ham Test Prep. (I am not affiliated with the product in any way). It was a good way to get a bit of studying done while I was traveling.
Looks like the answer is right on the front cover.
All the exam Questions with Answer Key, for use July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2022.
From http://www.arrl.org/question-pools:
TECHNICIAN Class (Element 2) Pool is effective July 1, 2014 and is valid until June 30, 2018.
GENERAL Class (Element 3) Pool is effective July 1, 2015 and is valid until June 30, 2019.
EXTRA Class (Element 4) Pool is effective July 1, 2016 and is valid until June 30, 2020.
That having been said, it typically only takes people a week or two to study and successfully pass the technician exam. I'd suggest not waiting.
