The Fast Track to Your Technician Class Ham Radio License

1st off, I have now purchased approx 8 books on this specific subject. Not to include wasted many months of 'trying to understand'. Yet, this being a topic in which I am passionate about, I can't seem to ever actually quit trying. I have spent years dabbling in the content trying to make good sense of it. Even had some formal training over the years.After all of that *** This ended up being the only book I really needed for Technician!!!! The sad part, it was the last unique book in a stack I have purchased. Really wished I had tried this one 1st, maybe my review is useful to save you from a similar mistake like that. Start here, with Michael BurnetteThis review involves a strong representation of myself.- Having a "great understanding" and being an extreme stickler for details is critical to my ability to understand & retain any technical knowledge at all.- Secondly, I generally do Not enjoy reading a book. Instructions are fine, fact-based bullets are fine, etc. To me, a book must stimulate those useful knowledge-cells which promotes early productivity, etc. In which case, I can put the book down and get on with use of the content absorbed. This book absolutely provides accelerated use of content!If you have a similar desire to truly understand the content and not worry so much about memorizing, then know that Michael Burnette seems to do an amazing job at communicating exactly how things work in an enjoyable format often with humorous notes. In fact, he communicates in a manner which most everyone can relate in simple terms. In other words, you do not have to already be an expert in order to understand what it takes to start your journey in becoming a potential expert! That is fantastic -- I can be a noob but have a technical mind and an interest, with this book -- i can then succeed.If you don't want to forget in 5 minutes because you had to try and memorize, then actually learning the subject matter can grossly propel you ahead. I firmly believe that is the basis behind the part of title "Fast Track". Its not a 15m read by any stretch of the imagination. But for most, with this book you would not need to spend any excessive time in any chapter under normal circumstances. But if you want to just memorize -- you may be in the wrong field (just a thought).Its also just an enjoyable read -- finally, a book that keeps me in the book.Just know that I went from months of getting no where fast to being ready for the exam in a single week! Not time to schedule it ASAP.(for Michael --- I hope to find him on air)

Like most review books these days, the author walks you thru the FCC's pool of questions and answers, explaining along the way the bits and pieces that make up the whole picture. This sounds like an awful way to pick up a subject, but Michael went beyond this and did a really good job of explaining everything, providing a nice mix of theory and practice (with plenty of diagrams). I liked his laid-back style, his Bela Karolyi "you can do it!" pep talk, and even a whole chapter on using your new license to talk on the air (etiquette, do's and dont's, etc.)I would plan on reading the book twice: once to go over the explanation of the answers to the 300+ questions, and another time to familiarize yourself with the correct answers so you don't blow it on exam day. (Note the Q's requiring arithmetic will have the numbers change, so you have to know the formulas (all 2 of them) for the exam.) I spent a casual 10-12 days, maybe 20 minutes a day, reading thru all the questions, then another four days rereading the Q and A's to reinforce the material. As Michael mentions in the book, figure out when you will take the exam first, then work backwards based on your study habits and such to figure out how much time YOU need to study. Don't cram the night before, and also don't wait two months after reading the book to take the exam. I bought the book on 7/12 and took the exam on 7/31 and passed. Your mileage may vary :-). Still waiting for my call sign from the FCC...My ONLY complaint is the Kindle version can't render one image (it appeared as a red x), but I don't think it was that important. BTW, I read the Kindle version on my phone, my PC at work, my laptop at home, and of course, the Kindle itself. Having that kind of access to one book without lugging it around was very useful.73s <--buy the book to learn what this means, LOL.

Wish Michael Burnette had one for the General Class Ham Radio License!I really like to study on my own... I am not a fast learner but I am Dog-ged! Not even sure why I bought this but I am so glad I did. Studying went from being this mountain in front of me to actually being Fun! And I went through Michael's material more than once, in fact, more that twice... but he made it interesting...I bought the Audible copy, then 3 days later I bought the Kindle copy, then I bought the Paper copy 4 days later...The Audible copy was GREAT because Michael Burnette is an exciting and entertaining and memorable guide! Some people complained about the sounds... I found that they helped me remember the points being made!The Kindle copy was great on my iPhone because with Kindles built-in link to Reference Material, I could just touch words and terms to get in-depth definitions, understanding and tie things together that I was curious about...Finally I bought the Paper copy because I like to color-code book marks for differing purposes.a) There were points that were just going to have to be memorized. (Not my favorite thing to do but... oh, well) BLUEb) There were points I wanted to keep relationships between info straight about and I wanted to understand better. (sigh... Practice...) YELLOWc) There was great information about things I wanted to work into my plan after I have my Technician License. PURPLEd) And just FUN sounding stuff PINKMichael is someone I am proud to have as a teacher! Hope to get to meet him and his wife sometime soon!Oh, and tomorrow, Labor Day, I take my Technician's Test!Yea! :-)---------------I passed my Technician Ham Radio License! Today... 2015-09-07Yay!I only missed one…Thanks, Michael Burnette!and yes, I did what Michael said and used the practice tests! A Lot!