About the General exam
The General exam, Element 3, unlocks most of the HF bands. It has 35 questions taken from a public pool of about 420, one from each of 35 groups, and you need 26 correct to pass. The pool used here is the 2023-2027 pool, valid from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2027. You must already hold a Technician licence or pass the Technician exam at the same session.
There's one diagram in the pool, Figure G7-1, which shows a set of schematic symbols. It appears with the questions that use it.
What's on it
The General exam goes further into HF operating than the Technician: band edges and privileges, propagation and the ionosphere, HF antennas and feed lines, transmitter and receiver circuits, digital modes and RF safety evaluations. The calculators on this site cover much of the maths: SWR, decibels and power, antenna lengths and feed line loss.
What General licensees can do
General licensees can use 1500 W PEP and have privileges on every amateur band from 160m to 10m, with only some segments of 80m, 40m, 20m and 15m kept for Extra class operators. That's most of the worldwide DX and contest activity. The US band plan shows the segments.
Practice tests for every class: Technician, General and Amateur Extra.
Questions
Are these the real exam questions?
Yes. They're the official NCVEC 2023-2027 General pool, which is public domain.
How many questions are on the General exam?
35, and you need 26 right to pass.
Do I need a Technician licence first?
Yes, or you can pass the Technician and General exams at the same session.
When does this pool expire?
30 June 2027. A new General pool takes effect on 1 July 2027.