April 2018 PE Exam

[ARS]

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC31qL78vFppbOzmucz9IZUw

This one also good. If you go to his website you can get more information.

Simple living simple thinking

 

[ARS]

Hey from MSP,

Does anyone know where to start preparing for Power exam. What reference should i buy and where can i buy it most economically? Any suggestions, took exam before and failed; took it easy and didn't have a lot of reference material.

NCEES practice book is a must for sure. 

The most important is to understand the problem and what is asked for. 

Prepare a notes for yourself to look for in exam. 

Theodore wildi electrical machine is good for some theory.

Links below might come some help.

http://pepowerexams.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoTRQknkwX5_Xv5s7m3v31g

check this one out.

 

[SSG]

Hi SSG,

Looking at the 2018 specs, I would say it's a possibility but a lower probability. 

My guess is that if DC motors or DC generators show up on the exam it will only be 1 or 2 problems max. 

My recommendation for Wildi, as with all reference books, is to read the table of contents. We have all become to accustomed to Google and other search means that it seems that most people forget to read the table of contents.  

Spend 5 minutes reading the table of contents top to bottom with the NCEES specs in front of you. From there highlight the chapters in the TOC that are related to the exam. Those are the chapters you're going to want to be familiar with. 

Thank you

 

[SSG]

Have you taken the tests on http://pepowerexams.com/? 

are the questions in par with the real PE exam?  

 

[Surf and Snow]

FYI I received my testing location info and registration ticket yesterday from NCEES. I received an email notification to log into my NCEES account and it was there. So check your NCEES account folks, you should probably have yours too. I'll be at the Salem Expo center. Looking through the boards it looks like that's where it usually is each time for us Oregon folks. 

2 weeks left!  Full throttle ahead!!!

 

[Szar]

Can anyone tell me how notes / scratch pad paper is handled during the PE exam?  Is it the same erasable pen / paper thing that is provided during the FE exams?

Also, do we have a certain guaranteed size table to take the test on?  Or do we have to shuffle the inactive books to the floor to make room for the book being referenced? 

Thanks!

 

[BirdGrave]

Hey from MSP,

Does anyone know where to start preparing for Power exam. What reference should i buy and where can i buy it most economically? Any suggestions, took exam before and failed; took it easy and didn't have a lot of reference material.

Which references do you have now?

 

[youngmotivatedengineer]

Can anyone tell me how notes / scratch pad paper is handled during the PE exam?  Is it the same erasable pen / paper thing that is provided during the FE exams?

Also, do we have a certain guaranteed size table to take the test on?  Or do we have to shuffle the inactive books to the floor to make room for the book being referenced? 

Thanks!

The only thing you can write on is the exam booklet.  No scratch paper and can't write in your references.  

 

[JohnMdd]

The "no scratch paper" kills me. I always use scratch paper. I like having notes about problems to return to, etc. Oh well.

Anyone taking the exam in Houston? I heard last year there were some issues with the chief proctor...

 

[user 34010]

Can anyone tell me how notes / scratch pad paper is handled during the PE exam?  Is it the same erasable pen / paper thing that is provided during the FE exams?

Also, do we have a certain guaranteed size table to take the test on?  Or do we have to shuffle the inactive books to the floor to make room for the book being referenced? 

Thanks!

Desk size depends on location. First time I took the exam I had a large school cafeteria sized table. Second time at a different location I had very little space and had to keep stuff on the floor.

 

[stpitman]

I'm taking the exam in Houston as well. I just found out that I don't have a copy of NFPA-70E, so I'm not looking forward to buying one for maybe 1 question on the exam... 

Does anyone know if the exams posted on the below website correlate well to the actual test:

http://pepowerexams.com/

I just took one and got an 80%. I'm worried that it's too simple. The practice NCEES exam seemed "dumbed down" too (with exception of the electronic questions). I feel like I'm going to get slammed when I take the actual test.

 

[BirdGrave]

I'm taking the exam in Houston as well. I just found out that I don't have a copy of NFPA-70E, so I'm not looking forward to buying one for maybe 1 question on the exam... 

Does anyone know if the exams posted on the below website correlate well to the actual test:

http://pepowerexams.com/

I just took one and got an 80%. I'm worried that it's too simple. The practice NCEES exam seemed "dumbed down" too (with exception of the electronic questions). I feel like I'm going to get slammed when I take the actual test.

I'll be taking it on the 13th, but everything I've read from people who have run the gauntlet already says that the NCEES practice exam is the most representative approximation of the real exam you will find.  Some people say it's a bit easier than the real thing while some people say it's harder.  It probably has much to do with which version you sit for (heavy on concepts vs. heavy on calculations) and the nature of your personal strengths and weaknesses with the material.

 

[blewis216]

The practice exam is the absolute closest thing to the real thing since they are actual questions from previous tests. I'd say if you can get 80% on the NCEES practice exam it's a good sign.

Go through the NCEES exam and figure out why you missed each problem, if it was due to misreading the question then I'd make note of that because the content will change but the way they ask questions will be the same.

 

[BirdGrave]

The practice exam is the absolute closest thing to the real thing since they are actual questions from previous tests. I'd say if you can get 80% on the NCEES practice exam it's a good sign.

Go through the NCEES exam and figure out why you missed each problem, if it was due to misreading the question then I'd make note of that because the content will change but the way they ask questions will be the same.

Outside of the NCEES Practice Exam, what practice exam did you try and find to be the best approximation in terms of difficulty and content compared to the real thing?

 

[stpitman]

Did anyone else struggle with those electronics questions? (Diode capacitor configurations, etc.)

 

[blewis216]

Outside of the NCEES Practice Exam, what practice exam did you try and find to be the best approximation in terms of difficulty and content compared to the real thing?

I did the graffeo practice exam, the 2 Camara PPI tests, and the 2017 NCEES Practice exam. The Graffeo was much easier than the actual test. The two PPI tests were much harder than the actual test. I took the NCEES practice test as a simulated exam and it was most similar in difficulty if not slightly easier than the actual exam.

My goal was always 90% on Graffeo, 70% on PPI, and 80% on NCEES. It worked, passed actual exam with 85%.

I wouldn't get too hung up on actual scores on practice tests though. Just make sure you're not making the same mistakes as you progress through studying and that you are feeling more confident every time you see new questions.

 

[Xia]

Does anyone know whats the best references for :

1. [SIZE=11pt]Ground resistance testing[/SIZE]
   
2. [SIZE=11pt]Grounding[/SIZE]
   
3. [SIZE=11pt] Lightning protection[/SIZE]
   
4. 
   
   
   [SIZE=11pt] Surge protection[/SIZE]
   
   [SIZE=11pt]Realizing these [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666984558105px]topics[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] qualitative/ conceptual questions always get me in practice exams![/SIZE]
   
   [SIZE=11pt]Getting really scared now the exam is less than 2 weeks away![/SIZE]
   
   
   
   
   

 

[stpitman]

Tell me what ya'll think about this practice question and solution:



I think they're incorrectly sizing the conductor by using the 310.15(B)(17) instead of (b)(16).

 

[Surf and Snow]

^^^ The question doesnt specify whether its in a raceway or conduit or free air, so its stupid ambiguous as to whether to use b16 or b17. After 3 months of studying, I've found that I legitimately KNOW how to solve 90% of the problems I encounter, and the most common reason I get the rest wrong is ambiguity of the problem like giving a voltage but not saying if its line or phase voltage or not specifying if a transformer is D-Y etc... Poor wording and ambiguity are driving me mad right now!  :angry:

 

[ARS]

I'm taking the exam in Houston as well. I just found out that I don't have a copy of NFPA-70E, so I'm not looking forward to buying one for maybe 1 question on the exam... 

Does anyone know if the exams posted on the below website correlate well to the actual test:

http://pepowerexams.com/

I just took one and got an 80%. I'm worried that it's too simple. The practice NCEES exam seemed "dumbed down" too (with exception of the electronic questions). I feel like I'm going to get slammed when I take the actual test.

Make sure you have good concept about variable speed drive and solve some problem on that topic