April/October 2020 Power PE Exam Prep

[speakeelsy PE]

Coming up on 6 weeks until the exam?

What do y'alls "milk crates" look like?

The goods all crated up!

Bottom left has main references including my main custom binder, custom spirals, and code books! Tabs out so they dont get crushed!

Top left is extra books i haven't really used, stuff i need to read/look through and practice exams. (Some are still blank - we still have more saturdays to study!)

Right crate is binders of extra references, Zach's coursework, a home print edition of blackburn, and an older NCEES FE guide that im thinking of replacing with an updated copy.

Also included are tabs galore, a coaster, a hairband, and trusty TI-36X Pro

Not included are another power electronics book, a circuits book that i may or may not take, and a Panicked Engineer!

 

[Sparky Bill PE]

@GHermann, i used A-Z tabs. Link is below:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B017ETNVT6/ref=sspa_mw_detail_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Those are the tabs I used for my 2 binders. Man they are wonderful! 

 

[Sparky Bill PE]

I counted around 24 here, can someone PLEASE feel free to zoom in and let me know if you see any references I"m missing that you would strongly suggest me take. The two big binders are my Zach Stone course work/quiz problems worked/live class work/ etc. Those are my main 2 binders. 

Not in this picture,  I have my Beaty "electrical engineering fundamentals" book and maybe a couple more I'll be bringing. 

 

[speakeelsy PE]

I counted around 24 here, can someone PLEASE feel free to zoom in and let me know if you see any references I"m missing that you would strongly suggest me take. The two big binders are my Zach Stone course work/quiz problems worked/live class work/ etc. Those are my main 2 binders. 

Not in this picture,  I have my Beaty "electrical engineering fundamentals" book and maybe a couple more I'll be bringing. 

View attachment 16626

WOW! Looking good Bill! I think you've got a solid stack!

 

[DLD PE]

I'm actually thinking about putting all my "protection" stuff in one single binder.  It's just a huge section with all the references I have.  

 

[speakeelsy PE]

How did the practice exams this weekend go?

I did EngProGuides Full and got a 56/80... are we considering that passing?

Not my best, and Im missing things all over the board still, xbut there were several items Id never seen and a few PU issues i need to figure out. I liked the bonus problems too. Did much better on timing this weekend!

Im starting to work through Cram #1 again today, and working on symmetrical components.

 

[Sparky Bill PE]

How did the practice exams this weekend go?

I did EngProGuides Full and got a 56/80... are we considering that passing?

Not my best, and Im missing things all over the board still, xbut there were several items Id never seen and a few PU issues i need to figure out. I liked the bonus problems too. Did much better on timing this weekend!

Im starting to work through Cram #1 again today, and working on symmetrical components.

Wow I think that's a great score! I worked through Cram exam 1 this weekend myself. I thought I was strong in qualitative problems (being a little older with all my experience being power) but I couldn't guess them or find them in my Wildi/Chapman/Glover books

 

[DLD PE]

I scored 60% on the Eng Pro Guides end of week 6 problems on protection. 

 

[BebeshKing PE]

How did the practice exams this weekend go?

I did EngProGuides Full and got a 56/80... are we considering that passing?

Not my best, and Im missing things all over the board still, xbut there were several items Id never seen and a few PU issues i need to figure out. I liked the bonus problems too. Did much better on timing this weekend!

Im starting to work through Cram #1 again today, and working on symmetrical components.

Took Cram #3 practice exam yesterday. Got 53/80. His exams were so intense! 

Gonna post some questions here after I review all my mistakes.

Thanks in advance!

@Cram For The PE 

 

[speakeelsy PE]

Wow I think that's a great score! I worked through Cram exam 1 this weekend myself. I thought I was strong in qualitative problems (being a little older with all my experience being power) but I couldn't guess them or find them in my Wildi/Chapman/Glover books

Thanks Bill!

Most of the Cram #1 stuff is in the Cram Book - totally recommend reading it with a highlighter. It has a lot of random info hidden in it.

Also I write down references to most of my solved problems if you'd like to know where to find something.

I scored 60% on the Eng Pro Guides end of week 6 problems on protection. 

Good Job!!!

 

[Orchid PE]

a coaster

If I remember correctly, my proctors wouldn't allow food or drinks on the table. They had to be kept on the floor.

 

[daydreambeliever]

I scored 75% on the EngPro Guide Full Exam last weekend. There were several problems that I had to guess on and got right so I definitely still have work to do. I don't remember what topics I struggled with the most. I was a complete slacker over weekend. This coming up weekend I'm going to take #1 in the crammed series. 

Love seeing all the pics of everyone's stash. I'll try to remember to take a pic of all my references tonight. 

 

[speakeelsy PE]

I scored 75% on the EngPro Guide Full Exam last weekend. There were several problems that I had to guess on and got right so I definitely still have work to do. I don't remember what topics I struggled with the most. I was a complete slacker over weekend. This coming up weekend I'm going to take #1 in the crammed series. 

Love seeing all the pics of everyone's stash. I'll try to remember to take a pic of all my references tonight. 

WOW! Good Job! 

Definitely take a pic, it's so much fun to see what everyone has!

If I remember correctly, my proctors wouldn't allow food or drinks on the table. They had to be kept on the floor.

 Coaster won't be included in the final haul... it just ended up in my photo.  I would be that person that spilled soda all over my scantron!

 

[daydreambeliever]

WOW! Good Job! 

Definitely take a pic, it's so much fun to see what everyone has!

Thanks!

It makes me feel better seeing these photos. I have always taken this exam with a milk crate full of books or rolling in a suitcase. I have sat near other electricals who have only carried the Camara reference a code book and maybe one other book. All I could think is, what is wrong with me that I need all of this to pass this exam!?!?!! 

 

[Novanian]

Yeah the cram exams are no joke. I have learned a considerable amount just from them. Especially relations between equations I hadn't  considered and when I saw it I almost face palmed at how obvious it was...

 

[Orchid PE]

I'd like to know what future and past exam takers think about purchasing books close to the exam.

My thought: Any new reference books purchased now, you won't have much time to get familiar with them before the exam. So if you do open them during the exam, it will take time to go through them when searching for answers. I purchased and received a book a few days before the exam. It did help me answer 1 problem, but it was a power system analysis book, so the layout was pretty similar to others. And it was the only reference book I had that I wasn't familiar with.

And then what about having too many references? I can see that having too many references could prevent you spending adequate time on every question.

 

[BebeshKing PE]

I'd like to know what future and past exam takers think about purchasing books close to the exam.

My thought: Any new reference books purchased now, you won't have much time to get familiar with them before the exam. So if you do open them during the exam, it will take time to go through them when searching for answers. I purchased and received a book a few days before the exam. It did help me answer 1 problem, but it was a power system analysis book, so the layout was pretty similar to others. And it was the only reference book I had that I wasn't familiar with.

And then what about having too many references? I can see that having too many references could prevent you spending adequate time on every question.

I'm a first time exam taker, and I just recently bought a reference books in power electronics, and protective relaying. This is for the reason of covering myself with a qualitative questions that I am not familiar with. These books will be my last thing to open during the exam since I will not be familiar with it.  

 

[daydreambeliever]

Here is my stash. I'm missing a protection book. I've already read through it so I just need to find it and browse through it again. The only book here I'm not familiar with is the electronics book. I did pretty poorly in that topic last time so I need to sit down and spend some time going through it.

 

[speakeelsy PE]

Here is my stash. I'm missing a protection book. I've already read through it so I just need to find it and browse through it again. The only book here I'm not familiar with is the electronics book. I did pretty poorly in that topic last time so I need to sit down and spend some time going through it.

View attachment 16700

So many binders!!!

What's that protective relaying theory and applications book? Do you like it?

 

[daydreambeliever]

So many binders!!!

What's that protective relaying theory and applications book? Do you like it?

Yeah I have a lot of binders. I took Zach's class so all of that course work is in the purple, pink, blue and white binder that is not labeled. The grey one is quick reference formulas and the black one is worked out problems.

So far so good with the Protective Relaying book. I've only gotten through the first few chapters. Not sure if I'm going to have time to get through the whole book. The second link below is for the book I couldn't find last night. The last time I took the exam I read through the whole book and really liked it. It was an easy read. I think the book I have pictured may be more helpful for the conceptual questions but I'm not 100% positive yet.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0824709721/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/8120341236/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1