April/October 2020 Power PE Exam Prep

[speakeelsy PE]

just realized I bought the Study Guide to the Engineering Economic Analysis book instead of the actual book. I kept thinking people were crazy to suggest it, cause all it had was example problems that weren't terribly helpful... so I just ebayed a copy of the actual book.  maybe that's why i've been doing poorly on all the econ problems!

 

[Zach Stone P.E.]

I really liked it. I'm surprised it's not suggested more often.

I like it too, just wish there were actual examples. 

 

[Zach Stone P.E.]

just realized I bought the Study Guide to the Engineering Economic Analysis book instead of the actual book. I kept thinking people were crazy to suggest it, cause all it had was example problems that weren't terribly helpful... so I just ebayed a copy of the actual book.  maybe that's why i've been doing poorly on all the econ problems!

Get the Newman book for engineering economics. It's cheap and it is really easy to understand with simple examples. 

 

[speakeelsy PE]

Get the Newman book for engineering economics. It's cheap and it is really easy to understand with simple examples. 

Got it! Apparently there is a study guide companion that is just solved problems, and apparently that's what amazon is calling the paperback version... No actual textbook included.

 

[StefanRyan]

Hello Everyone, new to the forum. Looking for a place for us Power PE test takers to share information and this looks to be the best spot. I have just begun my studying with Graffeo and the NCEES Practice test. Most of what is on the exam I will be learning from scratch as I mostly do embedded SW on the job. Good luck to everyone!

 

[LyceeFruit PE]

Hello Everyone, new to the forum. Looking for a place for us Power PE test takers to share information and this looks to be the best spot. I have just begun my studying with Graffeo and the NCEES Practice test. Most of what is on the exam I will be learning from scratch as I mostly do embedded SW on the job. Good luck to everyone!

Please read through the forums and find more/better practice problems and study guides.

Graffeo is outdated and not up to par with the current version of the test. 

 

[speakeelsy PE]

Registration for the October 2020 exam is open on NCEES website. Just registered! (again...) Hopefully we'll actually get to take this one. 

 

[JayD]

Any good material for power electronics practice

 

[Zach Stone P.E.]

Any good material for power electronics practice

Our entire chapter on power electronics (Power Supplies and Converters) is included in the free trial of our online study program for the electrical power PE exam.

It includes all reference text, practice problems and all example videos. Feel free to sign up and use the material for as long as you like. Don't forget to print it out to take it with you to the exam (while you still can before it transitions to CBT).

Electrical PE Review - Chapter 5.2 (NCEES® II.B.2.) Power Supplies and Converters:

1. Introduction and What to Expect
   
2. Video Example - RMS Voltage, Average Value, Peak Voltage, and Peak to Peak Voltage
   
3. Video Example - Period, Cycles, and Frequency
   
4. Video Example - Leading vs Lagging and Phase Shifts
   
5. Video Example - Phase Shifts
   
6. Converting between degrees and radians
   
7. Calculating the phase shift in seconds
   
8. Video Example - Instantaneous Power, the Product of Instantaneous Voltage and Instantaneous Current
   
9. Video Example - Instantaneous Power
   
10. Calculating Real Power (P) and Reactive Power (Q)
    
11. Video Example - Graphing Sine functions
    
12. Video Example - The Ideal Diode
    
13. Thyristor and Silicon Controlled Rectifiers (SCR's)
    
14. Video Example - Positive Half Wave Diode Rectifier
    
15. Video Example - Negative Half Wave Diode Rectifier
    
16. Video Example - Full Wave Diode Bridge Rectifier
    
17. Video Example - Full Wave Diode Bridge Rectifier with A Smoothing Capacitor
    
18. Ripple Factor, r
    
19. Ripple Voltage and Sawtooth Wave Forms
    
20. DC Voltage (VDC), or Vavg
    
21. Video Example - Ripple for Sawtooth Wave Forms
    
22. Video Example - Three Phase Half Wave Diode Rectifier
    
23. Key Formulas
    

Electrical PE Review - Free Trial Sign Up

 

[speakeelsy PE]

How's everyone doing this round? What's your study plan look like?

I've been working through EngproGuide's review book the last 2 weeks, hopefully ill finish this weekend. I've seen a few things that are new, and different ways of working problems too! 

This time Im approaching studying a little different since Im not mostly learning things brand new this time around - planning on working more problems and possibly doing some deep dives into texts. 

My speed on solving problems has definitely suffered the last few months away, but that should improve soon!

Im excited for classes with Zach to start up again, and Im planning on taking a practice exam next weekend for the first time since March!

Let's do this thing! 

 

[lturner]

How's everyone doing this round? What's your study plan look like?

I've been working through EngproGuide's review book the last 2 weeks, hopefully ill finish this weekend. I've seen a few things that are new, and different ways of working problems too! 

This time Im approaching studying a little different since Im not mostly learning things brand new this time around - planning on working more problems and possibly doing some deep dives into texts. 

My speed on solving problems has definitely suffered the last few months away, but that should improve soon!

Im excited for classes with Zach to start up again, and Im planning on taking a practice exam next weekend for the first time since March!

Let's do this thing! 

Are you me? I am doing  the same style you described and suffering from the same speed problems but I know that is mostly rust like you said.  Much much busier this time around at work with trips and site visits pushed from March-June to the fall but cautiously optimistic as long as they don't pull the plug again.

I did get more practice questions this time around so I don't see the same problems from the April exam study days out of fear of memorizing instead of understanding.

 

[speakeelsy PE]

Are you me? I am doing  the same style you described and suffering from the same speed problems but I know that is mostly rust like you said.  Much much busier this time around at work with trips and site visits pushed from March-June to the fall but cautiously optimistic as long as they don't pull the plug again.

I did get more practice questions this time around so I don't see the same problems from the April exam study days out of fear of memorizing instead of understanding.

Twinsies!

I am also much busier with work this time around, and the weather is also much nicer, so it stinks to be stick inside studying on evenings and weekends. 

What other practice problems did you get?

 

[lturner]

Twinsies!

I am also much busier with work this time around, and the weather is also much nicer, so it stinks to be stick inside studying on evenings and weekends. 

What other practice problems did you get?

First time around studying I worked through:

-School of PE materials

-NCEES practice test

-Graffeo

-Power PE practice test

Luckily, at work I use Horowitz' power system relaying, code manuals(NEC, NESC, etc), Blackburn's protective relaying, and Wilids' machine textbook.  My equation binder/sheets came from the free version of Eng Pro Guide's cheat sheets that I marked all over.

Since I have supplemented with practice problems from:

-PPI(I find them to be more difficult but maybe too much detail for this exam)

-Zach Stone's practice test and technical guide (wish I had this from the get go, he does a great job).

And I bought the Eng Pro Guide full technical study guide and cheat sheets.  Much much better than the free version(flow charts for NEC are clutch) and have transferred my scribbles over LOL.  I think I also straight memorized what to do for certain topics(rectifier circuits and VSD especially) instead of learning so I am fixing that.

I feel like I have too many textbooks when I mainly reference Eng Pro guide maybe too much? I'll widdle it down over the next 12 weeks to have a milk crate's worth of stuff. PPI seems like overkill and SoPE does a good job but some of the practice problems seem like examples and not exam difficultly, great notes and text though. I find myself watching Zach Stone's videos more and more often. Love a good breakdown.

Sorry for the wall of text but what about yourself?

 

[speakeelsy PE]

First time around studying I worked through:

-School of PE materials

-NCEES practice test

-Graffeo

-Power PE practice test

Luckily, at work I use Horowitz' power system relaying, code manuals(NEC, NESC, etc), Blackburn's protective relaying, and Wilids' machine textbook.  My equation binder/sheets came from the free version of Eng Pro Guide's cheat sheets that I marked all over.

Since I have supplemented with practice problems from:

-PPI(I find them to be more difficult but maybe too much detail for this exam)

-Zach Stone's practice test and technical guide (wish I had this from the get go, he does a great job).

And I bought the Eng Pro Guide full technical study guide and cheat sheets.  Much much better than the free version(flow charts for NEC are clutch) and have transferred my scribbles over LOL.  I think I also straight memorized what to do for certain topics(rectifier circuits and VSD especially) instead of learning so I am fixing that.

I feel like I have too many textbooks when I mainly reference Eng Pro guide maybe too much? I'll widdle it down over the next 12 weeks to have a milk crate's worth of stuff. PPI seems like overkill and SoPE does a good job but some of the practice problems seem like examples and not exam difficultly, great notes and text though. I find myself watching Zach Stone's videos more and more often. Love a good breakdown.

Sorry for the wall of text but what about yourself?

Walls of text are great... Here's mine.

Last time I worked through Graffeo first. It was a good review since i've been out of school 8+ yrs.

Found Zach's course and signed up for it. Went through the entire course and filled up 3 notebooks with notes on all the videos and examples. I tabbed all those and reference them a lot. Ill probably skim through the course again over the next month and retake the quizzes. And it looks like Zach has added new stuff too!

I created a binder with all of the live class and formula sheets for Zach's class. I mostly use this binder for reference.

When i bought EngProGuides technical guide, i put it into its own binder, divided by subject. I need to go through the formula sheets though.

I also have Zach's exam, and all 3 of EPG's exams in their own 1/2 inch binders. I did all of these the last round, and plan to take them again. 

I bought the Cram book and all exams which are excellent and totally recommend since i dont see it in your list.  I only completed the first exam before the test was cancelled so i have the other 3 to take. Ill probably do one over a week instead of timed, and the other 2 as timed practice tests.

I went through 1 exam in Complex Imaginary... The exam was easier, but the code drill book was great practice. I plan to use these as practice problems.

Ive got a binder full of extra references, and plan to add more to it!

I read/skimmed a lot of Wildi last round, and i finally got a hardcopy of Blackburn in April, so im planning to skim through and tab it.

I went through several of the protection chapters and examples in the Glover book last round and plan to repeat that.

Also have the ncees practice test which i plan to take again too.

I do not have the PPI stuff like you do - i keep hearing mixed reviews about it. 

Overall, ive got 3 milk crates, but 2 are mostly extra stuff. Gonna roll a dolly into the exam!

 

[Dothracki PE]

I've been getting my money's worth of Zach Stone's courses. I have gone through both boot camps, finished 98% of the online course material, and will sit in on as many live classes as I can. Hopefully I am not putting all of my eggs in one basket, but he has a lot of positive feedback so his courses must do well in preparation for the exam.

I have a few other reference books including Rotating Machines (etc.) Wildi, NEC, NESC, NFPA 70, I have looked through and bookmarked as well as the Graffeo book.

I haven't done any practice exams just yet, but that will be my next step soon. I have two versions of the ncees practice exam as well as Zach Stone's. 

 

[Dothracki PE]

Also I'm hesitant to buy a whole lot of references in the event that the October exam does get cancelled. I guess they will help with preparation but I just don't know. 

 

[Dothracki PE]

Triple post? So not spam

 

[speakeelsy PE]

Also I'm hesitant to buy a whole lot of references in the event that the October exam does get cancelled. I guess they will help with preparation but I just don't know. 

Ohhhh if they cancel it again imma be SO mad. I dont care if we have to take it in scuba gear or whatever. Plus I still havent receive a refund on my hotel room.

 

[Orchid PE]

Is anyone taking the new power reference with them to the October exam?! Lol I skimmed through it the other day and it seems like a decent reference, albeit a tiny one.

I can only imagine the look on everyones' faces if someone walked into one of the previous exams with only that book and a calculator 

 

[Dothracki PE]

Is anyone taking the new power reference with them to the October exam?! Lol I skimmed through it the other day and it seems like a decent reference, albeit a tiny one.

I can only imagine the look on everyones' faces if someone walked into one of the previous exams with only that book and a calculator 

I probably will print it out and put it in one of my binders, I don't know how much use I will get from it though.