Prepare for your ETO orals with the questions surveyors actually ask.
Elec-Buddy is a study course for Electro-Technical Officers and cadets. Notes for all 23 oral topics, written theory with worked numericals, a quiz bank, and a growing collection of questions recalled from real MMD sittings, each with a model answer.
No card needed for the trial. Works in any browser. Windows and Android apps coming soon.
How would you test the insulation resistance of a 440 V motor circuit?
Use a 500 V DC insulation tester, with the circuit isolated, locked off and proved dead first.
- Disconnect anything the test voltage could damage, such as drives and electronic cards.
- Test each phase to earth, then phase to phase, and note the readings.
- Discharge the circuit before anyone touches it again.
- 23oral topics
- 5,861quiz questions
- 1,329surveyor questions
- 40worked numericals
- 54surveyors on record
Three courses, one account
Take the oral and written parts of the CoC together or separately. The sponsorship course is for cadets still looking for a company.
Everything for the MMD oral
Each topic is written around the questions that come up in the exam room, with the reasoning behind the answer rather than a line to memorise.
- Notes for all 23 topics, with tables, diagrams and procedures you can jump around in.
- Surveyor Q&A: questions recalled from real sittings, sorted by surveyor and topic.
- Quizzes per topic with an explanation after every answer.
- Sparky, a tutor beside every topic that finds your gaps and builds from there (in testing).
- Power generation and distributionFrom the generator to the switchboard, including high voltage.
- Motors and ship machineryThe machines an ETO looks after, and how they are driven.
- Control, automation and instrumentationSensors, control loops and the systems that run unmanned.
- Bridge and navigation equipmentThe electronics on the bridge, and what the surveyor asks about them.
- Safety, survey and regulationsSOLAS, MARPOL, fire fighting, life-saving appliances and surveys.
- Practical work on boardTesting, fault-finding and the jobs you will be asked to describe.
23 topics in all. The first one is free to read on any account.
Theory and worked numericals
Regulation notes for the papers that are mostly reading, and step-by-step solutions for the ones that are mostly calculation. Every numerical starts from first principles, so a cadet who has been away from maths for a while can follow it.
- 40 worked numericals, each with the method, the answer and the theory behind it.
- Full notes on ISM, SOLAS, MLC 2006 and MARPOL.
- Numerical theory for the standalone theory parts of calculation questions.
- Electrical theoryThe theory papers, explained from first principles.
- Worked numericals40 solved problems, each with the method and the theory behind it.
- Regulations and codesThe conventions and codes the written paper draws on.
8 topics in all. The first one is free to read on any account.
Get into a good company first
Before a cadetship starts, a shipping company has to sponsor you, and their selection rounds are competitive. This course covers each stage of it.
- Aptitude and data interpretation practice for the written rounds.
- Entrance test and technical interview preparation, with electrical fundamentals.
- Company Q&A: what particular sponsors have asked candidates.
- One-to-one mock interview, 30 minutes, booked separately.
- The written roundsAptitude and data interpretation practice.
- The technical testElectrical fundamentals and entrance test preparation.
- The interviewTechnical and HR interview preparation, and what particular companies have asked.
Plus a one-to-one mock interview, booked separately.
From sign-up to the exam room
Start the free trial
Sign up with your email and the whole CoC course opens for 3 days. No card, nothing to install.
Study, then test yourself
Read a topic, take its quiz, then work through what surveyors have asked on it. Your progress is saved on every device.
Choose a plan when you are ready
Pick Oral, Written or both, for 3, 6 or 12 months. Renewing early adds the new months on top of what is left.
Built for studying on board
Most of our cadets study between watches, on a ship's connection, on a phone. The app is made for that.
Surveyor Q&A
Real questions from recent sittings, filed by surveyor, so you can see what a particular examiner tends to ask.
Quiz bank
Drill by topic or across the course, with an explanation after each answer and your best scores kept.
Sparky, the study assistant
In testing. A tutor beside every topic: it finds what you already know, spots what is missing, and builds your answer from there, then tests you like a surveyor.
Notes you can move around in
Every topic has section links, so you can go straight to the part the surveyor asked about.
Progress on every device
Mark sections as read and pick up on your phone where you stopped on the laptop.
Kept up to date
Corrections and new sections reach you the moment they are published. Nothing to download again.
One payment, no subscription
Plans do not renew by themselves. Pay once for the time you want, and extend whenever you like.
Full CoC Preparation
Oral and Written together
- All 23 oral topics and quizzes
- The full Surveyor Q&A bank
- Written notes and all worked numericals
Oral & Viva
Everything for the MMD oral
- All 23 oral topics and quizzes
- The full Surveyor Q&A bank
Written Paper
Theory and worked numericals
- All written notes
- All worked numericals
Sponsorship course
Aptitude, entrance test, interview and company Q&A
Mock interview
30 minutes, one to one, booked in the app
On your laptop, your phone, or in the browser
The same account everywhere. Your plan and your progress follow you.
Windows
A desktop app for Windows 10 and 11. Opens straight into your course.
Coming soonAndroid
For phones on Android 7 or newer. Install it once and sign in.
Coming soonAny browser
Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari, including iPhone and iPad. Nothing to install.
Open in the browserStarted by a cadet, grown into a team
When it was time to prepare for the MMD oral, there was nothing to study from. No syllabus, no structured notes, just a list of questions passed between seniors.
So we started collecting them: from seniors, from forums, from candidates walking out of their orals. We sorted them by topic and wrote notes around what surveyors were really asking.
That collection became Elec-Buddy. A team has grown around it, and it now covers the oral and written parts of the CoC and the sponsorship stage before a cadetship. New recollections still come in after every sitting, and the notes are checked against them.
Questions recalled by candidates from real MMD sittings, filed by surveyor and topic.
SOLAS, MARPOL, class rules and makers' manuals, rather than shore textbooks alone.
Electro-Technical Officers and cadets in India preparing for their Certificate of Competency.
Elec-Buddy is not an official publication and is not affiliated with MMD or DG Shipping. Use it alongside your manuals and the regulations themselves, and check anything you are unsure of.
Questions cadets ask us
What do I get in the free trial?
The whole CoC course, oral and written, for 3 days. You do not need to enter a card. When it ends, the first oral topic and the first written topic stay free to read, and the rest waits for a plan.
Does the plan renew by itself?
No. You pay once for 3, 6 or 12 months. If you extend early, the new months are added to the time you have left, so nothing is lost.
Can I use it on my phone and my laptop?
Yes, on up to 3 devices with one account. Your progress is saved to the account, so it is the same everywhere.
Does it work at sea without internet?
The website needs a connection. The Windows and Android apps, coming soon, will let paid plans download the course and study offline for up to 14 days. Connect once in that time and it renews by itself.
Where do the surveyor questions come from?
From candidates who have just sat their orals and tell us what they were asked. Each question is checked, given a model answer, and filed under the surveyor and the topic.
How do I pay?
Inside the app, through Razorpay: UPI, debit or credit card, or net banking. You get a receipt by email.
Your oral is coming. Start with the free topic today.
Three days of the full course, free. If it helps, stay. If it does not, you have lost nothing.