Mike Coslo ) writes:

I don't feel like typing much more. Hopefully I've made my point.
And if anyone missed it, my point is that the tests given in the so
called "golden age" of Amateur radio were definitely NOT harder than the
tests administered today. Of course those rascals from Coleco could have
just been pulling our legs, making a booklet that was not relevent to
the tests as they really were at that time. Kinda doubt that though.

It is hard to judge these things.

I once posted about something, and mentioned passing the test when I
was 12, in 1972, and I got email from someone practically denouncing me,
saying he knew the test was really difficult back then, which means
I couldn't have passed at such an early age.

It never seemed difficult to me back then. The code was harder, I failed
the code reception test the first month and had to retake it the next month.
But the theory test required drawing a number of things, and I did okay.

Oddly, it's in retrospect that I realize didn't particularly know what I
was doing, I didn't memorize answers and I was reading as many technical
things as I could get my hands on, but later I did realize that I didn't
know much back then.

Yet, I would say the test here in Canada must have gotten simpler, if for
no other reason than that there was the restructuring in 1990 where the
entry level license took away things that I was allowed to do when I
passed the test, such as a full kilowatt and building anything I wanted.

Michael VE2BVW