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January 20th 07, 02:00 AM
posted to rec.radio.amateur.policy
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Feb 23 is the No-code date
Mike Coslo wrote:
wrote in news:1169250071.314393.175910 @q2g2000cwa.googlegroups.com: KC4UAI wrote: Time to end the debate I suppose... Looks like the FCC will make it official on February 23 of this year and go along with the rest of the world. Code testing will no longer be required for ANY class license it seems after that date. Does that mean the Report and Order will be published in the Federal Register before January 24? We all knew it was coming, but it's sort of sad to see it go. Yes, it's sad to see the standards being lowered again and again. Not just the code test, either. Hi Jim, Are you saying that the standards for, say the late 1950's were higher than thay are now? I think they were higher then, yes. Did you read my posts with the excerpts from the 1956 Ameco study guide and sample F.C.C. tests? Perhaps my assessment of the tests as indeed not being more difficult is inaccurate in your opinion? It's not about "difficulty" but about how much relevant info a person had to know and understand to pass the tests. The Ameco guide you refer to - what license class was it for? I have the old ARRL License Manuals from 1948, 1951, 1953, 1962, and 1971. They contained the study guides provided by FCC, but *not* the actual Q&A used on the tests. Having read all of them cover-to-cover, I can say I think the standards were higher then. In addition, imagine my surprise when I opened up that little booklet and saw the "sample questions" Right there, Question first, and answer "A" through "D". Then an answer section in the back of the book! All this in 1956, long before Bash and the present day question pool... Those sample questions were *not* the actual questions used on the test. They were simply made up by Ameco. After all, how may ways are there to ask the same questions? Lots of ways: For example, which of the following requires more knowledge: Question 1: The length of a half-wave wire dipole for 7.150 MHz is about: a) 100 feet long b) 50 feet long c) 67 feet long d) 40 feet long Question 2: Determine the length of a half-wave wire dipole for 7.150 MHz, using the appropriate formula. Show all work. That's just one question. -- Here's another example: In the old exam methods, there would be a few sample questions on Ohm's Law for DC, as an example. These would *not* be the exact questions on the actual exam, though, but they would cover the general areas of resistance, power, parallel, series, etc. So the typical ham-to-be would learn those subjects backwards, forwards and sideways, in order to be ready for anything on the test. But with the actual Q&A available, all one needs to do is to be able to solve the particular problems in those questions - or recognize the correct answer out of the four supplied. In looking at the old study guides vs. the new, it seems to me that the old exams focused on a relatively few number of subjects, but covered those subjects in some depth. The new tests seem to me to cover a wide range of subjects, but in very little depth. Want to see a summary of the old study guides, and some sample questions? I'll post them if you are interested. I too am a sad to see Morse code testing go away, espcially from a historical view, but I fear that some of the superior attitudes, and sometimes outright misrepresentation put forward by some hams regarding how much better a vetting process the old old system was is going to be a greater threat to the ARS than any code test elimination ever was. I think the old process was a better process in some ways and a worse process in other ways. I think that in the past couple of decades the focus has been too much on learning just enough to pass the test, and reducing how much has to really be learned to pass those tests, rather than understanding basic radio. I don't think it helps a newcomer to have a license yet not know the basics, like how to put up an effective HF antenna in a limited space. When I was a beginner, it was not unusual for complete newcomers to build their own first stations - receiver and transmitter - from scratch. Kitbuilding was even more common. Look at the beginner projects of 40-50 years ago vs. today - they tell the story. I think the best system we ever had was the one in the late 1970s. In those days, FCC gave all the tests except Novice. Tests were given in FCC offices all over the country. In addition, if a group could guarantee a certain minimum number of test-takers, FCC would send a traveling-road-show examiner to a club meeting, hamfest, or other gathering. The result was that there was testing available all over the place, but the Q&A weren't available publicly. And consider this: There are classes today that promise "Technician in a day" - and they succeed. Is that a good thing, though? Do the new hams who get their licenses that way really have the background needed? 73 de Jim, N2EY |
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