On Jan 23, 10:15*pm, Mike Coslo wrote:
wrote oups..com:

About 1961, FCC decided to "modernize" the license tests. They were
all converted to multiple choice format, with a new answer sheet that
could be machine-graded. This transition did not take place overnight,
though - the field offices first used up their supply of old tests
before going to the new ones.* * * *

I'm a little confused here. My 1956 Guide has Multiple choice for the
General test and Technician test at that time. Were they wrong?

Couple of points:

- Before March 21, 1987, the General and Technician used
exactly the same written test. The only difference in testing
for the two licenses was that General required 13 wpm code
and Technician required 5 wpm code.

- When the Conditional license existed, it too used the same
written test as the General and Technician.

- The questions and answers in the Ameco Guide you
have were not the actual questions used on the test. They
were written by Ameco, and were derived from the essay-
type study guides provided by the FCC.

- The General/Technician exams in the 1950s were not
100% multiple choice. There were a few draw-a-diagram
questions and some show-your-work calculation questions.
But the majority of the questions on those exams *were*
multiple choice, and the Ameco folks may have thought
their Guide to be adequate.

--

It is interesting that the Ameco book doesn't cover the
Extra exam. In those days (1956), the Advanced was
closed to new issues, but folks who held an Advanced
could continue to renew and modify as needed. A few
hams made the jump from General to Extra, but only a
few went for Extra in those years because it gave no
additional operating privileges, and the Extra required
another trip to an FCC examiner. The Conditional was
the by-mail equivalent of the General back then, and
if you lived more than 75 miles from an FCC exam
point you could get a Conditional. But there was no
by-mail option for the Extra. Conditionals made up a
sizable percentage of US amateur radio in the 1950s.
One source I saw said Conditionals accounted for about
25% of 1950s US hams. In that same period Extras
were only about 2%.

73 de Jim, N2EY