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September 18th 03, 03:25 AM

(N2EY) wrote in message ...
In article , Mike Coslo writes:

The examiner gave you a yellow lined legal pad and a #2 pencil. You put your
name at the top of the copy sheet and got ready. You put on a pair of 'phones
and when everyone at that test table was ready, the test was started. The test
was 5 minutes of plain-language code at the required speed (13 or 20 wpm - back
then only volunteer examiners gave 5 wpm tests)

Depends on which "back when". My 5, 13 and 20 wpm code tests were all
administered by FCC Examiners. And I took all of 'em one-on-one with
the Examiners, never as a member of a group taking the same test.

You were allowed to bring a mill for receiving and speed key for sending, but
you'd better be well-prepared if you showed up with same.

?? I don't recall using a typewriter being an option. Would have been
a lousy idea. I did use a bug to send 20 wpm. For maybe three seconds
before the Examiner waved it off. I shouldn't have bothered lugging
the bug to the exam.

You had to get a certain number of questions right (74%, as I recall) on the
written to pass. Miss by even one question less than the required and you had
to go home and study for at least a month before retesting - both sending and
receiving code, and the written. No do-overs, no credit for tests already
passed. All or nothing at all.

Yup, yup . . . no slack. At all.

$9 doesn't sound like much but back in those days it was a lot of money for a
high school kid. I think minimum wage back then was $1.20 or so, which meant
the test was a days' pay BEFORE taxes for a minimum wage person. And a kid
would have been glad to get minimum. I estimate that the equivalent today would
be $50-60.

Conversly I have yet to pay a dime for anything the FCC has ever done
WRT to any of my ham licenses. Not for any of the three tests and not
for the 1x2. "Life is all in the timing . . ".

So I went home and taught myself to block print. (Printing was not a parochial
school subject - only "publics" were allowed to print. Something about being
bold, brazen articles was involved). Next try, later that summer, I had no
problem.

Heh. Conversly again when I got yanked outta Quaker elemenatary school
and dumped into the public schools right off I landed in "remedial
penmanship" 'cause I had no idea how to write longhand, everything I
wrote was in block style. The code tests were no sweat, all block caps
but I flunked remedial penmanship and they finally gave up on me. I'd
still flunk a course longhand writing. So would every other
half-decent drawing board jockey I've known.

73 de Jim, N2EY

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