"Mike Coslo" wrote in message
...


Bert Craig wrote:
"KØHB" wrote in message
nk.net...

"Dwight Stewart" wrote


I've looked over the current written tests. I just don't see where

they're

lacking as far as the existing goals and purposes of the Amateur Radio
Service are concerned.

Translation: "After over 6 years as a Technician, I've almost got the
General Class test memorized. Don't set me back by making me memorize a
whole different set of questions."

73, de Hans, K0HB


"Hammer, meet nail."

When you're only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail! 8^)

Lol.

I don't even think we need to change the questions. Eliminate the
published
Q&A pools and reorder the answers, that'll do it.

Big deal! There will have to be a study guide, which will have the
answers in it in text form. I'd read it and know it. Probably quicker
and better than the pools

I'd bet you would too. I had a slightly unfair advantage, a college avionics
curriculum that culminated in a GROL. However, in order to earn our
sheepskins, we had to pass screening exams...no published Q&A pools. Same
applied to our FAA exams.

BTW, Bert, did you know that they change the order of the answers in the
actual test as compared to the question pool?

Didn't really notice. Once you review the Q&A pool, the correct answer
stands out like a sore thumb. I reviewed the Q&A pool twice and drove and
hour so to Yonkers, NY...for approx. six minutes of actual exam time. (&
that gave me privies to 1500 Watts on 50 MHz and up?!)

Q. Do what?

A. Require just a hair more cerebral activity than rote memorization.


Maybe for some.

You're right, maybe.

- Mike KB3EIA -

73 de Bert
WA2SI

Bert Craig wrote:

"Mike Coslo" wrote in message
...


Bert Craig wrote:

"KØHB" wrote in message
hlink.net...


"Dwight Stewart" wrote



I've looked over the current written tests. I just don't see where

they're


lacking as far as the existing goals and purposes of the Amateur Radio
Service are concerned.

Translation: "After over 6 years as a Technician, I've almost got the
General Class test memorized. Don't set me back by making me memorize a
whole different set of questions."

73, de Hans, K0HB


"Hammer, meet nail."

When you're only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail! 8^)


Lol.


I don't even think we need to change the questions. Eliminate the

published

Q&A pools and reorder the answers, that'll do it.

Big deal! There will have to be a study guide, which will have the
answers in it in text form. I'd read it and know it. Probably quicker
and better than the pools


I'd bet you would too. I had a slightly unfair advantage, a college avionics
curriculum that culminated in a GROL. However, in order to earn our
sheepskins, we had to pass screening exams...no published Q&A pools. Same
applied to our FAA exams.


BTW, Bert, did you know that they change the order of the answers in the
actual test as compared to the question pool?


Didn't really notice. Once you review the Q&A pool, the correct answer
stands out like a sore thumb. I reviewed the Q&A pool twice and drove and
hour so to Yonkers, NY...for approx. six minutes of actual exam time. (&
that gave me privies to 1500 Watts on 50 MHz and up?!)

Reminds me of the first time I took the General test. I got up early
and drove to the Hamfest in Butler PA from State College PA. Drank
several cups of coffee on the way. I took the writtens first, and no
problem acing it. Then the combination of the trip and too much coffee
kicked in as I sat down for the Morse code test. As they say in the
Bronx fuggitaboudit! So I had to wait a while for my ticket.

Which makes me wonder, I do not do Morse well under stress. I wonder how
some of those who had to do it under some awful condx ever managed.

- Mike KB3EIA -

"Mike Coslo" wrote in message
t...
Bert Craig wrote:

"Mike Coslo" wrote in message
...


Bert Craig wrote:

"KØHB" wrote in message
hlink.net...


"Dwight Stewart" wrote



I've looked over the current written tests. I just don't see where

they're


lacking as far as the existing goals and purposes of the Amateur
Radio
Service are concerned.

Translation: "After over 6 years as a Technician, I've almost got the
General Class test memorized. Don't set me back by making me memorize
a
whole different set of questions."

73, de Hans, K0HB


"Hammer, meet nail."

When you're only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail! 8^)


Lol.


I don't even think we need to change the questions. Eliminate the

published

Q&A pools and reorder the answers, that'll do it.

Big deal! There will have to be a study guide, which will have the
answers in it in text form. I'd read it and know it. Probably quicker
and better than the pools


I'd bet you would too. I had a slightly unfair advantage, a college
avionics
curriculum that culminated in a GROL. However, in order to earn our
sheepskins, we had to pass screening exams...no published Q&A pools.
Same
applied to our FAA exams.


BTW, Bert, did you know that they change the order of the answers in the
actual test as compared to the question pool?


Didn't really notice. Once you review the Q&A pool, the correct answer
stands out like a sore thumb. I reviewed the Q&A pool twice and drove
and
hour so to Yonkers, NY...for approx. six minutes of actual exam time. (&
that gave me privies to 1500 Watts on 50 MHz and up?!)

Reminds me of the first time I took the General test. I got up early
and drove to the Hamfest in Butler PA from State College PA. Drank
several cups of coffee on the way. I took the writtens first, and no
problem acing it. Then the combination of the trip and too much coffee
kicked in as I sat down for the Morse code test. As they say in the
Bronx fuggitaboudit! So I had to wait a while for my ticket.

Which makes me wonder, I do not do Morse well under stress. I wonder how
some of those who had to do it under some awful condx ever managed.

- Mike KB3EIA -

I actually had a pretty good experience with Element 1...once it began. I
had actually kinda over-prepped and was getting pretty nervous. Dick, N0BK
(God rest his soul.) told me to stop practicing, get off my ar$e, and just
give it a whirl.

When I arrived, it was all I could do NOT to throw up, until the code
characters started flowing. I had practiced with the ARRL CD's and they
turned out to be a tad faster than the actual exam. It was like gettin'
ready to bat in the world series only to have the pitcher throw cantaloupe
sized balls in slow-motion...underhand. I went into immediate $hit-eating
grin mode.

Then there's gettin' OTA...whole 'nutha story. ;-)

73 de Bert
WA2SI

On Wed, 03 Dec 2003 03:54:25 GMT, Mike Coslo wrote:

Which makes me wonder, I do not do Morse well under stress. I wonder how
some of those who had to do it under some awful condx ever managed.

I was at a hearing once where a shipboard operator was accused of
slugging the captain in the radio room. The other operator on duty
was being questioned as a witness, and was asked "did you see or hear
Mr. X have a fist-fight with the captain?". His reply: "when I sit
and copy the telegraph code that's all I concentrate on".

Not being a "morseman" as others call it, I admire someone who can
do that sort of concentration. (I've done it on 'phone, though.)

--
73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane

From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest
Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon

"Mike Coslo" wrote in message
t...
[snip]
Reminds me of the first time I took the General test. I got up early
and drove to the Hamfest in Butler PA from State College PA. Drank
several cups of coffee on the way. I took the writtens first, and no
problem acing it. Then the combination of the trip and too much coffee
kicked in as I sat down for the Morse code test. As they say in the
Bronx fuggitaboudit! So I had to wait a while for my ticket.

Which makes me wonder, I do not do Morse well under stress. I wonder how
some of those who had to do it under some awful condx ever managed.

- Mike KB3EIA -


Those who can hold it together under stress come in two types: a - nerves
of steel (only a few of those around) OR b - they've done it so long that
it's no more stressful than talking (probably the more common reason).

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE

Dee D. Flint wrote:
"Mike Coslo" wrote in message
t...
[snip]
Reminds me of the first time I took the General test. I got up early

and drove to the Hamfest in Butler PA from State College PA. Drank
several cups of coffee on the way. I took the writtens first, and no
problem acing it. Then the combination of the trip and too much coffee
kicked in as I sat down for the Morse code test. As they say in the
Bronx fuggitaboudit! So I had to wait a while for my ticket.

Which makes me wonder, I do not do Morse well under stress. I wonder how
some of those who had to do it under some awful condx ever managed.

- Mike KB3EIA -



Those who can hold it together under stress come in two types: a - nerves
of steel (only a few of those around) OR b - they've done it so long that
it's no more stressful than talking (probably the more common reason).

I still think there is a fundamental problem I have with Morse code -
although I have come a long way, the effort I have to put in compared to
what others apparently have to do is nothing short of phenomenal. A half
hour at lunch, another half hour to an hour in the evening, 6 days a
week, and I am still struggling. I know I am nowhere near stupid, and
I've tried enough different methods to know that there is something
somewhere that makes my brain process sounds a bit differently than
those that find Morse easy.

But in most matters, I am one of those steely nerved types, and
consider myself too dumb to panic.

But, I persevere! I'm starting to catch whole words on the air (at
faster speeds) now, and it is exciting, despite my whining about it!

8^)

- Mike KB3EIA -

Mike Coslo wrote:



I still think there is a fundamental problem I have with Morse code
- although I have come a long way, the effort I have to put in compared
to what others apparently have to do is nothing short of phenomenal. A
half hour at lunch, another half hour to an hour in the evening, 6 days
a week, and I am still struggling. I know I am nowhere near stupid, and
I've tried enough different methods to know that there is something
somewhere that makes my brain process sounds a bit differently than
those that find Morse easy.

But in most matters, I am one of those steely nerved types, and
consider myself too dumb to panic.

But, I persevere! I'm starting to catch whole words on the air (at
faster speeds) now, and it is exciting, despite my whining about it!

It's like anything else, some things come easy for some people, some
things don't.

"Mike Coslo" wrote in message
t...

But, I persevere! I'm starting to catch whole words on the air (at
faster speeds) now, and it is exciting, despite my whining about it!


That puts you ahead of me. I still don't catch whole words just the
individual letters and catch the letters as they come. There are some
exceptions to that though. "CQ" and "CQ TEST" come through immediately as
words.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE

Mike Coslo wrote:




Which makes me wonder, I do not do Morse well under stress. I wonder how
some of those who had to do it under some awful condx ever managed.


Try it after getting up at 3am to drive 5 hrs to the nearest FCC office
and set there in front of an FCC examiner. I managed it OK but the other
guy going for General was so nervous that when he was asked to send he
could only get out a string of meaningless dots and dashes. The exam
officer told him to go get a cup of coffee while he had me do my sending
test then come back and try again. He did make it, but just under the wire.