QST for July 1960, page 54. "FCC Written Exam Procedure Changing" . This
article describes the new FCC answer sheet that will go into use "in a few
months". It shows the new answer sheet and describes how the "draw a diagram"
questions will be replaced by questions about a diagram, such as "what should
be done to neutralize this circuit"



Back in 1976 when I took the general written at the FCC field office, I
remember that
question was on it. The circuit looked a lot like an IF stage of an
early transistor radio,
which also used neutralization.

So of the other questions required knowledge of a few different points
of knowledge
to get right. "You have a linear which uses B+ of 800V. For use with
SSB, what is
the max current your ampmeter on the finals will show?" You had to know
1) The FCC
dictated input "plate" power for power limits for hams, 2) What the
power limit was
for SSB, 3) and how to factor in PEP averaging. And 4) how to calculate
plate power.
Knew everything except I was hazy on how to do #3. SSB voice is full of
short bursts
of higher power; however an analog amp meter's needle isn't responsive
enough to show
those spikes. So does this lack of response compensate for the FCC
permitting SSB
spikes up to 2KW, where CW is limited to 1KW (back then in the good 'ol
days)?
I made the choice to assume that this is true, and selected 1.25 amps
for the answer. No
way of knowing if I got it right or not, but I did pass (though by a
thin margin of one excess
correct answer). Embarrising as I was an EE student in college at the
time. :-) I did
ace the code test, which I had not expected to do so well on. Sometimes
wonder if
they gave me an all dit suffix (ISE) because I did so well on code.. :-)
I did ace my restructured
upgrade to "extra lite" a few years ago.