John Smith wrote:

... the "anateur exams" are certainly no hinderence, they always have been
as simple as pie--a college grad trained in the art of "test taking" could
study for a day and pass the most challenging

I think you need to go back and look at the early exams. There was a
time when an applicant was required to actually draw a schematic of
various circuits and explaine how they worked. And even after the exams
became multiple choice type, one had to know the material to get the
correct answer as the answers to the acutal questions were not
available. There were study guides with sample questions, but no
questions pools with the exact answer available for memorization. If you
did not know the theory, then you probably weren't going to pass.
Again john smith knows not of what he speaks.

Cmd Buzz Corey wrote:

John Smith wrote:

... the "anateur exams" are certainly no hinderence, they always have
been as simple as pie--a college grad trained in the art of "test
taking" could study for a day and pass the most challenging


I think you need to go back and look at the early exams. There was a
time when an applicant was required to actually draw a schematic of
various circuits and explaine how they worked.

Is that supposed to be hard?


And even after the exams
became multiple choice type, one had to know the material to get the
correct answer as the answers to the acutal questions were not
available.

Yeah. You'll find that question pool bugaboo in a lot of fields these
days, including fields where if a person makes a mistake because of not
knowing the material, lives may be lost.





There were study guides with sample questions, but no
questions pools with the exact answer available for memorization.

Now if you want *really* hard, make it no study guide, no question
pool, and the applicant has to do all the learning research with NO idea
of what is on the test! 8^)

If you
did not know the theory, then you probably weren't going to pass.
Again john smith knows not of what he speaks.

I took the tests from the question pools. For me, they were all pretty
easy. They were not easy because of the question pools. They were easy
because they were fairly basic material.

What I have seen of the earlier test is that they too were pretty
basic. Any difference is not so great that those who came before need
not feel any superiority.


I aced the Technician test with the only study being the safety questions.

I did study a bit for the General.

For the Extra, I spent a week taking the on-line tests. Questions that
I knew the answer to, I got right of course.

Those that I got wrong earned me a trip to the books or online to find
out why I got it wrong. By the time I was finished, I aced the test just
about every time on line, and then in the actual test.

And I knew the material.

Elapsed time, one week.

Now the Morse code was another thing entirely. That was hard.

But then I'm just a dum nickel extra! ;^)

- Mike KB3EIA -

"Michael Coslo" wrote in message
...


Cmd Buzz Corey wrote:

John Smith wrote:

... the "anateur exams" are certainly no hinderence, they always have
been as simple as pie--a college grad trained in the art of "test
taking" could study for a day and pass the most challenging


I think you need to go back and look at the early exams. There was a time
when an applicant was required to actually draw a schematic of various
circuits and explaine how they worked.

Is that supposed to be hard?


And even after the exams became multiple choice type, one had to know the
material to get the correct answer as the answers to the acutal questions
were not available.

Yeah. You'll find that question pool bugaboo in a lot of fields these
days, including fields where if a person makes a mistake because of not
knowing the material, lives may be lost.





There were study guides with sample questions, but no questions pools
with the exact answer available for memorization.

Now if you want *really* hard, make it no study guide, no question pool,
and the applicant has to do all the learning research with NO idea of what
is on the test! 8^)

If you did not know the theory, then you probably weren't going to pass.
Again john smith knows not of what he speaks.

I took the tests from the question pools. For me, they were all pretty
easy. They were not easy because of the question pools. They were easy
because they were fairly basic material.

What I have seen of the earlier test is that they too were pretty basic.
Any difference is not so great that those who came before need not feel
any superiority.


I aced the Technician test with the only study being the safety questions.

I did study a bit for the General.

For the Extra, I spent a week taking the on-line tests. Questions that I
knew the answer to, I got right of course.

Those that I got wrong earned me a trip to the books or online to find out
why I got it wrong. By the time I was finished, I aced the test just about
every time on line, and then in the actual test.

And I knew the material.

Elapsed time, one week.

Now the Morse code was another thing entirely. That was hard.

But then I'm just a dum nickel extra! ;^)

- Mike KB3EIA -


Mike,

I believe what the gentleman was trying to convey is that the present day
tests are a total farce. The answer is readly available and it is just a
"formality" to even pass it.

You said you compaired some of the older tests. Just how far back did you
go? The commenter was obviously refering to those tests given in the 50 and
60. I like to call it the error of "BB" . You know....before Bash. If you
don't know what I am refering to, then you had no right to comment the way
you did.

Have a nice day.

Dan/W4NTI

Dan/W4NTI wrote:

I believe what the gentleman was trying to convey is that the present day
tests are a total farce. The answer is readly available and it is just a
"formality" to even pass it.

Absolutely, otherwise there are a lot of hams that wouldn't be hams.
People like toddieboy, wogie and lot of others who would not be hams if
they really had to have technical knowledge to pass a test instead of
just memorizing answers.

"Cmd Buzz Corey" wrote in message
...
Dan/W4NTI wrote:

I believe what the gentleman was trying to convey is that the present day
tests are a total farce. The answer is readly available and it is just a
"formality" to even pass it.

Absolutely, otherwise there are a lot of hams that wouldn't be hams.
People like toddieboy, wogie and lot of others who would not be hams if
they really had to have technical knowledge to pass a test instead of just
memorizing answers.

Exactly, and it is quite tough to draw out a schematic of a AM transmitter
using Heizing modulation. I remember having to keep straight a bridge, half
wave and a full wave. I don't remember having to draw out a schematic, but
I certainly remember having a print on the exam that I had to describe what
was going on with it. Not quite as tough, but basically the same idea.

Dan/W4NTI

Cmd Buzz Corey wrote:
Dan/W4NTI wrote:


I believe what the gentleman was trying to convey is that the present
day tests are a total farce. The answer is readly available and it is
just a "formality" to even pass it.


Absolutely, otherwise there are a lot of hams that wouldn't be hams.
People like toddieboy, wogie and lot of others who would not be hams if
they really had to have technical knowledge to pass a test instead of
just memorizing answers.

Look Buzz, I'll readily admit that you are 100's of times a better ham
than I can ever hope to be, all because of the harder test you had to
take. Please put up with me! 8^)

- Mike KB3EIA -

Michael Coslo wrote:


Cmd Buzz Corey wrote:

John Smith wrote:

... the "anateur exams" are certainly no hinderence, they always have
been as simple as pie--a college grad trained in the art of "test
taking" could study for a day and pass the most challenging



I think you need to go back and look at the early exams. There was a
time when an applicant was required to actually draw a schematic of
various circuits and explaine how they worked.


Is that supposed to be hard?

Can you draw the schematic for a push-pull RF amplifier using link
coupling and explain how it works? Can you draw an AM transmitter using
Heising modulation and explain how it works?

Cmd Buzz Corey wrote:

Can you draw the schematic for a push-pull RF amplifier using link
coupling and explain how it works? Can you draw an AM transmitter using
Heising modulation and explain how it works?

Given a little bit of studying, yes. Do you want B or AB for the pp amp?

Heising is a plate modulation method for a type A amp.

Buzz, it's just different, not harder.

- Mike KB3EIA -

Mike Coslo wrote:
Cmd Buzz Corey wrote:

Can you draw the schematic for a push-pull RF amplifier using link
coupling and explain how it works? Can you draw an AM transmitter
using Heising modulation and explain how it works?


Given a little bit of studying, yes.

Ah, there is the key, "studying", not just memorizing. Once you study it
and know it, it isn't hard.

Cmd Buzz Corey wrote:

Mike Coslo wrote:

Cmd Buzz Corey wrote:

Can you draw the schematic for a push-pull RF amplifier using link
coupling and explain how it works? Can you draw an AM transmitter
using Heising modulation and explain how it works?



Given a little bit of studying, yes.


Ah, there is the key, "studying", not just memorizing. Once you study it
and know it, it isn't hard.

I studied for my extra test.

A person would have to be an idiot to memorize *especially* the Extra
test. You have some 800 questions to memorize. Not real smart to
memorize that many questions for all that appear on the actual test.

Especially when the actual test answers are juggled from the pool answers.


- Mike KB3EIA -