On Sun, 16 Jul 2006 18:06:29 -0700, RG wrote: > I remember sitting in the Customs House in San Francisco >taking my tests, and one guy got caught using a calculator and was >tossed out...The thing was, they were thinking people were loading the >formulas into their calculators thus cheating...plus you were supposed >to do the math all yourself.
It wasn't so much the formulas, some "crooks" were loading in the answers in the era of Dick Bash and the stolen Q&As. That eventually led to the public question pools. Eventually calculators were allowed if they were of the type that had no memory if they were turned off and on in the examiner's presence. I was one of the engineers there who gave the code tests, and in fact from 1968 through 1974 my office was the room in which the code table with the funky Trimm headsets of the type that I would love to have today to go with my refurbished J-38 key was located. I took my Novice and Tech in the NY office in 1952, and then after college and grad school took the General (13 wpm code test was all I had to take) in the NY office in 1962. I took the Advanced written in 1968 in the San Francisco office just after it was restored to the "menu", and the Extra 20 wpm code and the written there in 1974. By that time I was a supervisor in that office so they had to get another supervisor to give me the test. After making sure that I did copy enough at 20 wpm to qualify, he started cranking up the speed on the machine behind my back, and lost me somewhere about 25!! I never did become a VE after I retired 11 years ago -- I've given enough tests in my lifetime!!! Congrats to all who take and pass the tests now and in the future! -- 73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane Elecraft K2/100 5402 From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
