Ken Kopp wrote:
And they wouldn't accept my 20 WPM Radiotelegraph ticket
for my 20 WPM extra! But by then it was a snap.
They did accept mine in Los Angeles in 1956 ... well sort of. I was
sort of rattled going for my Extra and got to the FCC several hours
before the exam. The examiner [nice but likely expecting a little more
maturity than the 16 yr old possessed] said, "I'm giving the 2d
Telegraph. Fill out the app and take the code. If you pass, I'll give
you credit for the 20 for the Extra this afternoon." I did, I passed,
and he did. He also told me I had nothing to lose by taking the 2d
written. I passed -- exactly. I didn't get credit for that in the
afternoon, but I passed the Extra written by a slightly larger margin.
Apparently the FCC was enamored with the Colpitts oscillator in those
days ... I too had to draw the circuit, and then answer a couple of
questions about its characteristics.
Here's a tip, BTW ... many can write faster when copying CW
by using longhand.
I'm a genetic southpaw who was required to learn to write right-handed
in public school. As a result, I couldn't write legibly with either
hand and still can't. The nice examiner looked at my paper, said, "Why
don't you print this out below each line for me," I did, and he passed
me. I think it all depends on who the examiner was and maybe what kind
of day he was having.
73,
Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2007 CQP Oct 6-7
- www.cqp.org
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