From: rice@ttd.teradyne.com
Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.misc
Subject: Re: writing out -- --- .-. ... . in order to pass your exam
Date: 23 Dec 92 23:14:00 GMT
Organization: Teradyne Inc., Telecommunications Division

In article <1992Dec22.144311.15690@ke4zv.uucp>, gary@ke4zv.uucp (Gary Coffman) writes:
> In article <1h52qpINNa9b@west.West.Sun.COM> flloyd@l1-a.West.Sun.COM (Fred Lloyd [Phoenix SE]) writes:
>>In article <1992Dec20.20549.6534@ms.uky.edu>
>>      miles@ms.uky.edu (Stephen D. Grant) writes:
>>>at a recent W5YI VEC testing, a female wrote down all .'s and -'s and
>>>was allowed to do so. she got her general (while 4 others struggled).
>>>i was going to use this "cheat" method myself. is it legal or not?
>>>i'm confused.
>>
>>This question comes up every few months or so.  Although
>>there is always heated debate (so what else is new?)
>>regarding any and all CW topics, the answers to this
>>question usually include the following:
>>
>>1. It's acceptable.  Since there is no requirement that you write 
>>anything at all on the copy sheet, then there can be no rules
>>as to _what_ you write.
>>
>>2. It's unacceptable.  The ARRL VEC (but not necessarily the other
>>VEC's) have ruled it unacceptable according to their interpretation
>>of the FCC rules.
>>
>>The bottom line: call and ask your local VE team whether they 
>>allow it or not.  Then decide for yourself.
> 
> Fred is right. The ARRL VEC has taken it upon themselves to disqualify
> this method, but when the FCC was giving the exams, they didn't care
> if you wrote dots and dashes on the paper as long as you transcribed
> them to the correct letters before handing in the papers. All they
> wanted was for you to successfully get the information on paper, how
> many intermediate steps you took were not relevant. Whether you translated
> the dots and dashes in your head before writing or after didn't matter.

Actually -- When the FCC was giving the tests, as soon as the code stopped,
your test paper was 'snached' immediately, by the examiner. There was zero
time given to transcribe anything.

At least that's the way they did it in Chicago, Hawaii and Tampa, where I took
code tests at various times.

> 
> When I took my exam before the FCC, I wrote down the complete alphabet,
> numbers, and prosigns at the top of the copy sheet before the test began.
> Then I wrote down the dots and dashes, double spaced on the paper and
> translated above the symbols. They gave me a 100% score.

Where did you take your tests ?

> 
> Another thing that throws people at ARRL exams, they send the slower
> speed code using the so called Farnsworth method. This isn't really
> Morse Code since the symbol lengths don't correspond to the stated
> speed. I know several people going for the 5 WPM who failed because
> of this. They had learned the Morse Code at 5 WPM and could make no
> sense of this bastard code. The FCC always sent real Morse from an
> Instrutograph paper tape, and required you to hand send real Morse
> Code with a straight key. I barely passed the sending part. The FCC
> examiner said my hand sent code had too much "swing" from not using
> exactly the proper element lengths for the speed. Naturally I complained
> that their key sucked with way too wide a gap and too much spring
> pressure. Then he told me I could have brought my own. :-(
> 

They told me I wasn't going fast enough, but that I could adjust the key
if I wanted to. I did :-)..

   John Rice -  K9IJ         |  "Did I say that ?" I must have, but It was    
   rice@ttd.teradyne.com     |   MY opinion only, no one else's...Especially  
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