wrote in message
ups.com...

Alun L. Palmer wrote:
[snip]
12 wpm random groups with 96% copy

The US requirements for hams have never been anywhere near so
stringent.

The *toughest* they ever were was 1 minute solid copy out of 5 minutes
- plain language. 5, 13 and 20 wpm. That's 20% accuracy! About 20-25
years ago, fill-in-the-blank and multiple choice were added.

Multiple choice exams are no longer allowed for element 1. It's too easy to
guess the answer if you have even minimal copy. As I recall when I took my
20wpm, I was able to successfully deduce that the only possible answer out
of the choices offered was Switzerland. The only letter that I had copied
was the W. Some of us were too good at deduction and guessing.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE

"Dee Flint" wrote in
:


wrote in message
ups.com...

Alun L. Palmer wrote:
[snip]
12 wpm random groups with 96% copy

The US requirements for hams have never been anywhere near so
stringent.

The *toughest* they ever were was 1 minute solid copy out of 5 minutes
- plain language. 5, 13 and 20 wpm. That's 20% accuracy! About 20-25
years ago, fill-in-the-blank and multiple choice were added.

Multiple choice exams are no longer allowed for element 1. It's too
easy to guess the answer if you have even minimal copy. As I recall
when I took my 20wpm, I was able to successfully deduce that the only
possible answer out of the choices offered was Switzerland. The only
letter that I had copied was the W. Some of us were too good at
deduction and guessing.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE



That's how I passed. Never said I was any good at Morse, quite the opposite
in fact. I found that 70% copy was good enough for 7/10 multiple guess. If
there hadn't been multiple guess I would never have passed 20wpm, for sure.
When you're asked was the operator's name Hank, Frank, Bert or Gert, and
you copy _ANK you have got the 50/50 like on Who Wants to be a Millionaire
on TV.

The other trick that I assume still works is listening for .. ,,, (IS),
which precedes every answer. Name is _____, Ant is _____.

And another thing. Copy IS Y____ and you know that either the rig is a
Yeasu or the antenna is a Yagi, and if you know how many characters came
after the Y, you know which of those is right. I miss the beginnings of
words, but I know that ____OOD is Kenwood. It's still Kenwood even if you
miss the D but just copy the OO.

I approached it like a crossword puzzle. I couldn't make a minute solid
copy at 20wpm to save my life.