Today I took (and passed) my FCC Amateur Radio Morse Code
test! I decided about 5 days ago that I should start studying for
it. I was lucky that the DurHamFest was holding a VE testing
session, so I decided to try. Read on for details about the test.
I arrived at the DurHamFest at about 10:30am. The VE test
administrator told me that the code test would be given at 11:00am, so
I walked around until then.
I returned to the testing room, got my paperwork filled out and went to
the back of the room to take the test. Since I was unable to find
detailed information about the test from people who had taken it, I
thought I'd detail my experience here.
I was given a "code copy sheet" by the administrators. On it, I
put all of my contact information. Then, the administrator played
a short (1 minute) code sequence to allow the listeners to get a feel
for the volume and speed of the code. This was something like
"This is a test copy run." After the test, the administrator
played the real exam, which was similar to the tests at the AA9PW
website. After the test was finished, we were given the question
sheet and a chance to clean up our copy of the QSO. I fixed a few
places where I had corrected a character or two, and answered the
questions.
After turning my sheets in, I was told that I passed both the question
way and the code-copy way. The examiners look for 25 characters
of perfect copy in a row, which counts as a successful code-copy.
Now, I just need to get the General class book and start studying for
the written exam. It should be easy; I just barely failed it when
I took it (for the fun of it) when I went to take my Technician exam.
