Welcome to Handiham World!
Image: Pat in the sunny Courage Center cafeteria one morning, holding Handiham coffee mug. Photo by K0HLA.
It's almost summer, so how about a dip in the pool? Of course I mean the question pool, since this is about ham radio.
Recently we heard from a Handiham member who visited the Question Pool part of our website and noted, "I visited that website, but my JAWS screenreader is not reading any of the correct answers, just the choices. I need both."
What was really happening was that he was encountering the answer but hadn't realized it, since the pools are formatted with the question number, followed by the correct answer in parentheses, then the related FCC part number in brackets.
We probably SHOULD re-do these so the correct answer appears like this, so that a screenreader user can read through all the answers then get the correct one. Here is what I am talking about:
OLD WAY:
E1A03 (A) [97.301(b)]
What exclusive frequency privileges in the 40-meter band are authorized to Amateur Extra class control operators?
A. 7000-7025 kHz
B. 7000-7050 kHz
C. 7025-7050 kHz
D. 7100-7150 kHz
NEW WAY:
E1A03 [97.301(b)]
What exclusive frequency privileges in the 40-meter band are authorized to Amateur Extra class control operators?
A. 7000-7025 kHz
B. 7000-7050 kHz
C. 7025-7050 kHz
D. 7100-7150 kHz
The correct answer is A.
What do you think? Can we simplify it further, like this:
Question E1A03:
What exclusive frequency privileges in the 40-meter band are authorized to Amateur Extra class control operators?
A. 7000-7025 kHz
B. 7000-7050 kHz
C. 7025-7050 kHz
D. 7100-7150 kHz
The correct answer is A.
Notice that I have eliminated the FCC part number to help it read better in JAWS and avoid confusing the screenreader user. Also, I have placed the correct answer after all the possible answers, which makes far more sense when you are trying to study and quiz yourself about the pool questions.
Please email me and let us know what you think about this if you are a screenreader user yourself. Also let me know if you are reading this on the website because you are not getting the Wednesday mailing as expected.
Patrick Tice
wa0tda@arrl.net
Handiham Manager
