[Elecraft] OT: The Colpitts mystery

[Fred Jensen]

What was it with the FCC and the Colpitts oscillator schematic on the 
exams in the 50's/early 60's?  It was on my General ['54] and Extra 
['56] exams, and practically everyone else I've asked says it was on 
theirs too.  There are other oscillator circuits of the day.  Colpitts 
uses capacitive feedback which is somewhat more stable than a Hartley 
with its "Tickler Coil," but the FCC seemed fixated on the Colpitts for 
some reason.  The schematic and operation of a dual-triode 1-shot was 
also popular.

73,
Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW
Sparks NV DM09dn
Washoe County

On 4/26/2020 7:28 PM, N4ZR wrote:
> As for the licensing tests, did you have to draw a Colpitts 
> oscillator? IIRC, that was on my General exam in 1955.