A440 and the tuning exam (was A440=Fork)

[Terry Beckingham]

This recent thread on the accuracy of tuning forks has made me wonder about
the scoring of the tuning exam. Suppose, even though the examinee has a
perfectly tuned fork, he or she is off by 1 cent on the pitch. This will
result in a mark of 90 percent (although not a perfect score, still a
reasonable mark). It is my understanding that the pitch correction number
(PCN) has been eliminated. 

Now the examinee sets the pitch of A3 exactly to A4. He or she has then
transferred this 1 cent error to A3. The examinee now tunes a perfect
temperment from A3. This will result in a 1 cent error in every note of the
temperment. A 1 cent error in the temperment area results in a 2.5 point
deduction on each note. Therefore the examinee would end up with a score in
the temperment area of only 67.5 percent and thus has failed the test
without going any further.

Am I correct, or have I missed something here? 

I have two heavy nickel plated forks. One, which I dropped on a concrete
floor 8-(, is 1.79 cents flat as measured by RCT, and the new one which
replaced it and has never been dropped reads .81 cents flat. 

It has been suggested that the best way to tune a fork might be to establish
the temperature by placing it under ones armpit and tuning it so that it is
at 440 hz at that temperature. I believe that by the time the A4 has been
set, the temperature would have dropped considerably from the 98.6 degree
body temperature to a temperature much closer to that of the piano. This
would leave the pitch sharp and introduce an error.

What a quandry. At what temperature should I tune my fork? So many
questions, so many suggestions, so few concrete answers. It makes me wonder
if I'll ever pass the test. I hope to attend a workshop with Virgil Smith in
November. Perhaps he will have some suggestions.

Cheers all

Terry Beckingham