The simplest kind of drop testing is the kit that has a plastic cell marked for chlorine/bromine on the left with a yellow background and pH on the right, with a red background. It's sold in pool stores and K-Mart, WalMart and other places. It can run $5-$15 depending on the brand and features. WalMart used to have a GREAT one by HTH that also did total alk, hardness, and CYA testing, that ran about $12-$15. But the typical inexpensive kit is fine as long as it says OTO or OTO/pH
The chlorine test (forget about the bromine--that's for bromine pools) is called OTO. You fill to the line, add 4 or 5 drops (depending the brand) and compare the color of the water to the yellow background to read the total chlorine level.
pH on the other side is just the same.

What Ben is saying is that he doesn't trust the reading you are getting (not that it's your fault or you are doing anything wrong) but that he wants you to test the water with the OTO test instead. The dark yellow color he's talking about is much darker than the range of the background on the test tube (called a test CELL). That water color should be dark yellow. After yellow, as the chlorine gets more concentrated, it goes orange then brown.
It's not very precise, but it's very simple and very rigorous, in other words it pretty much always works.

So...if the water is NOT dark yellow in the OTO cell, add bleach to the pool until it comes out that way. If it IS dark yellow (as I said, much yellower than the cell's background) it's already where Ben wants it. Then just let time pass and don't add any bleach, letting the color go to medium yellow (this all may take a day or two).

What I don't know is how much Polyquat Ben wants you to use. Usually 1-2 ounces is enough--if your pool is clear. But what is clear is to do it if the pool sides feel slippery.

I THINK, but don't know, that if the water "behaves" it will be safe to swim.

I hope this helps clear up Ben's instructions.

Carl