Practice Exam

E1D04

1. What is an Earth station in the amateur satellite service?

• A. An amateur station within 50 km of the Earth's surface intended for communications with amateur stations by means of objects in space
• B. Any amateur station on the surface of the Earth
• C. An amateur station that transmits telemetry consisting of measurement of upper atmosphere data from space
• D. An amateur station that is not able to communicate using amateur satellites

E8A07

2. What determines the PEP-to-average power ratio of a single-sideband phone signal?

• A. The frequency of the modulating signal
• B. The degree of carrier suppression
• C. The amplifier gain
• D. The characteristics of the modulating signal

E7A05

3. Which of the following is a circuit that continuously alternates between two states without an external clock?

• A. Astable multivibrator
• B. T flip-flop
• C. J-K flip-flop
• D. Monostable multivibrator

E1A09

4. What is the first action you should take if your digital message forwarding station inadvertently forwards a communication that violates FCC rules?

• A. Notify the originating station that the communication does not comply with FCC rules
• B. Discontinue forwarding the communication as soon as you become aware of it
• C. Notify the nearest FCC Field Engineer's office
• D. Discontinue forwarding all messages

E4C02

5. Which of the following portions of a receiver can be effective in eliminating image signal interference?

• A. A front-end filter or pre-selector
• B. A narrow IF filter
• C. A properly adjusted product detector
• D. A notch filter

E5C11

6. What do the two numbers represent that are used to define a point on a graph using rectangular coordinates?

• A. The sine and cosine values
• B. The tangent and cotangent values
• C. The coordinate values along the horizontal and vertical axes
• D. The magnitude and phase of the point

E0A11

7. Which of the following injuries can result from using high-power UHF or microwave transmitters?

• A. Ingestion of ozone gas from the cooling system
• B. Localized heating of the body from RF exposure in excess of the MPE limits
• C. Blood clotting from the intense magnetic field
• D. Hearing loss caused by high voltage corona discharge

E8D07

8. What is an electromagnetic wave?

• A. A wave consisting of two electric fields at right angles to each other
• B. Alternating currents in the core of an electromagnet
• C. A wave consisting of an electric field and a magnetic field oscillating at right angles to each other
• D. A wave consisting of two magnetic fields at right angles to each other

E7H17

9. Why is a phase-locked loop often used as part of a variable frequency synthesizer for receivers and transmitters?

• A. It eliminates the need for a voltage controlled oscillator
• B. It can be used to generate or demodulate SSB signals by quadrature phase synchronization
• C. It makes it possible for a VFO to have the same degree of frequency stability as a crystal oscillator
• D. It generates FM sidebands

E7D10

10. What is the purpose of C3 in the circuit shown in Figure E7-3?

• A. It clips the peaks of the ripple
• B. It provides brute force filtering of the output
• C. It provides fixed bias for Q1
• D. It prevents self-oscillation

E4D07

11. Which of the following describes the most significant effect of an off-frequency signal when it is causing cross-modulation interference to a desired signal?

• A. A reduction in apparent signal strength
• B. The desired signal can no longer be heard
• C. The off-frequency unwanted signal is heard in addition to the desired signal
• D. A large increase in background noise

E7G01

12. What primarily determines the gain and frequency characteristics of an op-amp RC active filter?

• A. The output voltage and smoothness of the op-amp's DC power supply
• B. The input voltage and frequency of the op-amp's DC power supply
• C. The values of capacitors and resistors external to the op-amp
• D. The values of capacitors and resistors built into the op-amp

E3B07

13. Which of the following could account for hearing an echo on the received signal of a distant station?

• A. Meteor scatter
• B. High D layer absorption
• C. Receipt of a signal by more than one path
• D. Transmit frequency is higher than the MUF

E8C07

14. What is the necessary bandwidth of a 4800-Hz frequency shift, 9600-baud ASCII FM transmission?

• A. 15.36 kHz
• B. 4.8 kHz
• C. 9.6 kHz
• D. 5.76 kHz

E1E09

15. What may be the penalty for a VE who fraudulently administers or certifies an examination?

• A. All of these choices are correct
• B. Revocation of the VE's amateur station license grant and the suspension of the VE's amateur operator license grant
• C. A sentence of up to one year in prison
• D. A fine of up to $1000 per occurrence

E1F10

16. What is the maximum transmitter power for an amateur station transmitting spread spectrum communications?

• A. 10 W
• B. 1.5 kW
• C. 1.5 W
• D. 1 W

E7C07

17. What kind of filter would you use to attenuate an interfering carrier signal while receiving an SSB transmission?

• A. A notch filter
• B. A band-pass filter
• C. An all-pass filter
• D. A Pi-network filter

E3C03

18. Where in the ionosphere does Aurora activity occur?

• A. In the F2-region
• B. In the F1-region
• C. In the D-region
• D. In the E-region

E6E04

19. What is the most common input and output impedance of circuits that use MMICs?

• A. 450 ohms
• B. 50 ohms
• C. 300 ohms
• D. 10 ohms

E6B03

20. What special type of diode is capable of both amplification and oscillation?

• A. Zener
• B. Junction
• C. Tunnel
• D. Point contact

E7B20

21. What is a parametric amplifier?

• A. A low-noise VHF or UHF amplifier relying on varying reactance for amplification
• B. An audio push-pull amplifier using silicon carbide transistors for extremely low noise
• C. A type of bipolar operational amplifier with excellent linearity derived from use of very high voltage on the collector
• D. A high power amplifier for HF application utilizing the Miller effect to increase gain

E8B11

22. Which of the following describes frequency division multiplexing?

• A. Two or more information streams are merged into a "baseband", which then modulates the transmitter
• B. Two or more information streams are merged into a digital combiner, which then pulse position modulates the transmitter
• C. The transmitted signal is divided into packets of information
• D. The transmitted signal jumps from band to band at a predetermined rate

E2E11

23. What is the difference between direct FSK and audio FSK?

• A. Direct FSK applies the data signal to the transmitter VFO
• B. Audio FSK can be performed anywhere in the transmit chain
• C. Direct FSK uses a DC-coupled data connection
• D. Audio FSK has a superior frequency response

E9D13

24. What happens to feed point impedance at the base of a fixed-length HF mobile antenna as the frequency of operation is lowered?

• A. The radiation resistance decreases and the capacitive reactance increases
• B. The radiation resistance increases and the capacitive reactance increases
• C. The radiation resistance decreases and the capacitive reactance decreases
• D. The radiation resistance increases and the capacitive reactance decreases

E3A02

25. What characterizes libration fading of an Earth-Moon-Earth signal?

• A. A slow change in the pitch of the CW signal
• B. A gradual loss of signal as the Sun rises
• C. The returning echo is several Hertz lower in frequency than the transmitted signal
• D. A fluttery irregular fading

E4A12

26. Which of the following procedures is an important precaution to follow when connecting a spectrum analyzer to a transmitter output?

• A. Match the antenna to the load
• B. All of these choices are correct
• C. Attenuate the transmitter output going to the spectrum analyzer
• D. Use high quality double shielded coaxial cables to reduce signal losses

E1B04

27. What must be done before placing an amateur station within an officially designated wilderness area or wildlife preserve, or an area listed in the National Register of Historical Places?

• A. A letter of intent must be filed with the National Audubon Society
• B. A proposal must be submitted to the National Park Service
• C. A form FSD-15 must be submitted to the Department of the Interior
• D. An Environmental Assessment must be submitted to the FCC

E2A04

28. What is meant by the term mode as applied to an amateur radio satellite?

• A. The satellite's uplink and downlink frequency bands
• B. Whether the satellite is in a polar or equatorial orbit
• C. The type of signals that can be relayed through the satellite
• D. The satellite's orientation with respect to the Earth

E1C09

29. Which of these frequencies are available for an automatically controlled repeater operating below 30 MHz?

• A. 29.500 - 29.700 MHz
• B. 24.940 - 24.990 MHz
• C. 10.100 - 10.150 MHz
• D. 18.110 - 18.168 MHz

E4B01

30. Which of the following factors most affects the accuracy of a frequency counter?

• A. Input attenuator accuracy
• B. Temperature coefficient of the logic
• C. Decade divider accuracy
• D. Time base accuracy

E9A14

31. How much gain does an antenna have compared to a 1/2-wavelength dipole when it has 12 dB gain over an isotropic antenna?

• A. 14.15 dB
• B. 6.17 dB
• C. 9.85 dB
• D. 12.5 dB

E6D14

32. Which is NOT true of a charge-coupled device (CCD)?

• A. It samples and stores analog signals
• B. It can be used to make an audio delay line
• C. It uses a combination of analog and digital circuitry
• D. It is commonly used as an analog-to-digital converter

E5B03

33. The capacitor in an RC circuit is discharged to what percentage of the starting voltage after two time constants?

• A. 36.8%
• B. 63.2%
• C. 86.5%
• D. 13.5%

E2C03

34. From which of the following bands is amateur radio contesting generally excluded?

• A. 30 meters
• B. 6 meters
• C. 2 meters
• D. 33 cm

E9C02

35. What is the radiation pattern of two 1/4-wavelength vertical antennas spaced 1/4-wavelength apart and fed 90 degrees out of phase?

• A. A figure-8 broadside to the axis of the array
• B. Omnidirectional
• C. A figure-8 end-fire along the axis of the array
• D. A cardioid

E7E09

36. What occurs when an excessive amount of signal energy reaches a mixer circuit?

• A. Spurious mixer products are generated
• B. A beat frequency is generated
• C. Mixer blanking occurs
• D. Automatic limiting occurs

E9H06

37. What is the triangulation method of direction finding?

• A. Antenna headings from several different receiving locations are used to locate the signal source
• B. The geometric angle of sky waves from the source are used to determine its position
• C. A fixed receiving station uses three different antennas to plot the location of the signal source
• D. A fixed receiving station plots three headings from the signal source on a map

E6A03

38. What are the majority charge carriers in P-type semiconductor material?

• A. Free neutrons
• B. Free electrons
• C. Free protons
• D. Holes

E9B06

39. If the boom of a Yagi antenna is lengthened and the elements are properly retuned, what usually occurs?

• A. The gain bandwidth decreases rapidly
• B. The SWR decreases
• C. The front-to-back ratio increases
• D. The gain increases

E2D04

40. What is the purpose of digital store-and-forward functions on an Amateur Radio satellite?

• A. To delay download of telemetry between satellites
• B. To upload operational software for the transponder
• C. To relay messages between satellites
• D. To store digital messages in the satellite for later download by other stations

E7F09

41. What is the purpose of a frequency counter?

• A. To generate a series of reference signals at known frequency intervals
• B. To display all frequency components of a transmitted signal
• C. To provide a signal source at a very accurate frequency
• D. To provide a digital representation of the frequency of a signal

E2B16

42. Which of the following is the video standard used by North American Fast Scan ATV stations?

• A. PAL
• B. DRM
• C. NTSC
• D. Scottie

E4E10

43. What is a common characteristic of interference caused by a touch controlled electrical device?

• A. The interfering signal sounds like AC hum on an AM receiver or a carrier modulated by 60 Hz hum on a SSB or CW receiver
• B. The interfering signal can be several kHz in width and usually repeats at regular intervals across a HF band
• C. The interfering signal may drift slowly across the HF spectrum
• D. All of these choices are correct

E6F05

44. Which of the following describes an optical shaft encoder?

• A. A device which measures the strength a beam of light using analog to digital conversion
• B. A device for generating RTTY signals by means of a rotating light source.
• C. A device which detects rotation of a control by interrupting a light source with a patterned wheel
• D. A digital encryption device often used to encrypt spacecraft control signals

E9E13

45. What is the purpose of a Wilkinson divider?

• A. It divides the operating frequency of a transmitter signal so it can be used on a lower frequency band
• B. It is used to feed high-impedance antennas from a low-impedance source
• C. It divides power equally among multiple loads while preventing changes in one load from disturbing power flow to the others
• D. It is used to feed low-impedance loads from a high-impedance source

E9G04

46. What are the two families of circles and arcs that make up a Smith chart?

• A. Voltage and impedance
• B. Reactance and voltage
• C. Resistance and voltage
• D. Resistance and reactance

E9F11

47. What impedance does a 1/8-wavelength transmission line present to a generator when the line is open at the far end?

• A. A capacitive reactance
• B. The same as the characteristic impedance of the line
• C. The same as the input impedance of the final generator stage
• D. An inductive reactance

E6C12

48. What is BiCMOS logic?

• A. An FET logic family based on bimetallic semiconductors
• B. An integrated circuit logic family using both bipolar and CMOS transistors
• C. A logic device with two CMOS circuits per package
• D. A logic family based on bismuth CMOS devices

E5A09

49. What is the phase relationship between the current through and the voltage across a parallel resonant circuit at resonance?

• A. The current leads the voltage by 90 degrees
• B. The voltage and current are 180 degrees out of phase
• C. The voltage and current are in phase
• D. The voltage leads the current by 90 degrees

E5D18

50. How many watts are consumed in a circuit having a power factor of 0.71 if the apparent power is 500 VA?

• A. 355 W
• B. 704 W
• C. 1.42 mW
• D. 252 W