Practice Exam

E4E08

1. What current flows equally on all conductors of an unshielded multiconductor cable?

• A. Differential-mode current
• B. Common-mode current
• C. Reactive current only
• D. Magnetically-coupled current only

E7E05

2. What is added to an FM speech channel to boost the higher audio frequencies?

• A. A heterodyne enhancer
• B. A pre-emphasis network
• C. A de-emphasis network
• D. A harmonic enhancer

E0A04

3. When evaluating a site with multiple transmitters operating at the same time, the operators and licensees of which transmitters are responsible for mitigating over-exposure situations?

• A. Each transmitter that produces 20 percent or more of its MPE limit in areas where the total MPE limit is exceeded
• B. Each transmitter that produces 5 percent or more of its MPE limit in areas where the total MPE limit is exceeded
• C. Each transmitter operating with a duty cycle greater than 50 percent
• D. Each transmitter operating with a duty cycle greater than 25 percent

E6F05

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

• A. A device that detects rotation by interrupting a light source with a patterned wheel
• B. A device that measures the strength of a beam of light using analog-to-digital conversion
• C. A device for generating RTTY signals by means of a rotating light source
• D. An optical computing device in which light is coupled between devices by fiber optics

E9B08

5. What is the far field of an antenna?

• A. The region where radiated field strengths are constant
• B. The region of the ionosphere where radiated power is not refracted
• C. The region where the shape of the radiation pattern no longer varies with distance
• D. The region where radiated power dissipates over a specified time period

E4A10

6. Which trigger mode is most effective when using an oscilloscope to measure a linear power supply's output ripple?

• A. Level
• B. Single-shot
• C. Line
• D. Edge

E2B12

7. What signals SSTV receiving software to begin a new picture line?

• A. Specific tone amplitudes
• B. Specific tone frequencies
• C. Elapsed time
• D. A two-tone signal

E8C02

8. What is the definition of symbol rate in a digital transmission?

• A. The maximum rate at which the forward error correction code can make corrections
• B. The number of control characters in a message packet
• C. The rate at which the waveform changes to convey information
• D. The number of characters carried per second by the station-to-station link

E8D01

9. Why are received spread spectrum signals resistant to interference?

• A. If the receiver detects interference, it will signal the transmitter to change frequencies
• B. Signals not using the spread spectrum algorithm are suppressed in the receiver
• C. The high power used by a spread spectrum transmitter keeps its signal from being easily overpowered
• D. Built-in error correction codes minimize interference

E9C11

10. How is the far-field elevation pattern of a vertically polarized antenna affected by being mounted over seawater versus soil?

• A. Additional lobes appear at higher elevation angles
• B. Radiation at low angles increases
• C. Separate elevation lobes will combine into a single lobe
• D. Radiation at low angles decreases

E4B04

11. Which S parameter represents input port return loss or reflection coefficient (equivalent to VSWR)?

• A. S12
• B. S11
• C. S22
• D. S21

E6C11

12. In Figure E6-3, which is the schematic symbol for the NOT operation (inversion)?

• A. 4
• B. 2
• C. 5
• D. 6

E9A01

13. What is an isotropic radiator?

• A. An omnidirectional, horizontally polarized, precisely calibrated antenna used to make field measurements of antenna gain
• B. A spacecraft antenna used to direct signals toward Earth
• C. A calibrated, unidirectional antenna used to make precise antenna gain measurements
• D. A hypothetical, lossless antenna having equal radiation intensity in all directions used as a reference for antenna gain

E1A11

14. What licensing is required when operating an amateur station aboard a US-registered vessel in international waters?

• A. An unrestricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit
• B. Any amateur license with an FCC Marine or Aircraft endorsement
• C. Any FCC-issued amateur license
• D. Only General class or higher amateur licenses

E8B04

15. What is the modulation index of an FM phone signal having a maximum carrier deviation of plus or minus 6 kHz if the highest modulating frequency is 2 kHz?

• A. 0.6
• B. 6
• C. 3
• D. 0.3

E6B11

16. What is used to control the attenuation of RF signals by a PIN diode?

• A. Forward DC bias current
• B. Capacitance of an RF coupling capacitor
• C. Reverse voltage larger than the RF signal
• D. A variable RF reference voltage

E7B04

17. What is the operating point of a Class A common emitter amplifier?

• A. Approximately halfway between saturation and cutoff
• B. At a point where the load line intersects the zero bias current curve
• C. At a point where the bias resistor equals the load resistor
• D. Approximately halfway between the emitter voltage and the base voltage

E7D01

18. How does a linear electronic voltage regulator work?

• A. It eliminates the need for a pass transistor
• B. The control element duty cycle is proportional to the line or load conditions
• C. It has a ramp voltage as its output
• D. The conduction of a control element is varied to maintain a constant output voltage

E8A01

19. What technique shows that a square wave is made up of a sine wave and its odd harmonics?

• A. Fourier analysis
• B. Differential analysis
• C. Vector analysis
• D. Numerical analysis

E2A02

20. Which of the following is characteristic of an inverting linear transponder?

• A. All these choices are correct
• B. Upper sideband on the uplink becomes lower sideband on the downlink, and vice versa
• C. Doppler shift is reduced because the uplink and downlink shifts are in opposite directions
• D. Signal position in the band is reversed

E2E03

21. To what does the "4" in FT4 refer?

• A. Four-tone continuous-phase frequency shift keying
• B. All these choices are correct
• C. Four transmit/receive cycles per minute
• D. Multiples of 4 bits of user information

E3A06

22. What should be done to continue a long-distance contact when the MUF for that path decreases due to darkness?

• A. Change to an antenna with greater beam width
• B. Switch to a lower frequency HF band
• C. Switch to a higher frequency HF band
• D. Change to an antenna with a higher takeoff angle

E6E02

23. Which of the following device packages is a through-hole type?

• A. BGA
• B. PLCC
• C. DIP
• D. SOT

E6A05

24. How does DC input impedance at the gate of a field-effect transistor (FET) compare with that of a bipolar transistor?

• A. They are both low impedance
• B. An FET has lower input impedance
• C. They are both high impedance
• D. An FET has higher input impedance

E5A08

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

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

E1F01

26. On what frequencies are spread spectrum transmissions permitted?

• A. Only on amateur frequencies above 222 MHz
• B. Only on amateur frequencies above 420 MHz
• C. Only on amateur frequencies above 50 MHz
• D. Only on amateur frequencies above 144 MHz

E4D12

27. What is the link margin in a system with a transmit power level of 10 W (+40 dBm), a system antenna gain of 10 dBi, a cable loss of 3 dB, a path loss of 136 dB, a receiver minimum discernable signal of -103 dBm, and a required signal-to-noise ratio of 6 dB?

• A. +8dB
• B. -14dB
• C. +14dB
• D. -8dB

E7G07

28. What voltage gain can be expected from the circuit in Figure E7-3 when R1 is 10 ohms and RF is 470 ohms?

• A. 47
• B. 24
• C. 4700
• D. 0.21

E9E08

29. What is a use for a Wilkinson divider?

• A. To divide the operating frequency of a transmitter signal so it can be used on a lower frequency band
• B. To divide the frequency of the input to a counter to increase its frequency range
• C. To feed high-impedance antennas from a low-impedance source
• D. To divide power equally between two 50-ohm loads while maintaining 50-ohm input impedance

E9G07

30. On the Smith chart shown in Figure E9-3, what is the only straight line shown?

• A. The reactance axis
• B. The resistance axis
• C. The current axis
• D. The voltage axis

E7A07

31. What logical operation does a NAND gate perform?

• A. It produces a 0 at its output only if all inputs are 0
• B. It produces a 0 at its output if some but not all inputs are 1
• C. It produces a 1 at its output only if all inputs are 1
• D. It produces a 0 at its output only if all inputs are 1

E5C09

32. When using rectangular coordinates to graph the impedance of a circuit, what do the axes represent?

• A. The X axis represents the magnitude, and the Y axis represents the phase angle
• B. The X axis represents the phase angle, and the Y axis represents the magnitude
• C. The X axis represents the reactive component, and the Y axis represents the resistive component
• D. The X axis represents the resistive component, and the Y axis represents the reactive component

E1D02

33. Which of the following may transmit encrypted messages?

• A. Auxiliary relay links carrying repeater audio
• B. Telecommand signals to terrestrial repeaters
• C. Mesh network backbone nodes
• D. Telecommand signals from a space telecommand station

E2C10

34. Why do DX stations often transmit and receive on different frequencies?

• A. To separate the calling stations from the DX station
• B. Because the DX station may be transmitting on a frequency that is prohibited to some responding stations
• C. To improve operating efficiency by reducing interference
• D. All these choices are correct

E1C02

35. Which of the following apply to communications transmitted to amateur stations in foreign countries?

• A. Communications must be limited to those incidental to the purpose of the amateur service and remarks of a personal nature
• B. Third party traffic must be limited to that intended for the exclusive use of government and non-Government Organization (NGOs) involved in emergency relief activities
• C. All transmissions must be in English
• D. All these choices are correct

E1E11

36. What must the VE team do if an examinee scores a passing grade on all examination elements needed for an upgrade or new license?

• A. Photocopy all examination documents and forward them to the FCC for processing
• B. All these choices are correct
• C. Three VEs must certify that the examinee is qualified for the license grant and that they have complied with the administering VE requirements
• D. Issue the examinee the new or upgrade license

E4C12

37. How does a narrow-band roofing filter affect receiver performance?

• A. It improves blocking dynamic range by attenuating strong signals near the receive frequency
• B. It improves sensitivity by reducing front-end noise
• C. All these choices are correct
• D. It improves intelligibility by using low Q circuitry to reduce ringing

E7F12

38. Which of the following is generally true of Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filters?

• A. FIR filters can respond faster to impulses
• B. FIR filters are easier to implement for a given set of passband rolloff requirements
• C. FIR filters can delay all frequency components of the signal by the same amount
• D. All these choices are correct

E9F07

39. How does parallel conductor transmission line compare to coaxial cable with a plastic dielectric?

• A. Smaller reflection coefficient
• B. Higher SWR
• C. Lower loss
• D. Lower velocity factor

E9H04

40. What is the purpose of placing an electrostatic shield around a small-loop direction-finding antenna?

• A. It eliminates unbalanced capacitive coupling to the antenna's surroundings, improving the depth of its nulls
• B. It increases signal strength by providing a better match to the feed line
• C. It eliminates tracking errors caused by strong out-of-band signals
• D. It adds capacitive loading, increasing the bandwidth of the antenna

E5B05

41. What is the effect on the magnitude of pure reactance when it is converted to susceptance?

• A. The sign is reversed
• B. It is shifted by 90 degrees
• C. It is unchanged
• D. It is replaced by its reciprocal

E5D06

42. What parasitic characteristic creates an inductor's self-resonance?

• A. Dielectric loss
• B. Skin effect
• C. Inter-turn capacitance
• D. Coupling

E2D03

43. Which of the following digital modes is designed for EME communications?

• A. Q65
• B. MSK144
• C. PACTOR III
• D. WSPR

E6D01

44. What is piezoelectricity?

• A. The ability of materials to generate electromagnetic waves of a certain frequency when voltage is applied
• B. A characteristic of materials that have an index of refraction which depends on the polarization of the electromagnetic wave passing through it
• C. The ability of materials to generate voltage when an electromagnetic wave of a certain frequency is applied
• D. A characteristic of materials that generate a voltage when stressed and that flex when a voltage is applied

E3B09

45. At what time of year is sporadic-E propagation most likely to occur?

• A. Around the equinoxes, especially the spring equinox
• B. Around the solstices, especially the summer solstice
• C. Around the solstices, especially the winter solstice
• D. Around the equinoxes, especially the fall equinox

E7H01

46. What are three common oscillator circuits?

• A. Taft, Hartley, and Pierce
• B. Taft, Pierce, and negative feedback
• C. Colpitts, Hartley, and Pierce
• D. Pierce, Fenner, and Beane

E9D03

47. What is the most efficient location for a loading coil on an electrically short whip?

• A. At a voltage null
• B. At a voltage maximum
• C. Near the center of the vertical radiator
• D. As low as possible on the vertical radiator

E7C02

48. What is the frequency response of a T-network with series capacitors and a shunt inductor?

• A. Band-pass
• B. Notch
• C. High-pass
• D. Low-pass

E1B01

49. Which of the following constitutes a spurious emission?

• A. An amateur station transmission made without the proper call sign identification
• B. Any transmitted signal that unintentionally interferes with another licensed radio station and whose levels exceed 40 dB below the fundamental power level
• C. An emission outside the signal's necessary bandwidth that can be reduced or eliminated without affecting the information transmitted
• D. A signal transmitted to prevent its detection by any station other than the intended recipient

E3C08

50. Which of the following is the space-weather term for an extreme geomagnetic storm?

• A. M9
• B. B9
• C. X5
• D. G5