Practice Exam

E1A01

1. Why is it not legal to transmit a 3 kHz bandwidth USB signal with a carrier frequency of 14.348 MHz?

• A. USB is not used on 20-meter phone
• B. 14.348 MHz is outside the 20-meter band
• C. The lower 1 kHz of the signal is outside the 20-meter band
• D. The upper 1 kHz of the signal is outside the 20-meter band

E3C12

2. Which of the following is indicated by a sudden rise in radio background noise across a large portion of the HF spectrum?

• A. A temperature inversion has occurred
• B. Transequatorial propagation on 6 meters is likely
• C. Long-path propagation on the higher HF bands is likely
• D. A coronal mass ejection impact or a solar flare has occurred

E1B08

3. What limitations may the FCC place on an amateur station if its signal causes interference to domestic broadcast reception, assuming that the receivers involved are of good engineering design?

• A. The amateur station must cease operation on all frequencies below 30 MHz
• B. The amateur station must cease operation on all frequencies above 30 MHz
• C. The amateur station must cease operation
• D. The amateur station must avoid transmitting during certain hours on frequencies that cause the interference

E9D02

4. How can two linearly polarized Yagi antennas be used to produce circular polarization?

• A. Arrange two Yagis collinear to each other with the driven elements fed 180 degrees out of phase
• B. Stack two Yagis to form an array with the respective elements in parallel planes fed 90 degrees out of phase
• C. Stack two Yagis to form an array with the respective elements in parallel planes fed in phase
• D. Arrange two Yagis on the same axis and perpendicular to each other with the driven elements at the same point on the boom and fed 90 degrees out of phase

E7F08

5. What is the function of decimation?

• A. Converting data to binary-coded decimal form
• B. Attenuating the signal
• C. Reducing the effective sample rate by removing samples
• D. Removing unnecessary significant digits

E7C03

6. What is the purpose of adding an inductor to a Pi-network to create a Pi-L-network?

• A. Greater harmonic suppression
• B. Greater transformation range
• C. Higher efficiency
• D. To eliminate one capacitor

E6C06

7. Why do CMOS digital integrated circuits have high immunity to noise on the input signal or power supply?

• A. Bandwidth is very limited
• B. Large bypass capacitance is inherent
• C. The input switching threshold is about twice the power supply voltage
• D. The input switching threshold is about half the power supply voltage

E2E06

8. What is the length of an FT8 transmission cycle?

• A. 15 seconds
• B. It varies with the amount of data
• C. 30 seconds
• D. 8 seconds

E9B02

9. What is the front-to-back ratio of the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-1?

• A. 18 dB
• B. 36 dB
• C. 14 dB
• D. 24 dB

E0A10

10. When must an RF exposure evaluation be performed on an amateur station operating on 80 meters?

• A. When the output power from the transmitter is less than 100 watts
• B. When the ERP of the station is less than 10 watts
• C. When the station's operating mode is CW
• D. An evaluation must always be performed

E4A10

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

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

E7E03

12. What is a frequency discriminator?

• A. An FM generator circuit
• B. A circuit for detecting FM signals
• C. A circuit for filtering closely adjacent signals
• D. An automatic band-switching circuit

E8C02

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

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

E1E07

14. What should a VE do if a candidate fails to comply with the examiner's instructions during an amateur operator license examination?

• A. Allow the candidate to complete the examination, but invalidate the results
• B. Warn the candidate that continued failure to comply will result in termination of the examination
• C. Immediately terminate everyone's examination and close the session
• D. Immediately terminate the candidate's examination

E6A11

15. In Figure E6-1, which is the schematic symbol for a P-channel junction FET?

• A. 1
• B. 2
• C. 3
• D. 6

E7D06

16. What is the purpose of Q1 in the circuit shown in Figure E7-2?

• A. It provides a constant load for the voltage source
• B. It provides negative feedback to improve regulation
• C. It controls the current to keep the output voltage constant
• D. It provides regulation by switching or "chopping" the input DC voltage

E8D11

17. What is one advantage of using ASCII code for data communications?

• A. It includes built-in error correction features
• B. It is possible to transmit both uppercase and lowercase text
• C. It contains fewer information bits per character than any other code
• D. It uses one character as a shift code to send numeric and special characters

E9F04

18. What impedance does a 1/2-wavelength transmission line present to an RF generator when the line is shorted at the far end?

• A. The same as the characteristic impedance of the line
• B. Very high impedance
• C. Very low impedance
• D. The same as the output impedance of the RF generator

E5C08

19. What coordinate system is often used to display the phase angle of a circuit containing resistance, inductive, and/or capacitive reactance?

• A. Elliptical coordinates
• B. Maidenhead grid
• C. Faraday grid
• D. Polar coordinates

E4B03

20. Which S parameter is equivalent to forward gain?

• A. S22
• B. S12
• C. S11
• D. S21

E3B01

21. Where is transequatorial propagation (TEP) most likely to occur?

• A. Between points separated by 2,000 miles to 3,000 miles over a path perpendicular to the geomagnetic equator
• B. Between points located at each other's antipode
• C. Between points located 1,500 miles to 2,000 miles apart on the geomagnetic equator
• D. Through the region where the terminator crosses the geographic equator

E1C04

22. What is an IARP?

• A. The internal amateur radio practices policy of the FCC
• B. A forecast of intermittent aurora radio propagation
• C. An indication of increased antenna reflected power
• D. A permit that allows US amateurs to operate in certain countries of the Americas

E7H05

23. How is positive feedback supplied in a Pierce oscillator?

• A. Through a tapped coil
• B. Through a neutralizing capacitor
• C. Through link coupling
• D. Through a quartz crystal

E7B07

24. Which of the following is the likely result of using a Class C amplifier to amplify a single-sideband phone signal?

• A. Reduced third-order intermodulation
• B. Signal distortion and excessive bandwidth
• C. Increased overall intelligibility
• D. Reduced intermodulation products

E6E02

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

• A. PLCC
• B. SOT
• C. BGA
• D. DIP

E4C06

26. How much does increasing a receiver's bandwidth from 50 Hz to 1,000 Hz increase the receiver's noise floor?

• A. 13 dB
• B. 10 dB
• C. 3 dB
• D. 5 dB

E6B11

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

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

E4E10

28. Which of the following can create intermittent loud roaring or buzzing AC line interference?

• A. All these choices are correct
• B. A malfunctioning illuminated advertising display
• C. Arcing contacts in a thermostatically controlled device
• D. A defective doorbell or doorbell transformer inside a nearby residence

E2A08

29. Why should effective radiated power (ERP) be limited to a satellite that uses a linear transponder?

• A. To avoid reducing the downlink power to all other users
• B. To avoid interfering with terrestrial QSOs
• C. To prevent creating errors in the satellite telemetry
• D. To prevent the satellite from emitting out-of-band signals

E5B05

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

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

E7G04

31. What is meant by the term "op-amp input offset voltage"?

• A. The output voltage of the op-amp minus its input voltage
• B. The potential between the amplifier input terminals of the op-amp in an open loop condition
• C. The difference between the output voltage of the op-amp and the input voltage required in the immediately following stage
• D. The differential input voltage needed to bring the open loop output voltage to zero

E2C12

32. What indicates the delay between a control operator action and the corresponding change in the transmitted signal?

• A. Latency
• B. Hang time
• C. Jitter
• D. Anti-VOX

E9C14

33. How does the radiation pattern of a horizontally-polarized antenna mounted above a long slope compare with the same antenna mounted above flat ground?

• A. The horizontal beamwidth decreases in the downhill direction
• B. The horizontal beamwidth increases in the uphill direction
• C. The main lobe takeoff angle decreases in the downhill direction
• D. The main lobe takeoff angle increases in the downhill direction

E6D06

34. What core material property determines the inductance of an inductor?

• A. Reactivity
• B. Permeability
• C. Resistance
• D. Permittivity

E2B09

35. What kind of receiver can be used to receive and decode SSTV using the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) protocol?

• A. AREDN
• B. CDMA
• C. AM
• D. SSB

E9A10

36. Which of the following improves the efficiency of a ground-mounted quarter-wave vertical antenna?

• A. All these choices are correct
• B. Installing a ground radial system
• C. Shortening the radiating element
• D. Isolating the coax shield from ground

E8B03

37. What is the modulation index of an FM phone signal having a maximum frequency deviation of 3000 Hz either side of the carrier frequency if the highest modulating frequency is 1000 Hz?

• A. 0.6
• B. 6
• C. 0.3
• D. 3

E1D11

38. Which amateur stations are eligible to operate as Earth stations?

• A. Any amateur station, subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held by the control operator
• B. Only those of General, Advanced or Amateur Extra class operators
• C. Any amateur licensee who has successfully completed the AMSAT space communications course
• D. Only those of Amateur Extra class operators

E4D13

39. What is the received signal level with a transmit power of 10 W (+40 dBm), a transmit antenna gain of 6 dBi, a receive antenna gain of 3 dBi, and a path loss of 100 dB?

• A. -57 dBm
• B. -54 dBm
• C. -51 dBm
• D. -60 dBm

E8A11

40. Which of the following is a measure of the quality of an analog-to-digital converter?

• A. Total harmonic distortion
• B. Peak envelope power
• C. Power factor
• D. Reciprocal mixing

E9E02

41. What antenna matching system matches coaxial cable to an antenna by connecting the shield to the center of the antenna and the conductor a fraction of a wavelength to one side?

• A. Stub match
• B. Delta match
• C. T-match
• D. Gamma match

E6F02

42. What happens to photoconductive material when light shines on it?

• A. Reflectivity increases
• B. Resistance decreases
• C. Resistance increases
• D. Reflectivity decreases

E5D11

43. How much real power is consumed in a circuit consisting of a 100-ohm resistor in series with a 100-ohm inductive reactance drawing 1 ampere?

• A. 70.7 watts
• B. 200 watts
• C. 100 watts
• D. 141.4 watts

E3A14

44. What are circularly polarized electromagnetic waves?

• A. Waves produced by a loop antenna
• B. Waves with rotating electric and magnetic fields
• C. Waves with an electric field bent into a circular shape
• D. Waves that circle Earth

E9G04

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

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

E2D03

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

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

E7A03

47. Which of the following can divide the frequency of a pulse train by 2?

• A. An OR gate
• B. A flip-flop
• C. An XOR gate
• D. A multiplexer

E1F11

48. Which of the following best describes one of the standards that must be met by an external RF power amplifier if it is to qualify for a grant of FCC certification?

• A. It must exhibit a gain of less than 23 dB when driven by 10 watts or less
• B. It must have received an Underwriters Laboratory certification for electrical safety as well as having met IEEE standard 14.101(B)
• C. It must satisfy the FCC's spurious emission standards when operated at the lesser of 1500 watts or its full output power
• D. It must produce full legal output when driven by not more than 5 watts of mean RF input power

E5A06

49. What is the magnitude of the circulating current within the components of a parallel LC circuit at resonance?

• A. It is at a maximum
• B. It equals 1 divided by the quantity 2 times pi, times the square root of (inductance L multiplied by capacitance C)
• C. It equals 2 times pi, times the square root of (inductance L multiplied by capacitance C)
• D. It is at a minimum

E9H02

50. Which is generally true for 160- and 80-meter receiving antennas?

• A. Atmospheric noise is so high that directivity is much more important than losses
• B. They must be erected at least 1/2 wavelength above the ground to attain good directivity
• C. Low loss coax transmission line is essential for good performance
• D. All these choices are correct