Practice Exam

E1A02

1. When using a transceiver that displays the carrier frequency of phone signals, which of the following displayed frequencies represents the lowest frequency at which a properly adjusted LSB emission will be totally within the band?

• A. 3 kHz above the lower band edge
• B. 300 Hz above the lower band edge
• C. 1 kHz above the lower band edge
• D. The exact lower band edge

E2E09

2. Which of the following HF digital modes uses variable-length character coding?

• A. PSK31
• B. PACTOR
• C. RTTY
• D. MT63

E7B05

3. What can be done to prevent unwanted oscillations in an RF power amplifier?

• A. Install parasitic suppressors and/or neutralize the stage
• B. Tune the stage for minimum loading
• C. Tune both the input and output for maximum power
• D. Use a phase inverter in the output filter

E9H07

4. What is the function of a Beverage antenna's termination resistor?

• A. Absorb signals from the reverse direction
• B. Increase the front-to-side ratio
• C. Eliminate harmonic reception
• D. Decrease SWR bandwidth

E2D03

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

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

E6A11

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

• A. 2
• B. 3
• C. 6
• D. 1

E9E04

7. What is the purpose of the series capacitor in a gamma match?

• A. To provide DC isolation between the feed line and the antenna
• B. To transform the antenna impedance to a higher value
• C. To provide a rejection notch that prevents the radiation of harmonics
• D. To cancel unwanted inductive reactance

E4C11

8. Why does input attenuation reduce receiver overload on the lower frequency HF bands with little or no impact on signal-to-noise ratio?

• A. The attenuator has a noise filter to suppress interference
• B. Signals are attenuated separately from the noise
• C. Atmospheric noise is generally greater than internally generated noise even after attenuation
• D. The attenuator has a low-pass filter to increase the strength of lower frequency signals

E7H09

9. What type of frequency synthesizer circuit uses a phase accumulator, lookup table, digital-to-analog converter, and a low-pass anti-alias filter?

• A. A direct digital synthesizer
• B. A direct conversion synthesizer
• C. A phase-locked loop synthesizer
• D. A hybrid synthesizer

E9C06

10. What is the effect of adding a terminating resistor to a rhombic or long-wire antenna?

• A. It decreases the ground loss
• B. It changes the radiation pattern from bidirectional to unidirectional
• C. It reflects the standing waves on the antenna elements back to the transmitter
• D. It changes the radiation pattern from horizontal to vertical polarization

E7G03

11. What is the typical input impedance of an op-amp?

• A. 100 ohms
• B. 10,000 ohms
• C. Very high
• D. Very low

E4E10

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

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

E4D06

13. What is the term for the reduction in receiver sensitivity caused by a strong signal near the received frequency?

• A. Reciprocal mixing
• B. Desensitization
• C. Quieting
• D. Cross modulation interference

E9B09

14. What type of analysis is commonly used for modeling antennas?

• A. Calculus differentiation with respect to physical properties
• B. Graphical analysis
• C. Method of Moments
• D. Mutual impedance analysis

E6D05

15. How do ferrite and powdered iron compare for use in an inductor core?

• A. Ferrite cores generally have lower initial permeability
• B. Ferrite cores are easier to use with surface-mount technology
• C. Ferrite cores generally require fewer turns to produce a given inductance value
• D. Ferrite cores generally have better temperature stability

E1C08

16. What is the maximum permissible duration of a remotely controlled station's transmissions if its control link malfunctions?

• A. 30 seconds
• B. 5 minutes
• C. 3 minutes
• D. 10 minutes

E3A12

17. What is most likely to result in auroral propagation?

• A. Meteor showers
• B. Severe geomagnetic storms
• C. Quiet geomagnetic conditions
• D. Extreme low-pressure areas in polar regions

E4B03

18. Which S parameter is equivalent to forward gain?

• A. S11
• B. S12
• C. S21
• D. S22

E7A06

19. What is a characteristic of a monostable multivibrator?

• A. It produces a continuous square wave
• B. It maintains a constant output voltage, regardless of variations in the input voltage
• C. It switches temporarily to an alternate state for a set time
• D. It stores one bit of data

E5C04

20. What type of Y-axis scale is most often used for graphs of circuit frequency response?

• A. Logarithmic
• B. Random
• C. Scatter
• D. Linear

E6B01

21. What is the most useful characteristic of a Zener diode?

• A. An internal capacitance that varies with the applied voltage
• B. A negative resistance region
• C. A constant current drop under conditions of varying voltage
• D. A constant voltage drop under conditions of varying current

E9A05

22. What does the term "ground gain" mean?

• A. The change in signal strength caused by grounding the antenna
• B. An increase in signal strength from ground reflections in the environment of the antenna
• C. The gain of the antenna with respect to a dipole at ground level
• D. To force net gain to 0 dB by grounding part of the antenna

E3C02

23. What is indicated by a rising A-index or K-index?

• A. An increase in the critical frequency
• B. Higher levels of solar UV radiation
• C. Increasing disturbance of the geomagnetic field
• D. Decreasing disturbance of the geomagnetic field

E9D05

24. Approximately how long is a Yagi's driven element?

• A. 234 divided by frequency in MHz
• B. 1/4 wavelength
• C. 1005 divided by frequency in MHz
• D. 1/2 wavelength

E5D09

25. What happens to reactive power in ideal inductors and capacitors?

• A. Energy is stored in magnetic or electric fields, but power is not dissipated
• B. It is dissipated as heat in the circuit
• C. It is dissipated in the formation of inductive and capacitive fields
• D. It is canceled by Coulomb forces in the capacitor and inductor

E5A01

26. What can cause the voltage across reactances in a series RLC circuit to be higher than the voltage applied to the entire circuit?

• A. Resistance
• B. Capacitance
• C. Resonance
• D. Low quality factor (Q)

E5B05

27. 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

E8B08

28. What describes orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM)?

• A. A digital modulation technique using subcarriers at frequencies chosen to avoid intersymbol interference
• B. A digital mode for narrow-band, slow-speed transmissions
• C. A bandwidth compression technique using Fourier transforms
• D. A frequency modulation technique that uses non-harmonically related frequencies

E1E06

29. Who is responsible for the proper conduct and necessary supervision during an amateur operator license examination session?

• A. Only the VE session manager
• B. Each administering VE
• C. The VEC coordinating the session
• D. The designated monitoring VE

E1F03

30. Under what circumstances may a dealer sell an external RF power amplifier capable of operation below 144 MHz if it has not been granted FCC certification?

• A. It was manufactured and certificated in a country which has a reciprocal certification agreement with the FCC
• B. The equipment dealer assembled it from a kit
• C. The amplifier is constructed or modified by an amateur radio operator for use at an amateur station
• D. Gain is less than 23 dB when driven by power of 10 watts or less

E0A11

31. To what should lanyards be attached while climbing?

• A. Antenna mast
• B. Tower legs
• C. Guy brackets
• D. Tower rungs

E8A07

32. What determines the PEP-to-average power ratio of an unprocessed single-sideband phone signal?

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

E8C04

33. What technique minimizes the bandwidth of a PSK31 signal?

• A. Zero-sum character encoding
• B. Reed-Solomon character encoding
• C. Use of sinusoidal data pulses
• D. Use of linear data pulses

E6C02

34. What happens when the level of a comparator's input signal crosses the threshold voltage?

• A. The reference level appears at the output
• B. The feedback loop becomes unstable
• C. The IC input can be damaged
• D. The comparator changes its output state

E9F02

35. Which of the following has the biggest effect on the velocity factor of a transmission line?

• A. The center conductor resistivity
• B. The transmission line length
• C. The characteristic impedance
• D. The insulating dielectric material

E4A05

36. What is the purpose of using a prescaler with a frequency counter?

• A. Multiply a higher frequency signal so a low-frequency counter can display the operating frequency
• B. Prevent oscillation in a low-frequency counter circuit
• C. Reduce the signal frequency to within the counter's operating range
• D. Amplify low-level signals for more accurate counting

E2A05

37. What do the letters in a satellite's mode designator specify?

• A. Power limits for uplink and downlink transmissions
• B. The location of the ground control station
• C. The polarization of uplink and downlink signals
• D. The uplink and downlink frequency ranges

E6E09

38. Which of the following component package types have the least parasitic effects at frequencies above the HF range?

• A. Radial lead
• B. TO-220
• C. Surface mount
• D. Axial lead

E1B09

39. Which amateur stations may be operated under RACES rules?

• A. Only those club stations licensed to Amateur Extra class operators
• B. Any FCC-licensed amateur station certified by the responsible civil defense organization for the area served
• C. Any FCC-licensed amateur station except a Technician class
• D. Only stations meeting the FCC Part 97 technical standards for operation during an emergency

E6F05

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

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

E1D09

41. Which UHF amateur bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?

• A. 70 centimeters and 13 centimeters
• B. 33 centimeters and 13 centimeters
• C. 70 centimeters and 33 centimeters
• D. 70 centimeters only

E3B11

42. At what time of day is sporadic-E propagation most likely to occur?

• A. Between sunset and sunrise
• B. Between sunset and midnight
• C. Between sunrise and sunset
• D. Between midnight and sunrise

E7C02

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

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

E7F05

44. How frequently must an analog signal be sampled to be accurately reproduced?

• A. At four times the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
• B. At least twice the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
• C. At least half the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
• D. At the same rate as the highest frequency component of the signal

E9G03

45. Which of the following is often determined using a Smith chart?

• A. Impedance and SWR values in transmission lines
• B. Beam headings and radiation patterns
• C. Point-to-point propagation reliability as a function of frequency
• D. Satellite azimuth and elevation bearings

E7E10

46. How does a diode envelope detector function?

• A. By breakdown of the Zener voltage
• B. By sensing the change of reactance in the diode with respect to frequency
• C. By mixing signals with noise in the transition region of the diode
• D. By rectification and filtering of RF signals

E2B07

47. Which types of modulation are used for amateur television DVB-T signals?

• A. All these choices are correct
• B. AM and OOK
• C. QAM and QPSK
• D. FM and FSK

E7D03

48. What device is used as a stable voltage reference?

• A. A Zener diode
• B. An SCR
• C. An analog-to-digital converter
• D. A digital-to-analog converter

E8D01

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

• A. Built-in error correction codes minimize interference
• 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. If the receiver detects interference, it will signal the transmitter to change frequencies

E2C07

50. What is the Cabrillo format?

• A. A method of exchanging information during a contest QSO
• B. A digital protocol specifically designed for rapid contest exchanges
• C. A standard for submission of electronic contest logs
• D. The most common set of contest rules