Practice Exam

E6B05

1. What characteristic of a PIN diode makes it useful as an RF switch?

• A. Reverse bias controls its forward voltage drop
• B. Low junction capacitance
• C. Extremely high reverse breakdown voltage
• D. Ability to dissipate large amounts of power

E7F14

2. Which of the following would allow a digital signal processing filter to create a sharper filter response?

• A. Higher data rate
• B. Lower Q
• C. Double-precision math routines
• D. More taps

E6D01

3. What is piezoelectricity?

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

E2A10

4. What type of satellite appears to stay in one position in the sky?

• A. Geostationary
• B. Geomagnetic
• C. HEO
• D. LEO

E6A06

5. What is the beta of a bipolar junction transistor?

• A. The frequency at which the current gain is reduced to 0.707
• B. The switching speed
• C. The change in collector current with respect to the change in base current
• D. The breakdown voltage of the base-to-collector junction

E8A09

6. How many different input levels can be encoded by an analog-to-digital converter with 8-bit resolution?

• A. 256 divided by the gain of the input amplifier
• B. 256
• C. 8 multiplied by the gain of the input amplifier
• D. 8

E7H07

7. How can an oscillator's microphonic responses be reduced?

• A. Use NP0 capacitors
• B. Increase the gain
• C. Mechanically isolate the oscillator circuitry from its enclosure
• D. Reduce noise on the oscillator's power supply

E1A08

8. If a station in a message forwarding system inadvertently forwards a message that is in violation of FCC rules, who is primarily accountable for the rules violation?

• A. The control operator of the originating station
• B. The control operator of the packet bulletin board station
• C. The control operators of all the stations in the system not authenticating the source from which they accept communications
• D. The control operators of all the stations in the system

E8B09

9. What is deviation ratio?

• A. The ratio of the carrier center frequency to the audio modulating frequency
• B. The ratio of the audio modulating frequency to the center carrier frequency
• C. The ratio of the highest audio modulating frequency to the average audio modulating frequency
• D. The ratio of the maximum carrier frequency deviation to the highest audio modulating frequency

E1F04

10. Which of the following geographic descriptions approximately describes "Line A"?

• A. A line roughly parallel to and south of the border between the US and Canada
• B. A line roughly parallel to and north of the border between the US and Mexico
• C. A line roughly parallel to and east of the US Pacific coastline
• D. A line roughly parallel to and west of the US Atlantic coastline

E7A05

11. Which of the following circuits continuously alternates between two states without an external clock signal?

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

E9F07

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

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

E4C09

13. Which of the following choices is a good reason for selecting a high IF for a superheterodyne HF or VHF communications receiver?

• A. Fewer components in the receiver
• B. Reduced drift
• C. Improved receiver noise figure
• D. Easier for front-end circuitry to eliminate image responses

E9D04

14. Why should antenna loading coils have a high ratio of reactance to resistance?

• A. To lower the radiation angle
• B. To minimize the Q
• C. To swamp out harmonics
• D. To maximize efficiency

E4A10

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

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

E2C12

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

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

E4D09

17. What is the purpose of the preselector in a communications receiver?

• A. To allow selection of the optimum RF amplifier device
• B. To provide broadband attenuation before the first RF stage to prevent intermodulation
• C. To increase the rejection of signals outside the band being received
• D. To store frequencies that are often used

E3C04

18. What does the value of Bz (B sub z) represent?

• A. North-south strength of the interplanetary magnetic field
• B. Critical frequency for vertical transmissions
• C. Duration of long-delayed echoes
• D. Geomagnetic field stability

E5A11

19. What is the half-power bandwidth of a resonant circuit that has a resonant frequency of 7.1 MHz and a Q of 150?

• A. 23.67 kHz
• B. 315.6 Hz
• C. 47.3 kHz
• D. 157.8 Hz

E1B04

20. What must the control operator of a repeater operating in the 70-centimeter band do if a radiolocation system experiences interference from that repeater?

• A. File an FAA NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions) with the repeater system's ERP, call sign, and six-character grid locator
• B. Cease operation or make changes to the repeater that mitigate the interference
• C. All these choices are correct
• D. Reduce the repeater antenna HAAT (Height Above Average Terrain)

E9C03

21. What type of radiation pattern is created by two 1/4-wavelength vertical antennas spaced 1/2- wavelength apart and fed in phase?

• A. A figure-eight broadside to the axis of the array
• B. Omni-directional
• C. Cardioid
• D. A figure-eight end-fire along the axis of the array

E0A09

22. Which of the following types of equipment are exempt from RF exposure evaluations?

• A. Hand-held transceivers sold before May 3, 2021
• B. Transceivers with less than 7 watts of RF output
• C. Antennas that radiate only in the near field
• D. Dish antennas less than one meter in diameter

E5D01

23. What is the result of conductor skin effect?

• A. Resistance decreases as frequency increases because electron mobility increases
• B. Resistance increases as frequency increases because RF current flows closer to the surface
• C. Resistance decreases as temperature increases because of the change in thermal coefficient
• D. Resistance increases as temperature increases because of the change in thermal coefficient

E1E11

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

E9G04

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

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

E3A06

26. 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

E7C03

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

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

E7D07

28. What is the purpose of C2 in the circuit shown in Figure E7-2?

• A. It is a brute force filter for the output
• B. To prevent self-oscillation
• C. It bypasses rectifier output ripple around D1
• D. To provide fixed DC bias for Q1

E1D06

29. What is the maximum permitted transmitter output power when operating a model craft by telecommand?

• A. 1 watt
• B. 5 watts
• C. 2 watts
• D. 100 watts

E7B07

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

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

E5B09

31. What is the relationship between the AC current through a capacitor and the voltage across a capacitor?

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

E3B02

32. What is the approximate maximum range for signals using transequatorial propagation?

• A. 2,500 miles
• B. 5,000 miles
• C. 7,500 miles
• D. 1,000 miles

E7E11

33. Which type of detector is used for demodulating SSB signals?

• A. Product detector
• B. Phase comparator
• C. Discriminator
• D. Phase detector

E6C04

34. Which of the following is an advantage of BiCMOS logic?

• A. It is immune to electrostatic damage
• B. Its simplicity results in much less expensive devices than standard CMOS
• C. It has the high input impedance of CMOS and the low output impedance of bipolar transistors
• D. All these choices are correct

E8D10

35. What are some of the differences between the Baudot digital code and ASCII?

• A. Baudot uses 6 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes
• B. Baudot uses 5 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot uses 2 characters as letters/figures shift codes, ASCII has no letters/figures shift code
• C. Baudot uses 7 data bits per character, ASCII uses 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes
• D. Baudot uses 4 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot uses 1 character as a letters/figures shift code, ASCII has no letters/figures code

E2E12

36. How do ALE stations establish contact?

• A. ALE radios activate when they hear their signal echoed by back scatter
• B. ALE radios monitor an internet site for the frequency they are being paged on
• C. ALE constantly scans a list of frequencies, activating the radio when the designated call sign is received
• D. ALE radios send a constant tone code to establish a frequency for future use

E4B02

37. What is the significance of voltmeter sensitivity expressed in ohms per volt?

• A. The full scale reading of the voltmeter multiplied by its ohms per volt rating is the input impedance of the voltmeter
• B. The reading in ohms divided by the ohms per volt rating will determine the voltage applied to the circuit
• C. The full scale reading in amps divided by ohms per volt rating will determine the size of shunt needed
• D. The reading in volts multiplied by the ohms per volt rating will determine the power drawn by the device under test

E2D08

38. What type of packet frame is used to transmit APRS beacon data?

• A. Burst
• B. Unnumbered Information
• C. Connect
• D. Acknowledgement

E1C11

39. Which of the following operating arrangements allows an FCC-licensed US citizen to operate in many European countries, and amateurs from many European countries to operate in the US?

• A. IARP
• B. CEPT
• C. ITU reciprocal license
• D. All these choices are correct

E9H10

40. How can the output voltage of a multiple-turn receiving loop antenna be increased?

• A. By utilizing high impedance wire for the coupling loop
• B. All these choices are correct
• C. By reducing the permeability of the loop shield
• D. By increasing the number of turns and/or the area enclosed by the loop

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. Gamma match
• D. T-match

E8C13

42. What is described by the constellation diagram of a QAM or QPSK signal?

• A. The possible phase and amplitude states for each symbol
• B. How many carriers may be present at the same time
• C. The number of bits used for error correction in the protocol
• D. Frequency response of the signal stream

E5C11

43. Which point in Figure E5-1 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 300-ohm resistor and an 18-microhenry inductor at 3.505 MHz?

• A. Point 7
• B. Point 1
• C. Point 3
• D. Point 8

E6F06

44. Which of these materials is most commonly used to create photoconductive devices?

• A. Argon
• B. Crystalline semiconductor
• C. Polyphenol acetate
• D. All these choices are correct

E4E02

45. Which of the following types of noise can often be reduced by a digital noise reduction?

• A. Broadband white noise
• B. Ignition noise
• C. Power line noise
• D. All these choices are correct

E9B05

46. What type of antenna pattern is shown in Figure E9-2?

• A. Polarization
• B. Elevation
• C. Azimuth
• D. Near field

E9A10

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

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

E6E01

48. Why is gallium arsenide (GaAs) useful for semiconductor devices operating at UHF and higher frequencies?

• A. Lower junction voltage drop
• B. Higher electron mobility
• C. Lower transconductance
• D. Higher noise figures

E2B05

49. Which of the following describes the use of vestigial sideband in analog fast-scan TV transmissions?

• A. The vestigial sideband contains chroma information
• B. Vestigial sideband provides high frequency emphasis to sharpen the picture
• C. The vestigial sideband carries the audio information
• D. Vestigial sideband reduces the bandwidth while increasing the fidelity of low frequency video components

E7G08

50. How does the gain of an ideal operational amplifier vary with frequency?

• A. It increases linearly with increasing frequency
• B. It decreases linearly with increasing frequency
• C. It does not vary with frequency
• D. It decreases logarithmically with increasing frequency