Practice Exam

E2A11

1. What type of antenna can be used to minimize the effects of spin modulation and Faraday rotation?

• A. An isotropic antenna
• B. A circularly polarized antenna
• C. A log-periodic dipole array
• D. A linearly polarized antenna

E7D01

2. What is one characteristic of a linear electronic voltage regulator?

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

E7F16

3. How might the sampling rate of an existing digital signal be adjusted by a factor of 3/4?

• A. Change the gain by a factor of 3/4
• B. Add 3 to each input value and subtract 4 from each output value
• C. Interpolate by a factor of three, then decimate by a factor of four
• D. Multiply each sample value by a factor of 3/4

E8C05

4. What is the necessary bandwidth of a 13-WPM international Morse code transmission?

• A. Approximately 52 Hz
• B. Approximately 13 Hz
• C. Approximately 26 Hz
• D. Approximately 104 Hz

E1E12

5. What must the VE team do with the application form if the examinee does not pass the exam?

• A. Destroy the application form
• B. Return the application document to the examinee
• C. Send the application form to the FCC and inform the FCC of the grade
• D. Maintain the application form with the VEC's records

E6B12

6. What is one common use for PIN diodes?

• A. As an RF switch
• B. As a constant voltage source
• C. As a constant current source
• D. As a high voltage rectifier

E7H13

7. Which of the following is a technique for providing highly accurate and stable oscillators needed for microwave transmission and reception?

• A. Use a temperature-controlled high Q dielectric resonator
• B. All of these choices are correct
• C. Use a GPS signal reference
• D. Use a rubidium stabilized reference oscillator

E7G02

8. What is the effect of ringing in a filter?

• A. Partial cancellation of the signal over a range of frequencies
• B. An echo caused by a long time delay
• C. A reduction in high frequency response
• D. Undesired oscillations added to the desired signal

E7A07

9. What logical operation does a NAND gate perform?

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

E6A08

10. What term indicates the frequency at which the grounded-base current gain of a transistor has decreased to 0.7 of the gain obtainable at 1 kHz?

• A. Corner frequency
• B. Alpha cutoff frequency
• C. Alpha rejection frequency
• D. Beta cutoff frequency

E9A14

11. What is meant by the radiation resistance of an antenna?

• A. The resistance in the atmosphere that an antenna must overcome to be able to radiate a signal
• B. The specific impedance of the antenna
• C. The combined losses of the antenna elements and feed line
• D. The value of a resistance that would dissipate the same amount of power as that radiated from an antenna

E1F07

12. When may an amateur station send a message to a business?

• A. When the control operator is employed by the FCC or another government agency
• B. When neither the amateur nor his or her employer has a pecuniary interest in the communications
• C. When the total money involved does not exceed $25
• D. When transmitting international third-party communications

E0A07

13. How may dangerous levels of carbon monoxide from an emergency generator be detected?

• A. By the odor
• B. Any ordinary smoke detector can be used
• C. Only with a carbon monoxide detector
• D. By the yellowish appearance of the gas

E2E04

14. What is indicated when one of the ellipses in an FSK crossed-ellipse display suddenly disappears?

• A. One of the signal filters is saturated
• B. Selective fading has occurred
• C. The mark and space signal have been inverted
• D. The receiver has drifted 5 kHz from the desired receive frequency

E9G08

15. What is the process of normalization with regard to a Smith chart?

• A. Reassigning resistance values with regard to the reactance axis
• B. Reassigning impedance values with regard to the prime center
• C. Reassigning prime center with regard to the reactance axis
• D. Reassigning reactance values with regard to the resistance axis

E4E12

16. What is one disadvantage of using some types of automatic DSP notch-filters when attempting to copy CW signals?

• A. Ringing in the DSP filter will completely remove the spaces between the CW characters
• B. Received CW signals will appear to be modulated at the DSP clock frequency
• C. Any nearby signal passing through the DSP system will overwhelm the desired signal
• D. A DSP filter can remove the desired signal at the same time as it removes interfering signals

E1D10

17. Which amateur stations are eligible to be telecommand stations?

• A. All of these choices are correct
• B. Any amateur station so designated by the space station licensee, subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held by the control operator
• C. Any amateur station designated by NASA
• D. Any amateur station so designated by the ITU

E2C05

18. What is the function of a DX QSL Manager?

• A. To run a net to allow many stations to contact a rare DX station
• B. To relay calls to and from a DX station
• C. To handle the receiving and sending of confirmation cards for a DX station
• D. To allocate frequencies for DXpeditions

E1C13

19. Which of the following is required in order to operate in accordance with CEPT rules in foreign countries where permitted?

• A. The U.S. embassy must approve of your operation
• B. You must append "/CEPT" to your call sign
• C. You must bring a copy of FCC Public Notice DA 11-221
• D. You must identify in the official language of the country in which you are operating

E3B07

20. 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

E6F02

21. What happens to the conductivity of a photoconductive material when light shines on it?

• A. It becomes unstable
• B. It decreases
• C. It increases
• D. It stays the same

E9C12

22. Which of the following describes an extended double Zepp antenna?

• A. An end fed folded dipole antenna
• B. A portable antenna erected using two push support poles
• C. A center fed 1.25 wavelength antenna (two 5/8 wave elements in phase)
• D. A wideband vertical antenna constructed from precisely tapered aluminum tubing

E3A04

23. What do Hepburn maps predict?

• A. Probability of tropospheric propagation
• B. Locations of auroral reflecting zones
• C. Likelihood of rain-scatter along cold or warm fronts
• D. Sporadic E propagation

E5A06

24. 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, multiplied by the square root of inductance L multiplied by capacitance C
• C. It equals 2 multiplied by Pi, multiplied by frequency, multiplied by inductance
• D. It is at a minimum

E4D12

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

• A. Desensitization
• B. Squelch gain rollback
• C. Quieting
• D. Cross-modulation interference

E8A12

26. What is an advantage of using digital signals instead of analog signals to convey the same information?

• A. Digital signals always occupy a narrower bandwidth
• B. Less complex circuitry is required for digital signal generation and detection
• C. Digital signals can be regenerated multiple times without error
• D. All of these choices are correct

E6C07

27. What best describes a pull-up or pull-down resistor?

• A. A resistor in a keying circuit used to reduce key clicks
• B. A resistor connected to an op-amp output that only functions when the logic output is false
• C. A resistor that insures that an oscillator frequency does not drive lower over time
• D. A resistor connected to the positive or negative supply line used to establish a voltage when an input or output is an open circuit

E4B17

28. What three test loads are used to calibrate a standard RF vector network analyzer?

• A. Short circuit, open circuit, and 50 ohms
• B. Short circuit, open circuit, and resonant circuit
• C. 50 ohms through 1/8 wavelength, 1/4 wavelength, and 1/2 wavelength of coaxial cable
• D. 50 ohms, 75 ohms, and 90 ohms

E5C09

29. When using rectangular coordinates to graph the impedance of a circuit, what does the horizontal axis represent?

• A. The difference between the resistive and reactive components
• B. The sum of the reactive and resistive components
• C. Resistive component
• D. Reactive component

E2D07

30. What digital protocol is used by APRS?

• A. AMTOR
• B. AX.25
• C. 802.11
• D. PACTOR

E8B06

31. What is the deviation ratio of an FM-phone signal having a maximum frequency swing of plus or minus 7.5 kHz when the maximum modulation frequency is 3.5 kHz?

• A. 2.14
• B. 0.214
• C. 0.47
• D. 47

E9B12

32. What is the far field of an antenna?

• A. The region where radiated field strengths are obstructed by objects of reflection
• B. The region where radiated power dissipates over a specified time period
• C. The region of the ionosphere where radiated power is not refracted
• D. The region where the shape of the antenna pattern is independent of distance

E6D10

33. What is a primary advantage of using a toroidal core instead of a solenoidal core in an inductor?

• A. Toroidal cores have lower Q characteristics
• B. Toroidal cores make it easier to couple the magnetic energy into other components
• C. Toroidal cores confine most of the magnetic field within the core material
• D. Toroidal cores exhibit greater hysteresis

E5B03

34. What happens to the phase angle of a reactance when it is converted to a susceptance?

• A. It is shifted by 90 degrees
• B. It is unchanged
• C. The sign is reversed
• D. The susceptance phase angle is the inverse of the reactance phase angle

E9H01

35. When constructing a Beverage antenna, which of the following factors should be included in the design to achieve good performance at the desired frequency?

• A. It should be configured as a four-sided loop
• B. It should be one or more wavelengths long
• C. It must be mounted more than 1 wavelength above ground
• D. Its overall length must not exceed 1/4 wavelength

E9D05

36. What is a disadvantage of using a multiband trapped antenna?

• A. It radiates the harmonics and fundamental equally well
• B. It might radiate harmonics
• C. It is too sharply directional at lower frequencies
• D. It must be neutralized

E6E05

37. Which of the following noise figure values is typical of a low-noise UHF preamplifier?

• A. 44 dBm
• B. -10 dB
• C. 2 dB
• D. -20 dBm

E3C01

38. What does the term ray tracing describe in regard to radio communications?

• A. Modeling a radio wave's path through the ionosphere
• B. The process in which an electronic display presents a pattern
• C. Determining the radiation pattern from an array of antennas
• D. Evaluating high voltage sources for X-Rays

E7B13

39. In Figure E7-2, what is the purpose of R?

• A. Emitter load
• B. Voltage regulation
• C. Collector load
• D. Fixed bias

E9E12

40. What is the primary purpose of a phasing line when used with an antenna having multiple driven elements?

• A. It allows single-band antennas to operate on other bands
• B. It prevents reflected power from traveling back down the feed line and causing harmonic radiation from the transmitter
• C. It ensures that each driven element operates in concert with the others to create the desired antenna pattern
• D. It makes sure the antenna has a low-angle radiation pattern

E1B10

41. What frequencies are authorized to an amateur station operating under RACES rules?

• A. All amateur service frequencies authorized to the control operator
• B. Specific local government channels
• C. Specific segments in the amateur service MF, HF, VHF and UHF bands
• D. Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) channels

E7E04

42. What is one way a single-sideband phone signal can be generated?

• A. By using a loop modulator followed by a mixer
• B. By using a reactance modulator followed by a mixer
• C. By driving a product detector with a DSB signal
• D. By using a balanced modulator followed by a filter

E4C10

43. Which of the following is a desirable amount of selectivity for an amateur RTTY HF receiver?

• A. 6000 Hz
• B. 100 Hz
• C. 300 Hz
• D. 2400 Hz

E7C08

44. Which of the following factors has the greatest effect in helping determine the bandwidth and response shape of a crystal ladder filter?

• A. The DC voltage applied to the quartz crystal
• B. The gain of the RF stage preceding the filter
• C. The amplitude of the signals passing through the filter
• D. The relative frequencies of the individual crystals

E1A11

45. Which of the following describes authorization or licensing required when operating an amateur station aboard a U.S.-registered vessel in international waters?

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

E2B11

46. What is the function of the Vertical Interval Signaling (VIS) code sent as part of an SSTV transmission?

• A. To identify the call sign of the station transmitting
• B. To identify the SSTV mode being used
• C. To provide vertical synchronization
• D. To lock the color burst oscillator in color SSTV images

E8D04

47. What is the primary effect of extremely short rise or fall time on a CW signal?

• A. Limits data speed
• B. The generation of key clicks
• C. The generation of RF harmonics
• D. More difficult to copy

E4A15

48. What is an advantage of a period-measuring frequency counter over a direct-count type?

• A. It does not require an expensive high-precision time base
• B. It provides improved resolution of low-frequency signals within a comparable time period
• C. It can directly measure the modulation index of an FM transmitter
• D. It can run on battery power for remote measurements

E9F09

49. What is the approximate physical length of a solid polyethylene dielectric coaxial transmission line that is electrically one-quarter wavelength long at 7.2 MHz?

• A. 6.9 meters
• B. 24 meters
• C. 10 meters
• D. 50 meters

E5D11

50. What is the power factor of an R-L circuit having a 60 degree phase angle between the voltage and the current?

• A. 1.73
• B. 0.866
• C. 0.5
• D. 1.414