Practice Exam

E8D09

1. What is considered an acceptable maximum IMD level for an idling PSK signal?

• A. +15 dB
• B. +10 dB
• C. -20 dB
• D. -30 dB

E9F11

2. What impedance does a 1/8-wavelength transmission line present to a generator when the line is open at the far end?

• A. A capacitive reactance
• B. Infinite
• C. The same as the characteristic impedance of the line
• D. An inductive reactance

E6F04

3. What is the photovoltaic effect?

• A. The conversion of electrical energy to mechanical energy
• B. The conversion of voltage to current when exposed to light
• C. The tendency of a battery to discharge when exposed to light
• D. The conversion of light to electrical energy

E7A10

4. What is a truth table?

• A. A diagram showing logic states when the digital device output is true
• B. A list of inputs and corresponding outputs for a digital device
• C. A table of logic symbols that indicate the logic states of an op-amp
• D. A table of logic symbols that indicate the high logic states of an op-amp

E3C10

5. What does the 304A solar parameter measure?

• A. The solar emission at 304 GHz, correlated to x-ray flare levels
• B. The solar wind velocity at 304 degrees from the solar equator, correlated to solar activity
• C. UV emissions at 304 angstroms, correlated to the solar flux index
• D. The ratio of x-ray flux to radio flux, correlated to sunspot number

E5A08

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

E1F09

7. Which of the following conditions apply when transmitting spread spectrum emissions?

• A. The transmission must not be used to obscure the meaning of any communication
• B. The transmitting station must be in an area regulated by the FCC or in a country that permits SS emissions
• C. All these choices are correct
• D. A station transmitting SS emission must not cause harmful interference to other stations employing other authorized emissions

E1D08

8. Which VHF amateur bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?

• A. 6 meters and 2 meters
• B. 6 meters, 2 meters, and 1.25 meters
• C. 2 meters and 1.25 meters
• D. 2 meters

E6C02

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

• A. The feedback loop becomes unstable
• B. The comparator enters latch-up
• C. The comparator changes its output state
• D. The IC input can be damaged

E8A02

10. Which of the following is a type of analog-to-digital conversion?

• A. Phase reversal
• B. Harmonic regeneration
• C. Successive approximation
• D. Level shifting

E4D02

11. Which of the following describes problems caused by poor dynamic range in a receiver?

• A. Oscillator instability requiring frequent retuning and loss of ability to recover the opposite sideband
• B. Spurious signals caused by cross-modulation and desensitization from strong adjacent signals
• C. Cross-modulation of the desired signal and insufficient audio power to operate the speaker
• D. Oscillator instability and severe audio distortion of all but the strongest received signals

E6E03

12. Which of the following materials is likely to provide the highest frequency of operation when used in MMICs?

• A. Gallium nitride
• B. Silicon nitride
• C. Silicon
• D. Silicon dioxide

E9C10

13. Which of the following describes a Zepp antenna?

• A. A vertical array capable of quickly changing the direction of maximum radiation by changing phasing lines
• B. A dipole constructed from zip cord
• C. An omni-directional antenna commonly used for satellite communications
• D. An end-fed dipole antenna

E7C03

14. What advantage does a series-L Pi-L-network have over a series-L Pi-network for impedance matching between the final amplifier of a vacuum-tube transmitter and an antenna?

• A. Does not require a capacitor
• B. Greater transformation range
• C. Higher efficiency
• D. Greater harmonic suppression

E7E10

15. How does a diode envelope detector function?

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

E0A11

16. Which of the following injuries can result from using high-power UHF or microwave transmitters?

• A. Hearing loss caused by high voltage corona discharge
• B. Blood clotting from the intense magnetic field
• C. Localized heating of the body from RF exposure in excess of the MPE limits
• D. Ingestion of ozone gas from the cooling system

E6D07

17. What is current in the primary winding of a transformer called if no load is attached to the secondary?

• A. Excitation current
• B. Magnetizing current
• C. Stabilizing current
• D. Direct current

E4E02

18. Which of the following types of noise can often be reduced with a digital signal processing noise filter?

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

E7H15

19. Which of these functions can be performed by a phase-locked loop?

• A. Wide-band AF and RF power amplification
• B. Comparison of two digital input signals, digital pulse counter
• C. Frequency synthesis, FM demodulation
• D. Photovoltaic conversion, optical coupling

E7D14

20. What is the purpose of connecting equal-value resistors across power supply filter capacitors connected in series?

• A. Discharge the capacitors when voltage is removed
• B. All these choices are correct
• C. Provide a minimum load on the supply
• D. Equalize the voltage across each capacitor

E9A01

21. What is an isotropic antenna?

• A. A horizontally polarized antenna used to compare Yagi antennas
• B. A spacecraft antenna used to direct signals toward Earth
• C. A theoretical, omnidirectional antenna used as a reference for antenna gain
• D. A grounded antenna used to measure Earth conductivity

E5C12

22. Which point on Figure E5-1 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 300-ohm resistor and a 19-picofarad capacitor at 21.200 MHz?

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

E9E03

23. What is the name of the matching system that uses a section of transmission line connected in parallel with the feed line at or near the feed point?

• A. The gamma match
• B. The omega match
• C. The delta match
• D. The stub match

E4B03

24. Which S parameter is equivalent to forward gain?

• A. S12
• B. S22
• C. S11
• D. S21

E6A12

25. Why do many MOSFET devices have internally connected Zener diodes on the gates?

• A. To protect the substrate from excessive voltages
• B. To provide a voltage reference for the correct amount of reverse-bias gate voltage
• C. To keep the gate voltage within specifications and prevent the device from overheating
• D. To reduce the chance of static damage to the gate

E3B09

26. 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

E2B05

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

• A. Vestigial sideband provides high frequency emphasis to sharpen the picture
• B. Vestigial sideband reduces bandwidth while allowing for simple video detector circuitry
• C. The vestigial sideband carries the audio information
• D. The vestigial sideband contains chroma information

E8C10

28. How may data rate be increased without increasing bandwidth?

• A. Using forward error correction
• B. It is impossible
• C. Increasing analog-to-digital conversion resolution
• D. Using a more efficient digital code

E1B01

29. Which of the following constitutes a spurious emission?

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

E9D05

30. What usually occurs if a Yagi antenna is designed solely for maximum forward gain?

• A. The frequency response is widened over the whole frequency band
• B. The SWR is reduced
• C. The front-to-back ratio increases
• D. The front-to-back ratio decreases

E7F11

31. What sets the minimum detectable signal level for a direct-sampling SDR receiver in the absence of atmospheric or thermal noise?

• A. Missing codes and jitter
• B. Reference voltage level and sample width in bits
• C. Sample clock phase noise
• D. Data storage transfer rate

E1C02

32. Which of the following types of communications may be transmitted to amateur stations in foreign countries?

• A. All these choices are correct
• B. Messages intended for users of the maritime satellite service
• C. Communications incidental to the purpose of the amateur service and remarks of a personal nature
• D. Business-related messages for non-profit organizations

E2D05

33. What is one advantage of the JT65 mode?

• A. Permits fast-scan TV transmissions over narrow bandwidth
• B. Easily copied by ear if necessary
• C. The ability to decode signals which have a very low signal-to-noise ratio
• D. Uses only a 65 Hz bandwidth

E9G07

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

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

E7B06

35. Which of the following amplifier types reduces even-order harmonics?

• A. Push-pull
• B. Class AB
• C. Class C
• D. Push-push

E1A13

36. Who must be in physical control of the station apparatus of an amateur station aboard any vessel or craft that is documented or registered in the United States?

• A. Any person named in an amateur station license grant or a person holding an unrestricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit
• B. Any person holding an FCC issued amateur license or who is authorized for alien reciprocal operation
• C. Only a person named in an amateur station license grant
• D. Only a person with an FCC Marine Radio license grant

E2A02

37. Which of the following occurs when a satellite is using 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. Signal position in the band is reversed
• D. Doppler shift is reduced because the uplink and downlink shifts are in opposite directions

E7G08

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

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

E4A04

39. How is the compensation of an oscilloscope probe typically adjusted?

• A. A square wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the horizontal portions of the displayed wave are as nearly flat as possible
• B. A DC voltage standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the displayed voltage is accurate
• C. A high frequency sine wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted for maximum amplitude
• D. A frequency standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the deflection time is accurate

E2E04

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

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

E1E11

41. 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

E8B03

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

• A. 3
• B. 3000
• C. 1000
• D. 0.3

E3A01

43. What is the approximate maximum separation measured along the surface of the Earth between two stations communicating by EME?

• A. 12,000 miles, if the moon is visible by both stations
• B. 500 miles, if the moon is at perigee
• C. 5000 miles, if the moon is at perigee
• D. 2000 miles, if the moon is at apogee

E9H09

44. What is a Pennant antenna?

• A. A small, vertically oriented receiving antenna consisting of a triangular loop terminated in approximately 900 ohms
• B. A form of rhombic antenna terminated in a variable capacitor to provide frequency diversity
• C. A stealth antenna built to look like a flagpole
• D. A four-element, high-gain vertical array invented by George Pennant

E4C14

45. What transmit frequency might generate an image response signal in a receiver tuned to 14.300 MHz and that uses a 455 kHz IF frequency?

• A. 14.445 MHz
• B. 13.845 MHz
• C. 15.210 MHz
• D. 14.755 MHz

E9B02

46. In the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-1, what is the front-to-back ratio?

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

E2C08

47. Which of the following contacts may be confirmed through the U.S. QSL bureau system?

• A. Contacts between a U.S. station and a non-U.S. station
• B. Contacts using tactical call signs
• C. Repeater contacts between U.S. club members
• D. Special event contacts between stations in the U.S.

E5B06

48. What is susceptance?

• A. A measure of the efficiency of a transformer
• B. The magnetic impedance of a circuit
• C. The imaginary part of admittance
• D. The ratio of magnetic field to electric field

E6B09

49. What is a common use for point-contact diodes?

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

E5D05

50. What is the power factor of an RL circuit having a 30-degree phase angle between the voltage and the current?

• A. 0.577
• B. 0.5
• C. 0.866
• D. 1.73