Practice Exam

E6A03

1. Why does a PN-junction diode not conduct current when reverse biased?

• A. Only P-type semiconductor material can conduct current
• B. Only N-type semiconductor material can conduct current
• C. Holes in P-type material and electrons in the N-type material are separated by the applied voltage, widening the depletion region
• D. Excess holes in P-type material combine with the electrons in N-type material, converting the entire diode into an insulator

E7F08

2. What is the function of decimation?

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

E9A13

3. What term describes station output, taking into account all gains and losses?

• A. Half-power bandwidth
• B. Effective radiated power
• C. Power factor
• D. Apparent power

E2D01

4. Which of the following digital modes is designed for meteor scatter communications?

• A. WSPR
• B. APRS
• C. Hellschreiber
• D. MSK144

E2B08

5. What technique allows commercial analog TV receivers to be used for fast-scan TV operations on the 70 cm band?

• A. Using USB and demodulating the signal with a computer sound card
• B. Transmitting on channels shared with cable TV
• C. Transmitting on the abandoned TV channel 2
• D. Using converted satellite TV dishes

E7B15

6. What is one way to prevent thermal runaway in a bipolar transistor amplifier?

• A. Select transistors with high beta
• B. Neutralization
• C. All these choices are correct
• D. Use a resistor in series with the emitter

E2A01

7. What is the direction of an ascending pass for an amateur satellite?

• A. From west to east
• B. From south to north
• C. From north to south
• D. From east to west

E5B08

8. What is the phase angle between the voltage across and the current through a series RLC circuit if XC is 100 ohms, R is 100 ohms, and XL is 75 ohms?

• A. 76 degrees with the voltage lagging the current
• B. 76 degrees with the voltage leading the current
• C. 14 degrees with the voltage lagging the current
• D. 14 degrees with the voltage leading the current

E7E10

9. How does a diode envelope detector function?

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

E9F08

10. Which of the following is a significant difference between foam dielectric coaxial cable and solid dielectric cable, assuming all other parameters are the same?

• A. Foam dielectric has higher velocity factor
• B. Foam dielectric has lower loss per unit of length
• C. Foam dielectric has lower safe operating voltage limits
• D. All these choices are correct

E9D02

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

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

E2E03

12. How is the timing of FT4 contacts organized?

• A. Stations take turns on alternate days
• B. By exchanging ACK/NAK packets
• C. Alternating transmissions at 7.5 second intervals
• D. It depends on the lunar phase

E1F10

13. Who may be the control operator of an auxiliary station?

• A. Any licensed amateur operator
• B. Only Technician, General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operators
• C. Only Amateur Extra Class operators
• D. Only General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operators

E8D11

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

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

E1E08

15. To which of the following examinees may a VE not administer an examination?

• A. Employees of the VE
• B. Friends of the VE
• C. All these choices are correct
• D. Relatives of the VE as listed in the FCC rules

E3A02

16. What characterizes libration fading of an EME signal?

• A. A gradual loss of signal as the sun rises
• B. A fluttery irregular fading
• C. A slow change in the pitch of the CW signal
• D. The returning echo is several hertz lower in frequency than the transmitted signal

E9G07

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

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

E4D10

18. What does a third-order intercept level of 40 dBm mean with respect to receiver performance?

• A. A pair of 1 mW input signals will produce a third-order intermodulation product that is 40 dB stronger than the input signal
• B. The receiver can tolerate signals up to 40 dB above the noise floor without producing third-order intermodulation products
• C. Signals less than 40 dBm will not generate audible third-order intermodulation products
• D. A pair of 40 dBm input signals will theoretically generate a third-order intermodulation product that has the same output amplitude as either of the input signals

E7C06

19. What are the distinguishing features of an elliptical filter?

• A. Gradual passband rolloff with extreme stop band ripple
• B. Gradual passband rolloff with minimal stop band ripple
• C. Extremely sharp cutoff with one or more notches in the stop band
• D. Extremely flat response over its pass band with gradually rounded stop band corners

E3B10

20. Why is chordal hop propagation desirable?

• A. Atmospheric noise is lower in the direction of chordal hop propagation
• B. The signal experiences less loss compared to multi-hop using Earth as a reflector
• C. The MUF for chordal hop propagation is much lower than for normal skip propagation
• D. Signals travel faster along ionospheric chords

E6E02

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

• A. DIP
• B. PLCC
• C. Ball grid array
• D. SOT

E3C13

22. What type of polarization is best for ground-wave propagation?

• A. Vertical
• B. Elliptical
• C. Circular
• D. Horizontal

E7H05

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

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

E9C11

24. How is the far-field elevation pattern of a vertically polarized antenna affected by being mounted over seawater versus soil?

• A. The low-angle radiation increases
• B. The low-angle radiation decreases
• C. Fewer vertical angle lobes will be present
• D. Additional higher vertical angle lobes will appear

E2C10

25. Why might a DX station state that they are listening on another frequency?

• A. To separate the calling stations from the DX station
• B. Because the DX station may be transmitting on a frequency that is prohibited to some responding stations
• C. To improve operating efficiency by reducing interference
• D. All these choices are correct

E9H05

26. What is the main drawback of a small wire-loop antenna for direction finding?

• A. It has no clearly defined null
• B. It has a bidirectional pattern
• C. It is practical for use only on VHF and higher bands
• D. All these choices are correct

E7G07

27. What magnitude of voltage gain can be expected from the circuit in Figure E7 3 when R1 is 10 ohms and RF is 470 ohms?

• A. 0.21
• B. 47
• C. 24
• D. 94

E6B03

28. What type of bias is required for an LED to emit light?

• A. Zero bias
• B. Reverse bias
• C. Forward bias
• D. Inductive bias

E5D01

29. What is the result of skin effect?

• A. As frequency decreases, RF current flows in a thinner layer of the conductor, closer to the surface
• B. As frequency increases, RF current flows in a thinner layer of the conductor, closer to the surface
• C. Thermal effects on the surface of the conductor increase the impedance
• D. Thermal effects on the surface of the conductor decrease the impedance

E6C09

30. What is a Programmable Logic Device (PLD)?

• A. A programmable collection of logic gates and circuits in a single integrated circuit
• B. A logic circuit that can be modified during use
• C. Programmable equipment used for testing digital logic integrated circuits
• D. A type of transistor whose gain can be changed by digital logic circuits

E6D10

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

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

E4C08

32. An SDR receiver is overloaded when input signals exceed what level?

• A. One-half the maximum sampling buffer size
• B. One-half the maximum sample rate
• C. The reference voltage of the analog-to-digital converter
• D. The maximum count value of the analog-to-digital converter

E8B03

33. 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. 3000
• B. 0.3
• C. 3
• D. 1000

E8C02

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

• A. The rate at which the waveform changes to convey information
• B. The duration of each bit in a message sent over the air
• C. The number of characters carried per second by the station-to-station link
• D. The number of control characters in a message packet

E8A08

35. Why would a direct or flash conversion analog-to-digital converter be useful for a software defined radio?

• A. Very low power consumption decreases frequency drift
• B. Immunity to out-of-sequence coding reduces spurious responses
• C. Very high speed allows digitizing high frequencies
• D. All these choices are correct

E4B02

36. 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 will indicate the input impedance of the voltmeter
• B. When used as an ammeter, the full scale reading in amps divided by ohms per volt rating will determine the size of shunt needed
• C. When used as a galvanometer, the reading in volts multiplied by the ohms per volt rating will determine the power drawn by the device under test
• D. When used as an ohmmeter, the reading in ohms divided by the ohms per volt rating will determine the voltage applied to the circuit

E1C06

37. 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 bring a copy of FCC Public Notice DA 16-1048
• C. You must identify in the official language of the country in which you are operating
• D. You must append "/CEPT" to your call sign

E5C12

38. 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 3
• B. Point 7
• C. Point 8
• D. Point 1

E1B12

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

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

E1A02

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

E4A02

41. Which of the following parameters does a spectrum analyzer display on the vertical and horizontal axes?

• A. SWR and time
• B. RF amplitude and time
• C. RF amplitude and frequency
• D. SWR and frequency

E5A05

42. What is the result of increasing the Q of an impedance-matching circuit?

• A. Matching bandwidth is decreased
• B. Matching range is increased
• C. Matching bandwidth is increased
• D. It has no effect on impedance matching

E7A01

43. Which circuit is bistable?

• A. An OR gate
• B. An AND gate
• C. A bipolar amplifier
• D. A flip-flop

E6F07

44. What is a solid-state relay?

• A. A mechanical relay that latches in the on or off state each time it is pulsed
• B. A device that uses semiconductors to implement the functions of an electromechanical relay
• C. A semiconductor passive delay line
• D. A relay using transistors to drive the relay coil

E4E04

45. How can conducted and radiated noise caused by an automobile alternator be suppressed?

• A. By installing filter capacitors in series with the DC power lead and a blocking capacitor in the field lead
• B. By installing a noise suppression resistor and a blocking capacitor in both leads
• C. By installing a high-pass filter in series with the radio's power lead and a low-pass filter in parallel with the field lead
• D. By connecting the radio's power leads directly to the battery and by installing coaxial capacitors in line with the alternator leads

E9E07

46. What parameter describes the interactions at the load end of a mismatched transmission line?

• A. Dielectric constant
• B. Characteristic impedance
• C. Reflection coefficient
• D. Velocity factor

E9B05

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

• A. Elevation
• B. Polarization
• C. Radiation resistance
• D. Azimuth

E0A04

48. When evaluating a site with multiple transmitters operating at the same time, the operators and licensees of which transmitters are responsible for mitigating over-exposure situations?

• A. Each transmitter that produces 5 percent or more of its MPE limit in areas where the total MPE limit is exceeded.
• B. Only commercial transmitters
• C. Each transmitter operating with a duty cycle greater than 50 percent
• D. Only the most powerful transmitter

E7D02

49. What is a characteristic of a switching electronic voltage regulator?

• A. It gives a ramp voltage at its output
• B. The resistance of a control element is varied in direct proportion to the line voltage or load current
• C. It is generally less efficient than a linear regulator
• D. The controlled device's duty cycle is changed to produce a constant average output voltage

E1D11

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

• A. Only those of Amateur Extra Class operators
• B. Any amateur station whose licensee has filed a pre-space notification with the FCC's International Bureau
• C. Any amateur station, subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held by the control operator
• D. Only those of General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operators