Practice Exam

E6A06

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

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

E6C06

2. Why do CMOS digital integrated circuits have high immunity to noise on the input signal or power supply?

• A. Bandwidth is very limited
• B. The input switching threshold is about one-half the power supply voltage
• C. Large bypass capacitance is inherent
• D. The input switching threshold is about two times the power supply voltage

E9G07

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

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

E2E01

4. Which of the following types of modulation is common for data emissions below 30 MHz?

• A. FSK
• B. Spread spectrum
• C. Pulse modulation
• D. DTMF tones modulating an FM signal

E8D01

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

• A. The high power used by a spread spectrum transmitter keeps its signal from being easily overpowered
• B. The receiver is always equipped with a digital blanker
• C. Signals not using the spread spectrum algorithm are suppressed in the receiver
• D. If interference is detected by the receiver it will signal the transmitter to change frequencies

E1D01

6. What is the definition of telemetry?

• A. Two-way transmissions in excess of 1000 feet
• B. Two-way transmissions of data
• C. One-way transmission that initiates, modifies, or terminates the functions of a device at a distance
• D. One-way transmission of measurements at a distance from the measuring instrument

E9H10

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

• A. By increasing the number of turns and/or the area
• B. By reducing the permeability of the loop shield
• C. By winding adjacent turns in opposing directions
• D. By utilizing high impedance wire for the coupling loop

E4C04

8. What is the noise figure of a receiver?

• A. The ratio of thermal noise to atmospheric noise
• B. The ratio of the noise bandwidth in hertz to the theoretical bandwidth of a resistive network
• C. The ratio of atmospheric noise to phase noise
• D. The ratio in dB of the noise generated by the receiver to the theoretical minimum noise

E8A08

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

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

E9C02

10. What is the radiation pattern of two 1/4-wavelength vertical antennas spaced 1/4-wavelength apart and fed 90 degrees out of phase?

• A. Cardioid
• B. Omni-directional
• C. A figure-8 broadside to the axis of the array
• D. A figure-8 end-fire along the axis of the array

E4A02

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

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

E4E09

12. What undesirable effect can occur when using an IF noise blanker?

• A. Nearby signals may appear to be excessively wide even if they meet emission standards
• B. Received audio in the speech range might have an echo effect
• C. FM signals can no longer be demodulated
• D. The audio frequency bandwidth of the received signal might be compressed

E7F09

13. Why is an anti-aliasing digital filter required in a digital decimator?

• A. It removes high-frequency signal components that would otherwise be reproduced as lower frequency components
• B. It peaks the response of the decimator, improving bandwidth
• C. It removes low-frequency signal components to eliminate the need for DC restoration
• D. It notches out the sampling frequency to avoid sampling errors

E7D07

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

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

E2B04

15. How is color information sent in analog SSTV?

• A. Color lines are sent sequentially
• B. Color is amplitude modulated on the frequency modulated intensity signal
• C. Color is sent in a color burst at the end of each line
• D. Color information is sent on a 2.8 kHz subcarrier

E6E02

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

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

E8B07

17. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing is a technique used for which type of amateur communication?

• A. EME
• B. OFDM signals are not allowed on amateur bands
• C. High-speed digital modes
• D. Extremely low-power contacts

E9D06

18. What happens to the SWR bandwidth when one or more loading coils are used to resonate an electrically short antenna?

• A. It is increased
• B. It is unchanged if the loading coil is located at a voltage maximum point
• C. It is decreased
• D. It is unchanged if the loading coil is located at the feed point

E6F11

19. What is the approximate open-circuit voltage produced by a fully illuminated silicon photovoltaic cell?

• A. 0.5 V
• B. 1.5 V
• C. 0.1 V
• D. 12 V

E3A12

20. What is the cause of auroral activity?

• A. The interaction in the F2 layer between the solar wind and the Van Allen belt
• B. Meteor showers concentrated in the extreme northern and southern latitudes
• C. The interaction in the E layer of charged particles from the Sun with the Earth's magnetic field
• D. An extreme low-pressure area in the polar regions

E7E10

21. How does a diode envelope detector function?

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

E7A10

22. What is a truth table?

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

E9A02

23. What is the effective radiated power relative to a dipole of a repeater station with 150 watts transmitter power output, 2 dB feed line loss, 2.2 dB duplexer loss, and 7 dBd antenna gain?

• A. 1977 watts
• B. 420 watts
• C. 78.7 watts
• D. 286 watts

E7B14

24. Why are switching amplifiers more efficient than linear amplifiers?

• A. The power transistor is at saturation or cutoff most of the time
• B. Switching amplifiers use push-pull circuits
• C. Switching amplifiers operate at higher voltages
• D. Linear amplifiers have high gain resulting in higher harmonic content

E2A07

25. Which of the following types of signals can be relayed through a linear transponder?

• A. FM and CW
• B. PSK and packet
• C. All these choices are correct
• D. SSB and SSTV

E6B10

26. In Figure E6-2, what is the schematic symbol for a light-emitting diode?

• A. 6
• B. 1
• C. 5
• D. 7

E2D02

27. Which of the following is a good technique for making meteor scatter contacts?

• A. Use of special digital modes
• B. Short transmissions with rapidly repeated call signs and signal reports
• C. All these choices are correct
• D. 15-second timed transmission sequences with stations alternating based on location

E7H04

28. How is positive feedback supplied in a Colpitts oscillator?

• A. Through link coupling
• B. Through a tapped coil
• C. Through a neutralizing capacitor
• D. Through a capacitive divider

E8C07

29. What is the bandwidth of a 4800-Hz frequency shift, 9600-baud ASCII FM transmission?

• A. 5.76 kHz
• B. 9.6 kHz
• C. 15.36 kHz
• D. 4.8 kHz

E9F10

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

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

E3C12

31. How does the maximum range of ground-wave propagation change when the signal frequency is increased?

• A. It decreases
• B. It stays the same
• C. It peaks at roughly 14 MHz
• D. It increases

E7C08

32. Which of the following factors has the greatest effect on the bandwidth and response shape of a crystal ladder filter?

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

E1A08

33. 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 operators of all the stations in the system
• 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 operator of the originating station

E2C11

34. How should you generally identify your station when attempting to contact a DX station during a contest or in a pileup?

• A. Send only the last two letters of your call sign until you make contact
• B. Send the call sign of the DX station three times, the words "this is," then your call sign three times
• C. Send your full call sign once or twice
• D. Send your full call sign and grid square

E1C13

35. What notifications must be given before transmitting on the 630 meter or 2200 meter bands?

• A. A special endorsement must be requested from the FCC
• B. An environmental impact statement must be filed with the Department of the Interior
• C. Operators must inform the FAA of their intent to operate, giving their call sign and distance to the nearest runway
• D. Operators must inform the Utilities Technology Council (UTC) of their call sign and coordinates of the station

E5B02

36. What letter is commonly used to represent susceptance?

• A. B
• B. Y
• C. X
• D. G

E1F05

37. Amateur stations may not transmit in which of the following frequency segments if they are located in the contiguous 48 states and north of Line A?

• A. 420 MHz - 430 MHz
• B. 53 MHz - 54 MHz
• C. 222 MHz - 223 MHz
• D. 440 MHz - 450 MHz

E3B09

38. 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 winter solstice
• C. Around the equinoxes, especially the fall equinox
• D. Around the solstices, especially the summer solstice

E5A07

39. What is the magnitude of the current at the input of a parallel RLC circuit at resonance?

• A. Maximum
• B. Minimum
• C. L/R
• D. R/L

E6D10

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

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

E1B02

41. Which of the following is an acceptable bandwidth for Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) based voice or SSTV digital transmissions made on the HF amateur bands?

• A. 20 kHz
• B. 3 kHz
• C. 10 kHz
• D. 15 kHz

E9E07

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

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

E4B08

43. Which of the following can be used to measure the Q of a series-tuned circuit?

• A. The resonant frequency of the circuit
• B. The bandwidth of the circuit's frequency response
• C. The inductance to capacitance ratio
• D. The frequency shift

E4D08

44. What causes intermodulation in an electronic circuit?

• A. Positive feedback
• B. Too little gain
• C. Nonlinear circuits or devices
• D. Lack of neutralization

E5D03

45. What is microstrip?

• A. Miniature coax used for low power applications
• B. Short lengths of coax mounted on printed circuit boards to minimize time delay between microwave circuits
• C. Lightweight transmission line made of common zip cord
• D. Precision printed circuit conductors above a ground plane that provide constant impedance interconnects at microwave frequencies

E1E08

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

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

E5C07

47. Where is the impedance of a pure resistance plotted on rectangular coordinates?

• A. On the horizontal axis
• B. On a horizontal line, offset vertically above the horizontal axis
• C. On the vertical axis
• D. On a line through the origin, slanted at 45 degrees

E0A08

48. What does SAR measure?

• A. The rate at which RF energy is absorbed by the body
• B. Synthetic Aperture Ratio of the human body
• C. Signal Amplification Rating
• D. The rate of RF energy reflected from stationary terrain

E7G09

49. What will be the output voltage of the circuit shown in Figure E7-3 if R1 is 1000 ohms, RF is 10,000 ohms, and 0.23 volts DC is applied to the input?

• A. 2.3 volts
• B. -0.23 volts
• C. -2.3 volts
• D. 0.23 volts

E9B11

50. What is a disadvantage of decreasing the number of wire segments in an antenna model below 10 segments per half-wavelength?

• A. The resulting design will favor radiation of harmonic energy
• B. The antenna will become mechanically unstable
• C. Ground conductivity will not be accurately modeled
• D. The computed feed point impedance may be incorrect