Practice Exam

E6F06

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

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

E8C03

2. Why should the phase of a PSK signal be changed at the zero crossing of the RF signal?

• A. All these choices are correct
• B. To minimize bandwidth
• C. To simplify modulation
• D. To improve carrier suppression

E6C03

3. What is tri-state logic?

• A. Logic devices with 0, 1, and high-impedance output states
• B. Logic devices that utilize ternary math
• C. A counter with eight states
• D. Logic with three output impedances which can be selected to better match the load impedance

E8B08

4. What describes orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM)?

• A. A bandwidth compression technique using Fourier transforms
• B. A digital modulation technique using subcarriers at frequencies chosen to avoid intersymbol interference
• C. A frequency modulation technique that uses non-harmonically related frequencies
• D. A digital mode for narrow-band, slow-speed transmissions

E6B08

5. Which of the following is a Schottky barrier diode?

• A. Metal-semiconductor junction
• B. PIN junction
• C. Electrolytic rectifier
• D. Thermionic emission diode

E1B04

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

E2B01

7. In digital television, what does a coding rate of 3/4 mean?

• A. Data compression reduces data rate by 3/4
• B. 25% of the data sent is forward error correction data
• C. 1/4 of the time interval is used as a guard interval
• D. Three, four-bit words are used to transmit each pixel

E8A02

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

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

E3B09

9. At what time of year is sporadic-E propagation most likely to occur?

• A. Around the equinoxes, especially the fall equinox
• B. Around the equinoxes, especially the spring equinox
• C. Around the solstices, especially the summer solstice
• D. Around the solstices, especially the winter solstice

E1F05

10. 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. 440 MHz - 450 MHz
• B. 420 MHz - 430 MHz
• C. 53 MHz - 54 MHz
• D. 222 MHz - 223 MHz

E4D07

11. Which of the following reduces the likelihood of receiver desensitization?

• A. Raise the receiver's IF frequency
• B. Switch from fast AGC to slow AGC
• C. Increase the receiver's front-end gain
• D. Insert attenuation before the first RF stage

E9H05

12. What challenge is presented by a small wire-loop antenna for direction finding?

• A. It does not have a clearly defined null
• B. It has a bidirectional null pattern
• C. All these choices are correct
• D. It is practical for use only on VHF and higher bands

E9D10

13. How does radiation resistance of a base-fed whip antenna change below its resonant frequency?

• A. Radiation resistance becomes imaginary
• B. Radiation resistance increases
• C. Radiation resistance decreases
• D. Radiation resistance does not depend on frequency

E7E04

14. What is one way to produce a single-sideband phone signal?

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

E5A04

15. What is the magnitude of the impedance of a parallel RLC circuit at resonance?

• A. Approximately equal to inductive reactance
• B. Low compared to the circuit resistance
• C. High compared to the circuit resistance
• D. Approximately equal to circuit resistance

E7H12

16. Which of the following ensures that a crystal oscillator operates on the frequency specified by the crystal manufacturer?

• A. Provide the crystal with a specified parallel capacitance
• B. Provide the crystal with a specified parallel inductance
• C. Bias the crystal at a specified voltage
• D. Bias the crystal at a specified current

E5C03

17. Which of the following represents a pure inductive reactance in polar coordinates?

• A. A negative 45 degree phase angle
• B. A positive 45 degree phase angle
• C. A positive 90 degree phase angle
• D. A negative 90 degree phase angle

E1A04

18. May an Extra class operator answer the CQ of a station on 3.601 MHz LSB phone?

• A. Yes, the entire signal will be inside the SSB allocation for Extra class operators
• B. Yes, the displayed frequency is within the 75-meter phone band segment
• C. No, US stations are not permitted to use phone emissions below 3.610 MHz
• D. No, the sideband components will extend beyond the edge of the phone band segment

E4B08

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

• A. The resonant frequency of the circuit
• B. The ratio of inductive reactance to capacitive reactance
• C. The bandwidth of the circuit's frequency response
• D. The frequency shift

E2C03

20. From which of the following bands is amateur radio contesting generally excluded?

• A. 33 centimeters
• B. 6 meters
• C. 70 centimeters
• D. 30 meters

E2E08

21. Which of the following HF digital modes can be used to transfer binary files?

• A. PSK31
• B. AMTOR
• C. PACTOR
• D. RTTY

E6A01

22. In what application is gallium arsenide used as a semiconductor material?

• A. In high-power audio circuits
• B. In high-current rectifier circuits
• C. In very low-frequency RF circuits
• D. In microwave circuits

E8D07

23. What is a common cause of overmodulation of AFSK signals?

• A. Excessive transmit audio levels
• B. Excessive numbers of retries
• C. Bit errors in the modem
• D. Excessive frequency deviation

E6E10

24. What advantage does surface-mount technology offer at RF compared to using through-hole components?

• A. All these choices are correct
• B. Shorter circuit board traces
• C. Components have less parasitic inductance and capacitance
• D. Smaller circuit area

E9C01

25. What type of radiation pattern is created by two 1/4-wavelength vertical antennas spaced 1/2- wavelength apart and fed 180 degrees out of phase?

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

E7G02

26. What is the frequency response of the circuit in E7-3 if a capacitor is added across the feedback resistor?

• A. Low-pass filter
• B. Notch filter
• C. Band-pass filter
• D. High-pass filter

E2A04

27. What is meant by the "mode" of an amateur radio satellite?

• A. Whether the satellite is in a low earth or geostationary orbit
• B. The satellite's uplink and downlink frequency bands
• C. The satellite's orientation with respect to the Earth
• D. Whether the satellite is in a polar or equatorial orbit

E7F09

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

• A. It peaks the response of the decimator, improving bandwidth
• B. It removes high-frequency signal components that would otherwise be reproduced as lower frequency components
• 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

E4E10

29. Which of the following can create intermittent loud roaring or buzzing AC line interference?

• A. All these choices are correct
• B. A defective doorbell or doorbell transformer inside a nearby residence
• C. A malfunctioning illuminated advertising display
• D. Arcing contacts in a thermostatically controlled device

E2D01

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

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

E9G04

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

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

E6D10

32. 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 exhibit greater hysteresis
• C. Toroidal cores make it easier to couple the magnetic energy into other components
• D. Toroidal cores confine most of the magnetic field within the core material

E9F10

33. What impedance does a 1/8-wavelength transmission line present to an RF 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

E4A05

34. What is the purpose of using a prescaler with a frequency counter?

• A. Amplify low-level signals for more accurate counting
• B. Multiply a higher frequency signal so a low-frequency counter can display the operating frequency
• C. Reduce the signal frequency to within the counter's operating range
• D. Prevent oscillation in a low-frequency counter circuit

E3C02

35. What is indicated by a rising A-index or K-index?

• A. Increasing disturbance of the geomagnetic field
• B. Decreasing disturbance of the geomagnetic field
• C. An increase in the critical frequency
• D. Higher levels of solar UV radiation

E9E08

36. What is a use for a Wilkinson divider?

• A. To divide power equally between two 50-ohm loads while maintaining 50-ohm input impedance
• B. To divide the operating frequency of a transmitter signal so it can be used on a lower frequency band
• C. To divide the frequency of the input to a counter to increase its frequency range
• D. To feed high-impedance antennas from a low-impedance source

E9B08

37. What is the far field of an antenna?

• A. The region where the shape of the radiation pattern no longer varies with distance
• B. The region where radiated field strengths are constant
• C. The region of the ionosphere where radiated power is not refracted
• D. The region where radiated power dissipates over a specified time period

E4C02

38. Which of the following receiver circuits can be effective in eliminating interference from strong out-of-band signals?

• A. A front-end filter or preselector
• B. A notch filter
• C. A narrow IF filter
• D. A properly adjusted product detector

E0A07

39. What is meant by "100% tie-off" regarding tower safety?

• A. All circuit breakers feeding power to the tower must be tied closed with tape, cable, or ties
• B. At least one lanyard attached to the tower at all times
• C. All loose ropes and guys secured to a fixed structure
• D. All tools secured to the climber's harness

E1E11

40. 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. Three VEs must certify that the examinee is qualified for the license grant and that they have complied with the administering VE requirements
• C. All these choices are correct
• D. Issue the examinee the new or upgrade license

E1C05

41. Under what situation may a station transmit third party communications while being automatically controlled?

• A. On any mode approved by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration
• B. Only when transmitting SSB or CW
• C. Only when transmitting RTTY or data emissions
• D. Never

E7D09

42. How is battery operating time calculated?

• A. Capacity in amp-hours divided by average current
• B. Average current divided by internal resistance
• C. Average current divided by capacity in amp-hours
• D. Internal resistance divided by average current

E9A07

43. What is the effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) of a repeater station with 200 watts transmitter power output, 2 dB feed line loss, 2.8 dB duplexer loss, 1.2 dB circulator loss, and 7 dBi antenna gain?

• A. 63.2 watts
• B. 252 watts
• C. 632 watts
• D. 159 watts

E7A08

44. What logical operation does an OR gate perform?

• A. It produces a 1 at its output if any input is 1
• B. It produces a 0 at its output if some but not all inputs are 1
• C. It produces a 1 at its output if all inputs are 0
• D. It produces a 0 at its output if all inputs are 1

E5D08

45. What is the primary cause of loss in film capacitors at RF?

• A. Skin effect
• B. Dielectric loss
• C. Inductance
• D. Self-discharge

E3A09

46. Which of the following frequency ranges is most suited for meteor-scatter communications?

• A. 220 MHz - 450 MHz
• B. 1.8 MHz - 1.9 MHz
• C. 28 MHz - 148 MHz
• D. 10 MHz - 14 MHz

E7C03

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

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

E7B05

48. What can be done to prevent unwanted oscillations in an RF power amplifier?

• A. Install parasitic suppressors and/or neutralize the stage
• B. Tune both the input and output for maximum power
• C. Tune the stage for minimum loading
• D. Use a phase inverter in the output filter

E5B01

49. What is the term for the time required for the capacitor in an RC circuit to be charged to 63.2% of the applied voltage or to discharge to 36.8% of its initial voltage?

• A. A time factor of one
• B. An exponential rate of one
• C. One exponential period
• D. One time constant

E1D10

50. Which amateur stations are eligible to be telecommand stations of space stations, subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held by the control operator of the station?

• A. Any amateur station so designated by the ITU
• B. All these choices are correct
• C. Any amateur station so designated by the space station licensee
• D. Any amateur station approved by AMSAT