Practice Exam

E1F11

1. Which of the following best describes one of the standards that must be met by an external RF power amplifier if it is to qualify for a grant of FCC certification?

• A. It must satisfy the FCC's spurious emission standards when operated at the lesser of 1500 watts or its full output power
• B. It must produce full legal output when driven by not more than 5 watts of mean RF input power
• C. It must have received an Underwriters Laboratory certification for electrical safety as well as having met IEEE standard 14.101(B)
• D. It must exhibit a gain of less than 23 dB when driven by 10 watts or less

E7D11

2. What is the purpose of an inverter connected to a solar panel output?

• A. Maintain voltage with varying illumination levels
• B. Prevent discharge when panel is not illuminated
• C. Reduce AC ripple on the output
• D. Convert the panel's output from DC to AC

E9F09

3. What impedance does a 1/4-wavelength transmission line present to an RF generator when the line is shorted at the far end?

• A. The same as the generator output impedance
• B. Very high impedance
• C. Very low impedance
• D. The same as the characteristic impedance of the transmission line

E2D02

4. What information replaces signal-to-noise ratio when using the FT8 or FT4 modes in a VHF contest?

• A. State abbreviation
• B. Serial number
• C. Grid square
• D. RST report

E7F07

5. What function is performed by a Fast Fourier Transform?

• A. Converting analog signals to digital form
• B. Converting signals from the time domain to the frequency domain
• C. Converting signals from the frequency domain to the time domain
• D. Converting digital signals to analog form

E6F11

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

• A. 1.5 volts
• B. 1.1 volts
• C. 0.7 volts
• D. 0.5 volts

E5D06

7. What parasitic characteristic creates an inductor's self-resonance?

• A. Dielectric loss
• B. Skin effect
• C. Coupling
• D. Inter-turn capacitance

E5B01

8. 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. One time constant
• C. An exponential rate of one
• D. One exponential period

E6E09

9. Which of the following component package types have the least parasitic effects at frequencies above the HF range?

• A. Axial lead
• B. Radial lead
• C. TO-220
• D. Surface mount

E3A08

10. When a meteor strikes the Earth's atmosphere, a linear ionized region is formed at what region of the ionosphere?

• A. The F1 region
• B. The E region
• C. The D region
• D. The F2 region

E7G10

11. What absolute voltage gain can be expected from the circuit in Figure E7-3 when R1 is 1,800 ohms and RF is 68 kilohms?

• A. 76
• B. 1
• C. 0.03
• D. 38

E6D04

12. Why are cores of inductors and transformers sometimes constructed of thin layers?

• A. To save cost by reducing the amount of magnetic material
• B. To reduce power loss from eddy currents in the core
• C. To increase the cutoff frequency by reducing capacitance
• D. To simplify assembly during manufacturing

E2E09

13. Which of the following HF digital modes uses variable-length character coding?

• A. MT63
• B. PSK31
• C. PACTOR
• D. RTTY

E8C12

14. What factors affect the bandwidth of a transmitted CW signal?

• A. Keying speed and shape factor (rise and fall time)
• B. IF bandwidth and Q
• C. Modulation index and output power
• D. All these choices are correct

E2B03

15. How is an interlaced scanning pattern generated in a fast-scan (NTSC) television system?

• A. By scanning lines from left-to-right in one field and right-to-left in the next
• B. By scanning odd-numbered lines in one field and even-numbered lines in the next
• C. By scanning each field from bottom-to-top
• D. By scanning two fields simultaneously

E1B07

16. To what type of regulations does PRB-1 apply?

• A. Use of wireless devices in vehicles
• B. State and local zoning
• C. FAA tower height limits
• D. Homeowners associations

E6A06

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

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

E9B06

18. What is the elevation angle of peak response in the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-2?

• A. 45 degrees
• B. 7.5 degrees
• C. 75 degrees
• D. 25 degrees

E1C10

19. What is the maximum mean power level for a spurious emission below 30 MHz with respect to the fundamental emission?

• A. - 63 dB
• B. - 73 dB
• C. - 43 dB
• D. - 53 dB

E5A06

20. What is the magnitude of the circulating current within the components of a parallel LC circuit at resonance?

• A. It is at a minimum
• B. It is at a maximum
• C. It equals 1 divided by the quantity 2 times pi, times the square root of (inductance L multiplied by capacitance C)
• D. It equals 2 times pi, times the square root of (inductance L multiplied by capacitance C)

E9G06

21. On the Smith chart shown in Figure E9-3, what is the name for the large outer circle on which the reactance arcs terminate?

• A. Reactance axis
• B. Impedance axis
• C. Polar axis
• D. Prime axis

E1D04

22. Which of the following is required in the identification transmissions from a balloon-borne telemetry station?

• A. Call sign
• B. All these choices are correct
• C. The station's six-character Maidenhead grid locator
• D. The output power of the balloon transmitter

E4C12

23. How does a narrow-band roofing filter affect receiver performance?

• A. It improves sensitivity by reducing front-end noise
• B. It improves intelligibility by using low Q circuitry to reduce ringing
• C. All these choices are correct
• D. It improves blocking dynamic range by attenuating strong signals near the receive frequency

E7C02

24. What is the frequency response of a T-network with series capacitors and a shunt inductor?

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

E4A02

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

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

E1E03

26. What is a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator?

• A. An organization paid by the volunteer examiner team to publicize and schedule examinations
• B. A person who has volunteered to administer amateur operator license examinations
• C. An organization that has entered into an agreement with the FCC to coordinate, prepare, and administer amateur operator license examinations
• D. The person who has entered into an agreement with the FCC to be the VE session manager

E7E09

27. What occurs when the input signal levels to a mixer are too high?

• A. Spurious mixer products are generated
• B. Excessive AGC voltage levels are generated
• C. Automatic limiting occurs
• D. Mixer blanking occurs

E9E06

28. Which of these transmission line impedances would be suitable for constructing a quarter-wave Q-section for matching a 100-ohm feed point impedance to a 50-ohm transmission line?

• A. 62 ohms
• B. 50 ohms
• C. 75 ohms
• D. 90 ohms

E4B03

29. Which S parameter is equivalent to forward gain?

• A. S22
• B. S11
• C. S12
• D. S21

E7A05

30. Which of the following circuits continuously alternates between two states without an external clock signal?

• A. J-K flip-flop
• B. Monostable multivibrator
• C. T flip-flop
• D. Astable multivibrator

E6B02

31. Which characteristic of a Schottky diode makes it a better choice than a silicon junction diode for use as a power supply rectifier?

• A. More constant reverse avalanche voltage
• B. Much higher reverse voltage breakdown
• C. Longer carrier retention time
• D. Lower forward voltage drop

E5C11

32. Which point in Figure E5-1 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 300-ohm resistor and an 18-microhenry inductor at 3.505 MHz?

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

E8B01

33. What is the modulation index of an FM signal?

• A. The modulating signal frequency divided by the bandwidth of the transmitted signal
• B. The bandwidth of the transmitted signal divided by the modulating signal frequency
• C. The ratio of frequency deviation to modulating signal frequency
• D. The ratio of modulating signal amplitude to frequency deviation

E7H05

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

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

E0A11

35. To what should lanyards be attached while climbing?

• A. Tower rungs
• B. Antenna mast
• C. Tower legs
• D. Guy brackets

E9D11

36. Why do most two-element Yagis with normal spacing have a reflector instead of a director?

• A. Higher receiving directivity factor
• B. Greater front-to-side
• C. Higher gain
• D. Lower SWR

E4E03

37. Which of the following types of noise are removed by a noise blanker?

• A. Broadband white noise
• B. Impulse noise
• C. Hum and buzz
• D. All these choices are correct

E1A10

38. If an amateur station is installed aboard a ship or aircraft, what condition must be met before the station is operated?

• A. The amateur station operator must agree not to transmit when the main radio of the ship or aircraft is in use
• B. Its operation must be approved by the master of the ship or the pilot in command of the aircraft
• C. The amateur station must have a power supply that is completely independent of the main ship or aircraft power supply
• D. The amateur station must operate only in specific segments of the amateur service HF and VHF bands

E4D13

39. What is the received signal level with a transmit power of 10 W (+40 dBm), a transmit antenna gain of 6 dBi, a receive antenna gain of 3 dBi, and a path loss of 100 dB?

• A. -54 dBm
• B. -60 dBm
• C. -57 dBm
• D. -51 dBm

E8A09

40. How many different input levels can be encoded by an analog-to-digital converter with 8-bit resolution?

• A. 8
• B. 256
• C. 256 divided by the gain of the input amplifier
• D. 8 multiplied by the gain of the input amplifier

E2C06

41. During a VHF/UHF contest, in which band segment would you expect to find the highest level of SSB or CW activity?

• A. In the middle of the band, usually 25 kHz above the national calling frequency
• B. In the middle of each band, usually on the national calling frequency
• C. At the top of each band, usually in a segment reserved for contests
• D. In the weak signal segment of the band, with most of the activity near the calling frequency

E7B02

42. What is a Class D amplifier?

• A. A low power amplifier that uses a differential amplifier for improved linearity
• B. An amplifier that uses switching technology to achieve high efficiency
• C. An amplifier biased to be relatively free from distortion
• D. An amplifier that uses drift-mode FETs for high efficiency

E9H06

43. What indicates the correct value of terminating resistance for a Beverage antenna?

• A. Maximum feed point DC resistance at the center of the desired frequency range
• B. Maximum DC current in the terminating resistor
• C. Minimum variation in SWR over the desired frequency range
• D. Minimum low-angle front-to-back ratio at the design frequency

E3C03

44. Which of the following signal paths is most likely to experience high levels of absorption when the A-index or K-index is elevated?

• A. NVIS
• B. Transequatorial
• C. Through the auroral oval
• D. Sporadic-E

E8D01

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

• A. Signals not using the spread spectrum algorithm are suppressed in the receiver
• B. The high power used by a spread spectrum transmitter keeps its signal from being easily overpowered
• C. If the receiver detects interference, it will signal the transmitter to change frequencies
• D. Built-in error correction codes minimize interference

E9C04

46. What happens to the radiation pattern of an unterminated long wire antenna as the wire length is increased?

• A. Additional lobes form with major lobes increasingly aligned with the axis of the antenna
• B. Fewer lobes form with the major lobes increasing closer to broadside to the wire
• C. The elevation angle increases, and the front-to-rear ratio decreases
• D. The elevation angle increases, while the front-to-rear ratio is unaffected

E6C11

47. In Figure E6-3, which is the schematic symbol for the NOT operation (inversion)?

• A. 4
• B. 6
• C. 5
• D. 2

E9A06

48. What is the effective radiated power (ERP) of a repeater station with 200 watts transmitter power output, 4 dB feed line loss, 3.2 dB duplexer loss, 0.8 dB circulator loss, and 10 dBd antenna gain?

• A. 2,000 watts
• B. 317 watts
• C. 300 watts
• D. 126 watts

E3B12

49. What is chordal-hop propagation?

• A. Propagation away from the great circle bearing between stations
• B. Signals reflected back toward the transmitting station
• C. Propagation across the geomagnetic equator
• D. Successive ionospheric refractions without an intermediate reflection from the ground

E2A04

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

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