Practice Exam

E0A01

1. What is the primary function of an external earth connection or ground rod?

• A. Prevent static build up on power lines
• B. Reduce RF current flow between pieces of equipment
• C. Lightning charge dissipation
• D. Protect breaker panel from power surges

E1D10

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

E6B06

3. Which of the following is a common use of a Schottky diode?

• A. In oscillator circuits as the negative resistance element
• B. As a variable capacitance in an automatic frequency control circuit
• C. As a VHF/UHF mixer or detector
• D. In power supplies as a constant voltage reference

E1A09

4. Except in some parts of Alaska, what is the maximum power permitted on the 630-meter band?

• A. 5 watts EIRP (equivalent isotropic radiated power)
• B. 50 watts PEP (peak envelope power)
• C. 1 watt EIRP (equivalent isotropic radiated power)
• D. 100 watts PEP (peak envelope power)

E7D05

5. Which of the following types of linear voltage regulator operates by loading the unregulated voltage source?

• A. A constant current source
• B. A shunt regulator
• C. A shunt current source
• D. A series regulator

E6A10

6. In Figure E6-1, which is the schematic symbol for an N-channel dual-gate MOSFET?

• A. 5
• B. 2
• C. 6
• D. 4

E4C09

7. Which of the following choices is a good reason for selecting a high IF for a superheterodyne HF or VHF communications receiver?

• A. Reduced drift
• B. Improved receiver noise figure
• C. Easier for front-end circuitry to eliminate image responses
• D. Fewer components in the receiver

E5A03

8. What is the magnitude of the impedance of a series RLC circuit at resonance?

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

E9D05

9. Approximately how long is a Yagi's driven element?

• A. 1005 divided by frequency in MHz
• B. 1/2 wavelength
• C. 234 divided by frequency in MHz
• D. 1/4 wavelength

E9C14

10. How does the radiation pattern of a horizontally-polarized antenna mounted above a long slope compare with the same antenna mounted above flat ground?

• A. The main lobe takeoff angle decreases in the downhill direction
• B. The horizontal beamwidth decreases in the downhill direction
• C. The horizontal beamwidth increases in the uphill direction
• D. The main lobe takeoff angle increases in the downhill direction

E4A10

11. Which trigger mode is most effective when using an oscilloscope to measure a linear power supply's output ripple?

• A. Single-shot
• B. Level
• C. Edge
• D. Line

E8C02

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

• A. The number of control characters in a message packet
• B. The maximum rate at which the forward error correction code can make corrections
• C. The rate at which the waveform changes to convey information
• D. The number of characters carried per second by the station-to-station link

E8B01

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

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

E4D10

14. 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. Signals less than 40 dBm will not generate audible third-order intermodulation products
• C. The receiver can tolerate signals up to 40 dB above the noise floor without producing 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

E7E05

15. What is added to an FM speech channel to boost the higher audio frequencies?

• A. A pre-emphasis network
• B. A heterodyne enhancer
• C. A harmonic enhancer
• D. A de-emphasis network

E4E14

16. What is the purpose of a single point ground panel?

• A. Eliminate air gaps between protected and non-protected circuits
• B. Remove AC power in case of a short-circuit
• C. Ensure all lightning protectors activate at the same time
• D. Prevent common-mode transients in multi-wire systems

E7C05

17. Which filter type has ripple in the passband and a sharp cutoff?

• A. A Butterworth filter
• B. A Chebyshev filter
• C. A passive op-amp filter
• D. An active LC filter

E6F05

18. Which of the following describes an optical shaft encoder?

• A. A device for generating RTTY signals by means of a rotating light source
• B. A device that detects rotation by interrupting a light source with a patterned wheel
• C. A device that measures the strength of a beam of light using analog-to-digital conversion
• D. An optical computing device in which light is coupled between devices by fiber optics

E8A02

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

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

E3C02

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

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

E2D10

21. What does the packet path WIDE3-1 designate?

• A. Three subcarriers are permitted, subcarrier one is being used
• B. Three stations are allowed on frequency, one transmitting at a time
• C. Three digipeater hops are requested with one remaining
• D. Three internet gateway stations may receive one transmission

E9B02

22. What is the front-to-back ratio of the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-1?

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

E7B01

23. For what portion of the signal cycle does each active element in a push-pull, Class AB amplifier conduct?

• A. More than 180 degrees but less than 360 degrees
• B. Exactly 180 degrees
• C. Less than 180 degrees
• D. The entire cycle

E2C03

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

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

E8D02

25. What spread spectrum communications technique uses a high-speed binary bit stream to shift the phase of an RF carrier?

• A. Frequency hopping
• B. Binary phase-shift keying
• C. Direct sequence
• D. Phase compandored spread spectrum

E1B03

26. Within what distance must an amateur station protect an FCC monitoring facility from harmful interference?

• A. 30 miles
• B. 1 mile
• C. 10 miles
• D. 3 miles

E7H03

27. What is a phase-locked loop?

• A. An electronic circuit consisting of a precision push-pull amplifier with a differential phase input
• B. An electronic circuit also known as a monostable multivibrator
• C. An electronic servo loop consisting of a ratio detector, reactance modulator, and voltage-controlled oscillator
• D. An electronic servo loop consisting of a phase detector, a low-pass filter, a voltage-controlled oscillator, and a stable reference oscillator

E7A03

28. Which of the following can divide the frequency of a pulse train by 2?

• A. An XOR gate
• B. A flip-flop
• C. An OR gate
• D. A multiplexer

E2A01

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

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

E1F05

30. 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. 53 MHz - 54 MHz
• C. 222 MHz - 223 MHz
• D. 420 MHz - 430 MHz

E4B07

31. What do the subscripts of S parameters represent?

• A. The port or ports at which measurements are made
• B. Frequency order of the measurements
• C. The relative time between measurements
• D. Relative quality of the data

E7G01

32. What is the typical output impedance of an op-amp?

• A. Very high
• B. 100 ohms
• C. 10,000 ohms
• D. Very low

E2B04

33. How is color information sent in analog SSTV?

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

E9H03

34. What is receiving directivity factor (RDF)?

• A. Forward gain compared to the gain in the reverse direction
• B. Relative directivity compared to a dipole
• C. Relative directivity compared to isotropic
• D. Peak antenna gain compared to average gain over the hemisphere around and above the antenna

E7F06

35. What is the minimum number of bits required to sample a signal with a range of 1 volt at a resolution of 1 millivolt?

• A. 8 bits
• B. 10 bits
• C. 6 bits
• D. 4 bits

E9E08

36. What is a use for a Wilkinson divider?

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

E9A08

37. Which frequency band has the smallest first Fresnel zone?

• A. 900 MHz
• B. 5.8 GHz
• C. 2.4 GHz
• D. 3.4 GHz

E5C01

38. Which of the following represents pure capacitive reactance of 100 ohms in rectangular notation?

• A. 0 + j100
• B. 100 + j0
• C. 100 - j0
• D. 0 - j100

E5D11

39. How much real power is consumed in a circuit consisting of a 100-ohm resistor in series with a 100-ohm inductive reactance drawing 1 ampere?

• A. 141.4 watts
• B. 70.7 watts
• C. 200 watts
• D. 100 watts

E5B04

40. What is the time constant of a circuit having two 220-microfarad capacitors and two 1-megohm resistors, all in parallel?

• A. 110 seconds
• B. 440 seconds
• C. 220 seconds
• D. 55 seconds

E1E09

41. What may be the penalty for a VE who fraudulently administers or certifies an examination?

• A. A fine of up to $1,000 per occurrence
• B. A sentence of up to one year in prison
• C. All these choices are correct
• D. Revocation of the VE's amateur station license grant and the suspension of the VE's amateur operator license grant

E9F12

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

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

E9G02

43. What type of coordinate system is used in a Smith chart?

• A. Voltage chords and current chords
• B. Voltage circles and current arcs
• C. Resistance circles and reactance arcs
• D. Resistance lines and reactance chords

E1C10

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

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

E2E03

45. To what does the "4" in FT4 refer?

• A. Four-tone continuous-phase frequency shift keying
• B. Multiples of 4 bits of user information
• C. All these choices are correct
• D. Four transmit/receive cycles per minute

E3A05

46. How are the component fields of an electromagnetic wave oriented?

• A. They are at right angles
• B. They are parallel
• C. They are 90 degrees out of phase
• D. They are tangential

E6E05

47. Which of the following noise figure values is typical of a low-noise UHF preamplifier?

• A. 0.5 dB
• B. -10 dB
• C. 44 dBm
• D. -20 dBm

E3B10

48. What is the effect of chordal-hop propagation?

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

E6C01

49. What is the function of hysteresis in a comparator?

• A. To prevent input noise from causing unstable output signals
• B. To cause the output to continually change states
• C. To allow the comparator to be used with AC input signals
• D. To increase the sensitivity

E6D08

50. Which of the following materials has the highest temperature stability of its magnetic characteristics?

• A. Aluminum
• B. Ferrite
• C. Brass
• D. Powdered iron