Practice Exam

E2A03

1. How is an upload signal processed by an inverting linear transponder?

• A. The signal is detected and remodulated on the reverse sideband
• B. The signal is mixed with a local oscillator signal and the difference product is transmitted
• C. The signal is passed through a nonlinear filter
• D. The signal is reduced to I and Q components, and the Q component is filtered out

E8D08

2. What parameter evaluates distortion of an AFSK signal caused by excessive input audio levels?

• A. Repeat Request Rate (RRR)
• B. Intermodulation Distortion (IMD)
• C. Signal-to-noise ratio
• D. Baud error rate

E1A03

3. What is the highest legal carrier frequency on the 20-meter band for transmitting a 2.8 kHz wide USB data signal?

• A. 14.1002 MHz
• B. 14.3490 MHz
• C. 14.1472 MHz
• D. 14.0708 MHz

E7C10

4. Which of the following filters is used in a 2-meter band repeater duplexer?

• A. An L-C filter
• B. A DSP filter
• C. A cavity filter
• D. A crystal filter

E5C04

5. What type of Y-axis scale is most often used for graphs of circuit frequency response?

• A. Linear
• B. Random
• C. Scatter
• D. Logarithmic

E4C09

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

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

E5A03

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

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

E2C02

8. Which of the following file formats is used for exchanging amateur radio log data?

• A. ARLD
• B. OCF
• C. NEC
• D. ADIF

E4E06

9. What type of electrical interference can be caused by computer network equipment?

• A. A whining-type noise that continually pulses off and on
• B. A clicking noise at intervals of a few seconds
• C. The appearance of unstable modulated or unmodulated signals at specific frequencies
• D. A loud AC hum in the audio output of your station's receiver

E6E06

10. What characteristics of MMICs make them a popular choice for VHF through microwave circuits?

• A. Extremely high Q factor and high stability over a wide temperature range
• B. Controlled gain, low noise figure, and constant input and output impedance over the specified frequency range
• C. Nearly infinite gain, very high input impedance, and very low output impedance
• D. The ability to retrieve information from a single signal, even in the presence of other strong signals

E4A07

11. Which of the following is an advantage of using an antenna analyzer compared to an SWR bridge?

• A. Antenna analyzers compute SWR and impedance automatically
• B. Antenna analyzers display a time-varying representation of the modulation envelope
• C. All these choices are correct
• D. Antenna analyzers automatically tune your antenna for resonance

E3B12

12. What is chordal-hop propagation?

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

E3A13

13. Which of these emission modes is best for auroral propagation?

• A. RTTY
• B. FM
• C. CW
• D. SSB

E2B09

14. What kind of receiver can be used to receive and decode SSTV using the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) protocol?

• A. AM
• B. CDMA
• C. SSB
• D. AREDN

E1E04

15. What is required to be accredited as a Volunteer Examiner?

• A. A VEC must confirm that the VE applicant meets FCC requirements to serve as an examiner
• B. The amateur operator applying must pass a VE examination administered by the FCC Enforcement Bureau
• C. The prospective VE must obtain accreditation from the FCC
• D. Each General, Advanced and Amateur Extra class operator is automatically accredited as a VE when the license is granted

E8C08

16. How does ARQ accomplish error correction?

• A. If errors are detected, a retransmission is requested
• B. If errors are detected, redundant data is substituted
• C. Special binary codes provide automatic correction
• D. Special polynomial codes provide automatic correction

E6B09

17. What is a common use for point-contact diodes?

• A. As a constant voltage source
• B. As a constant current source
• C. As a high-voltage rectifier
• D. As an RF detector

E9H03

18. What is receiving directivity factor (RDF)?

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

E0A06

19. Why are there separate electric (E) and magnetic (H) MPE limits at frequencies below 300 MHz?

• A. The body reacts to electromagnetic radiation from both the E and H fields
• B. All these choices are correct
• C. Ground reflections and scattering cause the field strength to vary with location
• D. E field and H field radiation intensity peaks can occur at different locations

E9A08

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

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

E8B10

21. What is frequency division multiplexing (FDM)?

• A. Two or more information streams are merged into a digital combiner, which then pulse position modulates the transmitter
• B. Dividing the transmitted signal into separate frequency bands that each carry a different data stream
• C. The transmitted signal is divided into packets of information
• D. The transmitted signal jumps from band to band at a predetermined rate

E2E03

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

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

E1F03

23. Under what circumstances may a dealer sell an external RF power amplifier capable of operation below 144 MHz if it has not been granted FCC certification?

• A. The amplifier is constructed or modified by an amateur radio operator for use at an amateur station
• B. Gain is less than 23 dB when driven by power of 10 watts or less
• C. It was manufactured and certificated in a country which has a reciprocal certification agreement with the FCC
• D. The equipment dealer assembled it from a kit

E4B05

24. What three test loads are used to calibrate an RF vector network analyzer?

• A. 50 ohms, 75 ohms, and 90 ohms
• B. Short circuit, open circuit, and resonant circuit
• C. 50 ohms through 1/8 wavelength, 1/4 wavelength, and 1/2 wavelength of coaxial cable
• D. Short circuit, open circuit, and 50 ohms

E9F02

25. Which of the following has the biggest effect on the velocity factor of a transmission line?

• A. The characteristic impedance
• B. The transmission line length
• C. The insulating dielectric material
• D. The center conductor resistivity

E9C06

26. What is the effect of adding a terminating resistor to a rhombic or long-wire antenna?

• A. It changes the radiation pattern from horizontal to vertical polarization
• B. It decreases the ground loss
• C. It changes the radiation pattern from bidirectional to unidirectional
• D. It reflects the standing waves on the antenna elements back to the transmitter

E9B10

27. What is the principle of a Method of Moments analysis?

• A. A wire is modeled as a single sine-wave voltage source
• B. A wire is modeled as a series of segments, each having a distinct value of voltage across it
• C. A wire is modeled as a single sine-wave current generator
• D. A wire is modeled as a series of segments, each having a uniform value of current

E7E03

28. What is a frequency discriminator?

• A. A circuit for detecting FM signals
• B. An automatic band-switching circuit
• C. A circuit for filtering closely adjacent signals
• D. An FM generator circuit

E7F14

29. Which of the following would allow a digital signal processing filter to create a sharper filter response?

• A. More taps
• B. Double-precision math routines
• C. Higher data rate
• D. Lower Q

E6D10

30. 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

E9E01

31. Which matching system for Yagi antennas requires the driven element to be insulated from the boom?

• A. Shunt-fed
• B. Gamma
• C. T-match
• D. Beta or hairpin

E1B02

32. Which of the following is an acceptable bandwidth for digital voice or slow-scan TV transmissions made on the HF amateur bands?

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

E9D02

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

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

E2D06

34. Which of the following is a method for establishing EME contacts?

• A. Storing and forwarding digital messages
• B. Judging optimum transmission times by monitoring beacons reflected from the moon
• C. High-speed CW identification to avoid fading
• D. Time-synchronous transmissions alternating between stations

E6F07

35. What is a solid-state relay?

• A. A semiconductor switch that uses a monostable multivibrator circuit
• B. A mechanical relay that latches in the on or off state each time it is pulsed
• C. A relay that uses transistors to drive the relay coil
• D. A device that uses semiconductors to implement the functions of an electromechanical relay

E1D09

36. Which UHF amateur bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?

• A. 70 centimeters and 13 centimeters
• B. 33 centimeters and 13 centimeters
• C. 70 centimeters only
• D. 70 centimeters and 33 centimeters

E5B01

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

E3C02

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

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

E9G06

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

E4D06

40. What is the term for the reduction in receiver sensitivity caused by a strong signal near the received frequency?

• A. Desensitization
• B. Cross modulation interference
• C. Reciprocal mixing
• D. Quieting

E7A09

41. What logical operation is performed by a two-input exclusive NOR gate?

• A. It produces a 0 at its output only if all inputs are 0
• B. It produces a 1 at its output only if all inputs are 1
• C. It produces a 1 at its output if one and only one input is 1
• D. It produces a 0 at its output if one and only one of its inputs is 1

E7D10

42. Why is a switching type power supply less expensive and lighter than an equivalent linear power supply?

• A. The high frequency inverter design uses much smaller transformers and filter components for an equivalent power output
• B. The inverter design does not require an output filter circuit
• C. The control circuitry uses less current, therefore smaller heat sinks are required
• D. It recovers power from the unused portion of the AC cycle, thus using fewer components

E1C03

43. How long must an operator wait after filing a notification with the Utilities Technology Council (UTC) before operating on the 2200-meter or 630-meter band?

• A. Operators may operate after 30 days, providing they have not been told that their station is within 1 kilometer of PLC systems using those frequencies
• B. Operators must not operate until approval is received
• C. Operators may not operate until a test signal has been transmitted in coordination with the local power company
• D. Operations may commence immediately, and may continue unless interference is reported by the UTC

E7G01

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

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

E8A10

45. What is the purpose of a low-pass filter used at the output of a digital-to-analog converter?

• A. Lower the input bandwidth to increase the effective resolution
• B. Remove spurious sampling artifacts from the output signal
• C. Improve accuracy by removing out-of-sequence codes from the input
• D. All these choices are correct

E7B10

46. In Figure E7-1, what is the purpose of R1 and R2?

• A. Load resistors
• B. Feedback
• C. Self bias
• D. Voltage divider bias

E7H06

47. Which of these functions can be performed by a phase-locked loop?

• A. Comparison of two digital input signals and digital pulse counting
• B. Wide-band AF and RF power amplification
• C. Frequency synthesis and FM demodulation
• D. Photovoltaic conversion and optical coupling

E5D08

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

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

E6C05

49. Which of the following digital logic families has the lowest power consumption?

• A. NMOS
• B. CMOS
• C. ECL
• D. Schottky TTL

E6A05

50. How does DC input impedance at the gate of a field-effect transistor (FET) compare with that of a bipolar transistor?

• A. They are both low impedance
• B. They are both high impedance
• C. An FET has higher input impedance
• D. An FET has lower input impedance