Practice Exam

E9E06

1. 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. 90 ohms
• B. 50 ohms
• C. 62 ohms
• D. 75 ohms

E7H03

2. What is a phase-locked loop?

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

E6A06

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

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

E7D03

4. What device is used as a stable voltage reference?

• A. An analog-to-digital converter
• B. A Zener diode
• C. A digital-to-analog converter
• D. An SCR

E2B09

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

• A. AREDN
• B. AM
• C. SSB
• D. CDMA

E9C12

6. Which of the following describes an extended double Zepp antenna?

• A. An end-fed full-wave dipole antenna
• B. An end-fed 2-wavelength dipole antenna
• C. A center-fed 1.25-wavelength dipole antenna
• D. A center-fed 1.5-wavelength dipole antenna

E5A13

7. What is an effect of increasing Q in a series resonant circuit?

• A. Parasitic effects are minimized
• B. Fewer components are needed for the same performance
• C. Phase shift can become uncontrolled
• D. Internal voltages increase

E6C03

8. 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

E3C10

9. What does the 304A solar parameter measure?

• A. UV emissions at 304 angstroms, correlated to the solar flux index
• B. The solar emission at 304 GHz, correlated to X-ray flare levels
• C. The ratio of X-ray flux to radio flux, correlated to sunspot number
• D. The solar wind velocity at an angle of 304 degrees from the solar equator, correlated to geomagnetic storms

E1A03

10. 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. 14.0708 MHz
• D. 14.1472 MHz

E9G10

11. What do the arcs on a Smith chart represent?

• A. SWR
• B. Points with constant resistance
• C. Frequency
• D. Points with constant reactance

E7F13

12. What is the function of taps in a digital signal processing filter?

• A. To reduce excess signal pressure levels
• B. Provide access for debugging software
• C. Select the point at which baseband signals are generated
• D. Provide incremental signal delays for filter algorithms

E9D11

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

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

E8C01

14. What is Quadrature Amplitude Modulation or QAM?

• A. Transmission of data by modulating the amplitude of two carriers of the same frequency but 90 degrees out of phase
• B. A method of performing single sideband modulation by shifting the phase of the carrier and modulation components of the signal
• C. A technique for digital data compression used in digital television which removes redundancy in the data by comparing bit amplitudes
• D. A technique for analog modulation of television video signals using phase modulation and compression

E4C07

15. What does the MDS of a receiver represent?

• A. The minimum discernible signal
• B. The meter display sensitivity
• C. The modulation distortion specification
• D. The maximum detectable spectrum

E1D05

16. What must be posted at the location of a station being operated by telecommand on or within 50 kilometers of the Earth's surface?

• A. A label with the name, address, and telephone number of the control operator
• B. All these choices are correct
• C. A photocopy of the station license
• D. A label with the name, address, and telephone number of the station licensee

E6B08

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

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

E9H05

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

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

E8B05

19. What is the deviation ratio of an FM phone signal having a maximum frequency swing of plus or minus 5 kHz if the highest modulation frequency is 3 kHz?

• A. 6
• B. 0.167
• C. 1.67
• D. 0.6

E5B01

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

E7B02

21. 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

E5D01

22. What is the result of conductor skin effect?

• A. Resistance decreases as frequency increases because electron mobility increases
• B. Resistance increases as temperature increases because of the change in thermal coefficient
• C. Resistance increases as frequency increases because RF current flows closer to the surface
• D. Resistance decreases as temperature increases because of the change in thermal coefficient

E4A03

23. Which of the following test instruments is used to display spurious signals and/or intermodulation distortion products generated by an SSB transmitter?

• A. Logic analyzer
• B. Network analyzer
• C. Spectrum analyzer
• D. Differential resolver

E3B11

24. At what time of day is sporadic-E propagation most likely to occur?

• A. Between sunset and midnight
• B. Between sunset and sunrise
• C. Between sunrise and sunset
• D. Between midnight and sunrise

E7G06

25. What is the gain-bandwidth of an operational amplifier?

• A. The maximum frequency for a filter circuit using that type of amplifier
• B. The frequency at which the amplifier's offset voltage is zero
• C. The frequency at which the open-loop gain of the amplifier equals one
• D. The gain of the amplifier at a filter's cutoff frequency

E0A08

26. What does SAR measure?

• A. The rate of RF energy reflected from stationary terrain
• B. Signal attenuation ratio
• C. Signal amplification rating
• D. The rate at which RF energy is absorbed by the body

E2E09

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

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

E6D11

28. Which type of core material decreases inductance when inserted into a coil?

• A. Ferrite
• B. Ceramic
• C. Aluminum
• D. Brass

E4E13

29. Where should a station AC surge protector be installed?

• A. At an AC outlet
• B. On a ground rod outside the station
• C. On the single point ground panel
• D. At the AC service panel

E5C08

30. What coordinate system is often used to display the phase angle of a circuit containing resistance, inductive, and/or capacitive reactance?

• A. Faraday grid
• B. Elliptical coordinates
• C. Maidenhead grid
• D. Polar coordinates

E1E09

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

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

E9A10

32. Which of the following improves the efficiency of a ground-mounted quarter-wave vertical antenna?

• A. All these choices are correct
• B. Installing a ground radial system
• C. Shortening the radiating element
• D. Isolating the coax shield from ground

E8A02

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

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

E1B01

34. Which of the following constitutes a spurious emission?

• A. An emission outside the signal's necessary bandwidth that can be reduced or eliminated without affecting the information transmitted
• B. Any transmitted signal that unintentionally interferes with another licensed radio station and whose levels exceed 40 dB below the fundamental power level
• C. A signal transmitted to prevent its detection by any station other than the intended recipient
• D. An amateur station transmission made without the proper call sign identification

E9B08

35. What is the far field of an antenna?

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

E6F05

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

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

E3A06

37. What should be done to continue a long-distance contact when the MUF for that path decreases due to darkness?

• A. Change to an antenna with a higher takeoff angle
• B. Switch to a higher frequency HF band
• C. Switch to a lower frequency HF band
• D. Change to an antenna with greater beam width

E1F07

38. When may an amateur station send a message to a business?

• A. When the pecuniary interest of the amateur or his or her employer is less than $50
• B. When the pecuniary interest of the amateur or his or her employer is less than $25
• C. At no time
• D. When neither the amateur nor their employer has a pecuniary interest in the communications

E7C09

39. What is a crystal lattice filter?

• A. A power supply filter made with interlaced quartz crystals
• B. An audio filter made with four quartz crystals that resonate at 1 kHz intervals
• C. A filter using lattice-shaped quartz crystals for high-Q performance
• D. A filter for low-level signals made using quartz crystals

E7E03

40. What is a frequency discriminator?

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

E2D03

41. Which of the following digital modes is designed for EME communications?

• A. Q65
• B. MSK144
• C. WSPR
• D. PACTOR III

E4B04

42. Which S parameter represents input port return loss or reflection coefficient (equivalent to VSWR)?

• A. S11
• B. S22
• C. S12
• D. S21

E6E06

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

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

E8D10

44. What are some of the differences between the Baudot digital code and ASCII?

• A. Baudot uses 7 data bits per character, ASCII uses 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes
• B. Baudot uses 4 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot uses 1 character as a letters/figures shift code, ASCII has no letters/figures code
• C. Baudot uses 5 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot uses 2 characters as letters/figures shift codes, ASCII has no letters/figures shift code
• D. Baudot uses 6 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes

E4D08

45. What causes intermodulation in an electronic circuit?

• A. Positive feedback
• B. Lack of neutralization
• C. Nonlinear circuits or devices
• D. Negative feedback

E7A04

46. How many flip-flops are required to divide a signal frequency by 16?

• A. 6
• B. 4
• C. 16
• D. 8

E9F07

47. How does parallel conductor transmission line compare to coaxial cable with a plastic dielectric?

• A. Lower loss
• B. Smaller reflection coefficient
• C. Higher SWR
• D. Lower velocity factor

E2A11

48. What type of antenna can be used to minimize the effects of spin modulation and Faraday rotation?

• A. A log-periodic dipole array
• B. A circularly polarized antenna
• C. An isotropic antenna
• D. A linearly polarized antenna

E2C11

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

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

E1C12

50. In what portion of the 630-meter band are phone emissions permitted?

• A. None
• B. The entire band
• C. Only the bottom 3 kHz
• D. Only the top 3 kHz