Practice Exam

T1A03

1. What do the FCC rules state regarding the use of a phonetic alphabet for station identification in the Amateur Radio Service?

• A. It is encouraged when using phone emissions
• B. All these choices are correct
• C. It is required when transmitting emergency messages
• D. It is required when in contact with foreign stations

T3A09

2. Which of the following results from the fact that signals propagated by the ionosphere are elliptically polarized?

• A. Either vertically or horizontally polarized antennas may be used for transmission or reception
• B. Digital modes are unusable
• C. FM voice is unusable
• D. Both the transmitting and receiving antennas must be of the same polarization

T5A07

3. Why are metals generally good conductors of electricity?

• A. They have many free protons
• B. They have relatively high density
• C. They have relatively high Young's modulus values
• D. They have many free electrons

T1D05

4. When may amateur radio operators use their stations to notify other amateurs of the availability of equipment for sale or trade?

• A. When the equipment is not the personal property of either the station licensee, or the control operator, or their close relatives
• B. When selling amateur radio equipment and not on a regular basis
• C. Never
• D. When no profit is made on the sale

T7D07

5. Which of the following measurements are made using a multimeter?

• A. Voltage and resistance
• B. Signal strength and noise
• C. All these choices are correct
• D. Impedance and reactance

T6C08

6. What is component 9 in figure T-2?

• A. Variable transformer
• B. Variable inductor
• C. Variable capacitor
• D. Variable resistor

T3C03

7. What is one characteristic of VHF signals received via auroral backscatter?

• A. They are often received from 10,000 miles or more
• B. They occur only during winter nighttime hours
• C. They are generally strongest when your antenna is aimed west
• D. They are distorted, with a characteristic raspy sound

T5D07

8. What is the current in a circuit with an applied voltage of 120 volts and a resistance of 80 ohms?

• A. 200 amperes
• B. 1.5 amperes
• C. 0.667 amperes
• D. 9600 amperes

T9A07

9. What is a potential drawback of using a handheld VHF transceiver inside a vehicle that lacks an externally mounted antenna?

• A. The SWR might decrease, decreasing the signal strength
• B. The bandwidth of the antenna will decrease, increasing SWR
• C. The handheld will overheat due to reflected power in the vehicle
• D. Signal strength is reduced due to the shielding effect of the vehicle

T6A04

10. What electrical component stores energy in an electric field?

• A. Capacitor
• B. Inductor
• C. Resistor
• D. Diode

T1E01

11. When may an amateur station transmit without a control operator?

• A. Never
• B. When the station licensee is away and another licensed amateur is using the station
• C. When using automatic control, such as in the case of a repeater
• D. When the transmitting station is an auxiliary station

T7A02

12. What is a transceiver?

• A. A device for converting receiver and transmitter frequencies to another band
• B. A device that combines a receiver and transmitter
• C. A device for automatically sending and decoding Morse code
• D. A device for matching feed line impedance to 50 ohms

T2C11

13. What is meant by "check" in a radiogram header?

• A. A list of stations that have relayed the message
• B. The number of words or word equivalents in the text portion of the message
• C. The call sign of the originating station
• D. A box on the message form that indicates that the message was received and/or relayed

T8D11

14. What is the role of ARQ in a transmission system?

• A. A special transmission format limited to video signals
• B. An error correction method in which the receiving station detects errors and sends a request for retransmission
• C. A method of compressing data using autonomous reiterative Q codes prior to final encoding
• D. A system used to encrypt command signals to an amateur radio satellite

T5B03

15. Which is equal to one kilovolt?

• A. One hundred volts
• B. One one-thousandth of a volt
• C. One thousand volts
• D. One million volts

T8A08

16. What is the approximate bandwidth of a typical single sideband (SSB) voice signal?

• A. 15 kHz
• B. 3 kHz
• C. 6 kHz
• D. 1 kHz

T6D02

17. What is a relay?

• A. A pass transistor
• B. A current-controlled amplifier
• C. An electrically-controlled switch
• D. An inverting amplifier

T7B05

18. Which of the following might reduce interference by an amateur station to a non-amateur over-the-air radio receiver?

• A. Switch the transmitter from FM to SSB
• B. Switch the transmitter to a narrow-band mode
• C. Block the amateur signal with a filter at the antenna input of the affected receiver
• D. Block the interfering signal with a filter on the amateur transmitter

T6B04

19. Which of the following components can consist of three regions of semiconductor material?

• A. Alternator
• B. Triode
• C. Pentode
• D. Transistor

T4A04

20. How are the audio input and output of a transceiver connected in a station configured to operate using FT8?

• A. To a computer connected to the FT8converter.com website
• B. To an FT8 conversion unit, a keyboard, and a computer monitor
• C. To a computer running a terminal program and connected to a terminal node controller unit
• D. To the audio output and input of a computer running FT8 software

T1F10

21. Who is accountable if a repeater inadvertently retransmits communications that violate the FCC rules?

• A. The owner of the repeater
• B. Both the originating station and the repeater owner
• C. The control operator of the repeater
• D. The control operator of the originating station

T0B06

22. What is the minimum safe distance from a power line to allow when installing an antenna?

• A. The height of the power line above ground
• B. Enough so that if the antenna falls, no part of it can come within 10 feet of the power wires
• C. 1/2 wavelength at the operating frequency
• D. Add the height of the antenna to the height of the power line and multiply by a factor of 1.5

T0C10

23. Why is duty cycle one of the factors used to determine safe RF radiation exposure levels?

• A. It takes into account the thermal effects of the final amplifier
• B. It affects the peak exposure to radiation
• C. It affects the average exposure to radiation
• D. It takes into account the antenna feed line loss

T2A03

24. What is a common repeater frequency offset in the 70-centimeter band?

• A. Plus or minus 500 kHz
• B. Plus or minus 1 MHz
• C. Plus or minus 5 MHz
• D. Plus or minus 600 kHz

T8C08

25. What is the Internet Radio Linking Project (IRLP)?

• A. A technique for measuring signal strength of an amateur transmitter via the internet
• B. A system for providing access to websites via amateur radio
• C. A technique to connect amateur radio systems, such as repeaters, via the internet
• D. A system for informing amateurs in real time of the frequency of active DX stations

T4B03

26. How is squelch adjusted so that a weak FM signal can be heard?

• A. Turn on the anti-squelch function
• B. Set the squelch threshold so that receiver output audio is on all the time
• C. Enable squelch enhancement
• D. Turn up the audio level until it overcomes the squelch threshold

T9B10

27. What is the electrical difference between RG-58 and RG-213 coaxial cable?

• A. RG-58 cable can handle higher power levels
• B. RG-58 cable has two shields
• C. RG-213 cable has less loss at a given frequency
• D. There is no significant difference between the two types

T5C01

28. What describes the ability to store energy in an electric field?

• A. Capacitance
• B. Resistance
• C. Frequency
• D. Inductance

T3B06

29. What is the formula for converting frequency to approximate wavelength in meters?

• A. Wavelength in meters equals frequency in megahertz divided by 300
• B. Wavelength in meters equals frequency in hertz divided by 300
• C. Wavelength in meters equals 300 divided by frequency in megahertz
• D. Wavelength in meters equals frequency in hertz multiplied by 300

T0A03

30. In the United States, what circuit does black wire insulation indicate in a three-wire 120 V AC cable?

• A. Negative
• B. Equipment ground
• C. Hot
• D. Neutral

T2B09

31. Why are simplex channels designated in the VHF/UHF band plans?

• A. For contest operation
• B. For working DX only
• C. So stations with simple transmitters can access the repeater without automated offset
• D. So stations within range of each other can communicate without tying up a repeater

T8B01

32. What telemetry information is typically transmitted by satellite beacons?

• A. Health and status of the satellite
• B. All these choices are correct
• C. Time of day accurate to plus or minus 1/10 second
• D. The signal strength of received signals

T1B07

33. Which of the following VHF/UHF band segments are limited to CW only?

• A. 902.0 MHz to 902.1 MHz
• B. All these choices are correct
• C. 50.0 MHz to 50.1 MHz and 144.0 MHz to 144.1 MHz
• D. 219 MHz to 220 MHz and 420.0 MHz to 420.1 MHz

T7C03

34. What does a typical RF dummy load consist of?

• A. A low-voltage power supply and a DC relay
• B. A low-voltage power supply and an AC relay
• C. A 50-ohm inductive reactance mounted in a shielded enclosure
• D. A 50-ohm non-inductive resistor mounted on a heat sink

T1C06

35. Which of the following statements is true about using your amateur radio license when operating aboard a vessel or craft in international waters?

• A. Amateur operation is prohibited in international waters
• B. You may operate from a US-documented vessel with the master's permission
• C. You may only operate during maritime emergencies
• D. You need special FCC authorization for maritime mobile operation