Amateur Radio for Smart People
K5HRA 
What part of a data packet contains the routing and handling information? A. Directory B. Preamble C. Header D. Footer The answer is C. Header. When dealing with data “packets”, no matter the type, there has to be a portion of data that contains information regarding what’s to be done with the data inside it. … Read more
What is the maximum power level that an amateur radio station may use at VHF frequencies before an RF exposure evaluation is required? A. 1500 watts PEP transmitter output B. 1 watt forward power C. 50 watts PEP at the antenna D. 50 watts PEP reflected power The answer to this question is C. 50 … Read more
Ah, another fine math problem from the Amateur Extra exam (don’t you just love these?) [E5D16] What is the power factor of an RL circuit having a 30 degree phase angle between the voltage and the current? A. 1.73 B. 0.5 C. 0.866 D. 0.577 awasdf This question is a bit tricky, because we have … Read more
What frequency range is occupied by a 3 kHz USB signal with the displayed carrier frequency set to 14.347 MHz? A. 14.347 to 14.647 MHz B. 14.347 to 14.350 MHz C. 14.344 to 14.347 MHz D. 14.3455 to 14.3485 MHz This is really just a question of simple addition, so don’t let all the numbers … Read more
Which type of modulation is most commonly used for VHF and UHF voice repeaters? A. AM B. SSB C. PSK D. FM The answer is D. FM, or Frequency Modulation. I’m not sure there is a technical reason for this, as any modulation would work just as well. Except PSK which really isn’t a modulation, … Read more
The Amateur Extra question of the week comes from the section on frequency allocations and amateur services… [E1D07] Which amateur service HF bands have frequencies authorized to space stations? A. Only 40m, 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m and 10m B. Only 40m, 20m, 17m, 15m and 10m bands C. 40m, 30m, 20m, 15m, 12m and 10m … Read more
Delving into the crease where radio and computers converge, this week’s General class exam question is…… What is meant by the term “software defined radio” (SDR)? A. A radio in which most major signal processing functions are performed by software B. A radio that provides computer interface for automatic logging of band and frequency C. … Read more
This week’s foray into the Technician pool is about satellites, specifically…. Which of the following are inputs to a satellite tracking program? A. The weight of the satellite B. The Keplerian elements C. The last observed time of zero Doppler shift D. All of these answers are correct Well, we should probably eliminate the ones … Read more
The Extra-Extra-Extra Read All About it question of the week is a real beauty. [E8B12] What is digital time division multiplexing? A. Two or more data streams are assigned to discrete sub-carriers on an FM transmitter B. Two or more signals are arranged to share discrete time slots of a data transmission C. Two or … Read more
Which value of an AC signal results in the same power dissipation as a DC voltage of the same value? [G5B07] A. The peak-to-peak value B. The peak value C. The RMS value D. The reciprocal of the RMS value This is, unfortunately a “definition” question, so we’ll just come right out and tell you … Read more
