Technician Exam Questions

What is the most common repeater frequency offset in the 2 meter band? [T2A01] A. Plus 500 kHz B. Plus or minus 600 kHz C. Minus 500 kHz D. Only plus 600 kHz The answer is B. Plus or minus 600 kHz.  Recall that the frequency offset is the difference between the repeater’s input frequency, … Read more

Where should an in-line SWR meter be connected to monitor the standing wave ratio of the station antenna system? [T4A05] A. In series with the feed line, between the transmitter and antenna B. In series with the station’s ground C. In parallel with the push-to-talk line and the antenna D. In series with the power … Read more

Which of these components can be used as an electronic switch or amplifier? [T6B03] A. Oscillator B. Potentiometer C. Transistor D. Voltmeter Piece of cake this one is….  Lets go through the false answers first, just to make sure. A. Oscillator.  By definition, an oscillator simply takes a signal and, well, oscillates it.  on/off, high/low, … Read more

What causes spin fading when referring to satellite signals? [T8B09] A. Circular polarized noise interference radiated from the sun B. Rotation of the satellite and its antennas C. Doppler shift of the received signal D. Interfering signals within the satellite uplink band Well, to start with, I suppose we should define “spin fading.”  Spin fading … Read more

What is the ability to store energy in a magnetic field called? [T5C03] A. Admittance B. Capacitance C. Resistance D. Inductance Here we have another example of a “definition” type of question.  The answer is D. Inductance.  A device that stores a magnetic field is called an inductor.  So if you can remember the correlation, … Read more

What should be done to insure that voice message traffic containing proper names and unusual words are copied correctly by the receiving station? [T2C03] A. The entire message should be repeated at least four times B. Such messages must be limited to no more than 10 words C. Such words and terms should be spelled … Read more

Which of the following describes a simple dipole mounted so the conductor is parallel to the Earth’s surface? [T9A03] A. A ground wave antenna B. A horizontally polarized antenna C. A rhombic antenna D. A vertically polarized antenna Lets recall what we mean when we talk about an electromagnetic field being “polarized.”  The direction of … Read more

If a frequency readout shows a reading of 2425 MHz, what frequency is that in GHz? [T5B13] A. 0.002425 GHZ B. 24.25 GHz C. 2.425 GHz D. 2425 GHz The best way to figure this out is to review our metric prefixes.  If you’re into computers at all, you already use “Mega” and “Giga” and … Read more

What are the two components of a radio wave? [T3B03] A. AC and DC B. Voltage and current C. Electric and magnetic fields D. Ionizing and non-ionizing radiation This is a “definition” type of question, one that if I remember correctly was posed to us on day one of my college Electromagnetics class. A “radio … Read more

What is the correct way to connect a voltmeter to a circuit? A. In series with the circuit B. In parallel with the circuit C. In quadrature with the circuit D. In phase with the circuit Well, first off lets just get rid of C. and D. Neither “in quadrature” or “in phase” really make … Read more