Signal reporting
Decibels
Digital Systems
QSL card, UTC Time, Maps
Phonetic Alphabet
Basic Qualification Question Bank for Amateur Radio Operator Certificate Examinations 12 June, 2014
Station operation
Signal Reporting
(A)
B-002-006-002 What does "RST" mean in a signal report?
A Readability, signal strength, tone
B Recovery, signal strength, tempo
C recovery, signal speed, tone
D Readability, signal speed, tempo
(B)
B-002-006-009 What does "RST 579" mean in a Morse code contact?
A Your signal is barely readable, moderately strong, and with faint ripple
B Your signal is perfectly readable, moderately strong, and with perfect tone
C Your signal is perfectly readable, weak strength, and with perfect tone
D Your signal is fairly readable, fair strength, and with perfect tone
(C)
B-002-006-010 What does "RST 459" mean in a Morse code contact?
A Your signal is barely readable, very weak, and with perfect tone
B Your signal is moderately readable, very weak, and with hum on the tone
C Your signal is quite readable, fair strength, and with perfect tone
Your signal is very readable, very strong, and with perfect tone
(D)
B-002-006-003 What is the meaning of: "Your signal report is 5 7"?
A Your signal is readable with considerable difficulty
B Your signal is perfectly readable with near pure tone
C Your signal is perfectly readable, but weak
D Your signal is perfectly readable and moderately strong
(A)
B-002-006-004 What is the meaning of: "Your signal report is 3 3 "?
A Your signal is readable with considerable difficulty and weak in strength
B Your signal is unreadable, very weak in strength
C The station is located at latitude 33 degrees
D The contact is serial number 33
(C)
What is the meaning of: "You are 5 9 plus 20 dB"?
A Repeat your transmission on a frequency 20 kHz higher
B Your signal strength has increased by a factor of 100
C You are perfectly readable with a signal strength 20 decibels greater than S 9
D The bandwidth of your signal is 20 decibels above linearity
(A)
A distant station asks for a signal report on a local repeater you monitor. Which fact affects your assessment?
A The other operator needs to know how well he is received at the repeater, not how well you receive the repeater
B The repeater gain affects your S-meter reading
C You need to listen to the repeater input frequency for an accurate signal report
D Signal reports are only useful on simplex communications
(B)
B-002-006-007 If the power output of a transmitter is increased by four times, how might a nearby receiver's S-meter reading change?
A Decrease by approximately one S unit
B Increase by approximately one S unit
C Increase by approximately four S units
D Decrease by approximately four S units
(D)
B-002-006-008 By how many times must the power output of a transmitter be increased to raise the S-meter reading on a nearby receiver from S8 to S9?
A Approximately 5 times
B Approximately 3 times
C Approximately 2 times
D Approximately 4 times
(D)
B-002-006-011 What is the meaning of "Your signal report is 1 1"?
A Your signal is 11 dB over S9
B Your signal is first class in readability and first class in strength
C Your signal is very readable and very strong
D Your signal is unreadable, and barely perceptible
Decibels
(D)
B-005-008-001 A two-times increase in power results in a change of how many dB?
A 6 dB higher
B 12 dB higher
C 1 dB higher
D 3 dB higher
(B)
B-005-008-002 How can you decrease your transmitter's power by 3 dB?
A Divide the original power by 4
B Divide the original power by 2
C Divide the original power by 1.5
D Divide the original power by 3
(B)
B-005-008-003 How can you increase your transmitter's power by 6 dB?
A Multiply the original power by 1.5
B Multiply the original power by 4
C Multiply the original power by 3
D Multiply the original power by 2
(C)
B-005-008-004 If a signal-strength report is "10 dB over S9", what should the report be if the transmitter power is reduced from 1500 watts to 150 watts?
A S9 minus 10 dB
B S9 plus 5 dB
C S9
D S9 plus 3 dB
(C)
B-005-008-005 If a signal-strength report is "20 dB over S9", what should the report be if the transmitter power is reduced from 1500 watts to 150 watts?
A S9 plus 3 dB
B S9
C S9 plus 10 dB
D S9 plus 5 dB
(B)
B-005-008-006 The unit "decibel" is used to indicate:
A a single side band signal
B a mathematical ratio
C an oscilloscope wave form
D certain radio waves
(D)
B-005-008-007 The power output from a transmitter increases from 1 watt to 2 watts. This is a dB increase of:
A 30
B 6
C 1
D 3
(A)
B-005-008-008 The power of a transmitter is increased from 5 watts to 50 watts by a linear amplifier. The power gain, expressed in dB, is:
A 10 dB
B 30 dB
C 40 dB
D 20 dB
(B)
B-005-008-009 You add a 9 dB gain amplifier to your 2 watt handheld. What is the power output of the combination?
A 18 watts
B 16 watts
C 11 watts
D 20 watts
(D)
B-005-008-010 The power of a transmitter is increased from 2 watts to 8 watts. This is a power gain of __________ dB.
A 3 dB
B 8 dB
C 9 dB
D 6 dB
(D)
B-005-008-011 A local amateur reports your 100W 2M simplex VHF transmission as 30 dB over S9. To reduce your signal to S9, you would reduce your power to ______ watts.
A 1 W
B 10 W
C 33.3 W
D 100 mW
Digital Systems
(A)
B-003-007-001 In an amateur digital radio system, the __________________interfaces with the computer.
A input/output
B antenna
C power supply
D transceiver
(C)
B-003-007-002 In an amateur digital radio system, the modem is connected to the ________.
A antenna
B input/output
C computer
D amplifier
(B)
B-003-007-003 In an amateur digital radio system, the transceiver is connected to the ___________.
A input/output
B modem
C computer
D scanner
(D)
B-003-007-004 In an amateur digital radio system, the audio connections of the modem/sound card are connected to the ___________.
A input/output
B scanner
C antenna
D transceiver
(B)
B-003-007-005 In an amateur digital radio system, the modem function is often performed by the computer____________ .
A serial port
B sound card
C keyboard
D scanner
(A)
B-003-015-001 What does "connected" mean in an AX.25 packet-radio link?
A A transmitting station is sending data to only one receiving station; it replies that the data is being received correctly
B A telephone link is working between two stations
C A message has reached an amateur station for local delivery
D A transmitting and receiving station are using a digipeater, so no other contacts can take place until they are finished
(B)
B-003-015-002 What does "monitoring" mean on a packet-radio frequency?
A Industry Canada is monitoring all messages
B A receiving station is displaying messages that may not be sent to it, and is not replying to any message
C A member of the Amateur Auxiliary is copying all messages
D A receiving station is displaying all messages sent to it, and replying that the messages are being received correctly
(B)
B-003-015-003 What is a digipeater?
A A station that retransmits any data that it receives
B A station that retransmits only data that is marked to be retransmitted
C A repeater built using only digital electronics parts
D A repeater that changes audio signals to digital data
(C)
B-003-015-004 What does "network" mean in packet radio?
A The connections on terminal-node controllers
B The programming in a terminal-node controller that rejects other callers if a station is already connected
C A way of connecting packet-radio stations so data can be sent over long distances
D A way of connecting terminal-node controllers by telephone so data can be sent over long distances
(C)
B-003-015-005 In AX.25 packet-radio operation, what equipment connects to a terminal-node controller?
A A DTMF keypad, a monitor and a transceiver
B A DTMF microphone, a monitor and a transceiver
C A transceiver, a computer and possibly a GPS receiver
D A transceiver and a modem
(A)
B-003-015-006 How would you modulate a 2 meter FM transceiver to produce packet-radio emissions?
A Connect a terminal-node controller to the transceiver's microphone input
B Connect a terminal-node controller to interrupt the transceiver's carrier wave
C Connect a keyboard to the transceiver's microphone input
D Connect a DTMF key pad to the transceiver's microphone input
(A)
B-003-015-007 When selecting a RTTY transmitting frequency, what minimum frequency separation from a contact in progress should you allow(center to center) to minimize interference?
A 250 to 500 Hz
B Approximately 6 kHz
C Approximately 3 kHz
D 60 Hz
(C)
B-003-015-008 Digital transmissions use signals called __________ to transmit the states 1 and 0:
A Baudot and ASCII
B dot and dash
C mark and space
D packet and AMTOR
(D)
B-003-015-009 Which of the following terms does not apply to packet radio?
A ASCII
B Automatic Packet Reporting System(APRS)
C AX.25
D Baudot
(D)
B-003-015-010 When using AMTOR transmissions, there are two modes that may be utilized. Mode A uses Automatic Repeat Request(ARQ) protocol and is normally used:
A at all times. Mode B is for test purposes only
B only when communications have been completed
C when making a general call
D for communications after contact has been established
(C)
B-003-015-011 With a digital communication mode based on a computer sound card, what is the result of feeding too much audio in the transceiver?
A Lower error rate
B Power amplifier overheating
C Splatter or out-of-channel emissions
D Higher signal-to-noise ratio
QSL Cards, UTC Time, Maps
(A)
B-002-009-001 What is a "QSL card"?
A A written proof of communication between two amateurs
B A Notice of Violation from Industry Canada
C A postcard reminding you when your certificate will expire
D A letter or postcard from an amateur pen pal
(B)
B-002-009-002 What is an azimuthal map?
A A map that shows the number of degrees longitude that an amateur satellite appears to move westward at the equator
B A map projection centered on a particular location, used to determine the shortest path between points on the Earth's surface
C A map projection centered on the North Pole
D A map that shows the angle at which an amateur satellite crosses the equator
(D)
B-002-009-003 What is the most useful type of map to use when orienting a directional HF antenna toward a distant station?
A Mercator
B Polar projection
C Topographical
D Azimuthal
(C)
B-002-009-004 A directional antenna pointed in the long-path direction to another station is generally oriented how many degrees from its short-path heading?
A 90 degrees
B 270 degrees
C 180 degrees
D 45 degrees
(C)
B-002-009-005 What method is used by radio amateurs to provide written proof of communication between two amateur stations?
A A radiogram sent over the CW traffic net
B A packet message
C A signed post card listing contact date, time, frequency, mode and power, called a "QSL card"
D A two-page letter containing a photograph of the operator
(B)
B-002-009-006 You hear other local stations talking to radio amateurs in New Zealand but you don't hear those stations with your beam aimed on the normal compass bearing to New Zealand. What should you try?
A Point your antenna to the south
B Point your beam 180 degrees away from that bearing and listen for the stations arriving on the "long-path"
C Point your antenna toward Newington, Connecticut
D Point your antenna to the north
(D)
B-002-009-007 Which statement about recording all contacts and unanswered "CQ calls" in a station logbook or computer log is not correct?
A A log is important for recording contacts for operating awards
B A well-kept log preserves your fondest amateur radio memories for years
C A log is important for handling neighbour interference complaints
D A logbook is required by Industry Canada
(B)
B-002-009-008 Why would it be useful to have an azimuthal world map centred on the location of your station?
A Because it shows the number of degrees longitude that an amateur satellite moves west
B Because it shows the compass bearing from your station to any place on Earth, for antenna planning and pointing
C Because it looks impressive
D Because it shows the angle at which an amateur satellite crosses the equator
(B)
Station logs and confirmation(QSL) cards are always kept in UTC(Universal Time Coordinate(D). Where is that time based?
A Newington, Connecticut
B Greenwich, England
C Geneva, Switzerland
D Ottawa, Canada
(C)
B-002-009-010 When referring to contacts in the station log, what do the letters UTC mean?
A Unlisted Telephone Call
B Unlimited Time Capsule
C Universal Time Coordinated(formerly Greenwich Mean Time - GMT)
D Universal Time Constant
(C)
B-002-009-011 To set your station clock accurately to UTC, you could receive the most accurate time off the air from _______?
A Your local television station
B Your local radio station
C CHU, WWV or WWVH
D A non-directional beacon station
Phonetic Alphabet
(C)
B-002-002-001 To make your call sign better understood when using voice transmissions, what should you do?
A Talk louder
B Turn up your microphone gain
C Use Standard International Phonetics for each letter of your call sign
D Use any words which start with the same letters as your call sign for each letter of your call
(B)
B-002-002-002 What can you use as an aid for correct station identification when using phone?
A A speech compressor
B The Standard International Phonetic Alphabet
C Q signals
D Unique words of your choice
(A)
B-002-002-003 What is the Standard International Phonetic for the letter A?
A Alfa
B Able
C Adam
D America
(C)
B-002-002-004 What is the Standard International Phonetic for the letter B?
A Borneo
B Baker
C Bravo
D Brazil
(A)
B-002-002-005 What is the Standard International Phonetic for the letter D?
A Delta
B Dog
C Denmark
D David
(B)
B-002-002-006 What is the Standard International Phonetic for the letter E?
A England
B Echo
C Easy
D Edward
(C)
B-002-002-007 What is the Standard International Phonetic for the letter G?
A Germany
B Gibraltar
C Golf
D George
(D)
B-002-002-008 What is the Standard International Phonetic for the letter I?
A Iran
B Italy
C Item
D India
(B)
B-002-002-009 What is the Standard International Phonetic for the letter L?
A Luxembourg
B Lima
C Love
D London
(A) What is the Standard International Phonetic for the letter P?
A Papa
B Portugal
C Paris
D Peter
(B)
B-002-002-011 What is the Standard International Phonetic for the letter R?
A Romania
B Romeo
C Roger
D Radio