Correct Radio Amateur Answers Manual: Technician, General and Extra

By Mark Kleine

The N5HZR Correct Radio Amateur Answers Manual (CRAAM) presents the entire FCC amateur radio question pool, without the distractors for you to review. The Technician pool is valid until June 30, 2022; the General pool is valid until June 30, 2023; and the Amateur Extra pool is valid until June 30, 2024. This manual will help you pass the FCC Volunteer Examiner Amateur Radio Element 2, Technician; Element 3, General; and Element 4, Amateur Extra tests. The purpose of this guide is to help you learn the answers to all of the test questions quickly, so you can study right before the test session and hold these questions and answers in your short-term memory.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark Kleine
• Release date: Dec 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370699506

Mark Kleine

First involvement in Amateur Radio was 1972 in the Chicagoland area. Built, and fixed a number of Heathkit devices and radios in elementary school. Licensed in 1985, and have been a ham since at least then.Currently, I'm very involved in Oklahoma Digital Mobile Radio (DMR), and I play the webmaster at the South Canadian Amateur Radio Society (SCARS) web presence located at http://w5nor.org.On that site, Gary Skaggs WB5ULK and I have gathered, scanned, and assembled the 28 years of the Central Oklahoma Amateur Radio's Collector and Emitter (C&E) newsletters at http://w5nor.org/ce/. Here you'll find each of the 325 monthly newsletters from February 1975 through February 2002. If you remember these newsletters, it will bring back great memories. If you don't remember them, you'll love to see a snapshot of amateur radio in the Central Oklahoma area. Read the advertisements to see what was new, and exciting. Lots of great stories that probably are rehashed in every section of the country.Also, I've created a section on the W5NOR.org/qrzedd website that's dedicated to the stories about the "great one", Q. R. Zedd A5A. These stories were published in the C&E over almost 10 years. Here you'll find all of the 104 stories that were created by our own KU5B Jack Bickham. Some great amateur radio stories and references throughout these issues.Another web project is an online LearnMorse Code program located at http://w5nor.org/morse/. Here I've created 20 days worth of training, each with five 5 minute training sessions. So, in 30 minutes a day, for 20 days, you'll be able to learn Morse Code at 20 WPM. Here you can enter your email address, and obtain daily reminder messages for the training, and another 20 lessons of practice sessions. If you already know the code, come on by and practice your code skills online at http://w5nor.org/morse/I'm also playing the role of the Cleveland County ARES Emergency Coordinator. We've got a great group of hams that are ready for anything, and are learning something new every day. We get about 50 or so to check in on a weekly basis. You can listen in on the weekly ARES net at 8:00 pm Central Time on Tuesdays by visiting our http://w5nor.org/listen/ Broadcastify service.I've been involved with the SCARS repeater technical committee since 1985, and we've been operating VHF since about 1980, UHF since the '90s and APRS since the '00s. Always something new, always something to do.To help local hams study for their Amateur Radio exams, I've created a study guide that should help you CRAAM for the test. The Correct Radio Amateur Answer Manual (CRAAM) lists the exam pool questions, and ONLY the correct answers for all three pools, Technician, General, and Extra. The CRAAM is available on Amazon in paper, and Kindle versions, for $19.99 at: https://www.amazon.com/Correct-Radio-Amateur-Answers-Manual/dp/1535483318/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473305864&sr=8-1&keywords=mark+paul+kleine or from MTC Radio at: http://www.mtcradio.com/correct-radio-amateur-answers-manual-craam-by-n5hzr/ or on Facebook at http://facebook.com/craambook or on the web at http://crookedcornrow.com/craam or can be purchased at a SCARS meeting.In 2017 I start a new project as President of the Central Oklahoma Radio Amateurs (CORA). This group works throughout the year to prepare for the annual (since 1974) hamfest, Ham Holiday. This event happens on the fourth weekend of July each year. More information is available at http://w5nor.org/hamholiday/.

Book preview

Correct Radio Amateur Answers Manual

Copyright © 2021 by Mark Kleine N5HZR. All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this publication may be replicated, redistributed, or given away in any form without the prior written consent of the author/publisher or the terms relayed to you herein.

Mark Paul Kleine, N5HZR, https://hambooks.com, Norman, OK, 73026, United States of America

Table of Contents

Title Page

Technician Pool Expires June 30, 2022

Technician Part 1

Technician Part 2

Technician Part 3

Technician Part 4

Technician Part 5

Technician Part 6

General Pool Expires June 30, 2023

General Part 1

General Part 2

General Part 3

General Part 4

General Part 5

General Part 6

Amateur Extra Pool Expires June 30, 2024

Amateur Extra Part 1

Amateur Extra Part 2

Amateur Extra Part 3

Amateur Extra Part 4

Amateur Extra Part 5

Amateur Extra Part 6

FCC Technician Pool

Expires June 30, 2022

N5HZR CRAAM

Welcome to the N5HZR Correct Radio Amateur Answers Manual (CRAAM). The goal of this manual is to help you pass the 2018 FCC VE Amateur Radio Element 2, Technician test. This is not to be confused with a training guide, and operators guide, or a how-to document. Once you obtain your Amateur Technician license, you'll need to work hard to learn how YOU want to work with radio.

How to use this document:

This process works with the short term memory that we all take for granted. You should make arrangements to take a VE Test some evening, and start this process 8 – 10 hours before the test starts. So, let's say the test starts at 6:30 pm. Here's the schedule for the day:

10:00 to 10:45 – Read the first segment for 45 minutes.

10:45 to 11:00 – Take a break, hit the restroom, clear your mind.

11:00 to 11:45 – Read the second segment for 45 minutes.

11:45 to 12:00 – Take a break, hit the restroom, clear your mind.

12:00 to 12:45 – Read the third segment for 45 minutes.

12:45 to 14:00 – Take a break, eat lunch, hit the restroom, clear your mind.

14:00 to 14:45 – Read the fourth segment for 45 minutes.

14:45 to 15:00 – Take a break, hit the restroom, clear your mind.

15:00 to 15:45 – Read the fifth segment for 45 minutes.

15:45 to 16:00 – Take a break, hit the restroom, clear your mind.

16:00 to 16:45 – Read the sixth segment for 45 minutes.

16:45 to 18:30 – Head off to the test site.

18:30 to 19:30 – Relax, take the test.

During each 45 minute reading session, do nothing but read. Turn off all electronic devices. Accept no interruptions. Go somewhere quiet, and away from your normal activities.

The CRAAM guide is laid out with each question listed in normal type, and each CORRECT answer listed in bold faced text. Don't try to guess the answer. Read and remember each question and answer. This is to plant each CORRECT answer in your short term memory. You are not trying to understand this information, you're trying to remember this information. There's plenty of time to learn how this works AFTER you get up and running. Take your time... You will have almost 8 minutes to read each page.

The NCVEC Question Pool Committee hereby releases into public domain the 2018-2022 Technician Class, Element 2, Question pool. This pool becomes effective for all Element 2 license examinations administered on July 1, 2018 and is valid until June 30, 2022.

Technician Part 1 – Read this for :45 minutes...

Which of the following is a purpose of the Amateur Radio Service as stated in the FCC rules and regulations?

Advancing skills in the technical and communication phases of the radio art

Which agency regulates and enforces the rules for the Amateur Radio Service in the United States?

The FCC

What are the FCC rules regarding the use of a phonetic alphabet for station identification in the Amateur Radio Service?

It is encouraged

How many operator/primary station license grants may be held by any one person?

One

What is proof of possession of an FCC-issued operator/primary license grant?

The control operator's operator/primary station license must appear in the FCC ULS consolidated licensee database

What is the FCC Part 97 definition of a beacon?

An amateur station transmitting communications for the purposes of observing propagation or related experimental activities

What is the FCC Part 97 definition of a space station?

An amateur station located more than 50 km above the Earth's surface

Which of the following entities recommends transmit/receive channels and other parameters for auxiliary and repeater stations?

Volunteer Frequency Coordinator recognized by local amateurs

Who selects a Frequency Coordinator?

Amateur operators in a local or regional area whose stations are eligible to be repeater or auxiliary stations

Which of the following describes the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES)?

A radio service using amateur frequencies for emergency management or civil defense communications

A radio service using amateur stations for emergency management or civil defense communications

An emergency service using amateur operators certified by a civil defense organization as being enrolled in that organization

All of these choices are correct

When is willful interference to other amateur radio stations permitted?

At no time

What is the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)?

A United Nations agency for information and communication technology issues

Which amateur radio stations may make contact with an amateur radio station on the International Space Station (ISS) using 2 meter and 70 cm band frequencies?

Any amateur holding a Technician or higher-class license

Which frequency is within the 6 meter amateur band?

52.525 MHz

Which amateur band are you using when your station is transmitting on 146.52 MHz?

2 meter band

What is the limitation for emissions on the frequencies between 219 and 220 MHz?

Fixed digital message forwarding systems only

On which HF bands does a Technician class operator have phone privileges?

10 meters only

Which of the following VHF/UHF frequencies ranges are limited to CW only?

50.0 MHz to 50.1 MHz and 144.0 MHz to 144.1 MHz

Which of the following is a result of the fact that the Amateur Radio Service is secondary in all or portions of some amateur bands (such as portions of the 70 cm band)?

U.S. amateurs may find non-amateur stations in those portions, and must avoid interfering with them

Why should you not set your transmit frequency to be exactly at the edge of an amateur band or sub-band?

To allow for calibration error in the transmitter frequency display

So that modulation sidebands do not extend beyond the band edge

To allow for transmitter frequency drift

All of these choices are correct

Which of the following HF bands have frequencies available to the Technician class operator for RTTY and data transmissions?

10 meters only

What is the maximum peak envelope power output for Technician class operators using their assigned portions of the HF bands?

200 watts

Except for some specific restrictions, what is the maximum peak envelope power output for Technician class operators using frequencies above 30 MHz?

1500 watts

For which license classes are new licenses currently available from the FCC?

Technician, General, Amateur Extra

Who may select a desired call sign under the vanity call sign rules?

Any licensed amateur

What types of international communications is an FCC-licensed amateur radio station permitted to make?

Communications incidental to the purposes of the Amateur Radio Service and remarks of a personal character

When are you allowed to operate your amateur station in a foreign country?

When the foreign country authorizes it

Which of the following is a valid call sign for a Technician class amateur radio station?

K1XXX

From which of the following locations may an FCC-licensed amateur station transmit?

From any vessel or craft located in international waters and documented or registered in the United States

What may result when correspondence from the FCC is returned as undeliverable because the grantee failed to provide and maintain a correct mailing address with the FCC?

Revocation of the station license or suspension of the operator license

What is the normal term for an FCC-issued primary station/operator amateur radio license grant?

Ten years

What is the grace period following the expiration of an amateur license within which the license may be renewed?

Two years

How soon after passing the examination for your first amateur radio license may you operate a transmitter on an Amateur Radio Service frequency?

As soon as your operator/station license grant appears in the FCC’s license database

If your license has expired and is still within the allowable grace period, may you continue to operate a transmitter on Amateur Radio Service frequencies?

No, transmitting is not allowed until the FCC license database shows that the license has been renewed

With which countries are FCC-licensed amateur radio stations prohibited from exchanging communications?

Any country whose administration has notified the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) that it objects to such communications

Under which of the following circumstances may an amateur radio station make one-way transmissions?

When transmitting code practice, information bulletins, or transmissions necessary to provide emergency communications

When is it permissible to transmit messages encoded to hide their meaning?

Only when transmitting control commands to space stations or radio control craft

Under what conditions is an amateur station authorized to transmit music using a phone emission?

When incidental to an authorized retransmission of manned spacecraft communications

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

When the equipment is normally used in an amateur station and such activity is not conducted on a regular basis

What, if any, are the restrictions concerning transmission of language that may be considered indecent or obscene?

Any such language is prohibited

What types of amateur stations can automatically retransmit the signals of other amateur stations?

Repeater, auxiliary, or space stations

In which of the following circumstances may the control operator of an amateur station receive compensation for operating that station?

When the communication is incidental to classroom instruction at an educational institution

Under which of the following circumstances are amateur stations authorized to transmit signals related to broadcasting, program production, or news gathering, assuming no other means is available?

Only where such communications directly relate