Technician Class Licensees:  We need your input: Plans are underway to offer an upgrade class from Technician to General using the 2007 question pool.  This pool is currently available for review at the ARRL website.  We are basing this course on a format developed by MicroHams  http://www.microhams.com from the Puget Sound region of Washington State.  The format uses a PowerPoint presentation of the official July-2007 question pool which consists of 486 new questions.  We have added slides to the presentation to help explain some of the terms and concepts. It is anticipated that the new course will require approximately 24 classroom hours to complete which would be spread out over a multi-week period rather than using the "Cram Format".  Prerequisites would require the upgrade candidate to have a valid Technician Class license, and to have previously purchased and reviewed a commercially produced Study Guide. (specifics to be provided later. We expect the cost of the study guide to be around $20.) Additional course material would include handouts of the PowerPoint presentation for note taking and follow-up review.  We expect to charge a nominal fee to cover the cost of printing.

So How de We Do It? The course will be too big to Cram!  We might be able to pound it through in 20 hours but we want this to be a pleasant learning experience. We're not interested in helping you memorize answers.  We want you to know the subject matter so that you will be a knowledgeable operator. Here are some options: Once a week for six weeks; 4 hours per week. All Saturdays?  Mornings or Afternoons? Saturdays and Sundays?  Mornings or Afternoons? Evenings; 6PM until 10PM?  Which days? Evenings, twice a week for 3 weeks? We're open for suggestions and we have until mid May to decide. Email me with your input: Yes? No?  mailto:N6XN

Suggestion #1: A couple of hours per night for a week, then the balance on the weekend. This would be just prior to a test session.  (We'll call that Cram-Lite)

The new question pool is a complete revision. While there are several references to CW operation, there is no longer any requirement for Morse code proficiency, only that required if one should want to operate that mode.  Many of the questions have been seen in previous question pools but have been re-worded.  Here are some examples of the new questions.  If you are currently a Technician class, don't be intimidated by any of these questions; the course material will explain the subjects for a full understanding.  If you are presently licensed as a General class or higher, test yourself:  Can you answer 70% of these questions now without studying?  The answers are at the bottom of the page.

 

1.) G1C07 ( [97.303(s)] Which of the following is a requirement when a station is transmitting on the 60 meter band? A. Transmissions may only use Lower Sideband (LSB) B. Transmissions must use only CW or Data modes C. Transmissions must not exceed an effective radiated power of 50 Watts PEP referred to a dipole antenna D. Transmissions must not exceed an effective radiated power of 200 Watts PEP referred to a dipole antenna	2.) G1C09  [97.305(c) and 97.307(f)(5)] What is the maximum symbol rate permitted for packet emission transmissions on the 2 meter band? A. 300 baud B. 1200 baud C. 19.6 kilobaud D. 56 kilobaud
3.) G1C12  [97.305(c) and 97.307(f)(5)] What is the maximum authorized bandwidth for RTTY, data or multiplexed emissions using an unspecified digital code transmitted on the 6 and 2 meter bands? A. 20 kHz B. 50 kHz C. The total bandwidth shall not exceed that of a single-sideband phone emission D. The total bandwidth shall not exceed 10 times that of a CW emission	4.) G2E10 What is a major advantage of MFSK16 compared to other digital modes? A. It is much higher speed than RTTY B. It is much narrower bandwidth than most digital modes C. It has built-in error correction D. It offers good performance in weak signal environment without error correction
5.) G3A05 What is the solar-flux index? A. A measure of the highest frequency that is useful for ionospheric propagation between two points on the Earth B. A count of sunspots which is adjusted for solar emissions C. Another name for the American sunspot number D. A measure of solar activity at 10.7 cm	6.) G3A18 If the HF radio-wave propagation (skip) is generally good on the 24-MHz and 28-MHz bands for several days, when might you expect a similar condition to occur? A. 7 days later B. 14 days later C. 28 days later D. 90 days later
7.) G3B09 What is the maximum distance along the Earth's surface that is normally covered in one hop using the F2 region? A. 180 miles B. 1,200 miles C. 2,500 miles D. 12,000 miles	8.) G3B10 What is the maximum distance along the Earth's surface that is normally covered in one hop using the E region? A. 180 miles B. 1,200 miles C. 2,500 miles D. 12,000 miles
9.) G3C02 When can the F2 region be expected to reach its maximum height at your location? A. At noon during the summer B. At midnight during the summer C. At dusk in the spring and fall D. At noon during the winter	10.) G3C04 What does the term “critical angle” mean as used in radio wave propagation? A. The long path azimuth of a distant station B. The short path azimuth of a distant station C. The lowest takeoff angle that will return a radio wave to the Earth under specific ionospheric conditions D. The highest takeoff angle that will return a radio wave to the Earth under specific ionospheric conditions
11.) G4A08 Which of the following techniques is used to neutralize an RF amplifier? A. Feed-forward compensation B. Feed-forward cancellation C. Negative feedback D. Positive feedback	12.) G4E10  Which of these materials is used as the active element of a solar cell? A. Doped Silicon B. Nickel Hydride C. Doped Platinum D. Aluminum nitride
13.) G5B08 What is the peak-to-peak voltage of a sine wave that has an RMS voltage of 120 volts? A. 84.8 volts B. 169.7 volts C. 240.0 volts D. 339.4 volts	14.) G5B13 What percentage of power loss would result from a transmission line loss of 1 dB? A. 10.9 % B. 12.2 % C. 20.5 % D. 25.9 %
15.) G6B14 What is the minimum allowable discharge voltage for maximum life of a standard 12 volt lead acid battery? A. 6 volts B. 8.5 volts C. 10.5 volts D. 12 volts	16.) G6C10 What is meant by the term MMIC? A. Multi Megabyte Integrated Circuit B. Monolithlic Microwave Integrated Circuit C. Military-specification Manufactured Integrated Circuit D. Mode Modulated Integrated Circuit
17.) G8B07 What is the frequency deviation for a 12.21-MHz reactance-modulated oscillator in a 5-kHz deviation, 146.52-MHz FM-phone transmitter? A. 101.75 Hz B. 416.7 Hz C. 5 kHz D. 60 kHz	18.) G7B03 What is the output of a two-input NAND gate, given both inputs are “one”? A. Two B. One C. Zero D. Minus One
19.) G7B04 What is the output of a NOR gate given that both inputs are “zero”? A. Zero B. One C. Minus one D. The opposite from the previous state	20.) G7B08 What determines the frequency of an RC oscillator? A. The ratio of the capacitors in the feedback loop B. The value of the inductor in the tank circuit C. The phase shift of the RC feedback circuit D. The gain of the amplifier
21.) G9A14 If the SWR on an antenna feedline is 5 to 1, and a matching network at the transmitter end of the feedline is adjusted to 1 to 1 SWR, what is the resulting SWR on the feedline? A. 1 to 1 B. 5 to 1 C. Between 1 to 1 and 5 to 1 depending on the characteristic impedance of the line D. Between 1 to 1 and 5 to 1 depending on the reflected power at the transmitter	22.) G9B02 What is an advantage of downward sloping radials on a ground-plane antenna? A. They lower the radiation angle B. They bring the feed-point impedance closer to 300 ohms C. They increase the radiation angle D. They can be adjusted to bring the feed-point impedance closer to 50 ohms
23.)G9B05 How does antenna height affect the horizontal (azimuthal) radiation pattern of a horizontal dipole HF antenna? A. If the antenna is too high, the pattern becomes unpredictable B. Antenna height has no effect on the pattern C. If the antenna is less than 1/2 wavelength high, the azimuthal pattern is almost omnidirectional D. If the antenna is less than 1/2 wavelength high, radiation off the ends of the wire is eliminated	24.)G9B07 How does the feed-point impedance of a 1/2 wave dipole antenna change as the antenna is lowered from 1/4 wave above ground? A. It steadily increases B. It steadily decreases C. It peaks at about 1/8 wavelength above ground D. It is unaffected by the height above ground
25.) G9D05 What is the advantage of vertical stacking of horizontally polarized Yagi antennas? A. Allows quick selection of vertical or horizontal polarization B. Allows simultaneous vertical and horizontal polarization C. Narrows the main lobe in azimuth D. Narrows the main lobe in elevation	Bonus Question: In 2007, on what date will the shortest day of the year occur?

Answers:

 

1.) C	2.) C	3.) A	4.) D	5.) D
6.) C	7.) C	8.) B	9.) A	10.) D
11.) C	12.) A	13.) D	14.) C	15.) C
16.) B	17.) B	18.) C	19.) B	20.) C
21.) B	22.) D	23.) C	24.) B	25.) D

Bonus Question: Every one  is the same length: 24 hours.  Be sure to read the questions carefully!