HAM’S LIFE

Do you know anyone who is interested in
becoming a ham and needs some study material?
I have just updated my ham radio class blog at http://hamslife2.blogspot.com . 

I will be teaching a class using the basic
format found in these ten lessons.  The
class will be held at the Colusa County Sheriff’s office in Colusa, California.  The classes will be every Saturday starting
on September 11, 2010 going through October 30, 2010.  The time will be 9 AM to 12 noon. 

The new Technician class question pool has seven diagrams, three schematic and four block diagrams.  The new technician class candidate does not have to actually be able to read the schematic or identify them.  All that is required is to identify eleven different components drawn in the schematics.  These eleven are: Battery, Lamp, Transistor, and Resistor from Figure T1; Transformer, Variable Resistor, Light Emitting Diode, a

Single-pole single-throw switch and Capacitor from Figure T2; Antenna and Variable Inductor from T3.

You do need to know that a transistor controls current because one question asks about the function of component 2 on T1 which is the transistor.

T6C02 (A)

What is component 1 in figure T1?

A. Resistor

B. Transistor

C. Battery

D. Connector

~~

T6C03 (B)

What is component 2 in figure T1?

A. Resistor

B. Transistor

C. Indicator lamp

D. Connector

~~

T6C04 (C)

What is component 3 in figure T1?

A. Resistor

B. Transistor

C. Lamp

D. Ground symbol

~~

T6C05 (C)

What is component 4 in figure T1?

A. Resistor

B. Transistor

C. Battery

D. Ground symbol

~~

T6D10 (C)

What is the function of component 2 in Figure T1?

A. Give off light when current flows through it

B. Supply electrical energy

C. Control the flow of current

D. Convert electrical energy into radio waves

~~

T6C06 (B)

What is component 6 in figure T2?

A. Resistor

B. Capacitor

C. Regulator IC

D. Transistor

~~

T6C07 (D)

What is component 8 in figure T2?

A. Resistor

B. Inductor

C. Regulator IC

D. Light emitting diode

~~

T6C08 (C)

What is component 9 in figure T2?

A. Variable capacitor

B. Variable inductor

C. Variable resistor

D. Variable transformer

~~

T6C09 (D)

What is component 4 in figure T2?

A. Variable inductor

B. Double-pole switch

C. Potentiometer

D. Transformer

~~

T6C10 (D)

What is component 3 in figure T3?

A. Connector

B. Meter

C. Variable capacitor

D. Variable inductor

~~

T6C11 (A)

What is component 4 in figure T3?

A. Antenna

B. Transmitter

C. Dummy load

D. Ground

~~

The bock diagrams depict a simple CW transmitter, a very simple representation using just three blocks to display a transceiver, a little more complex diagram of a Single-conversion superheterodyne receiver, and finally the most complex of the diagrams showing An FM receiver.

Figure T4 and Figure 5 both ask for circuit identification while Figure T6 and Figure T7 ask the candidate to identify the complete unit.  Both show a single conversion receiver but only question T7A02 gives that as an answer for Figure T6 while question T7A04 identifies Figure T7 as An FM receiver. 

T7A05 (D)

What is the function of block 1 if figure T4 is a simple CW transmitter?

A. Reactance modulator

B. Product detector

C. Low-pass filter

D. Oscillator

~~

T7A07 (B)

If figure T5 represents a transceiver in which block 1 is the transmitter portion and block 3 is the receiver portion, what is the function of block 2?

A. A balanced modulator

B. A transmit-receive switch

C. A power amplifier

D. A high-pass filter

~~

T7A02 (C)

What type of receiver is shown in Figure T6?

A. Direct conversion

B. Super-regenerative

C. Single-conversion superheterodyne

D. Dual-conversion superheterodyne

T7A04 (D)

What circuit is pictured in Figure T7, if block 1 is a frequency discriminator?

A. A double-conversion receiver

B. A regenerative receiver

C. A superheterodyne receiver

D. An FM receiver

~~

Possibly the most frightening aspect of the new Technician Class question pool for the prospective candidate is the diagrams now included. 

If break it down as I have above it really should not be all that frightening.  First just learn what those ten component drawings look like and answering any question you might have concerning the schematic should be a breeze. 

Remember that the first stage of a CW transmitter is an oscillator and that a transmitter and a receiver have to have some type of antenna switch if they are to use the same antenna and the next two diagrams should loose their ability to strike fear in the hearts of those testing.

Finally remember that both receivers are single conversion but only one if an FM receiver and the bugaboo of Figures T6 and T7 should disappear.  If you need a little more help remember that an FM receiver does not use a Beat Frequency Oscillator and the wide filter and the Limiter give T7’s secret of being an FM receiver away.

If you have been studying the old question pool and think you know it fairly well but you are afraid of the new questions you might just read through the new question pool.  New question pool can be seen at http://www.hamslife2.blogspot.com/

On Monday January 4,2010 the National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators’ (NCVEC) Question Pool Committee (QPC)released the new question pool for the Technician Class amateur radio exam which will become effective on July 1, 2010.  The new question pool will be valid for four years or until June 30, 2014.

Within the approximately 400 questions there will be questions related to graphics and diagrams.  The graphic and diagram questions will be new for this element 2.  The exam itself will continue to consist of 35 questions. The complete Questions and Answers for the new test can be found at http://www.ncvec.org/page.php?id=356 . 

While preparing for Friday night’s ham class I noticed that questions G1A07 and G1A09 have some very interesting detractors.

Question G1A07 reads, “Which of the following frequencies is within the General class portion of the 75 meter phone band?” and the detractors are “A. 1875 kHz,” “B. 3750 kHz,” “C. 3900 kHz,” and “D. 4005 kHz.” The correct answer is C (300,000/3900 = 76.92).

Question G1A09 reads: “Which of the following frequencies is within the General Class portion of the 80 meter band?” and the detractors are “A. 1855 kHz,” “B. 2560 kHz,” “C. 3560 kHz,” and “D. 3650 kHz.” The correct answer is C (300,000/3,560 = 84.27)

Usually when we speak of the 80 meters band and the 75 meters band we are referring to the CW portion being 80 meters and the phone portion of that band being 75 meters but if we refer to the over all band we call it the 80 meter band. 3,750 KHz is equal to 80 meters (300,000/80 = 3,750). 4,000 KHz is equal to 75 meters (300,000/75 = 4,000). Considering the overall 80 meter band goes from 3,500 KHz to 4,000 KHz 3,750 KHz is in the exact center of that band. The phone portion of that band is from 3,600 KHz to 4,000 KHz.

If you are not careful it would appear there are two correct answers given to each of these questions.

Should 3,750 KHz and 3,650 be considered 80 meter or 75 meter band? They are both in the phone band and a 3,750 KHz signal is 80 meters long thus a 3,650 KHz signal is even longer then 80 meters. The point is it doesn’t make any difference when it comes to these two questions because the questions clearly say “within the General class portion…” and neither of those frequencies are in the General class section of the band. An Extra class license is required to operate on 3,650 KHz and either an Extra class or Advanced class license is required to use 3,750 KHz.

If you are preparing to take your amateur radio exam let me give you a little tip. Carefully read the question and all the answers. If there are two answers that appear to be correct and there is not an option to include two answers then try to see why one is wrong. If a detractor saying “all answers are correct” make sure all are correct and if one is wrong then two will be wrong. It is important to know why incorrect detractors are wrong as well as why the correct detractor right to prevent marking the wrong answer.