Ham Radio Studying for General License Exam

hamradio-GeneralLicenseExam.txt

Q-Codes:
QRL *	Are you busy?	I am busy (or busy with....). Please do not interfere.
QRM *	Are you being interfered with?	I am being interfered with.
QRN *	Are you troubled by static?	I am troubled by static.
QRO *	Must I increase power?	Increase power.
QRP *	Must I decrease power?	Decrease power.
QRQ *	Must I send faster?	Send faster ... (words per min.).
QRS *	Must I send more slowly?	Transmit more slowly ... (w.p.m.).
QRT *	Must I stop transmission?	Stop transmission.
QRU *	Have you anything for me?	I have nothing for you.
QRV *	Are you ready?	I am ready.
QRX *	When will you call again?	I will call you again at ... hours (on ... kc.).
QRZ *	By whom am I being called?	You are being called by ...
QSB *	Does the strength of my signals vary?	The strength of your signals varies.
QSK *	Shall I continue the transmission of all my traffic?	I can hear you between my signals. Continue: I shall interrupt you if necessary.
QSL *	Can you acknowledge receipt?	I am acknowledging receipt.
QSO *	Can you communicate with ... directly (or through...)?	I can communicate with ... direct (or through...).
QSY *	Shall I change to ... kilocycles without changing the type of wave?	Change to ... kc. without changing type of wave.
QTH *	What is your position (location)?	My position (location) is ....
QST *		General call preceeding a message address to all amateurs and A.R.R.L. Members. This is in effect "CQ ARRL".

Ohm : the measure of reactance, impedance, and resistance.

Critical Angle (In Regards to Radio Wave Propagation): The highest takeoff angle that will return a radio wave to the Earth under specific ionospheric conditions.

An advantage of a switch mode power supply over a linear power supply, is that the high frequency operation allows the use of smaller components. 

For a three-element, single-band Yagi antenna, the reflector is normally the longest parasitic element.

What is the approximate bandwidth of a PACTOR3 signal at maximum data rate? 2300mhz

Weak Signal Modes are JT65, JT9, and WSPR

RTTY is a keyboard data mode

Bypass Capacitor: Takes in extra noise, or RFI in system and causes it to be bypassed. Reduces RFI to audio frequency device

Add capacitors in parallel to increase total capacitance

Higher Frequencies(Shorter Wavelength) generally use upper side band, while lower frequencies (Longer Wavelength) generally use the lower side band.

160, 60, 30, 17, 12, and 10m amateur access is granted to the general class.

80m: may only operate SSB over 3.8Mhz, no CW below 3.525Mhz
40m: 7.175 to 7.300 Mhz for SSB and for ITU region 2 (USA), ITU region 1 (Europe) up to 7.2 Mhz only
20m: SSB over 14.225 Mhz only
15m: SSB only 21.275 - 21.450 Mhz

The upper frequency end is the portion of the voice segment that is generraly available to the general licenssee.

10m Extra License has no extra special privileges over a General Class license. So 28.020, 28.350, and 28.550 Mhz are available.

30m: !!!! Bizzare Restrictions:
  - Amateur Service is Secondary
  - Phone Operation restricted
  - Image Operation restricted
  Only data transmission allowed: (RTTY, PACKET, CW)

60m: !!!! Restricted to SSB on 5 specific channels only, rather than frequency
  - Amateur Service is Secondary
  
Attenuation/absorbtion of a raid signal is lowest at the frequency just below the MUF (Maximum Usable Frequency) -- the highest frequency you can use at a specific time and location which will still allow you to reflect your signal back to earth.

RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service) -- Must hold an FCC license

Notch Filter - narrow area of frequency you want to get rid of, to reduce interference from the carriers in the receiver passband.

PSK31 -- A datamode that uses varicode. With varicode, Symbols most often used for tx are smaller in data length, such that upper case letters, used less often in textual communication, use longer varicode signals hence they slow down traffic.

FSK -- Frequency Shift Keying, the signal is generated by changing an oscilators frequency directly with a digital control signal.

Field Strength meters allow you to determine your antennas radiation pattern.

What segment of the 20-meter band is most often used for digital transmissions? 14.070-14.100Mhz

How does the feed point impedance of a 1/2 wave dipole antenna change as the antenna is lowered below 1/4 wave above ground?
  - It steadily decreases