FCC Rules, descriptions, and definitions for the Amateur Radio Service, operator and station license responsibilities
Authorized frequencies: frequency allocations; ITU; emission modes; restricted sub-bands; spectrum sharing; transmissions near band edges; contacting the International Space Station; power output
What is the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)?
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is an agency of the United Nations which regulates information and communication technology issues. It is also the global focal point for governments and the private sector in regards to developing networks and services.
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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?
There are no special requirements as far as licensing goes for talking to a satellite or space station; it's a station like any other, it just happens to be in a very remote location. As long as you are allowed to transmit on the uplink frequency (the frequency the satellite listens on) you can communicate through it.
Since any amateur radio operator with a Technician or higher class license can operate on the 2 meter and 70 cm bands, that means that those operators can also make contact with a station in space.
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Which frequency is within the 6 meter amateur band?
As an aid, convert the wavelength to frequency:
\begin{align} f_\text{ (MHz)} = \frac{300}{\lambda _\text{ (meters)}} \end{align}
So in this case: \begin{align} f_\text{ (MHz)} &= \frac{300}{6 \text{ m}} \approx 50 \text{ MHz} \end{align}
52.525 MHz is the only frequency in the 6 meter band.
Note:
The distractor answer 49 MHz is even closer to 6 meters in length, however, is outside of the US amateur 6 meter frequency allocation, which is the range 50.0 MHz - 54.0 MHz. The sub-band 50.0 MHz to 50.1 MHz is restricted to CW (Continuous Wave) only.
Hint: Subtract 1 from the band (6) to come up with 5. Only the correct answer (52.525) starts with a 5.
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Which amateur band are you using when your station is transmitting on 146.52 MHz?
As an aid, you can convert the frequency (\(f\)) to wavelength in meters (\(\lambda\)) :
\begin{align} \lambda_\text{ (m)} = \frac{300}{f_\text{(MHz)}} \end{align}
(300 is approximately the number of Mm/sec light travels in a vacuum.) So in this case: \begin{align} \lambda_\text{ (m)} &= \frac{300}{146.52 \text{ MHz}} = 2.05 \text{ m} \approx 2 \text{ m} \end{align}
144-148Mhz is the frequency range allocated to ham radio operators in the 2 meter band, with 144.0-144.1 being allocated for CW mode only.
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What is the limitation for emissions on the frequencies between 219 and 220 MHz?
Whenever there is a part of the band that is reserved for Data it is generally the lowest part, and so it makes sense that the range at the bottom of the 220 MHz range would be for data. In point of fact, all non-data frequencies allowed to ham operators in the 1.25 meter band (222 MHz) are from 222.0 to 225.0 MHz, and that block allows phone and image.
219 to 220MHz is for fixed digital message forwarding systems only.
See the ARRL Frequency Chart for a handy one-page reference to band privileges.
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On which HF bands does a Technician class operator have phone privileges?
Technician class operators are much more limited in their HF band privileges than General or Amateur Extra class operators. Remember that while Technician class operators have CW privileges on some other HF bands, they only have Phone, RTTY, and Data privileges on a portion of the 10m band.
This is why if you have an HF radio you will want to get your General class license sooner rather than later!
See the ARRL Frequency Chart for a handy one-page reference to band privileges.
An easy way to remember this is to look for the "1" first. Technician class is the first license.
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Which of the following VHF/UHF frequency ranges are limited to CW only?
This is a trick question intended to confuse guessing attempts. There are no UHF (300-3000MHz) frequencies reserved for CW! But there are 0.1MHz regions of VHF reserved for CW on the lowest part of the 6m (50Mhz) and 2m (144MHz) bands for all amateur operators.
Just remember that above VHF, no frequencies are limited to CW.
See the AARL Frequency Chart for a handy one-page reference to band privileges.
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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)?
Secondary means that while amateur radio is allowed to use that band, amateurs are not considered the primary user. Therefore amateurs must give priority access to the primary users by not interfering with them.
The answers involving foreign amateur stations are not correct, they are still amateur radio operators, so they aren't protected by this rule. The only proscription on talking to foreign amateur stations is when their country does not allow communications with our country - there aren't many of those, but there are a few.
In the US, digital transmissions are allowed on the entire 70 cm band, so this choice is also not correct.
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Why should you not set your transmit frequency to be exactly at the edge of an amateur band or sub-band?
All of the choices are correct. Here is each one explained:
The frequency you set on a transmitter is actually the carrier frequency which is either at the center of the total bandwidth that you're using (for FM or non-SSB) or at the top or bottom of the bandwidth (for SSB). When you transmit on a frequency, you will actually use a little bit of bandwidth above and/or below that frequency (referred to as deviation) even with a properly calibrated transmitter!
Not all transmitters are calibrated perfectly, and so if you set your transmitter exactly on a specific frequency, say the bottom edge of the amateur portion of the band even when using upper sideband (USB), you may actually be transmitting illegally out of band, due to calibration error.
Some transmitters may drift a little bit off frequency during transmission as well (due to temperature changes as the radio gets warmer etc).
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Which of the following HF bands have frequencies available to the Technician class operator for RTTY and data transmissions?
Similar to phone privileges, in HF bands Technician class operators only have RTTY and data privileges in part of the 10m band.
Just try to remember that for Technicians on HF, SSB phone, RTTY, and data are only allowed in parts of the 10m band.
See the ARRL Frequency Chart for a handy one-page reference to band privileges.
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What is the maximum peak envelope power output for Technician class operators using their assigned portions of the HF bands?
Memory Aid: the 'maximum' happens to be the largest option given
This is a FCC regulation you just have to memorize. ('HF' has 2 letters, limit is 2-hundred W) Technician class operators are limited to 200W PEP (Peak Envelope Power) on any part of an HF band that they're otherwise allowed to use.
As always, FCC 97.313 says "An amateur station must use the minimum transmitter power necessary to carry out the desired communications."
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Except for some specific restrictions, what is the maximum peak envelope power output for Technician class operators using frequencies above 30 MHz?
For frequencies above HF frequencies (>30MHz), Technician class operators are generally allowed to use the full power of 1500W PEP allowed for amateur transmissions.
§97.313 Transmitter power standards.
(a) An amateur station must use the minimum transmitter power necessary to carry out the desired communications.
(b) No station may transmit with a transmitter power exceeding 1.5 kW PEP.
See CFR §97.313.
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