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Subelement G4

AMATEUR RADIO PRACTICES

Section G4B

Test and monitoring equipment; two-tone test

What item of test equipment contains horizontal and vertical channel amplifiers?

  • An ohmmeter
  • A signal generator
  • An ammeter
  • Correct Answer
    An oscilloscope

(D). The oscilloscope is the item of test equipment which contains horizontal and vertical channel amplifiers. This allows the equipment to evaluate wave forms of RF signals, and observe changes to the signal with varying signal voltages by plotting values on the X (horizontal) and Y (vertical) axes over time.

For more info see Wikipedia: Oscilloscope

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Which of the following is an advantage of an oscilloscope versus a digital voltmeter?

  • An oscilloscope uses less power
  • Complex impedances can be easily measured
  • Input impedance is much lower
  • Correct Answer
    Complex waveforms can be measured

Both the digital voltmeter and oscilloscope can display different values of signal voltage, but complex waveforms can be hard to measure with a digital voltmeter—it's all just numbers. With a complex waveform often all you really want is to find a particular feature (like a peak), and that can be much easier by eyeballing it.

HINT: Oscilloscope is a complex word

"Oscilloscopes" show "Complex waves"

For more info see Wikipedia: Digital voltmeters, Oscilloscope

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Which of the following is the best instrument to use when checking the keying waveform of a CW transmitter?

  • Correct Answer
    An oscilloscope
  • A field-strength meter
  • A sidetone monitor
  • A wavemeter

An Oscilloscope is used to measure oscillations in an electrical signal -- in other words, it shows you the waveform of the signal. The keying waveform of a CW transmitter is the visual representation of the tone transmitted by the transmitter when you press the key, which can be seen on the oscilloscope screen.

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What signal source is connected to the vertical input of an oscilloscope when checking the RF envelope pattern of a transmitted signal?

  • The local oscillator of the transmitter
  • An external RF oscillator
  • The transmitter balanced mixer output
  • Correct Answer
    The attenuated RF output of the transmitter

The attenuated RF output of the transmitter is connected to the vertical input of an oscilloscope when checking the RF envelope pattern of a transmitted signal. This allows you to check for signal distortions.

For more info see Wikipedia: Oscilloscope

**Memory tip: Output in the answer corresponds to Input in the question. ** KC3TGS

HINT: RF INPUT is in the question, RF OUTPUT is in the correct answer. KF4TYA

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Why is high input impedance desirable for a voltmeter?

  • It improves the frequency response
  • It decreases battery consumption in the meter
  • It improves the resolution of the readings
  • Correct Answer
    It decreases the loading on circuits being measured

Impedance is the measure of opposition to the flow of current. High input impedance is desired for a voltmeter because it limits, or decreases that loading on circuits being measured. Because of this the voltmeter only has to draw a very small amount of current from the circuit to be tested, and doesn't interfere with the normal flow and operation.

For more info see Wikipedia: Electrical impedance, Voltmeter

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What is an advantage of a digital voltmeter as compared to an analog voltmeter?

  • Better for measuring computer circuits
  • Better for RF measurements
  • Correct Answer
    Better precision for most uses
  • Faster response

(C). A digital voltmeter has an advantage over an analog meter because it has better precision for most uses. Digital voltmeters are easy to read if you are looking for a specific number level rather than trying to interpret the needle position on an analog scale. The analog meter may be more useful, however if you are looking for general up/down trends with being able to see the needle move in either direction, rather than focusing in on a specific value.

For more info see Wikipedia: Voltmeter

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Which of the following might be a use for a field strength meter?

  • Correct Answer
    Close-in radio direction-finding
  • A modulation monitor for a frequency or phase modulation transmitter
  • An overmodulation indicator for a SSB transmitter
  • A keying indicator for a RTTY or packet transmitter

(A). Close-in radio direction-finding is one use for a field strength meter. This device measures the strength of the electrical field given off by a transmitter. Higher values in one region over another indicate the direction of a source of RF energy. This meter along with a calibrated antenna is used for safety testing of RF energy outputs to make sure they are within maximum permissible exposure (MPE) limits.

For more info see Wikipedia: Field-strength meter

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Which of the following instruments may be used to monitor relative RF output when making antenna and transmitter adjustments?

  • Correct Answer
    A field-strength meter
  • An antenna noise bridge
  • A multimeter
  • A Q meter

A field-strength meter is used to monitor relative RF output when making antenna and transmitter adjustments. Using this meter along with a calibrated antenna let you test RF field put out by your transmitting equipment and antenna, to address both directional field issues, and levels of RF field exposure.

For more info see Wikipedia: Field-strength meter

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Which of the following can be determined with a field strength meter?

  • The radiation resistance of an antenna
  • Correct Answer
    The radiation pattern of an antenna
  • The presence and amount of phase distortion of a transmitter
  • The presence and amount of amplitude distortion of a transmitter

The field strength meter is useful for evaluating the radiation pattern of an antenna. If you see that the field strength is high in one specific direction, you know you have a good uni-directional / beam antenna and know to orient that point of field strength in the direction of your desired contact. If your signal strength is uniform in all directions around your antenna, it means that your antenna is omnidirectional.

For more info see Wikipedia: field-strength meter, Radiation pattern

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Which of the following can be determined with a directional wattmeter?

  • Correct Answer
    Standing wave ratio
  • Antenna front-to-back ratio
  • RF interference
  • Radio wave propagation

A directional wattmeter is used to determine the standing wave ratio, which is the relationship between the forward and reflected power.

Its easy to determine the "Direction" of a wave if you are "Standing in the wave"

For more info see Wikipedia: Standing wave ratio, wattmeter

Oversimplification: Most SWR meters will tell you your forward watts and your reverse/reflected watts, in both directions.

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Which of the following must be connected to an antenna analyzer when it is being used for SWR measurements?

  • Receiver
  • Transmitter
  • Correct Answer
    Antenna and feed line
  • All of these choices are correct

(C). Both the antenna and feed line must be connected to an antenna analyzer when it is being used for SWR (standing wave ratio) measurements. This device helps to measure the effeciency of your antenna setup.

For more info see Wikipedia: Standing Wave Ratio, Antenna analyzer

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What problem can occur when making measurements on an antenna system with an antenna analyzer?

  • SWR readings may be incorrect if the antenna is too close to the Earth
  • Correct Answer
    Strong signals from nearby transmitters can affect the accuracy of measurements
  • The analyzer can be damaged if measurements outside the ham bands are attempted
  • Connecting the analyzer to an antenna can cause it to absorb harmonics

(B). When making measurements to evaluate an antenna system with an antenna analyzer, strong signals from nearby transmitters can affect the accuracy of the measurements. These extra signals can distort the ratio of forward to reflected power (SWR) being generated within your own system. You might get values much higher or lower than you expected, depending on the direction and strength of the competing signal.

For more info see Wikipedia: Antenna analyzer, Standing Wave Ratio

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What is a use for an antenna analyzer other than measuring the SWR of an antenna system?

  • Measuring the front to back ratio of an antenna
  • Measuring the turns ratio of a power transformer
  • Correct Answer
    Determining the impedance of an unknown or unmarked coaxial cable
  • Determining the gain of a directional antenna

The antenna analyzer is a device that measures the input impedance of an antenna system.

The Standing Wave Ratio (SWR) is a measure of impedance mismatch, which is why an antenna analyzer is used to figure it out.

If you have an antenna with a known impedance, then you can use the antenna analyzer to figure out the impedance of an unknown or unmarked coaxial cable.

Notice that none of the distractors have anything to do with impedance.

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What is an instance in which the use of an instrument with analog readout may be preferred over an instrument with a numerical digital readout?

  • When testing logic circuits
  • When high precision is desired
  • When measuring the frequency of an oscillator
  • Correct Answer
    When adjusting tuned circuits

When you are performing operations such as adjusting tuned circuits, an instrument with analog readout may be preferred over an instrument with a numerical digital readout.

This is because if you are looking for up or down trends, it can be much easier to compare the tuning adjustments with a greater up/down movement of the needle (going to a maximum/minimum or approaching a center line) rather than trying to interpret how the numerical values correspond to the tuning operation.

Hint: Instrument <-> Tuned

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What type of transmitter performance does a two-tone test analyze?

  • Correct Answer
    Linearity
  • Carrier and undesired sideband suppression
  • Percentage of frequency modulation
  • Percentage of carrier phase shift

A two-tone test measures the linearity of an SSB signal.

A perfectly linear transmitter would produce those two tones—and only those two tones.

The more non-linear the transmitter, the more harmonics are generated, producing additional signal content at frequencies other than the two input tones.

The test itself consists of sending two tones that are not harmonically related into the transmitter. The tones are produced with equal power levels, so the only variable is frequency. The output can then be examined using an oscilloscope or spectroscope to see what other signals are being produced at other frequencies.

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What signals are used to conduct a two-tone test?

  • Two audio signals of the same frequency shifted 90-degrees
  • Correct Answer
    Two non-harmonically related audio signals
  • Two swept frequency tones
  • Two audio frequency range square wave signals of equal amplitude

A two-tone test uses two non-harmonically related audio signals to test the linearity of signal amplitude in an SSB transmission. The two tones of equal power are put into the microphone input and the waveforms are examined for linearity using an oscilloscope.

Hint: The two [tones] are "related".

Two-tone test

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