CA_BASIC
Basic - Transmitters, receivers, and measurements
Transmitters, receivers, and measurements follows the B-005 section of the Canadian question bank.
142
Questions
7
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- Transmitters, receivers, and measurements
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Review by section order to build the topic framework first.
For regulatory and safety questions, prefer compliant and conservative actions.
For calculations, check units, multipliers, and approximations.
Topic Study Guide
Section B-005 covers the foundational principles of electricity, radio components, and measurements. You will be tested on Ohm's Law, power calculations, series and parallel circuits, decibels, and the behavior of inductors and capacitors.
High-Yield Checks
- Ohm's Law and Power Formulas: Master V = I x R and P = V x I. Remember that doubling the voltage across a resistor increases the dissipated power by four times.
- Component Combinations: Resistors and inductors add up in series, but their total value decreases in parallel. Capacitors behave the exact opposite way.
- Decibel Power Ratios: Memorize the standard dB rules. A 3 dB change represents a factor of 2 (double or half), and a 10 dB change represents a factor of 10.
- Resonance and Impedance: Understand that impedance is the total opposition to AC. In a parallel-resonant circuit, impedance is at its highest at resonance.
Trap Patterns
- Decimal Point Errors: Moving the decimal incorrectly when converting between MHz and kHz. Always verify the multiplier (1 MHz = 1,000 kHz).
- Terminology Mix-ups: Selecting 'Reactance' or 'Reluctance' as the inverse of resistance just because they start with 'R'. The correct inverse is 'Conductance'.
- Wavelength vs. Frequency: Assuming a shorter wavelength means a lower frequency. They are inversely proportional; shorter wavelengths mean higher frequencies.
Review Steps
- Step 1: Memorize the basic Ohm's Law wheel (Voltage, Current, Resistance, Power) and practice calculating missing values.
- Step 2: Create a cheat sheet for how resistors, capacitors, and inductors behave in series versus parallel circuits.
- Step 3: Practice mental math for decibels. Calculate power changes for 3 dB, 6 dB, and 10 dB without using a calculator.
- Step 4: Review AC concepts, specifically how frequency affects the reactance of coils (inductors) and capacitors.
Quick Checks
- Can you calculate the resistance if given the voltage and current?
- What happens to the output power if an amplifier provides a 3 dB decrease?
- Is the impedance of a parallel-resonant circuit high or low at resonance?
- What is the total capacitance when two equal-value capacitors are wired in series?
Questions in This Topic
Choose Practice ModeB-005-001-001If a dial marked in megahertz shows a reading of 3.525 MHz, what would it show if it were marked in kilohertz?B-005-001-002If an ammeter marked in amperes is used to measure a 3000-milliampere current, what reading would it show?B-005-001-003How many hertz is 1 kHz?B-005-001-004How many microfarads is 1 000 000 picofarads?B-005-001-005If you have a hand-held transceiver that puts out 500 milliwatts, how many watts would this be?B-005-001-006A kilohm is:B-005-001-007How many megahertz is 7040 kHz?B-005-001-008A current of one quarter ampere may be written as:B-005-001-009How many millivolts equal two volts?B-005-001-010How can a frequency in megahertz be stated in gigahertz?B-005-001-011How many millihenries equal 10 000 microhenries?B-005-002-001Which of these groups lists three good electrical conductors?B-005-002-002Which of these groups lists three good electrical insulators?B-005-002-003What do we call the flow of electric charge in a circuit?B-005-002-004What is the best conductor among the following materials?B-005-002-005Which of these types of materials readily allows the flow of electric current?B-005-002-006What electrical property causes an object to conduct electricity very well?B-005-002-007The letter "R" is the symbol for:B-005-002-008What is the inverse of resistance?B-005-002-009What is a voltage drop?B-005-002-010The resistance of a conductor changes with:B-005-002-011Which term describes the direction of current in a DC circuit?B-005-003-001What term describes the rate at which electrical energy is used?B-005-003-002If you have light bulbs marked 40 watts, 50 watts, 60 watts and 100 watts, which one will consume electrical energy at the highest rate?B-005-003-003What is the basic unit of electrical power?B-005-003-004A circuit consists of a battery and load resistor. What circuit malfunction would cause no current to be drawn from the battery?B-005-003-005Which electrical circuit draws too much current?B-005-003-006Power is expressed in:B-005-003-007Which of the following two quantities should be multiplied together to find power?B-005-003-008Which two electrical units multiplied together give the unit "watts"?B-005-003-009A resistor in a circuit becomes very hot and starts to burn. This is because the resistor is dissipating too much:B-005-003-010When speaking of electrical circuits, what does the term "continuity" mean?B-005-003-011You have acquired a transceiver and connected it to a power supply. When you switch on the power supply, its fuse blows immediately. What circuit malfunction caused the fuse to blow?B-005-004-001What is the voltage across a 2-ohm resistor if a current of 0.5 amperes flows through it?B-005-004-002How is the current in a DC circuit calculated when the voltage and resistance are known?B-005-004-003How is the resistance in a DC circuit calculated when the voltage and current are known?B-005-004-004How is the voltage in a DC circuit calculated when the current and resistance are known?B-005-004-005What is the resistance of a circuit that draws 0.25 amperes from a 12-volt source?B-005-004-006What value of resistance is required to drop 9 volts with a current of 10 milliamperes?B-005-004-007If the current flowing through a 50-ohm resistor is 0.44 amperes, what voltage would you measure across the resistor?B-005-004-008A 30-ohm resistor is connected across a 6-volt battery. What current does it draw?B-005-004-009What voltage is needed to supply a current of 200 milliamperes to operate a relay that has a resistance of 25 ohms?B-005-004-010What formula calculates the resistance of a circuit when the voltage and current are known?B-005-004-011What is the resistance of a circuit if it draws 300 milliamperes from a 3-volt battery?B-005-005-001In a parallel circuit with a voltage source and several branch resistors, how is the total current related to the current in the branch resistors?B-005-005-002You connect four 100-ohm resistors in parallel across a 12-volt battery. How many milliamperes of current are drawn from the battery?B-005-005-003Several resistors of various values are connected in parallel. How does the total resistance of the combination compare to the individual resistors?B-005-005-004Two 1000-ohm resistors are connected in parallel across a 12-volt battery. What is the total current?B-005-005-005The total resistance of resistors connected in series is:B-005-005-006What is the total resistance of five 10-ohm resistors in series?B-005-005-007Which of these series combination of resistors would replace a single 120-ohm resistor?B-005-005-008If ten resistors of equal value "R" are wired in parallel, what formula yields the total resistance?B-005-005-009What is the total resistance of four 68-ohm resistors wired in parallel?B-005-005-010Two resistors are in parallel. Resistor "A" carries twice the current of resistor "B," which means that:B-005-005-011The total current in a parallel circuit is equal to the:B-005-006-001Why would a large size resistor be used instead of a smaller one of the same resistance?B-005-006-002A load requires 12 volts DC at 5 amperes. What is the minimum required power transformer rating?B-005-006-003What is the DC input power of a transmitter operating at 12 volts and drawing 500 milliamperes?B-005-006-004When two 500-ohm 1-watt resistors are connected in series, the maximum total power that can be dissipated by the resistors is:B-005-006-005When two 500-ohm 1-watt resistors are connected in parallel, they can dissipate a maximum total power of:B-005-006-006If the voltage applied to two resistors in series is doubled, how much will the total power change?B-005-006-007Which of these combinations of resistors could make up a 50-ohm dummy load capable of safely dissipating 5 watts?B-005-006-008How much current is drawn by a 12-volt, 30-watt light bulb?B-005-006-009What is the power consumption of two 10-ohm resistors connected in series with a 10-volt battery?B-005-006-010What is the advantage of replacing a 50-ohm resistor with a parallel combination of two 100-ohm resistors of the same power rating?B-005-006-011Resistor wattage ratings are:B-005-007-001What is the term for the number of times per second an alternating current completes a positive to negative cycle?B-005-007-002What approximate range of frequencies can most humans hear?B-005-007-003Why is the range of frequencies from 20 Hz to 20 kHz termed audio frequencies?B-005-007-004Electrical energy at a frequency of 7125 kHz is in what frequency range?B-005-007-005What is the name for the distance an AC signal travels during one complete cycle?B-005-007-006What happens to a signal's wavelength as its frequency increases?B-005-007-007What happens to a signal's frequency as its wavelength gets shorter?B-005-007-008What does 60 hertz (Hz) mean?B-005-007-009Two AC waveforms have the same frequency, but their cycles do not begin at the same instant. What term describes that timing difference?B-005-007-010What is the shape of the waveform of the electricity supplied from a household receptacle?B-005-007-011A signal is composed of a fundamental frequency of 2 kHz and another of 4 kHz. What name is given to the 4 kHz signal?B-005-008-001A two-times increase in power results in a change of how many dB?B-005-008-002What change in transmitter power results in a 3 dB decrease?B-005-008-003What change in transmitter power results in a 6 dB increase?B-005-008-004If a signal transmitted with a power of 200 watts is received with an S-meter reading of "10 dB over S9," what would be the new reading if power was reduced to 20 watts?B-005-008-005If a signal transmitted with a power of 150 watts is received with an S-meter reading of "20 dB over S9," what would be the new reading if power was reduced to 15 watts?B-005-008-006What is the "decibel" used for?B-005-008-007The power output from a transmitter increases from 1 watt to 2 watts. How many decibels does that increase represent?B-005-008-008The power of a transmitter is increased from 5 watts to 50 watts by a linear amplifier. The power gain, expressed in dB, is:B-005-008-009You add a 9 dB gain amplifier to your 2-watt hand-held. What is the power output of the combination?B-005-008-010The power of your transmitter is 100 watts and your transmission line introduces a loss of 6 dB. How much power is delivered to the antenna?B-005-008-011A local amateur radio operator reports receiving your 100-watt 2-metre simplex transmission with an S-meter reading of "30 dB over S9." What power could you use to reduce that reading to S9?B-005-009-001If two equal-value inductors are connected in series, what is their total inductance?B-005-009-002If two equal-value inductors are connected in parallel, what is their total inductance?B-005-009-003If two equal-value capacitors are connected in series, what is their total capacitance?B-005-009-004If two equal-value capacitors are connected in parallel, what is their total capacitance?B-005-009-005You are constructing an air-core inductor using a coil of wire. What parameters determine its inductance?B-005-009-006A capacitor is made of two identical metal plates separated by air. What parameters determine its capacitance?B-005-009-007What precaution must you take when using polarized electrolytic capacitors?B-005-009-008If you wire two 12-millihenry chokes in series, what is the inductance of the combination?B-005-009-009If you wire two 20-millihenry inductors in parallel, what is the inductance of the combination?B-005-009-010If you wire two 20-microfarad capacitors in series, what is the capacity of the combination?B-005-009-011If you wire two 24-microfarad capacitors in parallel, what is the capacity of the combination?B-005-010-001How does an inductor react to AC?B-005-010-002How does a capacitor react to AC?B-005-010-003The reactance of capacitors increases as:B-005-010-004What is the term for the opposition to alternating current caused by the combined effect of reactance and resistance?B-005-010-005What term equals the ratio of AC voltage to AC current in a system or circuit?B-005-010-006What circuit parameter change causes an inductor's reactance to increase?B-005-010-007What property allows a coil wound on a ferrite core to mitigate the effects of an offending radio signal?B-005-010-008What property allows a bypass capacitor in an audio circuit to divert an interfering RF signal?B-005-010-009What property allows an RF bypass capacitor to have little effect on an audio circuit?B-005-010-010What property allows an RF choke coil to have little effect on signals meant to flow through the coil?B-005-010-011In general, the reactance of inductors increases with:B-005-011-001A transformer with a 120-volt primary voltage supplies 250 watts to a transmitter. Neglecting losses, what is the approximate primary current?B-005-011-002How can a transformer with two windings change impedance?B-005-011-003A transformer with a single 12-volt secondary draws 0.5 amperes through its 120-volt primary. Assuming no losses, what current is drawn from the secondary?B-005-011-004The primary winding of a transformer has 250 turns, and the secondary has 500 turns. If the input voltage is 120 volts, what is the secondary voltage?B-005-011-005The strength of the magnetic field around a conductor in air is:B-005-011-006Maximum induced voltage in a coil occurs when:B-005-011-007A transformer primary winding consumes 10 watts. Neglecting losses, if the secondary voltage is 5 volts, what is the secondary current?B-005-011-008A step-up transformer with a primary to secondary turns ratio of 1:5 delivers 50 milliamperes to a load. Assuming 100% efficiency, what is the primary current?B-005-011-009When is coupling (induction) between two wires maximum?B-005-011-010A permanent magnet would most likely be made from:B-005-011-011What confirms the fact that the transfer of energy from the primary to the secondary of a transformer is not perfect?B-005-012-001Resonance is the condition that exists when:B-005-012-002At resonance, what impedance does a parallel tuned circuit exhibit?B-005-012-003While the resonant frequency of a tuned circuit is a single frequency, the effect of resonance is significant over a certain range of frequencies. What is this range called?B-005-012-004What two components are required to form a tuned circuit?B-005-012-005When a parallel coil-capacitor combination is supplied with AC of different frequencies, there will be one frequency where the impedance will be highest. This is the:B-005-012-006In a parallel-resonant circuit at resonance, the circuit has:B-005-012-007In a series resonant circuit at resonance, the circuit has:B-005-012-008A coil and an air-spaced capacitor are arranged to form a resonant circuit. The resonant frequency will remain the same if we:B-005-012-009Resonant circuits in a receiver are used to:B-005-012-010Resonance is the condition that exists when:B-005-012-011What happens to current when a series RLC circuit is tuned to the frequency of the source?B-005-013-001How is a voltmeter usually connected to a circuit under test?B-005-013-002How is an ammeter usually connected to a circuit under test?B-005-013-003What does a multimeter measure?B-005-013-004What is the correct instrument to measure the final power amplifier current?B-005-013-005When measuring the voltage across a circuit component, what does the voltmeter appear to be in the circuit?B-005-013-006When measuring current drawn from a DC power supply, what does the ammeter placed in the circuit appear as?B-005-013-007What instrument can provide a direct measurement of power at the output of a transmitter?B-005-013-008Potential difference is measured by means of:B-005-013-009What instrument is used to measure electrical current?B-005-013-010What term describes the ability of an instrument to display values that are true to reality?