Ham Radio Technician Test General 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the minimum age requirement to obtain an amateur radio license in the United States?
- There is no minimum age requirement (Correct answer)
- 18 years old
- 16 years old
- 14 years old
Correct answer: There is no minimum age requirement
The FCC has no minimum age requirement for any class of amateur radio license.
Question 2: Which of the following describes 'third-party traffic' in amateur radio?
- Messages passed on behalf of someone who is not a licensed amateur (Correct answer)
- Communications relayed through a satellite
- Traffic through a foreign amateur station
- Any message transmitted via a repeater
Correct answer: Messages passed on behalf of someone who is not a licensed amateur
Third-party traffic is messages or communications passed on behalf of a non-licensed person.
Question 3: What is the maximum frequency deviation for a standard FM voice transmission on 2 meters?
- Plus or minus 5 kHz (Correct answer)
- Plus or minus 10 kHz
- Plus or minus 2.5 kHz
- Plus or minus 25 kHz
Correct answer: Plus or minus 5 kHz
Standard narrow FM on 2 meters uses plus or minus 5 kHz maximum deviation (now often 2.5 kHz narrowband in some systems).
Question 4: What is an S-meter used to measure?
- Received signal strength (Correct answer)
- Antenna SWR
- Transmitter output power
- Battery voltage
Correct answer: Received signal strength
An S-meter indicates the strength of the received signal, typically in S-units from S1 to S9 and above.
Question 5: What is the phonetic alphabet word for the letter 'M'?
- Mike (Correct answer)
- Mary
- Metro
- Mercury
Correct answer: Mike
In the ITU phonetic alphabet, 'M' is represented by the word 'Mike'.
Question 6: Which of the following is an appropriate use of a handheld transceiver inside a vehicle?
- Using it with an external antenna mounted on the vehicle (Correct answer)
- Holding it against the vehicle's metal roof
- Transmitting at full power without any antenna
- Connecting it directly to a car antenna designed for AM/FM radio
Correct answer: Using it with an external antenna mounted on the vehicle
Using an external amateur antenna with a handheld radio significantly improves performance and reduces RF exposure inside the vehicle.
Question 7: What does the term 'full quieting' mean when describing a received FM signal?
- The signal is strong enough to completely suppress the receiver's background noise (Correct answer)
- The transmitter is operating at reduced power
- The audio is muted due to CTCSS tone mismatch
- The receiver squelch is set too high
Correct answer: The signal is strong enough to completely suppress the receiver's background noise
Full quieting means the received signal is strong enough to eliminate the background noise floor in an FM receiver.
Ham Radio Technician Test General 4
What is the minimum age requirement to obtain an amateur radio license in the United States?