Ham Radio Technician Test Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield Ham Radio Technician Test facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. What does the procedural signal "CQ" mean? → Calling any station
2. What is the purpose of a 'check-in' during a directed net? → To let the Net Control Station know you are available to handle traffic or assignments
3. Which tool is typically used to measure the standing wave ratio (SWR) in a ham radio setup? → SWR meter
4. What time of year is it most likely that occasional E propagation will take place? → Around the solstices, especially the summer solstice
5. What is the purpose of a good RF ground at an amateur radio station? → To reduce RF interference and protect equipment from static and lightning surges
6. What is a safe distance to maintain from high-voltage power lines when setting up an antenna? → 10 feet
7. Which factor does NOT affect RF exposure from an amateur radio station? → The color of the antenna
8. What is the normalization procedure in relation to a Smith chart? → Reassigning impedance values with regard to the prime center
9. Which HF/MF bands are all amateur frequency privileges available to General class license holders? → 160 meters, 60 meters, 30 meters, 17 meters, 12 meters, and 10 meters
10. Which of the following is considered poor operating etiquette? → Interrupting other operators
11. What is IRLP (Internet Radio Linking Project)? → A method of connecting amateur radio repeaters to each other via the internet
12. If you know another station's call sign and want to call them on a repeater, how should you do it? → Say the station’s call sign then identify with your call sign
13. With the help of a digital signal processing noise filter, which of the following types of noise may be frequently reduced? → All these choices are correct
14. What is modulation in the context of radio transmissions? → Adding information to a carrier wave
15. What does the abbreviation 'APRS' stand for? → Automatic Packet Reporting System
16. What is a control point for an amateur station? → The location at which the control operator function is performed
17. Which regulation part governs amateur radio in the U.S.? → Part 97
18. Who is in charge of seeing that the station is run properly when the control operator is not the station licensee? → The control operator and the station licensee are equally responsible
19. What device is used to convert DC power from a battery to the voltage required by a ham radio transceiver? → Power supply
20. What qualifies as a defining feature of the FT8 mode of the WSJT-X family? → Typical exchange are limited to call signs, grid locators, and signal reports
21. What is the maximum permissible exposure (MPE) limit designed to protect against? → Harmful biological effects from RF energy absorption
22. What is the basic unit of electrical resistance? → Ohm
23. What is the standard repeater frequency offset for the 2-meter (144 MHz) band? → 600 kHz
24. When transmitting AFSK signals via a radio in single sideband mode, what is likely to happen if the ALC system on the transceiver is not properly configured? → Improper action of ALC distorts the signal and can cause spurious emissions
25. Which of the following prevents alternating current from flowing via an inductor? → Reactance
26. Why does radio wave propagation over the greatest distance primarily occur in the F2 region? → Because it is the highest ionospheric region
27. What does 'full duplex' mean in the context of repeater operation? → The repeater can receive on its input and transmit on its output simultaneously
28. What mathematical formula should be used to determine the power lost by a series linear voltage regulator? → Voltage difference from input to out multiplied by output current
29. Which of the following describes effective emergency traffic management? → Passing messages exactly as received
30. What is the combined resistance of a parallel connection of a 10 ohm, a 20 ohm, and a 50 ohm resistor? → 5.9 ohms