General Class control operator frequency privileges, primary and secondary allocations
As you know, on the 80m, 40m, 20m, and 15m bands, some frequencies are reserved for Advanced and Extra Class licensees. On the other bands, however, General Class licensees have exactly the same privileges as Advanced and Extra Class licensees.
QUESTION: On which HF/MF bands is a General class license holder granted all amateur frequency privileges? (G1A01)
ANSWER: 160 meters, 60 meters, 30 meters, 17 meters, 12 meters, and 10 meters
On the 80 m, 40 m, 20 m, and 15 m bands, the lowest 25 kHz of the band is reserved for Extra Class CW operation. On 80 m, General Class licensees cannot operate CW below 3.525 MHz, but they can operate between 3525 and 3600 kHz.
QUESTION: Which of the following frequencies is within the General class portion of the 80-meter band? (G1A08)
ANSWER: 3560 kHz
Similarly, some portions of phone bands are reserved for Advanced and Extra Class operators. These frequencies are at the low end of the phone bands, meaning the frequencies at the upper end of the bands are available for General Class operators to use. Here are the frequencies on which General Class operators can operate SSB phone on 80 meter, 40 meter, 20 meter, and 15 meter bands:
- 80 m: 3800 – 4000 kHz
- 40 m: 7175 – 7300 kHz
- 20 m: 14225 – 14350 kHz
- 15 m: 21275 to 21450 kHz
QUESTION: When General class licensees are not permitted to use the entire voice portion of a band, which portion of the voice segment is generally available to them? (G1A11)
ANSWER: The upper frequency end
QUESTION: Which of the following frequencies is within the General class portion of the 75-meter phone band? (G1A06)
ANSWER: 3900 kHz
QUESTION: Which of the following frequencies is in the General class portion of the 40-meter band in ITU Region 2? (G1A05)
ANSWER: 7.250 MHz
QUESTION: Which of the following frequencies is within the General class portion of the 20-meter phone band? (G1A07)
ANSWER: 14305 kHz
QUESTION: Which of the following frequencies is within the General class portion of the 15-meter band?. (G1A09)
ANSWER :21300 kHz
On 10m, Advanced and Extra Class licensees have no special privileges.
QUESTION: Which of the following frequencies is available to a control operator holding a General class license? (G1A10)
ANSWER: All these answers are correct
– 28.020 MHz
– 28.350 MHz
– 28.550 MHz
10 meters is the only HF band where amateurs may operate a repeater. On the other bands, there just isn’t enough bandwidth, but because the 10 meter band is nearly 2 MHz wide, repeaters can be operated there without causing harmful interference to other operations. To operate a repeater on the 10 m band, the control operator must hold at least a General Class license.
QUESTION: What portion of the 10-meter band is available for repeater use?
ANSWER: The portion above 29.5 MHz
QUESTION:When may a 10-meter repeater retransmit the 2-meter signal from a station that has a Technician class control operator? (G1E02)
ANSWER: Only if the 10 meter repeater control operator holds at least a General Class license
While General Class operators can operate across the entire 30 meter band, no phone or image transmission is allowed for any class of operator.
QUESTION: On which of the following bands is phone operation prohibited? (G1A02)
ANSWER: 30 meters
QUESTION: On which of the following bands is image transmission prohibited? (G1A03)
ANSWER: 30 meters
60 meters is also kind of an oddball band. This is the only band where amateur radio operators are restricted to specific frequencies. Output power is also strictly limited on the 60 m band.
QUESTION: Which of the following amateur bands is restricted to communication only on specific channels, rather than frequency ranges? (G1A04)
ANSWER: 60 meters
On both the 30-meter band and the 60-meter band, amateur radio is a secondary user. What this means is that amateur radio operators have to defer to the primary users of those bands.
QUESTION: Which of the following applies when the FCC rules designate the Amateur Service as a secondary user on a band? (G1A12)
ANSWER: Amateur stations are allowed to use the band only if they do not cause harmful interference to primary users
QUESTION: What is the appropriate action if, when operating on either the 30-meter or 60-meter bands, a station in the primary service interferes with your contact? (G1A13)
ANSWER: Move to a clear frequency or stop transmitting
Amateurs in different ITU regions have different frequency privileges. North American and South America are in Region 2, but some areas which fall under the FCC’s jurisdiction are in other regions. For example, Guam is in Region 3, and because of that the frequencies that amateurs can use are different from the frequencies that we can use in the continental U.S.
QUESTION:The frequency allocations of which ITU region apply to radio amateurs operating in North and South America? (G1E06)
ANSWER: Region 2
QUESTION:Which of the following may apply in areas under FCC jurisdiction outside of ITU Region 2?(G1A14)
ANSWER: Frequency allocations may differ
Antenna structure limitations, good engineering and good amateur practice, beacon operation, restricted operation, retransmitting radio signals
As you can imagine, the FCC has some rules and regulations regarding antennas. After all, you don’t want airplanes hitting your tower, do you?
QUESTION: What is the maximum height above ground to which an antenna structure may be erected without requiring notification to the FAA and registration with the FCC, provided it is not at or near a public use airport? (G1B01)
ANSWER: 200 feet
State and local governments often seek to restrict the size and type of antenna structures that amateur radio operators can erect. In 1985, however, put in place a policy called PRB-1 that says that these entities must make “reasonable accommodations” for amateur radio operators wishing to put up antennas. For example, it’s unreasonable to restrict the height of an antenna to ten feet off the ground. Unfortunately, PRB-1 does not extend to restrictive homeowner association (HOA) agreements because these are private contracts entered into by homeowners.
QUESTION: Under what conditions are state and local governments permitted to regulate Amateur Radio antenna structures? (G1B06)
ANSWER: Amateur Service communications must be reasonably accommodated, and regulations must constitute the minimum practical to accommodate a legitimate purpose of the state or local entity
Normally, amateur radio transmissions are only allowed when a two-way communication is taking place. The FCC does allow amateurs to set up beacon stations, though. Beacon stations continually transmit a low-power (100 W or less) signal, often containing station location information. These stations can be found on 20 m, 17 m, 15 m, and 10 m bands.
The FCC allows these kinds of transmissions to help amateur radio operators determine propagation conditions. Like other amateur radio stations, each beacon must have a control operator, and only in the 10 meter band can the beacons be automatically controlled.
QUESTION: Which of the following is a purpose of a beacon station as identified in the FCC rules? (G1B03)
ANSWER: Observation of propagation and reception
QUESTION: What is the power limit for beacon stations? (G1B10)
ANSWER: 100 watts PEP output
QUESTION: With which of the following conditions must beacon stations comply? (G1B02)
ANSWER: There must be no more than one beacon signal transmitting in the same band from the same station location
QUESTION: On what HF frequencies are automatically controlled beacons permitted? (G1B09)
ANSWER: 28.20 MHz to 28.30 MHz
QUESTION: Why should an amateur operator normally avoid transmitting on 14.100, 18.110, 21.150, 24. 930 and 28.200 MHz? (G1E10)
ANSWER: A system of propagation beacon stations operates on those frequencies
Other types of one-way transmissions that are allowed are weather and propagation forecasts, news pertaining to the Amateur Radio Service, and Morse Code practice.
QUESTION: Which of the following transmissions is permitted? (G1B04)
ANSWER: Occasional retransmission of weather and propagation forecast information from U.S. government stations
QUESTION: Which of the following one-way transmissions are permitted? (G1B05)
ANSWER: Transmissions necessary to assist learning the International Morse code
One of the purposes of amateur radio as spelled out in Part 97.1 is the “continuation and extension of the amateur’s unique ability to enhance international goodwill.” But, at times in the past, communication with amateur radio operators in some countries was not allowed. Fortunately, this is not the case today. We can freely communicate with any amateur station that is on the air.
QUESTION: When is it permissible to communicate with amateur stations in countries outside the areas administered by the Federal Communications Commission? (G1B12)
ANSWER: When the contact is with amateurs in any country except those whose administrations have notified the ITU that they object to such communications
Encryption of messages sent via amateur radio is a real no-no. The only time it’s allowed is when controlling a space station. Some even interpret the rules to mean that you cannot use abbreviations or prosigns if they obscure the meaning of a message. Similarly, when a new digital mode is developed, the developers must document the protocol before it can be used on the air.
QUESTION: What are the restrictions on the use of abbreviations or procedural signals in the Amateur Service? (G1B07)
ANSWER: They may be used if they do not obscure the meaning of a message
QUESTION: What must be done before using a new digital protocol on the air? (G1C13)
ANSWER: Publicly document the technical characteristics of the protocol
As long as a frequency is within the sub-bands allotted to General Class operators, a General Class operator may choose to transmit on that frequency. You must, however, always comply with good amateur practice.
QUESTION: When choosing a transmitting frequency, what should you do to comply with good amateur practice? (G1B08)
ANSWER: All of these choices are correct
– Ensure that the frequency and mode selected are within your license class privileges
– Follow generally accepted band plans agreed to by the Amateur – Radio community
– Monitor the frequency before transmitting
The FCC rules do spell out certain technical requirements for your amateur radio station. They don’t, however, cover every situation. In these cases, the rules simply say that an amateur station mustbe operated in conformance with “good engineering and good amateur practice.”
QUESTION: Who or what determines “good engineering and good amateur practice,” as applied to the operation of an amateur station in all respects not covered by the Part 97 rules? (G1B11)
ANSWER: The FCC
Transmitter power regulations, data emission standards
In general, 1500 W PEP is the maximum output power an amateur may use when transmitting. Some bands have lower output power limits, including the 30 m band (200 W) and the 60 m band (100 W PEP effective radiated power referenced to a half-wave dipole). Because the maximum output power limit on the 60 m band is effective radiated power, you must keep a record of the gain of your antenna. To ensure that you’re not exceeding the maximum power output, on any of the bands, you’ll have to make peak envelope power, or PEP, measurements.
QUESTION: What is the limit for transmitter power on the 28 MHz band for a General Class control operator? (G1C05)
ANSWER: 1500 watts PEP output
QUESTION: What is the limit for transmitter power on the 1.8 MHz band? (G1C06)
ANSWER: 1500 watts PEP output
QUESTION: What is the maximum transmitting power an amateur station may use on the 12-meter band? (G1C02)
ANSWER: 1500 watts PEP output
QUESTION: What is the maximum transmitting power an amateur station may use on 10.140 MHz? (G1C01)
ANSWER: 200 watts PEP output
QUESTION: Which of the following is required by the FCC rules when operating in the 60-meter band? (G1C12)
ANSWER: If you are using an antenna other than a dipole, you must keep a record of the gain of your antenna
QUESTION: What is the maximum power limit on the 60-meter band? (G1C14)
ANSWER: ERP of 100 watts PEP with respect to a dipole
QUESTION: What measurement is specified by FCC rules that regulate maximum power output? (G1C15)
ANSWER: PEP
In addition to this absolute power limit, the rules state that amateurs should use only enough power required to carry out a specific communication. This requirement is to help amateurs avoid interfering with one another and with other services..
QUESTION: Which of the following limitations apply to transmitter power on every amateur band? (G1C04)
ANSWER: Only the minimum power necessary to carry out the desired communications should be used
There are also some rules about bandwidth. For example, the FCC rules call for a maximum bandwidth of 2.8 kHz for USB transmissions.
QUESTION: What is the maximum bandwidth permitted by FCC rules for Amateur Radio stations transmitting on USB frequencies in the 60-meter band? (G1C03)
ANSWER: 2.8 kHz
Similarly, there are rules related to data rates for the digital modes. I say similarly because the higher the data rate, the more bandwidth a signal will occupy. On the HF bands, the maximum symbol rate for RTTY or data transmissions is 300 baud.
QUESTION: What is the maximum symbol rate permitted for RTTY or data emission transmission on the 20-meter band? (G1C07)
ANSWER: 300 baud
QUESTION: What is the maximum symbol rate permitted for RTTY or data emission transmitted at frequencies below 28 MHz? (G1C08)
ANSWER :300 baud
On the 10 meter band and above, there is more spectrum available, so higher data rates are allowed.
QUESTION: What is the maximum symbol rate permitted for RTTY or data emission transmissions on the 10-meter band? (G1C10)
ANSWER: 1200 baud
QUESTION: What is the maximum symbol rate permitted for RTTY or data emission transmissions on the 2-meter band? (G1C11)
ANSWER: 19.6 kilobaud
QUESTION: What is the maximum symbol rate permitted for RTTY or data emission transmitted on the 1.25-meter and 70-centimeter bands? (G1C09)
ANSWER: 56 kilobaud
Volunteer Examiners and Volunteer Examiner Coordinators, temporary identification; element credit
Back in the old days (when I got my amateur radio license), you had to visit an FCC office to take the General Class license test. Now, a corps of Volunteer Examiners (VEs) administer the tests and transmit the test results to the FCC. VEs are accredited by a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator, which is an organization recognized by the FCC as being able to administer amateur radio examinations. To be a Volunteer Examiner, a person must hold a General Class license or higher and be at least 18 years old.
QUESTION: Volunteer Examiners are accredited by what organization? (G1D07)
ANSWER: A Volunteer Examiner Coordinator
QUESTION: Which of the following criteria must be met for a non-U.S. citizen to be an accredited Volunteer Examiner? (G1D08)
ANSWER: The person must hold a U.S. Amateur Radio license of General Class or above
QUESTION: What is the minimum age that one must be to qualify as an accredited Volunteer Examiner?(G1D10)
ANSWER: 18 years
General Class licensees can only administer Technician Class exams. Advanced class licensees can administer Technician and General Class exams. Extra Class licensees can administer exams for all three license classes. No matter the class, three Volunteer Examiners must be present for a test session. Having three VEs present helps ensure that the tests are administered properly and fairly.
QUESTION: What license examinations may you administer when you are an accredited VE holding a General class operator license? (G1D02)
ANSWER: Technician only
QUESTION: Which of the following must a person have before they can be an administering VE for a Technician class license examination? (G1D05)
ANSWER: An FCC General Class or higher license and VEC accreditation
QUESTION: Which of the following is a requirement for administering a Technician class license examination? (G1D04)
ANSWER: At least three VEC accredited General Class or higher VEs must be present
When an applicant passes an amateur radio license examination, he or she is issued a Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination. A Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination (CSCE) is like a receipt in case there’s a problem with processing the license. It is valid for 365 days.
QUESTION: How long is a Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination (CSCE) valid for exam element credit? (G1D09)
ANSWER: 365 days
Once you’ve been issued a CSCE for passing the General Class exam, you can begin using your new General Class privileges. You do so, by appending the identifier “AG” after your call sign when identifying your station.
QUESTION: On which of the following band segments may you operate if you are a Technician class operator and have a Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination (CSCE) for General class privileges? (G1D03)
ANSWER: On any General or Technician Class band segment
QUESTION: When must you add the special identifier “AG” after your call sign if you are a Technician class licensee and have a Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination (CSCE) for General class operator privileges, but the FCC has not yet posted your upgrade on its website? (G1D06)
ANSWER: Whenever you operate using General Class frequency privileges
Recently, the FCC changed the rules as to what happens when an amateur radio license expires. It used to be that if your license expired, and you were beyond the renewal grace period, you had to re-take the tests. If you wanted a Technician Class license, you had to take the Technician Class written exam (Element 2). If you wanted a General Class exam, you had to take the Technician and General Class exams (Elements 2 and 3), and if you wanted an Amateur Extra Class license, you had to take all three written exams (Elements 2, 3, and 4). Now, however, if you can prove that you once held an amateur radio license, you only have to pass the Technician Class exam to get a new amateur radio license.
When they do pass the Element 2 exam, the FCC will issue an Amateur Extra Class license to applicants that previously held an Amateur Extra Class license and a General Class license to applicants that previously held either a General Class or an Advanced Class license. If this makes no sense to you, you’re not alone. It makes no sense to me, either.
QUESTION: Who may receive partial credit for the elements represented by an expired Amateur Radio license? (G1D01)
ANSWER: Any person who can demonstrate that they once held an FCC issued General, Advanced, or Amateur Extra class license that was not revoked by the FCC
QUESTION: If a person has an expired FCC issued Amateur Radio license of General class or higher, what is required before they can receive a new license? (G1D11)
ANSWER: The applicant must pass the current element 2 exam
Control categories; repeater regulations; harmful interference; third party rules; ITU regions; automatically controlled digital station
The FCC rules specify when and how an amateur radio station can transmit messages for persons who are not licensed radio amateurs. These messages are called “third party traffic.” For example, when passing messages that are third-party traffic to foreign amateur stations, you must ensure thatthe station isin a country with which the United States has a third party agreement. There are also rules about the types of messages that you are allowed to transmit.
QUESTION: What types of messages for a third party in another country may be transmitted by an amateur station?(G1E05)
ANSWER: Only messages relating to Amateur Radio or remarks of a personal character, or messages relating to emergencies or disaster relief
While most third-party traffic rules cover communication with amateurs in other countries, there is an important rule concerning third-party traffic within the U.S. In particular, amateurs may not pass third-party traffic for persons whose licenses have been revoked.
QUESTION: Which of the following would disqualify a third party from participating in stating a message over an amateur station? (G1E01)
ANSWER: The third party’s amateur license hasbeen revoked and not reinstated
Causing interference to other amateur stations or other radio services is another big no-no. If you discover that you are causing interference, you must take steps to avoid or eliminate it.
QUESTION: Which of the following conditions require a licensed Amateur Radio operator to take specific steps to avoid harmful interference to other users or facilities? (G1E04)
ANSWER: All of these choices are correct
– When operating within one mile of an FCC Monitoring Station
– When using a band where the Amateur Service is secondary
– When a station is transmitting spread-spectrum emissions
Automatic control ofdigital stations has become somewhat controversial in recent years. Portions of the HF bands have been set aside for this type of operation, but there are times when communications may occur outside those band segments. When this occurs, the station initiating the contact must be under local control or remote control, not automatic control.
QUESTION: What is required to conduct communications with a digital station operating under automatic control outside the automatic control band segments? (G1E03)
ANSWER: The station initiating the contact must be under local or remote control
QUESTION:What is the Part 97 limit on the maximum bandwidth occupied by an automatically controlled digital station? (G1E11)
ANSWER: 500 Hz
One type of operation that has gained popularity in recent years is mesh networking. One such network is the Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network (AREDN). Using commercial Wi-Fi equipment whose firmware has been modified to disable encryption, amateur radio operators are able to set up networks that can span many square miles. Even though these networks are using commercial Wi-Fi equipment, operators still must abide by FCC rules, including not communicating with non-licensed stations and third-party rules.
QUESTION: In what part of the 13-centimeter band may an amateur station communicate with non-licensed Wi-Fi stations? (G1E07)
ANSWER: No part
QUESTION: When using modified commercial Wi-Fi equipment to construct an Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network (AREDN), what is the maximum allowed PEP transmitter output power? (G1E08)
ANSWER: 10 watts
QUESTION: Under what circumstances are messages that are sent via digital modes exempt from Part 97 third-party rules that apply to other modes of communication? (G1E09)
ANSWER: Under no circumstances
Dave New, N8SBE says
“North American and South America” –> “North America and South America”
“In 1985, however, put in place a policy called PRB-1” missing word?
“Amateur – Radio community” –> “Amateur Radio community”
“an amateur station mustbe operated in conformance” –> “an amateur station must be operated in conformance”
“you must ensure thatthe station isin a country” –> “you must ensure that the station is in a country” (two missing spaces)
“The third party’s amateur license hasbeen revoked” –> “The third party’s amateur license has been revoked”
“Automatic control ofdigital stations” –> “Automatic control of digital stations”