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Subelement E1
COMMISSION RULES
Section E1C
Rules pertaining to automatic and remote control; band-specific regulations; operating in, and communicating with foreign countries; spurious emission standards; HF modulation index limit; bandwidth definition
What is the maximum bandwidth for a data emission on 60 meters?
  • 60 Hz
  • 170 Hz
  • 1.5 kHz
  • Correct Answer
    2.8 kHz

The maximum bandwidth for a data emission on 60 meters is 2.8 kHz.


Amateurs are not the primary users on the 60 meter band so operation on 60 meters is restricted to five 2.8 kHz wide channels centered on

  • 5332 kHz,
  • 5348 kHz,
  • 5368 kHz,
  • 5373 kHz, and
  • 5405 kHz

...with USB, data, and CW signals.

Silly Tip: Question asks for MAXIMUM bandwidth and the answer is the HIGHEST frequency of answers.

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Which of the following types of communications may be transmitted to amateur stations in foreign countries?
  • Business-related messages for non-profit organizations
  • Messages intended for users of the maritime satellite service
  • Correct Answer
    Communications incidental to the purpose of the amateur service and remarks of a personal nature
  • All these choices are correct

Business-related messages are never allowed to be sent over amateur radio, even if it's for a non-profit organization.

A maritime satellite service would most likely be a service for connecting to seafaring vessels -- a web search turned up nothing useful -- which would not be part of the amateur service.

Communications incidental to the purpose of the amateur service and remarks of a personal nature are always welcome on amateur radio, so this should generally be the most obvious choice -- good thing it's the correct one.

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How do the control operator responsibilities of a station under automatic control differ from one under local control?
  • Under local control there is no control operator
  • Correct Answer
    Under automatic control the control operator is not required to be present at the control point
  • Under automatic control there is no control operator
  • Under local control a control operator is not required to be present at a control point

There is always a control operator when an amateur radio station is transmitting. With local control, the control operator is physically at the same location as the station and is controlling it from the control point there.

Automatic control is when the control operator uses devices and/or procedures to configure the station so that it can operate without an active control operator. There is still a control operator, but he or she is not present at the control point in all cases during station operation.

A common example of automatic control is a repeater.

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What is meant by IARP?
  • Correct Answer
    An international amateur radio permit that allows U.S. amateurs to operate in certain countries of the Americas
  • The internal amateur radio practices policy of the FCC
  • An indication of increased antenna reflected power
  • A forecast of intermittent aurora radio propagation

International Amateur Radio Permit (IARP) is for operation in certain countries of the Americas (see below for list) and allows US amateur radio operators to operate without seeking a special license or permit to operate from that country. For a US citizen to operate an amateur station in a CITEL country, an IARP is necessary and may be issued by a member-society of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU)--for the US, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). The permit lists its authority in four different languages.

See http://www.arrl.org/iarp

Participating IARP Countries: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, El Salvador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

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Which of the following is required in order to operate in accordance with CEPT rules in foreign countries where permitted?
  • You must identify in the official language of the country in which you are operating
  • The U.S. embassy must approve of your operation
  • Correct Answer
    You must bring a copy of FCC Public Notice DA 16-1048
  • You must append "/CEPT" to your call sign

http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regulatory/DA-11-221A1.pdf

Therein: While operating an amateur station in a CEPT country, the person must have in his or her possession a copy of this Public Notice DA-11-221, proof of U.S. citizenship, and evidence of the FCC license grant. These documents must be shown to proper authorities upon request.

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At what level below a signal's mean power level is its bandwidth determined according to FCC rules?
  • 3 dB
  • 6 dB
  • 23 dB
  • Correct Answer
    26 dB

This is just one of these things to memorize. To make it easier, just remember it's the highest value of the ones given.

In order to determine bandwidth for an emission, a somewhat arbitrary cutoff point for signal strength is needed to determine where the lines are. The FCC has chosen 26 dB or \(10^{2.6} = 398.107\) times lower than the mean power level to determine where the upper and lower limits of the bandwidth are.

The full formula is more complicated and is defined in § 74.535 Emission and bandwidth..

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What is the maximum permissible duration of a remotely controlled station's transmissions if its control link malfunctions?
  • 30 seconds
  • Correct Answer
    3 minutes
  • 5 minutes
  • 10 minutes

Memory Trick: If your control link malfunctions, it cannot transmit more than 3 minutes. “3 strikes and you’re out!”

Real Answer: FCC 97.213(b)) Provisions are incorporated to limit transmission by the station to a period of no more than 3 minutes in the event of malfunction in the control link.

3M m on its side looks like the number 3. malfunction, minutes, m rotated

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What is the highest modulation index permitted at the highest modulation frequency for angle modulation below 29.0 MHz?
  • 0.5
  • Correct Answer
    1.0
  • 2.0
  • 3.0

Any modulation index greater than 1.0 will result in bandwidths that are wider than necessary for good amateur practices.

§ 97.307 Emission standards. (a) No amateur station transmission shall occupy more bandwidth than necessary for the information rate and emission type being transmitted, in accordance with good amateur practice. (b) Emissions resulting from modulation must be confined to the band or segment available to the control operator. Emissions outside the necessary bandwidth must not cause splatter or keyclick interference to operations on adjacent frequencies.

The definition of modulation index differs between AM and FM.

The AM Modulation Index is (\(m = \frac{M}{A}\)), where M = the peak CHANGE in modulated carrier AMPLITUDE from its UNMODULATED value, and A = the unmodulated carrier amplitude. A modulation index of 1 is when the envelope cycles between TWICE the steady state value (increases by 1X) and ZERO (decreases by 1X) .

With FM, the FM carrier FREQUENCY is modulated by some frequency spectrum, typically speech. The FM modulation index is (\(m = \frac{Fd}{A}\)), where Fd is the maximum deviation from the carrier frequency, and A is the highest audio frequency.

If the maximum deviation Fd of a signal, set by FCC standards at down 26 dB, is, say, 3 kHz on either side of the center freq (146.52 MHz, for example), and the modulating frequency A is speech low-pass filtered to 3 kHz, then the modulation index is (\(\frac{3000}{3000} = 1\)), right at the limit. If the transmitted signal had side bands that used, say, 5 kHz on either side of the carrier frequency, for the same 3 kHz audio stream, the MI would be (\(\frac{5000}{3000} = 1.67\)).

ARRL 2021 Handbook, Sect 11.3 Angle Modulation

SILLY HINT: 29 MHz is the 10 Metre band, answer is 1.0 (10)

For further reading: Wikipedia on modulation indexes

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What is the permitted mean power of any spurious emission relative to the mean power of the fundamental emission from a station transmitter or external RF amplifier installed after January 1, 2003 and transmitting on a frequency below 30 MHz?
  • Correct Answer
    At least 43 dB below
  • At least 53 dB below
  • At least 63 dB below
  • At least 73 dB below

§ 97.307 Emission standards.


For transmitters installed after January 1, 2003, the mean power of any spurious emission from a station transmitter or external RF power amplifier transmitting on a frequency below 30 MHz must be at least 43 dB below the mean power of the fundamental emission.

*Memory - The lowest number in the list -- W1SBC

TEST TIP: "86'd" is a slang term meaning "to get rid of." The correct answer (43 dB) is half way to 86. FCC doesn't expect us to completely eliminate spurious emissions, so just think of the expectation as being "half way to 86'd".

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Which of the following operating arrangements allows an FCC-licensed U.S. citizen to operate in many European countries, and alien amateurs from many European countries to operate in the U.S.?
  • Correct Answer
    CEPT agreement
  • IARP agreement
  • ITU reciprocal license
  • All these choices are correct

CEPT - European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations. C "European" PT

Hint: Usually not allowed, but they make exCEPTions.

Fun Fact, from Wikipedia:

The acronym comes from the French version of its name:

Conférence Européenne des administrations des Postes et des Télécommunications.

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On what portion of the 630 meter band are phone emissions permitted?
  • None
  • Only the top 3 kHz
  • Only the bottom 3 kHz
  • Correct Answer
    The entire band

Just another one of those "learn the regs" questions.

This one is covered in §97.305(c) Authorized emission types where RTTY, Data, Phone, and Image are all authorized for the entire 630m band.

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What notifications must be given before transmitting on the 630 meter or 2200 meter bands?
  • A special endorsement must be requested from the FCC
  • An environmental impact statement must be filed with the Department of the Interior
  • Correct Answer
    Operators must inform the Utilities Technology Council (UTC) of their call sign and coordinates of the station
  • Operators must inform the FAA of their intent to operate, giving their call sign and distance to the nearest runway

Utilities Telecom Council notification/registration is required because of the use of Power-line Carrier systems on these frequencies and the potential for interference with PLC communication systems. The process for registration is simple though and can be done at https://utc.org/plc-database-amateur-notification-process/

The Regs:

§97.303 Frequency sharing requirements.

(g)(2) Prior to commencement of operations in the 135.7-137.8 kHz (2200 m) and/or 472-479 kHz (630 m) bands, amateur operators shall notify the Utilities Telecom Council (UTC) of their intent to operate by submitting their call signs, intended band or bands of operation, and the coordinates of their antenna's fixed location. Amateur stations will be permitted to commence operations after the 30-day period unless UTC notifies the station that its fixed location is located within one kilometer of PLC systems operating in the same or overlapping frequencies.

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How long must an operator wait after filing a notification with the Utilities Technology Council (UTC) before operating on the 2200 meter or 630 meter band?
  • Operators must not operate until approval is received
  • Correct Answer
    Operators may operate after 30 days, providing they have not been told that their station is within 1 km of PLC systems using those frequencies
  • Operators may not operate until a test signal has been transmitted in coordination with the local power company
  • Operations may commence immediately, and may continue unless interference is reported by the UTC

§97.303 Frequency sharing requirements.

(g)(2) Prior to commencement of operations in the 135.7-137.8 kHz (2200 m) and/or 472-479 kHz (630 m) bands, amateur operators shall notify the Utilities Telecom Council (UTC) of their intent to operate by submitting their call signs, intended band or bands of operation, and the coordinates of their antenna's fixed location. Amateur stations will be permitted to commence operations after the 30-day period unless UTC notifies the station that its fixed location is located within one kilometer of PLC (power-line carrier) systems operating in the same or overlapping frequencies.

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