General Licensing Class
CW Lives
Lake Area Radio Klub
Spring 2012
Amateur Radio General Class
Element 3 Course Presentation
 ELEMENT 3 SUB-ELEMENTS
 1 - Your Passing CSCE
 2 - Your New General Bands
 3 - FCC Rules
 4 - Be a VE
 5 - Voice Operations
 6 - CW Lives
 7 - Digital Operating
 8 - In An Emergency
 9 - Skywave Excitement
2
(Groupings)
Amateur Radio General Class
Element 3 Course Presentation
 ELEMENT 3 SUB-ELEMENTS
 10 - Your HF Transmitter
 11 - Your Receiver
 12 - Oscillators & Components
 13 - Electrical Principles
 14 - Circuits
 15 - Good Grounds
 16 - HF Antennas
 17 - Coax Cable
 18 - RF & Electrical Safety
3
(Groupings)
CW Lives
 When selecting a CW transmitting frequency, 150 to 500 Hz is the
minimum frequency separation you should allow in order to minimize
interference to stations on adjacent frequencies. (G2B04)
 The term “zero beat” in CW operation means matching your
transmit frequency to the frequency of a received signal. (G2C06)
 The best speed to use answering a CQ in Morse Code is the speed at
which the CQ was sent. (G2C05)
 When sending CW, a “C” added to the RST report means a chirpy or
unstable signal. (G2C07)
RST stands for Readability … Signal Strength … Tone
CW Lives
READABILITY (R) for Voice + CW
1 – Unreadable
2 – Barely readable, occasional
words distinguishable
3 – Readable with considerable
difficulty
4 – Readable with practically
no difficulty
5 – Perfectly readable
CW Lives
SIGNAL STRENGTH (S) for Voice + CW
1 – Faint, barely perceptible signals
2 – Very weak signals
3 – Weak signals
4 – Fair signals
5 – Fairly good signals
6 – Good signals
7 – Moderately strong signals
8 – Strong signals
9 – Extremely strong signals
CW Lives
Tone (T) Use on CW only
1 – Very rough, broad signals, 60 cycle AC may be present
2 – Very rough AC tone, harsh, broad
3 – Rough AC tone, rectified but not filtered
4 – Rough note, some trace of filtering
5 – Filtered rectified AC but strongly ripple-modulated
6 – Filtered tone, definite trace of ripple modulation
7 – Near pure tone, trace of ripple modulation
8 – Near perfect tone, slight trace of modulation
9 – Perfect tone, no trace of ripple or modulation of any kind
CW Lives
 Q signals are three letter combinations that begin with the letter ‘Q’
 If a CW station sends "QRS", send slower. (G2C02)
 The Q signal "QRQ" means “send faster.” (G2C10)
 The Q signal “QRV” means, “I am ready to receive messages.” (G2C11)
 The Q signal "QSL" means, “I acknowledge receipt.” (G2C09)
Q signals always begin with the letter ‘Q’ and have only three letters.
CW Lives
QRM
QRN
QRP
QRQ
QRS
QRT
QRV
QRZ
QSB
QSL
QSO
QSY
QTH
Something is causing interference
I am troubled by static/noise.
I am running low power.
Send faster ( ____ WPM)
Send more slowly ( ___ WPM)
I am going off the air.
These four are
the only ones
on the exam.
I am ready
Who is calling me?
Your signal is fading.
I received the message.
I will communicate with ________ directly.
I am changing frequency to _____.
My location is _______.
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CW Lives
 When a CW operator sends "KN" at the end of a transmission, it means
the operator is listening only for a specific station or stations. (G2C03)
This is called a ‘prosign’ and is used on CW only.
 AR is the prosign that is sent to indicate the end of a formal message
when using CW. (G2C08)
 When a CW operator sends "CL" at the end of a transmission, it means
“closing station,” or that the operator is going off the air. (G2C04)
 When using full break-in telegraphy (QSK), transmitting stations can
receive between code characters and elements. (G2C01)
If another station wishes to interrupt, you will
hear its signal between your dots and dashes
CW Lives
 Observation of propagation and reception is a purpose of a beacon
station as identified in the FCC Rules.(G1B03)
Beacon stations are found at 14.100 MHz, 18.110 MHz, 21.150 MHz,
24.930 MHz, 28.200-28.300 MHz, and on 2 meters below 144.300 MHz.
CW Lives
 100 watts PEP output is the power limit for beacon stations.(G1B10)
 One of the conditions with which beacon stations must comply is
that there must be no more than one beacon signal in the same
band from a single location.(G1B02)
 An advantage of selecting the opposite or "reverse" sideband
when receiving CW signals on a typical HF transceiver is that it
may be possible to reduce or eliminate interference from other
signals. (G4A02)
 It is good to match receiver bandwidth to the bandwidth of the
operating mode because it results in the best signal to noise
ratio. (G8B09)
CW Lives
 The purpose of an electronic keyer, for example, is automatic
generation of strings of dots and dashes for CW operation. (G4A10)
Element 3 General Class Question Pool
CW Lives
Valid July 1, 2011
Through
June 30, 2015
G2B04
When selecting a CW transmitting frequency, what
minimum frequency separation should you allow in order to
minimize interference to stations on adjacent frequencies?
A. 5 to 50 Hz
B. 150 to 500 Hz
C. 1 to 3 kHz
D. 3 to 6 kHz
G2C06
What does the term “zero beat”
mean in CW operation?
A. Matching the speed of the transmitting station.
B. Operating split to avoid interference on frequency.
C. Sending without error.
D. Matching your transmit frequency of a received signal.
G2C05
What is the best speed to use answering
a CQ in Morse Code?
A. The speed at which you are most comfortable copying
B. The speed at which the CQ was sent
C. A slow speed until contact is established
D. 5 wpm, as all operators licensed to operate CW can copy
this speed
G2CO7
When sending CW, what does a “C”
mean when added to the RST report?
A. Chirpy or unstable signal
B. Report was read from S meter reading rather than
estimated
C. 100 percent copy
D. Key clicks
G2C02
What should you do if a CW station
sends "QRS"?
A. Send slower
B. Change frequency
C. Increase your power
D. Repeat everything twice.
G2C10
What does the Q signal "QRQ" mean?
A. Slow down
B. Send faster
C. Zero beat my signal
D. Quitting operation
G2C11
What does the Q signal “QRV” mean?
A. You are sending too fast.
B. There is interference on the frequency.
C. I am quitting for the day.
D. I am ready to receive messages.
G2C09
What does the Q signal "QSL" mean?
A. Send slower
B. We have already confirmed by card
C. I acknowledge receipt
D. We have worked before
G2C03
What does it mean when a CW operator
sends "KN" at the end of a transmission?
A. Listening for novice stations
B. Operating full break-in
C. Listening only for a specific station or stations
D. Closing station now
G2C08
What prosign is sent to indicate the end
of a formal message when using CW ?
A. SK
B. BK
C. AR
D. KN
G2C04
What does it mean when a CW operator
sends "CL" at the end of a transmission?
A.Keep frequency clear
B. Operating full break-in
C.Only for a specific station or stations
D.Closing station
G2C01
Which of the following describes full
break-in telegraphy (QSK)?
A. Breaking stations send the Morse code prosign BK
B. Automatic keyers are used to send Morse code instead
of hand keys
C. An operator must activate a manual send/receive switch
before and after every transmission
D. Incoming signals are received between transmitted code
character elements
G1B03
Which of the following is a purpose of a
beacon station as identified in the FCC Rules?
A. Observation of propagation and reception
B. Automatic Identification of Repeaters
C. Transmission of bulletins of general interest to
Amateur Radio licensees
D. Identifying Net Frequencies
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G1B10
What is the power limit for beacon stations?
A. 10 watts PEP output
B. 20 watts PEP output
C. 100 watts PEP output
D. 200 watts PEP output
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G1B02
With which of the following conditions
must beacon stations comply?
A. A beacon station may not use automatic control.
B. The frequency must be coordinated with the National
Beacon Organization
C. The frequency must be posted on the Internet or
published in a national periodical
D. There must be no more than one beacon signal in the
same band from a single location
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G4A02
What is one advantage of selecting the opposite or
“reverse” sideband when receiving CW signals
on a typical HF transceiver.
A. Interference from impulse noise will be eliminated.
B. More stations can be accommodated within a given
signal passband.
C. It may be possible to reduce or eliminate interference
from other signals.
D. Accidental out of band operation can be prevented.
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G8B09
Why is it good to match receiver
bandwidth to the bandwidth of the
operating mode?
A. It is required by FCC rules.
B. It minimizes power consumption in the receiver.
C. It improves impedance matching of the antenna.
D. It results in the best signal to noise ratio.
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G4A10
What is the purpose of an
electronic keyer?
A. Automatic transmit/receive switching.
B. Automatic generation of strings of dots and dashes for
CW operation.
C. VOX operation.
D. Computer interface for PSK and RTTY operation.
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