Learn/ Extra course/Module 1 of 10
Extra Course, Module 1: Rules of the Whole Map
Covers NCVEC 2024-2028 Extra Pool, Subelement E1 (Commission Rules). Six questions on your exam come from this material.
Ray pours two coffees now instead of one and slides yours across without asking. "Extra hands you the last locked segments and a stack of privileges most hams never use: space stations, the strange bands below the AM broadcast dial, running exam sessions. The rules module got longer because your reach got longer. Same deal as always: the edges first."
1.1Band Edges as Arithmetic, and Radio Afloat
At General you learned to keep your sideband inside the segment. The Extra pool makes you compute it:
- A 3 kHz USB signal with the carrier at 14.348 MHz is illegal because the upper 1 kHz of the signal falls outside the 20-meter band (which ends at 14.350).
- The lowest legal LSB carrier frequency is 3 kHz above the lower band edge, the General rule restated as a boundary condition.
- The highest legal carrier for a 2.8 kHz USB data signal on 20 meters: the data segment ends at 14.150 MHz, so 14.1472 MHz puts the top of the signal exactly at the edge.
- And the trap question: answering a CQ on 3.601 MHz LSB is a violation even for an Extra, because LSB extends downward and the sideband components fall below the 3.600 phone segment edge. Privileges do not repeal arithmetic.
The strange new bands come with unusual power units. On 2200 meters, maximum power is 1 watt EIRP; on 630 meters, 5 watts EIRP (except in parts of Alaska). EIRP, effective isotropic radiated power, instead of PEP, because at those wavelengths antennas are so inefficient that regulating radiated power is the only honest measure. On channelized 60-meter operation, a CW signal must be transmitted at the center frequency of the channel.
Radio goes to sea and sky with three rules: an amateur station aboard a ship or aircraft operates only with the approval of the master or pilot in command; the person in physical control must hold an FCC amateur license (or reciprocal authorization); and aboard a US-registered vessel in international waters, any FCC-issued amateur license suffices, because the vessel carries US jurisdiction with it.
One accountability rule closes the group: when a message forwarding system relays a rule-violating message, the party primarily accountable is the control operator of the originating station. The robots relay in good faith; the human who injected the message answers for it.
Knowledge Check 1.1
Tap an answer. In your own words first, then check yourself.
1. Why is a 3 kHz USB signal at a displayed 14.348 MHz illegal?
2. What is the power limit on the 2200-meter band?
3. A packet system forwards a message that violates FCC rules. Who is primarily accountable?
E1A the easy way: all 11 questions, with the right answer
Every pool question in this group. Read the answer, let the tip make it stick.
E1A01 Why is it not legal to transmit a 3 kHz bandwidth USB signal with a carrier frequency of 14.348 MHz?
Answer The upper 1 kHz of the signal is outside the 20-meter band
Tip 20 meters ends at 14.350 MHz. A USB carrier at 14.348 puts the top of a 3 kHz signal past 14.350, so the upper 1 kHz spills out.
E1A02 When using a transceiver that displays the carrier frequency of phone signals, which of the following displayed frequencies represents the lowest frequency at which a properly adjusted LSB emission will be totally within the band?
Answer 3 kHz above the lower band edge
Tip LSB builds downward from the carrier, so park the carrier 3 kHz above the lower edge to keep the whole skirt inside.
E1A03 What is the highest legal carrier frequency on the 20-meter band for transmitting a 2.8 kHz wide USB data signal?
Answer 14.1472 MHz
Tip USB builds upward, so subtract 2.8 kHz from the 14.150 MHz edge. 14.150 minus 0.0028 is 14.1472 MHz.
E1A04 May an Extra class operator answer the CQ of a station on 3.601 MHz LSB phone?
Answer No, the sideband components will extend beyond the edge of the phone band segment
Tip LSB spreads below the carrier, so 3.601 would push audio under 3.600, below the phone segment. You cannot answer there.
E1A05 Who must be in physical control of the station apparatus of an amateur station aboard any vessel or craft that is documented or registered in the United States?
Answer Any person holding an FCC issued amateur license or who is authorized for alien reciprocal operation
Tip On a US vessel, only a licensed amateur or an authorized reciprocal operator may run the rig.
E1A06 What is the required transmit frequency of a CW signal for channelized 60 meter operation?
Answer At the center frequency of the channel
Tip On the 60 meter channels you sit CW right on the channel center, not offset to one side.
E1A07 What is the maximum power permitted on the 2200-meter band?
Answer 1 watt EIRP (equivalent isotropic radiated power)
Tip 2200 meters is capped at just 1 watt EIRP, measured as radiated not transmitter output.
E1A08 If a station in a message forwarding system inadvertently forwards a message that is in violation of FCC rules, who is primarily accountable for the rules violation?
Answer The control operator of the originating station
Tip In a forwarding chain the buck stops at the origin. The originating control operator is primarily accountable.
E1A09 Except in some parts of Alaska, what is the maximum power permitted on the 630-meter band?
Answer 5 watts EIRP (equivalent isotropic radiated power)
Tip 630 meters allows 5 watts EIRP, five times the 2200 meter limit, with Alaska near Russia excepted.
E1A10 If an amateur station is installed aboard a ship or aircraft, what condition must be met before the station is operated?
Answer Its operation must be approved by the master of the ship or the pilot in command of the aircraft
Tip Radio on a ship or aircraft runs only with the blessing of the captain or pilot in command.
E1A11 What licensing is required when operating an amateur station aboard a US-registered vessel in international waters?
Answer Any FCC-issued amateur license
Tip In international waters on a US vessel, any FCC amateur license is enough. No extra permit needed.
1.2Protected Places, Zoning, and RACES
Some locations impose duties on your station:
- Within 1 mile of an FCC monitoring facility, you must protect the facility from harmful interference.
- The National Radio Quiet Zone is the area surrounding the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, where radio silence is a scientific instrument.
- On 70 centimeters, amateurs are secondary to federal radiolocation: if your repeater interferes with a radiolocation system, the control operator must cease operation or make changes that mitigate the interference.
- Near a public-use airport, antenna structures may require FAA notification and FCC registration under Part 17, the airport-adjacent version of the General course's 200-foot rule.
- If your clean signal still interferes with well-designed broadcast receivers, the FCC's remedy is proportionate: you may be required to avoid transmitting during certain hours on the offending frequencies, not to shut down.
PRB-1 returns with its scope stated precisely: it applies to state and local zoning regulations, and it requires reasonable accommodation of amateur radio. Note what it does not cover: private contracts like homeowner association covenants live outside PRB-1, which is why antenna-restricted subdivisions remain the hobby's sore subject.
Two definitions round out the regulatory vocabulary. A spurious emission is an emission outside the signal's necessary bandwidth that can be reduced or eliminated without affecting the information transmitted; that "without affecting the information" clause is what separates removable trash from your actual sidebands. And digital voice or SSTV on HF is held to a 3 kHz bandwidth, the same envelope as analog SSB.
RACES completes its three-course arc: stations operable under RACES rules are any FCC-licensed stations certified by the responsible civil defense organization, and a RACES station may use all amateur frequencies authorized to its control operator. RACES restricts who, not where.
Knowledge Check 1.2
Tap an answer. In your own words first, then check yourself.
1. What is the National Radio Quiet Zone?
2. To what does PRB-1 apply?
3. Which frequencies may a RACES station use?
E1B the easy way: all 11 questions, with the right answer
Every pool question in this group. Read the answer, let the tip make it stick.
E1B01 Which of the following constitutes a spurious emission?
Answer An emission outside the signal’s necessary bandwidth that can be reduced or eliminated without affecting the information transmitted
Tip A spurious emission is the extra junk outside the needed bandwidth that you can strip away without losing any of the message.
E1B02 Which of the following is an acceptable bandwidth for digital voice or slow-scan TV transmissions made on the HF amateur bands?
Answer 3 kHz
Tip Digital voice and SSTV on HF live within a 3 kHz window, same as a voice channel.
E1B03 Within what distance must an amateur station protect an FCC monitoring facility from harmful interference?
Answer 1 mile
Tip Keep harmful interference away from an FCC monitoring station out to 1 mile.
E1B04 What must the control operator of a repeater operating in the 70-centimeter band do if a radiolocation system experiences interference from that repeater?
Answer Cease operation or make changes to the repeater that mitigate the interference
Tip Radiolocation outranks amateur on 70 cm, so a repeater causing interference must change or shut down.
E1B05 What is the National Radio Quiet Zone?
Answer An area surrounding the National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Tip The National Radio Quiet Zone is the protective area around the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
E1B06 Which of the following additional rules apply if you are erecting an amateur station antenna structure at a site at or near a public use airport?
Answer You may have to notify the Federal Aviation Administration and register it with the FCC as required by Part 17 of the FCC rules
Tip A tower near an airport may need FAA notification and FCC registration under Part 17.
E1B07 To what type of regulations does PRB-1 apply?
Answer State and local zoning
Tip PRB-1 is aimed at state and local zoning, telling them to make room for antennas.
E1B08 What limitations may the FCC place on an amateur station if its signal causes interference to domestic broadcast reception, assuming that the receivers involved are of good engineering design?
Answer The amateur station must avoid transmitting during certain hours on frequencies that cause the interference
Tip If your clean signal still hits a good broadcast receiver, the FCC can bar you only during certain hours on the offending frequencies.
E1B09 Which amateur stations may be operated under RACES rules?
Answer Any FCC-licensed amateur station certified by the responsible civil defense organization for the area served
Tip RACES uses regular FCC-licensed stations that a local civil defense group has certified.
E1B10 What frequencies are authorized to an amateur station operating under RACES rules?
Answer All amateur service frequencies authorized to the control operator
Tip Under RACES you keep all the frequencies your license class already grants. No special band plan.
E1B11 What does PRB-1 require of state and local regulations affecting amateur radio antenna size and structures?
Answer Reasonable accommodations of amateur radio must be made
Tip PRB-1 does not forbid regulation, it demands reasonable accommodation of amateur antennas.
1.3Automatic Control, Remote Control, and Crossing Borders
The machine rules first:
- A station under automatic control may handle third-party communications only when transmitting RTTY or data emissions. The digital robots may relay; the voice robots may not.
- A remotely controlled station whose control link fails may transmit for a maximum of 3 minutes. Every remote station is required to fail silent, and quickly.
- Angle modulation below 29.0 MHz is capped at a modulation index of 1.0 at the highest modulation frequency, the rule that keeps HF FM narrow.
- Spurious emissions below 30 MHz must be at least 43 dB below the fundamental. That is the number your "clean signal" obligation resolves to.
The low bands carry a unique pre-flight requirement: before transmitting on 630 or 2200 meters, operators must notify the Utilities Technology Council (UTC) with their call sign and station coordinates, then wait 30 days; if not told the station is within 1 kilometer of power-line carrier systems, operation may begin. Those bands share spectrum with the signaling the electric grid uses on its own lines, hence the unusual courtesy call. One friendly detail: phone is permitted on the entire 630-meter band.
Crossing borders, three instruments:
- CEPT lets FCC licensees operate in many European countries and vice versa; the requirement when operating under CEPT is carrying a copy of FCC Public Notice DA 16-1048.
- An IARP is the permit for US amateurs operating in certain countries of the Americas.
- Communications with foreign stations are limited to those incidental to the purposes of the amateur service and remarks of a personal character, the international restatement of the noncommercial deal from your first course.
Knowledge Check 1.3
Tap an answer. In your own words first, then check yourself.
1. When may an automatically controlled station transmit third-party communications?
2. Your remote station's control link fails mid-transmission. How long may it legally continue transmitting?
3. What document must you carry when operating under CEPT in Europe?
E1C the easy way: all 12 questions, with the right answer
Every pool question in this group. Read the answer, let the tip make it stick.
E1C01 What is the maximum bandwidth for a data emission on 60 meters?
Answer 2.8 kHz
Tip Data on 60 meters is held to a 2.8 kHz maximum bandwidth.
E1C02 Which of the following apply to communications transmitted to amateur stations in foreign countries?
Answer Communications must be limited to those incidental to the purpose of the amateur service and remarks of a personal nature
Tip Chats with foreign amateurs must stay personal and incidental to the hobby, nothing more.
E1C03 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?
Answer Operators may operate after 30 days, providing they have not been told that their station is within 1 kilometer of PLC systems using those frequencies
Tip After notifying the UTC, wait 30 days for 2200 or 630 meters, unless told you are within 1 km of a PLC system.
E1C04 What is an IARP?
Answer A permit that allows US amateurs to operate in certain countries of the Americas
Tip An IARP is the permit letting US hams operate in participating countries of the Americas.
E1C05 Under what situation may a station transmit third party communications while being automatically controlled?
Answer Only when transmitting RTTY or data emissions
Tip Automatic control plus third party traffic is allowed only for RTTY or data, not voice.
E1C06 Which of the following is required in order to operate in accordance with CEPT rules in foreign countries where permitted?
Answer You must have a copy of FCC Public Notice DA 16-1048
Tip To use CEPT privileges abroad you must carry a copy of FCC Public Notice DA 16-1048.
E1C07 What notifications must be given before transmitting on the 630- or 2200-meter bands?
Answer Operators must inform the Utilities Technology Council (UTC) of their call sign and coordinates of the station
Tip Before using 630 or 2200 meters, give the UTC your call sign and station coordinates.
E1C08 What is the maximum permissible duration of a remotely controlled station’s transmissions if its control link malfunctions?
Answer 3 minutes
Tip If the control link dies, a remote station may keep transmitting no longer than 3 minutes.
E1C09 What is the highest modulation index permitted at the highest modulation frequency for angle modulation below 29.0 MHz?
Answer 1.0
Tip Angle modulation below 29.0 MHz is held to a modulation index of 1.0 at the highest audio frequency.
E1C10 What is the maximum mean power level for a spurious emission below 30 MHz with respect to the fundamental emission?
Answer - 43 dB
Tip Below 30 MHz, spurious output must sit at least 43 dB down from the fundamental.
E1C11 Which of the following operating arrangements allows an FCC-licensed US citizen to operate in many European countries, and amateurs from many European countries to operate in the US?
Answer CEPT
Tip CEPT is the arrangement that lets US hams operate in Europe and European hams operate here.
E1C12 In what portion of the 630-meter band are phone emissions permitted?
Answer The entire band
Tip 630 meters has no mode split, so phone is permitted across the entire band.
1.4Space Stations and the Machines Aloft
The space rules, finally yours to use in full:
Definitions first. Telemetry is one-way transmission of measurements at a distance from the measuring instrument, the satellite reporting its health. A space telecommand station transmits communications to initiate, modify, or terminate the functions of a space station, the ground steering the bird. And the encryption exception you have waited three courses for: telecommand signals from a space telecommand station may be encrypted, the one place obscured meaning is legal, because satellite control channels must not be hijackable.
Where satellites may transmit. Space station allocations exist on HF at 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters; on VHF at 2 meters only; on UHF at 70 centimeters and 13 centimeters. Ray's mnemonic for VHF: 6 meters and 1.25 meters never got the satellite invitation.
Who does what. Telecommand stations are any amateur stations designated by the space station licensee. Earth stations, the ground half of any satellite contact, may be operated by any amateur, subject to the control operator's license privileges, which is why your Technician students can work satellites the week they pass. And the exhaustive list of stations allowed one-way transmissions: space stations, beacon stations, and telecommand stations.
Closer to the ground:
- A balloon-borne telemetry station's identification requires its call sign, like every other amateur transmitter.
- A station operated by telecommand on or within 50 km of Earth (the remote bases and repeaters of the world) must have posted at the station: a photocopy of the license, plus labels with the name, address, and phone of both the licensee and the control operator. All of these.
- Operating a model craft by telecommand: maximum 1 watt transmitter output. Your RC aircraft on amateur frequencies flies on a single watt.
Knowledge Check 1.4
Tap an answer. In your own words first, then check yourself.
1. Which transmissions may legally be encrypted?
2. Which VHF band includes space station allocations?
3. What is the transmitter power limit for telecommand of a model craft?
E1D the easy way: all 12 questions, with the right answer
Every pool question in this group. Read the answer, let the tip make it stick.
E1D01 What is the definition of telemetry?
Answer One-way transmission of measurements at a distance from the measuring instrument
Tip Telemetry is a one-way readout sent from a distant instrument back to you.
E1D02 Which of the following may transmit encrypted messages?
Answer Telecommand signals from a space telecommand station
Tip Encryption is normally banned, but telecommand signals to a space station are the exception that may be hidden.
E1D03 What is a space telecommand station?
Answer An amateur station that transmits communications to initiate, modify, or terminate functions of a space station
Tip A space telecommand station is the ground rig that starts, changes, or stops a satellite's functions.
E1D04 Which of the following is required in the identification transmissions from a balloon-borne telemetry station?
Answer Call sign
Tip A balloon telemetry beacon still has to send its call sign to identify.
E1D05 What must be posted at the location of a station being operated by telecommand on or within 50 kilometers of the Earth’s surface?
Answer All these choices are correct
Tip For telecommand stations near Earth the rules want several things posted, so all the choices apply.
E1D06 What is the maximum permitted transmitter output power when operating a model craft by telecommand?
Answer 1 watt
Tip Flying a model by radio control is limited to 1 watt of transmitter output.
E1D07 Which of the following HF amateur bands include allocations for space stations?
Answer 40 meters, 20 meters, 15 meters, and 10 meters
Tip The HF bands with space station room are 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters.
E1D08 Which VHF amateur bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?
Answer 2 meters
Tip On VHF, only 2 meters carries a space station allocation.
E1D09 Which UHF amateur bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?
Answer 70 centimeters and 13 centimeters
Tip For UHF space work, think 70 cm and 13 cm.
E1D10 Which amateur stations are eligible to be telecommand stations of space stations, subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held by the control operator of the station?
Answer Any amateur station so designated by the space station licensee
Tip Only a station the space station licensee names may act as its telecommand station.
E1D11 Which amateur stations are eligible to operate as Earth stations?
Answer Any amateur station, subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held by the control operator
Tip Any amateur station can be an Earth station, within the privileges of the operator's license class.
E1D12 Which of the following amateur stations may transmit one-way communications?
Answer A space station, beacon station, or telecommand station
Tip One-way transmissions are allowed for space, beacon, and telecommand stations.
1.5The Other Side of the Table
The VE program, from the administrator's chair you are about to occupy.
The structure: a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator is an organization that has entered into an agreement with the FCC to coordinate, prepare, and administer amateur exams. The VECs maintain the question pools for all US amateur exams, which is why this course keeps citing NCVEC. Accreditation is not automatic and not from the FCC: a VEC confirms that the applicant meets the FCC requirements to serve.
Money, barely: VEs and VECs may be reimbursed only for out-of-pocket expenses of preparing, processing, administering, and coordinating examinations. Teaching license classes is noble and unreimbursable under Part 97.
Running the session:
- Each administering VE is responsible for the proper conduct and necessary supervision of the session. Responsibility does not delegate to the session manager; all three of you own it.
- A candidate who fails to comply with instructions gets their examination immediately terminated. No warnings phase; the rule assumes the instructions were clear the first time.
- You may not administer an exam to your relatives as listed in the FCC rules. Elmer your nephew all year; someone else examines him.
- Paperwork by outcome: a failed applicant gets their application document returned to them. A passing candidate's session ends with three VEs certifying qualification and compliance, and the documents going to the coordinating VEC according to its instructions, never directly to the FCC.
- The penalty for fraudulent administration or certification: revocation of the VE's station license grant and suspension of their operator license. The program runs on trust and enforces it with everything you own.
Knowledge Check 1.5
Tap an answer. In your own words first, then check yourself.
1. Who maintains the question pools for US amateur exams?
2. A candidate ignores the VE team's instructions during the exam. What happens?
3. Where do a successful examinee's documents go?
E1E the easy way: all 11 questions, with the right answer
Every pool question in this group. Read the answer, let the tip make it stick.
E1E01 For which types of out-of-pocket expenses do the Part 97 rules state that VEs and VECs may be reimbursed?
Answer Preparing, processing, administering, and coordinating an examination for an amateur radio operator license
Tip VEs and VECs may recover out-of-pocket costs only for preparing, processing, administering, and coordinating the exam.
E1E02 Who is tasked by Part 97 with maintaining the pools of questions for all US amateur license examinations?
Answer The VECs
Tip The VECs, not the FCC, keep up the question pools for every US license exam.
E1E03 What is a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator?
Answer An organization that has entered into an agreement with the FCC to coordinate, prepare, and administer amateur operator license examinations
Tip A VEC is the organization under agreement with the FCC to coordinate, prepare, and administer license exams.
E1E04 What is required to be accredited as a Volunteer Examiner?
Answer A VEC must confirm that the VE applicant meets FCC requirements to serve as an examiner
Tip To become a VE, a VEC must confirm you meet the FCC's requirements to examine.
E1E05 What must the VE team do with the application form if the examinee does not pass the exam?
Answer Return the application document to the examinee
Tip Fail the exam and the VE team hands your application form back to you.
E1E06 Who is responsible for the proper conduct and necessary supervision during an amateur operator license examination session?
Answer Each administering VE
Tip Each VE at the session owns the proper conduct and supervision of that exam.
E1E07 What should a VE do if a candidate fails to comply with the examiner’s instructions during an amateur operator license examination?
Answer Immediately terminate the candidate’s examination
Tip If a candidate ignores the examiner's instructions, the VE ends that exam right away.
E1E08 To which of the following examinees may a VE not administer an examination?
Answer Relatives of the VE as listed in the FCC rules
Tip A VE may not test their own relatives as listed in the rules, to avoid a conflict of interest.
E1E09 What may be the penalty for a VE who fraudulently administers or certifies an examination?
Answer Revocation of the VE’s amateur station license grant and the suspension of the VE’s amateur operator license grant
Tip Fraud by a VE can cost them both licenses: station grant revoked and operator grant suspended.
E1E10 What must the administering VEs do after the administration of a successful examination for an amateur operator license?
Answer They must submit the application document to the coordinating VEC according to the coordinating VEC instructions
Tip After a successful exam the VEs send the application to the coordinating VEC as that VEC directs.
E1E11 What must the VE team do if an examinee scores a passing grade on all examination elements needed for an upgrade or new license?
Answer Three VEs must certify that the examinee is qualified for the license grant and that they have complied with the administering VE requirements
Tip A pass needs three VEs to certify the candidate qualifies and that they followed the administering rules.
1.6Amplifiers, Line A, and the Odds and Ends
The last group is Part 97's miscellaneous drawer, and every item eventually matters to somebody:
- Spread spectrum is permitted only above 222 MHz (and, from your General course, at 10 watts PEP).
- External RF amplifiers below 144 MHz normally require FCC certification to be sold by dealers, with one exception the exam highlights: an amplifier constructed or modified by an amateur for use at an amateur station may be sold without certification. Homebrew remains blessed. The certification standard itself: the amplifier must satisfy the spurious emission standards when operated at the lesser of 1500 watts or its full output.
- Line A is a line roughly parallel to and south of the US-Canadian border. North of it, in the contiguous states, amateurs may not transmit in 420 to 430 MHz, protecting Canadian systems in that segment. Geography is a band condition.
- Visiting Canadian amateurs operate in the US under the terms of their Canadian license, not to exceed US Extra class privileges, the reciprocal courtesy running both directions across Line A.
- A Special Temporary Authority (STA) exists to provide for experimental amateur communications, the FCC's mechanism for blessing the genuinely new.
- The business rule, stated with Extra precision: an amateur may send a message to a business only when neither the amateur nor their employer has a pecuniary interest in the communication, and the prohibited-communications list is headed by transmissions for hire or material compensation.
- Mesh networks inherit the whole rulebook: messages encoded to obscure their meaning cannot travel an amateur mesh, no matter how internet-shaped the network feels.
- An auxiliary station (the links and remote receivers gluing repeater systems together) may have as control operator any Technician class or higher licensee.
Knowledge Check 1.6
Tap an answer. In your own words first, then check yourself.
1. Where are spread spectrum transmissions permitted?
2. What is Line A?
3. When may a dealer sell an uncertified amplifier for use below 144 MHz?
E1F the easy way: all 11 questions, with the right answer
Every pool question in this group. Read the answer, let the tip make it stick.
E1F01 On what frequencies are spread spectrum transmissions permitted?
Answer Only on amateur frequencies above 222 MHz
Tip Spread spectrum is only legal on amateur frequencies above 222 MHz.
E1F02 What privileges are authorized in the US to persons holding an amateur service license granted by the government of Canada?
Answer The operating terms and conditions of the Canadian amateur service license, not to exceed US Amateur Extra class license privileges
Tip A Canadian licensee operating here gets their own Canadian terms, capped at US Extra privileges.
E1F03 Under what circumstances may a dealer sell an external RF power amplifier capable of operation below 144 MHz if it has not been granted FCC certification?
Answer The amplifier is constructed or modified by an amateur radio operator for use at an amateur station
Tip A dealer may sell an uncertified amp for below 144 MHz only if a ham built or modified it for their own station.
E1F04 Which of the following geographic descriptions approximately describes "Line A"?
Answer A line roughly parallel to and south of the border between the US and Canada
Tip Line A runs roughly parallel to and just south of the US-Canada border.
E1F05 Amateur stations may not transmit in which of the following frequency segments if they are located in the contiguous 48 states and north of Line A?
Answer 420 MHz - 430 MHz
Tip North of Line A in the lower 48, keep off 420 to 430 MHz to protect Canadian radiolocation.
E1F06 Under what circumstances might the FCC issue a Special Temporary Authority (STA) to an amateur station?
Answer To provide for experimental amateur communications
Tip A Special Temporary Authority covers experimental amateur communications for a limited time.
E1F07 When may an amateur station send a message to a business?
Answer When neither the amateur nor their employer has a pecuniary interest in the communications
Tip You can message a business only when neither you nor your employer stands to profit from it.
E1F08 Which of the following types of amateur station communications are prohibited?
Answer Communications transmitted for hire or material compensation, except as otherwise provided in the rules
Tip Transmitting for hire or pay is prohibited, except where the rules carve out an exception.
E1F09 Which of the following cannot be transmitted over an amateur radio mesh network?
Answer Messages encoded to obscure their meaning
Tip A mesh network follows the same rule as any ham link: nothing encoded to obscure its meaning.
E1F10 Who may be the control operator of an auxiliary station?
Answer Only Technician, General, Advanced, or Amateur Extra class operators
Tip An auxiliary station control operator must be Technician, General, Advanced, or Extra, but never Novice.
E1F11 Which of the following best describes one of the standards that must be met by an external RF power amplifier if it is to qualify for a grant of FCC certification?
Answer It must satisfy the FCC’s spurious emission standards when operated at the lesser of 1500 watts or its full output power
Tip To earn FCC certification, an external amp must meet the spurious emission limits at the lesser of 1500 watts or full output.
Review: every Exam Anchor from this module
E1A 14.348 USB is illegal: the upper 1 kHz exits the band. Lowest legal LSB carrier: 3 kHz above the lower edge. Highest 20-meter carrier for 2.8 kHz USB data: 14.1472 MHz. 3.601 LSB phone: sidebands extend below the segment. 2200 m: 1 W EIRP; 630 m: 5 W EIRP (Alaska excepted). 60-meter CW: at the channel center. Ship/aircraft: master or pilot approval; physical control by an FCC licensee; any FCC amateur license works on a US vessel in international waters. Forwarded violations: the originating station's control operator is accountable.
E1B 1 mile: FCC monitoring facility protection. National Radio Quiet Zone: surrounds the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. 70 cm radiolocation interference: cease or mitigate. Airport-adjacent structures: FAA notice and FCC Part 17 registration. Broadcast interference remedy: quiet hours on affected frequencies. PRB-1: state and local zoning must reasonably accommodate amateur radio. Spurious emission: outside the necessary bandwidth, removable without affecting the information. HF digital voice/SSTV: 3 kHz. RACES: civil-defense-certified stations, all frequencies authorized to the control operator.
E1C Automatic control plus third-party traffic: RTTY or data only. Remote control link failure: 3-minute maximum transmission. Modulation index limit below 29 MHz: 1.0. Spurious below 30 MHz: -43 dB. 630/2200 m: notify UTC (call sign and coordinates), wait 30 days, clear unless within 1 km of PLC systems; 60-meter data bandwidth 2.8 kHz; phone on all of 630 m. CEPT: Europe, carry DA 16-1048. IARP: the Americas. Foreign communications: incidental to the service plus personal remarks.
E1D Telemetry: one-way measurement transmission. Space telecommand station: initiates, modifies, or terminates space station functions; its telecommand signals may be encrypted. Space station allocations: HF 40/20/15/10 m; VHF 2 m only; UHF 70 cm and 13 cm. Telecommand stations: designated by the space station licensee. Earth stations: any amateur within their privileges. One-way transmissions: space, beacon, and telecommand stations. Balloon telemetry ID: call sign. Telecommand station posting: license photocopy plus licensee and control operator labels (all). Model craft telecommand: 1 watt.
E1E VEC: FCC-agreement organization coordinating exams; VECs maintain the question pools; a VEC confirms VE qualifications. Reimbursement: exam preparation, processing, administration, coordination only. Each administering VE is responsible for session conduct. Non-compliant candidate: immediate termination. No examining your FCC-listed relatives. Failed applicant: application returned. Passing: three VEs certify; documents go to the coordinating VEC per its instructions. Fraud: station license revocation and operator license suspension.
E1F Spread spectrum: above 222 MHz only. Uncertified amplifier sale: legal when amateur-built or amateur-modified; certification requires meeting spurious standards at the lesser of 1500 W or full output. Line A: roughly parallel to and south of the Canadian border; no 420-430 MHz north of it. Canadian visitors: Canadian terms, capped at Extra privileges. STA: experimental amateur communications. Business messages: only with no pecuniary interest for amateur or employer; for-hire communications prohibited. Mesh networks: no meaning-obscuring encoding. Auxiliary station control operator: Technician or higher.
Before you move on
The whole map is readable now: band edges as arithmetic, the protected places, the machine rules, the space rules, the exam table you will soon staff, and the miscellany from Line A to homebrew amplifiers. Notice how much of this module was the earlier courses' rules with precision added; Extra rarely introduces new law, it removes the rounding.
Module 2 does the same to propagation: moonbounce, transequatorial paths, chordal hops, and the space-weather numbers behind the forecasts you have been reading since General.
© 2026 Anthony Pelfanio, K4DIA. All rights reserved.