Advanced Licesnse Syllabus

ACMA recognition certificate (Advanced) and HAREC

1. Electrical, electro-magnetic and radio theory

1.1 Conductivity

Conductor, semiconductor and insulator
Current, voltage and resistance
The units ampere, volt and ohm
Ohm’s Law [E = I ⋅ R]
Kirchhoff’s Laws
Electric power [P = E ⋅I]
The unit watt
Electric energy [W = P⋅t]
The capacity of a battery [ampere-hour]

1.2 Sources of Electricity

Voltage source, source voltage [EMF], short circuit current, internal resistance and terminal voltage
Series and parallel connection of voltage sources.

1.3 Electric field

Electric field strength
The unit volt/meter
Shielding of electric fields.

1.4 Magnetic field

Magnetic field surrounding live conductor
Shielding of magnetic fields.

1.5 Electromagnetic field

ectromagnetic field
Radio waves as electromagnetic waves
Propagation velocity and its relation to frequency and wavelength
[v = f ⋅λ]
Polarisation.

1.6 Sinusoidal signals

The graphic representation in time
Instantaneous value, amplitude [Emax], effective [RMS] value and average value
Period and duration of period
Frequency
The unit hertz
Phase difference

1.7 Non-sinusoidal signals

Audio signals
Square wave
The graphic representation in time
D.C. voltage component, fundamental wave and higher harmonics
Noise PN = kTB.

1.8 Modulated signals

CW
Amplitude modulation
Phase modulation, frequency modulation and single-sideband modulation
Frequency deviation and modulation index
Carrier, sidebands and bandwidth
Waveforms of CW, AM, SSB and FM signals (graphical presentation)
Spectrum of CW, AM and SSB signals (graphical presentation)
Digital modulations: FSK, 2-PSK, 4-PSK, QAM
Digital modulation: bit rate, symbol rate (Baud rate) and bandwidth
CRC and retransmissions (e.g. packet radio), forward error correction (e.g. Amtor FEC).

1.9 Power and energy

The power of sinusoidal signals
Power ratios corresponding to the following dB values: 0 dB, 3 dB, 6 dB, 10 dB and 20 dB [both positive and negative]
The input/output power ratio in dB of series-connected amplifiers and/or attenuators
Matching [maximum power transfer]
The relation between power input and output and efficiency
Peak Envelope Power [p.e.p.].

1.10 Digital Signal Processing (DSP)

sampling and quantisation
minimum sampling rate (Nyquist frequency)
convolution (time domain / frequency domain, graphical presentation)
anti-aliasing filtering, reconstruction filtering
ADC / DAC.

2. Components

2.1 Resistor

The unit ohm
Resistance
Current/voltage characteristic
Power dissipation.

2.2 Capacitor

Capacitance
The unit farad
The relation between capacitance, dimensions and dielectric. (Qualitative treatment only)
The reactance
Phase relation between voltage and current.

2.3 Coil

Self-inductance
The unit henry
The effect of number of turns, diameter, length and core material on inductance. (Qualitative treatment only)
The reactance [X L = 2πf ⋅ L]
Phase relation between current and voltage
Q-factor

2.4 Transformers application and use

Ideal transformer [P = Psec ]
The relation between turn ratio and:
voltage ratio
current ratio
impedance ratio.
Transformers.

2.5 Diode

Use and application of diodes:
Rectifier diode, zener diode, LED [light-emitting diode], voltage-variable and capacitor [varicap]
Reverse voltage and leakage current.

2.6 Transistor

PNP- and NPN-transistors
Amplification factor
Field effect vs. bipolar transistor (voltage vs. current driven)
The transistor in the:
common emitter [source] circuit
common base [gate] circuit
common collector [drain] circuit
input and output impedances of the above circuits.

2.7 Miscellaneous

Simple thermionic device [valve]
Voltages and impedances in high power valve stages, impedance transformation
Simple integrated circuits (include opamps).

3. Circuits

3.1 Combination of components

Series and parallel circuits of resistors, coils, capacitors, transformers and diodes
Current and voltage in these circuits
Behaviour of real (non-ideal) resistor, capacitor and inductors at high frequencies.

3.2 Filters

Series-tuned and parallel-tuned circuit
Impedance
Frequency characteristic
Resonance frequency
Quality factor of a tuned circuit
Bandwidth
Band-pass filter
Low-pass, high-pass, band-pass and band-stop filters composed of passive elements
Frequency response
Pi filter and T filter
Quartz crystal
Effects due to real (=non-ideal) components
Digital filters (see sections 1.10 and 3.8).

3.3 Power Supply

Circuits for half-wave and full-wave rectification and the Bridge rectifier
Smoothing circuits
Stabilisation circuits in low voltage supplies
Switching mode power supplies, isolation and EMC.

3.4 Amplifier

LF and HF amplifiers
Gain
Amplitude/frequency characteristic and bandwidth (broadband vs. tuned stages)
Class A, A/B, B and C biasing
Harmonic and intermodulation distortion, overdriving amplifier stages

3.5 Detector

AM detectors (envelope detectors)
Diode detector
Product detectors and beat oscillators
FM detectors.

3.6 Oscillator

Feedback (intentional and unintentional oscillations)
Factors affecting frequency and frequency stability conditions necessary for oscillation
LC oscillator
Crystal oscillator, overtone oscillator
Voltage controlled oscillator (VCO)
Phase noise

3.7 Phase Locked Loop (PLL)

Control loop with phase comparator circuit
Frequency synthesis with a programmable divider in the feedback loop.

3.8 Digital signal processing (DSP systems)

FIR and IIR filter topologies
Fourier transformation (DFT FFT, graphical presentation)
Direct digital synthesis.

4. Recievers

4.1 Types

Single and double superheterodyne receiver
Direct conversion receivers.

4.2 Block diagrams

CW receiver [A1A]
AM receiver [A3E]
SSB receiver for suppressed carrier telephony [J3E]
FM receiver [F3E].

4.3 Operation and function of the following stages (Block diagram treatment only)

HF amplifier [with tuned or fixed band pass]
Oscillator [fixed and variable]
Mixer
Intermediate frequency amplifier
Limiter
Detector, including product detector
Audio amplifier
Automatic gain control
S meter
Squelch.

4.4 Receiver characteristics (simple description treatment)

Adjacent-channel
Selectivity
Sensitivity, receiver noise, noise figure
Stability
Image frequency
Desensitisation / blocking
Intermodulation cross modulation
Reciprocal mixing [phase noise].

5. Trnasmitters

5.1 Types

Transmitter with or without frequency translation.

5.2 Block diagrams

CW transmitter [A1A]
SSB transmitter with suppressed carrier telephony [J3E]
FM transmitter with the audio signal modulating the VCO of the PLL [F3E].

5.3 Operation and functions of the following stages (simple description and block diagram)

Mixer
Oscillator
Buffer
Driver
Frequency multiplier
Power amplifier
Output matching
Output filter
Frequency modulator
SSB modulator
Phase modulator
Crystal filter.

5.4 Transmitter characteristics (simple description)

Frequency stability
RF bandwidth
Sidebands
Audio-frequency range
Non-linearity [harmonic and intermodulation distortion]
Output impedance
Output power
Efficiency
Frequency deviation
Modulation index
CW key clicks and chirps
SSB overmodulation and splatter (agreed)
Spurious RF radiations (agreed)
Cabinet radiations
Phase noise.

6. Antennas and transmission lines

6.1 Antenna types

Centre-fed half-wave antenna
End-fed half-wave antenna
Folded dipole
Quarter-wave vertical antenna [ground plane]
Antenna with parasitic elements [Yagi]
Aperture antennas (Parabolic reflector, horn)
Trap dipole.

6.2 Antenna characteristics

Distribution of the current and voltage
Impedance at the feed point
Capacitive or inductive impedance of a non-resonant antenna
Polarisation
Antenna directivity, efficiency and gain
Capture area
Radiated power [ERP, EIRP]
Front-to-back ratio
Horizontal and vertical radiation patterns

6.3 Transmission lines

Parallel conductor line
Coaxial cable
Waveguide
Characteristic impedance [ZO]
Velocity factor
Standing-wave ratio
Losses
Balun
Antenna tuning units (pi and T configurations only).

7. Propagation

Signal attenuation, signal to noise ratio
Line of sight propagation (free space propagation, inverse square law)
Ionospheric layers
Critical frequency
Influence of the sun on the ionosphere
Maximum Usable Frequency
Ground wave and sky wave, angle of radiation and skip distance
Multipath in ionospheric propagation
Fading
Troposphere (ducting, scattering)
The influence of the height of antennas on the distance that can be covered [radio horizon]
Temperature inversion
Sporadic E-reflection
Auroral scattering
Meteor scatter
Reflections from the moon
Atmospheric noise [distant thunderstorms]
Galactic noise
Ground (thermal) noise.
Propagation prediction basics (link budget):
- dominant noise source, (band noise vs. receiver noise)
- minimum signal to noise ratio
- minimum received signal power
- path loss
- antenna gains, transmission line losses
- minimum transmitter power.

8. Measurements

8.1 Making measurements

Measurement of:
DC and AC voltages and currents
Measuring errors:
influence of frequency
influence of waveform
influence of internal resistance of meters.
Resistance
DC and RF power [average power, peak envelope power]
Voltage standing-wave ratio
Waveform of the envelope of an RF signal
Frequency
Resonant frequency.

8.2 Measuring instruments

Making measurements using:
- Multi-range meter (digital and analog)
- RF power meter
- Reflectometer bridge (SWR meter)
- Signal generator
- Frequency counter
- Oscilloscope
- Spectrum analyser.

9. Interference and immunity

9.1 Interference in electronic equipment

Blocking
Interference with the desired signal
Intermodulation
Detection in audio circuits.

9.2 Cause of interference in electronic equipment

Field strength of the transmitter
Spurious radiation of the transmitter [parasitic radiation, harmonics]
Undesired influence on the equipment:
via the antenna input [aerial voltage, input selectivity]
via other connected lines
by direct radiation.

9.3 Measures against interference

Measures to prevent and eliminate interference effects:
- filtering
- decoupling
- shielding

10. Safety

High voltages and currents are dangerous
Interlocks
Mains supply and high voltage equipment including measuring equipment should be determined to by safe by a qualified person.
Mains power supply:
- colour codes
- nature of the mains supply
- voltages and earthing
Fuses, residual current detectors (RCDs) and other electrical safety devices
General electrical safety practices
Current electrical safety procedure and resuscitation techniques
Battery safety
Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) – safe distance of people and animals from antennas.
EMR safety and relation to power, frequency and distance from source
Working at heights:
- safety
- qualified person
Lightning protection and safety procedure for lightning storms.
Safe use of headphones.