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Submission to make change to the Foreign License Entitling Exemption
(Reciprocal Licensing Arrangements) Table
Preamble
It has been drawn to the WIA’s attention that the standard of some of the foreign country
exams has been changed in recent years and that some current reciprocal license tables no
longer reflect equivalence to Australian Amateur Radio qualifications.
The changed US license structure and the acquisition of US qualifications, has been one
focus of a misalignment, now corrected, which led to the subsequent change of the US
Technician Class License from Advanced to an Australian equivalent of Foundation.
In recent weeks a US Volunteer Examiner (VE) along with other Australian Radio Amateurs
has requested a similar review of the US General Class Qualification as there is concern that
this level is inappropriate to Australian Amateur examination standards. This view is
supported by the WIA Board.
Introduction
This document is a review of the US General Class Radio Amateur qualification with the view
to identifying the level of this US Amateur Radio qualification in relation to Australian
Amateur Radio Qualifications.
Methodology
The method used to review the comparison between the US and Australian qualification
covered four areas. These included:




US General examination license material and syllabus
Relationship between Australian and US topics and areas from which questions are
drawn
US question bank and examination methodology
US Extra class qualification comparison to Australian qualifications
Comparison information is:
An overview of the US General license examination material was undertaken and compared
to the Australian Standard Examination, see appendix 1.
A topic and question review of the US General Class Examination, with a comparison made
to Australian Standard Examination questions, see appendix 2, to identify the appropriate
level of each qualification.
A check to ensure that the US Extra Class Qualification was not equivalent to the Australian
Standard License Qualification and was approximately equal to the Australian Advanced
License Qualification, see appendix 3.
The US General Class License question bank was downloaded and each question reviewed in
relation to where that question would fit into the Australian Amateur Radio Syllabus, see
appendix 4.
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Overview US General, Australian Standard Qualifications Comparison
The US General Class License examination covers 10 Sub elements. The candidate must
complete a 35 question examination and achieve 74% (26 correct answers) in the
examination.
The Australian Standard license examination has 11 elements. The candidate must
complete a 50 question theory examination plus a 30 question regulations examination and
a practical examination. The Theory and Regulations examination require a 70% pass mark
and the practical 100% pass mark.
The US General Class qualification is clearly a step up from the US Technician Class
qualification. It is a preparatory step toward the Extra Class qualification, covering the
theory and regulatory requirements needed for logical progression.
Table 1 shows the base examination requirements needed to achieve each of the compared
qualifications.
US General Class Qualification
Requirements (General)
Item
Requirement
Prerequisite
Technician Class
Number of exams
1
Number of Questions 35
Pass mark %
74%
Number of Elements 10
Australian Standard Qualification
Requirements (Standard)
Item
Requirement
Prerequisite
Nil
Number of exams
3
Number of Questions 50, 30 & 11 min.
Pass mark %
70%, 70%
&100%
Number of Elements
11
Table 1 General Comparison
Although the Australian Standard Qualification does not have a direct prerequisite the
majority of candidates complete the Australian Foundation Examination before attempting
the Standard Examination.
The US Technician Class qualification has a pool of 462 questions in a question bank that is
publically available along with study material showing answers. The pool of questions is
changed every 5 years.
The Australian exam questions are drawn from a pool that is not in the public domain.
Topic and Question Bank Comparison
The Syllabus elements comparison between the two qualifications provides a relatively close
alignment. The major difference is that the US General Class:


Claims an emphasis on digital techniques.
The regulations component is integrated with the theory component.
The digital component would result in 3 to 5 digital techniques related questions across a
number of the syllabus elements.
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The integration of the regulations component into the General Class allows for 5 FCC
regulations related questions to be included into an examination.
There are substantial differences in the number of questions asked in each of the common
element topic areas. See table 2.
Syllabus Sub elements
G1 Commission Rules
G2 Operating Procedures
G3 Radio Wave Propagation
G4 Amateur Radio Practices
G5 Electrical Principles
G6 Circuit Components
G7 Practical Circuits
G8 Signals and Emissions
G9 Antennas and Feedlines
G0 Electrical and RF Safety
US General Questions
Asked per Exam
5
5
3
5
3
2
3
3
4
2
35 Questions Per Exam
Australian Standard
Questions Asked Per Exam
30 regulations
11 minimum practical
4
8
10
3
3
11
7
4
50 Questions Theory Per Exam
Table 2 Questions asked per element.
This comparison is based on the US General Class Exam elements. The comparison is
informative, however, as the elements in each examination do not exactly align there is
some overlap between question allocation to the elements.
US General Class Question Bank Review
Each question in the US General Class Examination question bank was reviewed to
determine if the question could be identified with an element in the Australian Standard
Syllabus. The questions in the US General Class question bank were classified into one of 5
areas and colour coded for reference, see appendix 4. In this document a sample is included
and the full question bank review attached. The 5 question classifications are as follows:





Covered in Australian Syllabus section -- Covered by the current Australian Standard
syllabus and the question is approximately at Standard Level.
Not covered in Standard Syllabus – Not in the current syllabus but the question is
approximately at Standard Level.
Some applicability but not specific to Standard syllabus – These question have some
applicability to Australian Operating requirements and the Standard Syllabus. With
some modifications these questions could be made to fit the syllabus
Not Applicable to Australian Radio Amateurs -- These questions have no relevance
to Australian Amateur Radio. Most of these questions cover the regulatory
requirement in the US and FCC requirements.
Higher Level than Standard – These questions are at a level higher than the specified
Standard Level.
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The comparison clearly indicates that the theory technical level of the US General Class
License is at approximately the same level as the Australian Standard License Theory
requirements, however, the number of technical questions can only be considered to be 25,
as 5 questions at a minimum, are allocated to the US regulatory requirements. See
appendix 4 (sample only in this document).
Other notable differences:





The US questions bank contains vacuum tube questions the Australian question bank
does not
The US questions bank has a number of CW related questions the Australian
question bank has very few
The US question bank contains a substantial number of digital techniques questions
the Australian question bank has very few
Mathematics requirements in the Australian Syllabus is at a higher level than
contained in the US question bank
Safety in the US question bank is integrated across the questions. The Australian
question bank has some integrated questions and a separate safety section.
Comparison of Australian Standard Syllabus to US Extra Class Syllabus
The US Extra Class qualification is a major step to a higher level, being 50 questions and
requiring the Technician and General Class examination to be completed.
There are 10 Elements in the Extra class consisting of:
SUBELEMENT E1
SUBELEMENT E2
SUBELEMENT E3
SUBELEMENT E4
SUBELEMENT E5
SUBELEMENT E6
SUBELEMENT E7
SUBELEMENT E8
SUBELEMENT E9
SUBELEMENT E0
COMMISSION'S RULES [6 Exam Questions-5 Groups]
OPERATING PROCEDURES [5 Exam Questions-5 Groups]
RADIO WAVE PROPAGATION [3 Exam Questions-3 Groups]
AMATEUR RADIO PRACTICES [5 Exam Questions-5 groups]
ELECTRICAL PRINCIPLES [4 Exam Questions–4 Groups]
CIRCUIT COMPONENTS [6 Exam Questions–6Groups]
PRACTICAL CIRCUITS [8 Exam Questions–8 Groups]
SIGNALS AND EMISSIONS [4 Exam Questions–4 Groups]
ANTENNAS AND FEEDLINES [8 Exam Questions–8 Groups]
ELECTRICAL AND RF SAFETY [1 Exam Question – 1 Group]
A review of any Sub Element of the Extra Class Exam content indicates a clear step up from
General. In this case Sub Element E7 Practical Circuits has been selected as an example.
E7A Digital circuits: digital circuit principles and logic circuits: classes of logic elements;
positive and negative logic; frequency dividers; truth tables.
E7B Amplifiers: Class of operation; vacuum tube and solid-state circuits; distortion and
intermodulation; spurious and parasitic suppression; microwave amplifiers; switching-type
amplifiers.
E7C Filters and matching networks: types of networks; types of filters; filter applications;
filter characteristics; impedance matching; DSP filtering.
E7D Power supplies and voltage regulators; Solar array charge controllers.
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E7E Modulation and demodulation: reactance, phase and balanced modulators; detectors;
mixer stages.
E7F DSP filtering and other operations; Software Defined Radio Fundamentals; DSP
modulation and demodulation.
E7G Active filters and op-amp circuits: active audio filters; characteristics; basic circuit
design; operational amplifiers.
E7H Oscillators and signal sources: types of oscillators; synthesizers and phase-locked loops;
direct digital synthesizers; stabilizing thermal drift; microphonics; high accuracy oscillators.
All sub element sections have a similar or greater degree of complexity.
Maintenance of Australian Exam Standards
The WIA is of the opinion that this review is high priority to ensure the standard of Amateur
Radio Qualifications in Australia are maintained.
Conclusion
1. The US General Class License Qualification is approximately equal to the Australian
Standard License Qualification except for the Regulations component. This should
be reflected in the “Current Foreign License Entitling Exemption (Reciprocal Licensing
Arrangements)” table by recognising the US General Class Qualification to provide
Australian Standard level qualification equivalency.
Recommendations
1. The US General Class Examination should not be considered an equivalent to the
Australian Radio Amateur Advanced licence qualification. This is on the basis upon
which the examinations required to acquire a US General Class licence is granted
does not ensure that the candidate has the skills and knowledge as would a holder of
an Australian Standard Certificate of Proficiency.
2. A suspension on all US General Class Reciprocal Applications is implemented until
the reciprocal licence requirements are resolved in consultation with the WIA and
ACMA.
Fred Swainston
WIA Vice President
On Behalf of the WIA Board of Directors.
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Appendix 1
2015-2019 General Class – FCC Element 3 Syllabus - Effective July 1, 2015
SUBELEMENT G1 COMMISSION'S RULES [5 Exam Questions-5 Groups] 60 Questions
SUBELEMENT G2 OPERATING PROCEDURES [5 Exam Questions-5 Groups] 59 Questions
SUBELEMENT G3 RADIO WAVE PROPAGATION [3 Exam Questions-3 Groups] 41 Questions
SUBELEMENT G4 AMATEUR RADIO PRACTICES [5 Exam Questions-5 groups] 65 Questions
SUBELEMENT G5 ELECTRICAL PRINCIPLES [3 Exam Questions–3 Groups] 44 Questions
SUBELEMENT G6 CIRCUIT COMPONENTS [2 Exam Questions–2 Groups] 37 Questions
SUBELEMENT G7 PRACTICAL CIRCUITS [3 Exam Questions–3 Groups] 38 Questions
SUBELEMENT G8 SIGNALS AND EMISSIONS [3 Exam Questions–3 Groups] 33 Questions
SUBELEMENT G9 ANTENNAS AND FEEDLINES [4 Exam Questions–4 Groups] 58 Questions
SUBELEMENT G0 ELECTRICAL AND RF SAFETY [2 Exam Questions–2 Groups] 27 Questions
Total Questions to acquire the General Class qualification is 35 Question. The 35 questions
are inclusive of FCC regulations and operating procedures.
The US exam is computer based and conducted by VE’s who have been qualified on
character and not assessing ability.
To acquire the Australian Amateur Radio Standard Qualification requires three parts:



Theory, a 50 question examination
Regulations, a 30 Question examination
Practical
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Appendix 2
Syllabus Sub elements
G1 Commission Rules
G2 Operating Procedures
G3 Radio Wave Propagation
G4 Amateur Radio Practices
G5 Electrical Principles
G6 Circuit Components
G7 Practical Circuits
G8 Signals and Emissions
G9 Antennas and Feedlines
G0 Electrical and RF Safety
Table 1 US General Class Structure
Topics
Pool Questions
5
60
5
59
3
41
5
65
3
44
2
37
3
38
3
33
4
58
2
27
Exam Questions
5
5
3
5
3
2
3
3
4
2
35 Questions Per
Exam
One exam consisting of 35 questions
Syllabus Elements
Table 2 Australian Standard Exam Structure
Topics
Exam Questions
Exam Questions
Theory
Regulations
1. Nature of Amateur radio
2. Licence Conditions
3. Mathematics
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1
4. Technical Basics
5. Transmitters and
Receivers
6. Antennas and
Transmission Lines
7. Propagation
8. Interference and
Electromagnetic
Compatibility
9. Operating Practices and
Procedures
10. Safety
11. Measurements
31
21
2 integrated
questions
18
11
12
7
8
10
4
4
3
27
11
11
22
4
4
2
50 Total – 35
answered
correctly
Three examinations:



Theory 50 questions, 70% to pass
Regulations 30 questions, 70% to pass
Practical between 11 and 20 questions, 100% to pass
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Exam
Questions
Practical
30 Total – 21
answered correctly
All
questions
answered
correctly
Table 3 US General Class Sub Element Structure and Australian Element Structure Comparison
Sub elements
Australian Elements
G1 Commission Rules
1 &2. Regulations Exam
G2 Operating Procedures
9. Practical
G3 Radio Wave Propagation
7. Propagation
G4 Amateur Radio Practices
9, 5&4. Practical and Technical Basics
G5 Electrical Principles
4. Technical Basics
G6 Circuit Components
4 Technical Basics
G7 Practical Circuits
5. Transmitters and Receivers
G8 Signals and Emissions
5. Transmitters and Receivers & 8. Interference
and Electromagnetic Compatibility
G9 Antennas and Feedlines
6. Antennas and Transmission Lines
G0 Electrical and RF Safety
10. Safety & 8. Interference and Electromagnetic
Compatibility
Table 4 Australian Element Structure and US General Class Sub Element Structure Comparison
Australian Elements
US Sub Elements
1. Nature of Amateur radio
G1 Commission Rules
2. Licence Conditions
G1 Commission Rules
3. Mathematics
Integrated into Questions
4. Technical Basics
G5 Electrical Principles & G6 Circuit Components
5. Transmitters and Receivers
G7 Practical Circuits
6. Antennas and Transmission Lines
G9 Antennas and Feedlines
7. Propagation
G3 Radio Wave Propagation
8. Interference and Electromagnetic 5. Transmitters and Receivers & G8 Signals and
Compatibility
Emissions
9. Operating Practices and
G2 Operating Procedures
Procedures
10. Safety
G0 Electrical and RF Safety
11. Measurements
Integrated into questions
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Appendix 3 Extra Class Syllabus
E1 - COMMISSION’S RULES
[6 Exam Questions - 6 Groups]
E1A Operating Standards: frequency privileges; emission standards; automatic message
forwarding; frequency sharing; stations aboard ships or aircraft.
E1B Station restrictions and special operations: restrictions on station location; general
operating restrictions, spurious emissions, control operator reimbursement; antenna
structure restrictions; RACES operations; national quiet zone.
E1C Definitions and restrictions pertaining to local, automatic and remote control operation;
control operator responsibilities for remote and automatically controlled stations; IARP and
CEPT licenses; third party communications over automatically controlled stations.
E1D Amateur satellites: definitions and purpose; license requirements for space stations;
available frequencies and bands; telecommand and telemetry operations; restrictions, and
special provisions; notification requirements.
E1E Volunteer examiner program: definitions; qualifications; preparation and administration
of exams; accreditation; question pools; documentation requirements.
E1F Miscellaneous rules: external RF power amplifiers; business communications;
compensated communications; spread spectrum; auxiliary stations; reciprocal operating
privileges; special temporary authority.
E2 - OPERATING PROCEDURES
[5 Exam Questions - 5 Groups]
E2A Amateur radio in space: amateur satellites; orbital mechanics; frequencies and modes;
satellite hardware; satellite operations; experimental telemetry applications.
E2B Television practices: fast scan television standards and techniques; slow scan television
standards and techniques.
E2C Operating methods: contest and DX operating; remote operation techniques; Cabrillo
format; QSLing; RF network connected systems.
E2D Operating methods: VHF and UHF digital modes and procedures; APRS; EME
procedures, meteor scatter procedures.
E2E Operating methods: operating HF digital modes
E3 - RADIO WAVE PROPAGATION
[3 Exam Questions - 3 Groups]
E3A Electromagnetic waves; Earth-Moon-Earth communications; meteor scatter; microwave
tropospheric and scatter propagation; aurora propagation.
E3B Transequatorial propagation; long path; gray-line; multi-path; ordinary and
extraordinary waves; chordal hop, sporadic E mechanisms.
E3C Radio-path horizon; less common propagation modes; propagation prediction
techniques and modeling; space weather parameters and amateur radio.
E4 - AMATEUR PRACTICES
[5 Exam Questions - 5 Groups]
E4A Test equipment: analog and digital instruments; spectrum and network analyzers,
antenna analyzers; oscilloscopes; RF measurements; computer aided measurements.
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E4B Measurement technique and limitations: instrument accuracy and performance
limitations; probes; techniques to minimize errors; measurement of "Q"; instrument
calibration; S parameters; vector network analyzers.
E4C Receiver performance characteristics, phase noise, noise floor, image rejection, MDS,
signal-to-noise-ratio; selectivity; effects of SDR receiver non-linearity.
E4D Receiver performance characteristics: blocking dynamic range; intermodulation and
cross-modulation interference; 3rd order intercept; desensitization; preselector.
E4E Noise suppression: system noise; electrical appliance noise; line noise; locating noise
sources; DSP noise reduction; noise blankers; grounding for signals.
E5 - ELECTRICAL PRINCIPLES
[4 Exam Questions - 4 Groups]
E5A Resonance and Q: characteristics of resonant circuits: series and parallel resonance;
definitions and effects of Q; half-power bandwidth; phase relationships in reactive circuits.
E5B Time constants and phase relationships: RLC time constants; definition; time constants
in RL and RC circuits; phase angle between voltage and current; phase angles of series RLC;
phase angle of inductance vs susceptance; admittance and susceptance.
E5C Coordinate systems and phasors in electronics: Rectangular Coordinates; Polar
Coordinates; Phasors.
E5D AC and RF energy in real circuits: skin effect; electrostatic and electromagnetic fields;
reactive power; power factor; electrical length of conductors at UHF and microwave
frequencies.
E6 - CIRCUIT COMPONENTS
[6 Exam Questions - 6 Groups]
E6A Semiconductor materials and devices: semiconductor materials; germanium, silicon, Ptype, N-type; transistor types: NPN, PNP, junction, field-effect transistors: enhancement
mode; depletion mode; MOS; CMOS; N-channel; P-channel.
E6B Diodes.
E6C Digital ICs: Families of digital ICs; gates; Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs).
E6D Toroidal and Solenoidal Inductors: permeability, core material, selecting, winding;
transformers; Piezoelectric devices.
E6E Analog ICs: MMICs, CCDs, Device packages.
E6F Optical components: photoconductive principles and effects, photovoltaic systems,
optical couplers, optical sensors, and optoisolators; LCDs.
E7 - PRACTICAL CIRCUITS
[8 Exam Questions - 8 Groups]
E7A Digital circuits: digital circuit principles and logic circuits: classes of logic elements;
positive and negative logic; frequency dividers; truth tables.
E7B Amplifiers: Class of operation; vacuum tube and solid-state circuits; distortion and
intermodulation; spurious and parasitic suppression; microwave amplifiers; switching-type
amplifiers.
E7C Filters and matching networks: types of networks; types of filters; filter applications;
filter characteristics; impedance matching; DSP filtering.
E7D Power supplies and voltage regulators; Solar array charge controllers.
E7E Modulation and demodulation: reactance, phase and balanced modulators; detectors;
mixer stages.
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E7F DSP filtering and other operations; Software Defined Radio Fundamentals; DSP
modulation and demodulation.
E7G Active filters and op-amp circuits: active audio filters; characteristics; basic circuit
design; operational amplifiers.
E7H Oscillators and signal sources: types of oscillators; synthesizers and phase-locked loops;
direct digital synthesizers; stabilizing thermal drift; microphonics; high accuracy oscillators.
E8 - SIGNALS AND EMISSIONS
[4 Exam Questions - 4 Groups]
E8A AC waveforms: sine, square, sawtooth and irregular waveforms; AC measurements;
average and PEP of RF signals; Fourier analysis; Analog to digital conversion: Digital to
Analog conversion.
E8B Modulation and demodulation: modulation methods; modulation index and deviation
ratio; frequency and time division multiplexing; Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing.
E8C Digital signals: digital communication modes; information rate vs bandwidth; error
correction.
E8D Keying defects and overmodulation of digital signals; digital codes; spread spectrum.
E9 - ANTENNAS & TRANSMISSION LINES
[8 Exam Questions - 8 Groups]
E9A Basic Antenna parameters: radiation resistance, gain, beamwidth, efficiency,
beamwidth; effective radiated power, polarization.
E9B Antenna patterns: E and H plane patterns; gain as a function of pattern; antenna design.
E9C Wire and phased array antennas: rhombic antennas; effects of ground reflections; e-off
angles; Practical wire antennas: Zepps, OCFD, loops.
E9D Directional antennas: gain; Yagi Antennas; losses; SWR bandwidth; antenna efficiency;
shortened and mobile antennas; RF Grounding.
E9E Matching: matching antennas to feed lines; phasing lines; power dividers.
E9F Transmission lines: characteristics of open and shorted feed lines; 1/8 wavelength; 1/4
wavelength; 1/2 wavelength; feed lines: coax versus open-wire; velocity factor; electrical
length; coaxial cable dielectrics; velocity factor.
E9G The Smith chart.
E9H Receiving Antennas: radio direction finding antennas; Beverage Antennas; specialized
receiving antennas; longwire receiving antennas.
E0 – SAFETY
[1 exam question -– 1 group]
E0A Safety: amateur radio safety practices; RF radiation hazards; hazardous materials;
grounding and bonding.
~~end of question pool syllabus~~
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Appendix 4 Question Bank Sample only.
The full question bank provided as a separate document.
G1A13 (D) [97.303(h)(2)(j)]
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?
A. Notify the FCCs regional Engineer in Charge of the interference
B. Increase your transmitter's power to overcome the interference
C. Attempt to contact the station and request that it stop the interference
D. Move to a clear frequency or stop transmitting
Some applicability
~~
G1A14 (B) [97.301(d)]
In what ITU region is operation in the 7.175 to 7.300 MHz band permitted for a control
operator holding an FCC issued General Class license?
A. Region 1
B. Region 2
C. Region 3
D. All three regions
Some applicability
~~
G1B - Antenna structure limitations; good engineering and good amateur practice; beacon
operation; prohibited transmissions; retransmitting radio signals
G1B01 (C) [97.15(a)]
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?
A. 50 feet
B. 100 feet
C. 200 feet
D. 300 feet
Not Applicable to Australian Radio Amateurs
~~
G1B02 (D) [97.203(b)]
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 transmitting in the same band from the
same station location
Not in Standard Syllabus
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