CNS-ST 2.

1: WAVE PROPAGATION AND MICROWAVE PRINCIPLES

1. Which is a possible polarization for an electromagnetic wave:

Answer: Vertical
Horizontal
Circular *

2. Which polarization can be reasonably well received by a circularly polarized

antenna:
Answer: Vertical
Horizontal
Circular *

3. The number of circular polarization modes (directions) is:

Answer: 2 *

4. When an EM wave propagates in free space, it travels as a ___.

Answer: TEM

5. An antenna has "gain" as compared to:

Answer: an isotropic radiator

6. Ground waves are most effective:

Answer: below about 2 MHz *

7. Band most suitable for SSB operation

Answer: 3-30 MHz

8. Frequency band used with submarine

Answer: ELF

9. The SHF range of frequency:

Answer: 3 – 30 GHz

10. Sky waves cannot be heard:

Answer: in the “skip” zone *

11. A 20-dB reduction in the strength of a radio wave due to reflection is

called:
Answer: Fading *

12. “Ghosts” on a TV screen are an example of:

Answer: multipath distortion

13. Frequency band most suitable for LOS propagation:

Answer: VHF

14. The troposphere is the:

Answer: lowest layer of the atmosphere

15. The cumulative sum of the direct, ground-reflected, and surface waves is
referred to as ____.
Answer: Ground wave

16. It is an earth-guided electromagnetic wave that travels over the surface of

the earth
Answer: Surface wave

17. ________ travels essentially in a straight line between the transmit and the
receive antennas
Answer: Direct waves

18. The curvature of the Earth presents a horizon to space wave propagation
commonly called ___.
Answer: Virtual Height

19. It is the height above Earth’s surface from which a reflected wave appears to
have been reflected.
 Answer: Virtual Height

20. It is the highest frequency that can be used for sky wave propagation between
two specific points on Earth’s surface
Answer: Maximum Usable Frequency

21. 85 percent of the maximum usable frequency (MUF) is called __.

Answer: Optimum Working Frequency (OWF)

22. It is defined as the minimum distance from the transmit antenna that a sky
wave at a given frequency will be returned to earth.\
Answer: Skip distance

23. At distances greater than the skip distance, two rays can take different
paths and still be returned to the same point on Earth. The two rays are
called lower rays and
Answer: Pedersen ray or upper ray

24. The area between where the surface waves are completely dissipated and the
point where the first sky wave returns to earth is called
Answer: Quiet zone or Skip zone

25. It is defined as the loss incurred by an electromagnetic wave as it

propagates in a straight line through a vacuum with no absorption or
reflection of energy from nearby objects
Answer: Free-space path loss

26. For a carrier frequency of 6 GHz and a distance of 50 km, determine the free-
space path loss
Answer: 142 dB
27. The propagation velocity of longitudinal waves depends on the ___ of the
medium
Answer: compressibility

28. Bending of radio waves from high density to low density

Answer: refraction

29. Only layer exist at night

Answer: F2

30. Most dense of all the ionized layer of ionosphere

Answer: F2

31. Present only during daytime

Answer: D

32. “Beyond the horizon” propagation

Answer: troposcatter

33. Radiation occurring on frequencies which are whole or multiple of the

original desired frequencies is called
Answer: harmonic radiation

34. The velocity of radio waves ___ as it passes from air to the ionosphere.
Answer: increases

35. Ducts often are formed over

Answer: bodies of water

36. Meteor-trail propagation is

Answer: used to send data by radio *

37. It states that every point on a given spherical wavefront can be considered
as a secondary point source of electromagnetic waves from which other
secondary waves or wavelets are radiated outward.
Answer: Huygen’s principle

38. Electromagnetic waves traveling within Earth’s atmosphere is called ____.

Answer: Terrestrial wave
39. What is the region of the frequency spectrum from 1000 MHz to 100,000 MHz
called?
Answer: Microwave region

40. Microwave theory is based upon what concept

Answer: Electromagnetic field theory

41. What kind of material must be used in the construction of waveguides?

Answer: Conductive Material

42. What causes the current-carrying area at the center conductor of a coaxial
line to be restricted to a small layer at the surface?
Answer: Skin effect

43. What is used as a dielectric in waveguides?

Answer: Air

44. What is the primary lover-frequency limitation of waveguides?

Answer: Physical size

45. At very high frequencies, what characteristics are displayed by ordinary

insulators?
Answer: The characteristics of the dielectric of a capacitor

46. What type of insulator works well at very high frequencies?

Answer: A shorted quarter-wave section called a metallic insulator

47. The frequency range of a waveguide is determined by what dimension?

Answer: The “a” dimension

48. What happens to the bus bar dimensions of the waveguide when the frequency is
increased?
Answer: The bus bar becomes wider

49. When the frequency is decreased so that two quarter-wavelengths are longer
than the “a” (wide) dimension of the waveguide, what will happen?
Answer: Energy will no longer pass through the waveguide

50. What interaction causes energy to travel down a waveguide?

Answer: The interaction of the electric and magnetic fields

51. What is indicated by the number of arrows (closeness of spacing) used to

represent an electric field?
Answer: The relative strength of the field

52. What primary condition must magnetic lines of force meet in order to exist?
Answer: Magnetic lines of force must form a continuous closed loop

53. What happens to the H lines between the conductors of a coil when the
conductors are close together?
Answer: The H lines cancel

54. For an electric field to exist at the surface of a conductor, the field must
have what angular relationship to the conductor?
Answer: The field must be perpendicular to the conductors
55. Assuming the wall of a waveguide is perfectly flat, what is the angular
relationship between the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection?
Answer: The angles are equal

56. What is the frequency called that produces angles of incidence and reflection
that are perpendicular to the waveguide walls?
Answer: Cutoff Frequency

57. Compared to the velocity of propagation of waves in air, what is the velocity
of propagation of waves in waveguides?
Answer: Slower
58. What term is used to identify the forward progress velocity of wavefronts in
a waveguide?
Answer: Group velocity

59. What term is used to identify each of the many field configurations that can
exist in waveguides?
Answer: Mode of Operation

60. What field configuration is the easiest to produce in a given waveguide?

Answer: Dominant mode

61. How is the cutoff wavelength of a circular waveguide figured?

Answer: 1.71 times the diameter

62. The field arrangements in waveguides are divided into what two categories to
describe the various modes of operation?
Answer: Transverse electric (TE) and Transverse magnetic (TM)

63. The electric field is perpendicular to the “a” dimension of a waveguide in

what mode?
Answer: TE

64. What determined the frequency, bandwidth, and power-handling capability of a

waveguide probe?
Answer: Size and shape

65. Loose or inefficient coupling of energy into or out of a awaveguide can be

accomplished by the use of what method?
Answer: Slots and apertures

66. What is used to construct irises?

Answer: Metal plates

67. An iris placed along the “b” dimension wall produces what kind of reactance?
Answer: Inductive
68. How will an iris that has portions along both the “a” and “b” dimension walls
act at the resonant frequency?
Answer: As a shunt resistance

69. What device is used to produce a gradual change in impedance at the end of a
waveguide?
Answer: Horn

70. When a waveguide is terminated in a resistive load, the load must be matched
to what property of the waveguide?
Answer: Characteristic Impedance

71. What is the primary purpose of a dummy load?

Answer: Absorb all energy without producing standing waves

72. The energy dissipated by a resistive load is most often in what form?
Answer: Heat

73. What is the result of an abrupt change in the size, shape, or dielectric of a
waveguide?
Answer: Reflections

74. A waveguide bend must have what minimum radius?

Answer: Greater than 2 wavelengths

75. What is the most common type of waveguide joint?

Answer: Choke joint

76. What is the most likely cause of losses in waveguide system?

Answer: Improperly connected joints or damaged inner surface

77. What is the primary purpose of a directional coupler?

Answer: Sampling energy within a waveguide
78. How far apart are the two holes in a simple directional coupler?
Answer: ¼ wavelength

79. What two variables determine the primary frequency of a resonant cavity?
Answer: Size and shape of the cavity

80. Energy can be inserted or removed from a cavity by what three methods?
Answer: Probes, Loops, and Slots

81. Inductive tuning of a resonant cavity is accomplished by placing a

nonmagnetic slug in what area?
Answer: The area of maximum H lines

82. Ferrite devices are useful in microwave applications because they possess
what properties?
Answer: Magnetic properties and high resistance

83. Which of the two types of electron motion (orbital movement and electron
spin) is more important in the explanation of magnetism?
Answer: Electron spin

84. Rotating the plane of polarization of a wavefront by passing it through a

ferrite device is called what?
Answer: Faraday rotation

MICROWAVE COMPONENTS AND CIRCUITS

85. What is the primary advantage of bulk-effect devices over normal pn-junction
semiconductors?
Answer: Larger microwave power outputs

86. What happens to the electrons of a gallium-arsenide semiconductor when they

move from the normal low-energy conduction band to the high-energy conduction
band?
Answer: The electrons become immobile

87. The point on the current curve of a gallium-arsenide semiconductor at which

it begins to exhibit negative resistance is called what?
Answer: Threshold

88. The domain in a gallium-arsenide semiconductor has what type of electrical

field when compared to the other regions across the body of a semiconductor?
Answer: A field of much greater intensity

89. What characteristic of a gunn oscillator is inversely proportional to the

transit time of the domain across the semiconductor?
Answer: Frequency

90. What is the junction arrangement of the original avalanche transit-time

diode?
Answer: pnin

91. What causes dc bias energy to be absorbed by avalanche electrons and given up
to the microwave field applied to an avalanche transit-time diode?
Answer: the negative-resistance property

92. What is the capacitive reactance across a point-contact diode as compared to

a normal junction diode?
Answer: lower

93. What are the most important advantages of the Schottky barrier diode?
Answer: lower forward resistance and low noise

94. At frequencies above 100 MHz, the intrinsic (i) region causes a pin diode to
act as what?
Answer: variable resistance

95. The pin diode is primarily used for what purpose?

Answer: a switching device
96. The microwave tube that is a linear beam tube, in which the interaction
between the beam and the RF field is continuous, is the ___.
Answer: traveling wave tube

97. In microwave communications, what concepts may be used to analyze

interference by obstacles near the path of a radio beam?
Answer: Fresnel zone

98. The scope of radar system displays ___.

Answer: target range, but not position *

99. Blind speed solution is to

Answer: vary the pulse repetitive rate

100. The band using frequency in the band of 27-40 GHz is ____.
Answer: ka

101. The IF bandwidth of a radar receiver is inversely proportional to the

________.
Answer: pulse width

102. Carrier frequency 8 GHz and a distance 50 km. Determine FSL.

Answer: 144.48 dB
f SL  32.44  20 log f MHz  20 log d km

103. Calculate the effective radiated power (ERP) of a repeater with 200 W
transmitting power output, 1 dB feedline loss, 3 dB duplexer loss, 3 dB
circulator loss, and feedline antenna gain of 10 dB?
Answer: 398 W

ERPdB  PT ( dB )  1  3  3  10

104. Find the cutoff frequency for the TE10 mode in an air-dielectric waveguide
with an inside cross section of 2 cm by 4 cm.
Answer: 3.75 GHz
c
 c  2a fc 
c

105. Find the cutoff wavelength of a waveguide with a dimension of 2 cm by 4 cm.

Answer: 8 cm

106. Find the cutoff wavelength of a circular waveguide with an internal radius
of 2 cm and a Bessel constant kr = 1.84
Answer: 0.068 m or 6.8 cm

2r
c   c  1.7 d
kr

107. Find the group velocity for the waveguide with a cutoff frequency of 3.75
GHz and operating at 5 GHz.
Answer: 198 x 10^6 m/s

2
 f 
v g  c 1   c 
 f 

108. Find the characteristic impedance of the waveguide used with a cutoff
frequency of 3.75 GHz at a frequency of 5 GHz
Answer: 570 ohms

377
Zo 
2
f 
1   c 
 f 
109. Find the guide wavelength for the waveguide used with a phase velocity of
454 x 10^6 m/s at a frequency of 5 GHz
Answer: 9.08 cm

vp
g 
f

110. A microwave communication uses plane reflector as passive repeaters. The

diameter of the parabolic antenna is 18 ft., while the effective area is 310
ft^2. Determine the reflector coupling factor.
Answer: 0.906


l  D ft
4 A ft 2

RADAR

111. Radar surface-angular measurements are referenced to true north and measured
in what plane?
Horizontal Plane

112. The distance from a radar set to a target measured along the line of sight
is identified by what term?
Range

113. How much time is required for electromagnetic energy to travel 1 nautical
mile and return to the source?
12.36 microseconds

114. In addition to recovery time, what determines the minimum range of a radar
set?
Pulse width

115. Atmospheric interference with the travel of electromagnetic energy increases

with what rf energy characteristic?
Frequency

116. How is prt related to prf?

1/prt = prf

117. What type of radar transmitter power is measured over a period of time?
Average Power

118. What term is used to describe the product of pulse width and pulse-
repetition frequency?
Duty Cycle

119. What type of target bearing is referenced to your ship?

Relative bearing

120. What type of radar detects range, bearing, and height?

Three-dimensional

121. What characteristic/s of radiated energy is/are altered to achieve

electronic scanning?
Frequency or phase

122. What term is used to describe the ability of a radar system to distinguish
between targets that are close together?
Target resolution

123. The degree of bearing resolution for a given radar system depends on what
two factors?
Beam width and range

124. What happens to the speed of electromagnetic energy traveling through air as
the altitude increases?
 Speed increases

125. What term is used to describe a situation in which atmospheric temperature

first increases with altitude and then begins to decrease?
Temperature inversion

126. What radar subsystem supplies timing signals to coordinate the operation of
the complete system?
Synchronizer

127. What radar component permits the use of a single antenna for both
transmitting and receiving?
Duplexer

128. What is the simplest type of scanning?

Single lobe

129. What are the two basic methods of scanning?

Mechanical and electronic

130. Rotation of an rf-feed source to produce a conical scan pattern is

identified by what term?
Nutation
131. The Doppler effect causes a change in what aspect of rf energy that strikes
a moving object?
Frequency

132. The Doppler variation is directly proportional to what radar contact

characteristic?
Velocity

133. The Doppler method of object detection is best for what type of objects?
Fast-moving targets

134. The beat frequency in a swept-frequency transmitter provides what contact

information?
Range

135. What factor determines the difference between the transmitted frequency and
the received frequency in an FM transmitter?
Travel Time

136. What type of objects are most easily detected by an FM system?

Stationary

137. What transmission method does NOT depend on relative frequency or target
motion?
Pulse Modulation

138. What transmission method uses a stable CW reference oscillator, which is

locked in phase with the transmitter frequency?
Pulse-Doppler

139. What type of radar provides continuous range, bearing, and elevation data on
an object?
Track Radar

140. Radar altimeters use what type of transmission signal?

Frequency Modulated (FM)

141. A surface-search radar normally scans how many degrees of azimuth?

360 degrees

142. What limits the maximum range of a surface-search radar?

Radar Horizon

143. What is the shape of the beam of a surface-search radar?

Wide vertically, narrow horizontally
144. Why is the range capability of 3D radar usually less than the range of 2D
radar?
Higher operating frequency
145. Fire-control tracking radar most often radiates what type of beam?
A narrow circular beam

146. Tracking radar searches a small volume of space during which phase of
operation?
Acquisition

147. What width is the pulse radiated by fire-control tracking radar?

Very Narrow

148. Which beam of missile-guidance radar is very wide?

Capture Beam

149. What is the purpose of the synchronizer in a radar system?

Controls system operation and timing

150. What is the purpose of the majority of circuits in a radar system?

Timing and Control

151. A self-synchronized radar system obtains timing trigger pulses from what
source?
Transmitter

152. What type of multivibrator can be used as a radar master oscillator?

Free-running

153. In an externally synchronized radar, what determines the prr of the

transmitter?
The Master Oscillator

154. Which of the basic timing circuits produces sharp trigger pulses directly?
Blocking oscillators

155. What are the two basic types of transmitters?

Keyed oscillator and power-amplifier chain

156. What controls transmitter pulse width?

Modulator

157. In addition to a flat top, what characteristics must a modulator pulse have?
Steep leading and training edges

158. What type of modulator is most commonly used in modern radar systems?
Line-pulsed

159. What type of tube best meets the requirements of a modulator switching
element?
Thyratron

160. What modulator element controls the rate at which the storage element
charges?
Charging Impedance

161. What two forms of instability are common in magnetrons?

Mode Skipping and Mode Shifting

162. What is the effect on magnetron operation if the magnetic field strength is
too high?
Magnetron will not oscillate

163. What is the typical frequency range about the center frequency of a tunable
magnetron?
± 5 percent

164. What is the primary advantage of power-amplifier transmitters over keyed-

oscillator transmitters?
 Frequency Stability

165. What type of klystron is used as the final stage of a power-amplifier

transmitter?
Multicavity Klystron

166. What transmitter component allows the radiation of a large number of

discrete frequencies over a wide band?
Frequency Synthesizer

167. What is the greatest limiting factor in a receiver’s detectable range?

Noise

168. What type of receiver is most often used in radar system?

Superheterodyne

169. What IF frequencies are normally used in radar receivers?

30 or 60 MHz

170. Which component of the receiver produces the signal that is mixed with the
received signal to produce the IF signal?
Local Oscillator

171. What receiver circuit actually produces the IF frequency?

Mixer

172. The IF amplifiers are connected in what amplifier configuration?

Cascade

173. Which receiver component converts the IF pulses to video pulses?

Detector

174. What type of target has a fixed phase relationship from one receiving period
to the next?
Stationary

175. What signal is used to synchronize the coherent oscillator to a fixed phase
relationship with the transmitted pulse?
Coho Lock Pulse

176. What is the phase relationship between the delayed and undelayed video?
Opposite

177. A monopulse receiver has how many separate channels?

Three

178. If a target is on the bearing axis of the radiated beam, what is the input
to the bearing IF channel?
Zero

179. What characteristic of the bearing and elevation output signals determines
the direction of antenna movement?
Phase

180. What are the three fundamental quantities involved in radar displays?
Range, Bearing, and Elevation

181. What coordinates are displayed on an rhi scope?

Range and Elevation

182. What coordinates are presented on a ppi scope?

Range and Bearing

183. What type of deflection is preferred for a crt electron beam?

Electromagnetic

184. Which of the two types of deflection coils (fixed or rotating) is used most
often?
Fixed
185. What type of ranging circuit is most often used with a radar that requires
extremely accurate range data?
Range gate or range step

186. The range sweep in a range-gate generator is started at the same time as
what other pulse?
Transmitter

187. Range-marker generators produce pulses based on what radar constant?

The radar mile (12.36 microseconds)

188. What radar scope uses a range step for range measurement?
The A Scope

189. Which of the two general classes of antennas is most often used with radar?
Directional

190. The power gain of an antenna is directly related to what other antenna
property?
Directivity

191. A parabolic reflector changes a spherical wavefront to what type of

wavefront?
Plane

192. How many major lobes are produced by a paraboloid reflector?

One

193. What type of radiator normally drives a corner reflector?

Half-wave

194. The broadside array consists of a flat reflector and what other elements?
Two or more half-wave dipoles

195. Horn radiators serve what purpose other than being directional radiators?
Waveguide impedance matching devices

196. The spectrum of a radar transmitter describes what characteristic of the

output pulse?
Frequency Distribution

197. Where should the transmitter spectrum be located with respect to the
receiver response curve?
In the center

198. The ideal radar spectrum has what relationship to the carrier frequency?
Symmetrical above and below the carrier frequency

199. The display screen of a spectrum analyzer presents a graphic plot of what
two signal characteristics?
Power and Frequency

200. The peak power of radar depends on the interrelationship of what other
factors?
Average Power, Pulse Width, and prt

201. Transmitter power readings are most often referenced to what power level?
1 milliwatt

202. Receiver bandwidth is defined as those frequencies spread between what two
points of the receiver response curve?
Half-power points

203. What type of cooling is used to control ambient room temperature?

Air conditioning

204. A typical liquid-cooling system is composed of what loops?

Primary and Secondary
205. A pulsed magnetron with an average power of 1.2 kW and a peak power of 18.5
kW. One pulse is generated every 10 ms. Find the duty cycle and the length of
a pulse.
D = 6.5% ; T = 0.65 ms

TON PW
Pave  Ppeak D Dcycle  Dcycle 
TTOTAL PRR

206. A radar transmitter has a power of 10 kW and operates at a frequency of 9.5

GHz. Its signal reflects from a target 15 km away with a radar cross section
of 10.2 square meters. The gain of the antenna is 20 dBi. Calculate the
received signal power.
10.1 fW
 2 PT G 2
PR 
 4  3 r 4m 
207. Find the Doppler shift caused by a vehicle moving toward a radar at 60 mph,
if the radar operates at 10 GHz.
1.778 kHz

2v r f i
fD 
c