Question
When General class licensees are not permitted to use the entire voice portion of a band, which portion of the voice segment is available to them?
Answer Options
- A) The lower frequency portion
- B) The upper frequency portion
- C) The lower frequency portion on frequencies below 7.3 MHz, and the upper portion on frequencies above 14.150 MHz
- D) The upper frequency portion on frequencies below 7.3 MHz, and the lower portion on frequencies above 14.150 MHz
Correct Answer: B
Explanation
General class operators are restricted from the lowest segments of several HF bands (80\text{m}, 40\text{m}, 20\text{m}, 15\text{m}) which are reserved for Amateur Extra. When the General class licensee is not permitted the entire voice portion, their privileges begin at the lowest frequency where they are authorized for that emission type. In practice, this means they get the upper frequency portion of the amateur band for voice.
For example, on 40\text{m} in ITU Region 2, the voice sub-band is 7.175 \text{MHz} to 7.300 \text{MHz}. Amateur Extra and Advanced can use 7.175-7.225 \text{MHz}, while General can use 7.175-7.300 \text{MHz} (sharing the lower segment with Advanced and Extra, and having the segment 7.225-7.300 \text{MHz} exclusively for General, Advanced, and Extra). This typically means General class privileges extend up to the band edge, covering the upper frequency range of the voice sub-band.
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