E2: Operating Procedures – Ham Radio Extra Class License Study Guide

Subelement E2 covers advanced operating procedures across five specialized areas: satellite communications, amateur television and SSTV, contest and DX operating, VHF/UHF digital modes, and HF digital protocols.

Extra class operators are expected to understand the technical mechanics behind each mode — not just how to use them, but why they work the way they do. E2 questions test specific facts about satellite orbital terminology, TV signal standards, digital mode characteristics, and on-air procedures for contesting and DX work.

E2A: Satellite Operation

E2A covers amateur satellite terminology and hardware. Key topics include Keplerian orbital elements (parameters that define a satellite's orbit), ascending pass direction (south to north), satellite "mode" designators (which specify uplink and downlink frequency ranges), inverting linear transponders (which mix the uplink with a local oscillator and transmit the difference product, reversing sidebands and reducing Doppler), the difference between geostationary and LEO satellites, L band (23 cm) and S band (13 cm), digital store-and-forward functions (holding messages for later download), the need to limit ERP on linear transponder satellites to preserve downlink capacity for all users, and circularly polarized antennas for minimizing spin modulation and Faraday rotation effects.

E2B: Television and SSTV

E2B covers fast-scan TV (NTSC) and slow-scan TV (SSTV) standards and techniques. Key topics include the 525 horizontal lines in NTSC, interlaced scanning (odd lines in one field, even lines in the next), vestigial sideband modulation (one complete sideband plus a portion of the other, reducing bandwidth while preserving low-frequency video fidelity), DVB-T modulation (QAM and QPSK), using cable TV channels for 70-centimeter ATV, SSTV color encoding (color lines sent sequentially), brightness encoding via tone frequency, the VIS code (identifies SSTV mode), line synchronization via specific tone frequencies, and digital TV coding rates (3/4 means 25% FEC data).

E2C: Contest and DX Operating

E2C covers contesting procedures, DX operating, log formats, and mesh networking. Key topics include: no additional call sign indicator is required when operating a remote station in the US; ADIF is the standard log exchange format; Cabrillo is the standard for submitting electronic contest logs; 30 meters is excluded from amateur radio contesting; mesh networks use frequencies shared with unlicensed wireless data services and are implemented with wireless routers running custom firmware; DX QSL managers handle confirmations for DX stations; DX stations use split frequencies to manage pileups and separate calling stations; pileup identification requires sending your full call sign once or twice; VHF/UHF contest SSB/CW activity is concentrated in the weak-signal segment near the calling frequency; LoTW confirms all types of contacts; and latency is the delay between a control action and the resulting signal change.

E2D: VHF/UHF Digital Modes and EME

E2D covers digital operating methods for VHF and UHF bands, including EME (Earth-Moon-Earth) and meteor scatter. MSK144 is the mode designed for meteor scatter. Q65 is designed for EME communications; it averages multiple receive cycles to dig deeper into the noise than JT65. JT65 uses multitone AFSK modulation and decodes at very low SNR. For VHF contests using FT8 or FT4, grid squares replace SNR reports. APRS tracks balloons in real time, uses the AX.25 protocol, relays data via packet digipeaters, and sends beacon data in Unnumbered Information frames. The WIDE3-1 path requests three digipeater hops with one remaining. EME contacts use time-synchronous transmissions alternating between stations.

E2E: HF Digital Modes

E2E covers the characteristics of HF digital modes. Data emissions below 30 MHz use FSK. WSJT-X modes synchronize via computer clock synchronization. FT8 has 15-second transmit/receive cycles and the narrowest bandwidth of the common HF digital modes. FT4 uses four-tone continuous-phase FSK. FST4 features Gaussian FSK, variable T/R periods, and seven tone spacings. WSPR does not support keyboard-to-keyboard operation — it is a propagation beacon mode. PACTOR supports binary file transfer. PSK31 uses variable-length (Varicode) character coding. Direct FSK modulates the transmitter VFO directly, while audio FSK feeds audio tones into the mic input. ALE scans a list of frequencies and activates when its designated call sign is detected. PACTOR IV has the highest data throughput under clear conditions. Q65 differs from JT65 by averaging multiple receive cycles.

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