Avionics News May 2014 - 65

The Aircraft Electronics Technician
certification and its endorsements are
now backed by a worldwide leader in the
development and delivery of international
voluntary consensus standards .

AET Preparation
The AET examination will test your knowledge of basic
physics as it applies to electricity. Those preparing for the
test should review the structure of atoms, magnetism, resistance, power, current and electro-motive force. Be prepared
to apply these terms and formulas to AC and DC - remember Ohm's Law?
Be sure to review the color code. Also, review the construction of capacitors, inductors and transformers. And review
switches, relays and solenoids.
In preparation for the AET, a technician should practice
applying Ohm's and Kirchhoff's laws to series, parallel, complex and bridge circuits. Practice calculations in AC circuits,
as well, including phase angles, frequency, impedance, capacitance, inductance, peak voltage, power factor, true power and
apparent power.
Technicians preparing for the test must be familiar with
diodes and bipolar transistors. Oddly, FETs are not addressed.
The test covers some basic circuits, such as rectifiers, and
filters. Slightly more complex are oscillators and multivibrators, which also are on the test. To prepare for the test, digital
circuitry and numbering systems should be reviewed.
Those taking the test can expect at least one question on corrosion and a few questions on safe maintenance practices. There
is more, but most remaining topics are among things working
technicians will know well.
A few years ago, I would tell technicians Part 147 A&P curricula in the electrical topics covered a large portion of the AET,
and I would direct people there. This is still true, but during the
last few years, AET-specific material has become available.
The most basic study guide comes from the NCATT itself. This
document is a true study guide, and it tells the reader what to
study. There are no "answers" or any practice exams. More useful would be AET-specific study guides available for purchase.

Bruce Bessette was the first to publish an AET study
guide. This thick publication is available from a variety
of sources, including Barnes and Noble and Amazon. The
Avionics Certification Test Study Guide is in its second edition
and also includes material for the Federal Communications
Commission's General Radio Operator License test.
Avotek published Scott Kenney's Avionics: Fundamentals
of Aircraft Electronics. The text has a companion piece in the
form of a workbook. This book is the first of a multi-text series.
Experienced technicians should consider starting with
the reasonably priced Avionics: Fundamentals of Aircraft
Electronics Student Workbook. For less than $20, a technician
can practice answering questions similar to those on the AET
exam. After using the workbook, you can decide whether or
not to purchase the full study guide.
One could use a similar method to prepare for the endorsements. For working technicians, endorsement exams may seem
easier than the AET because these subject areas test knowledge
a technician uses often.
The RCS and DNS are good endorsements to start. The RCS
endorsement includes some basic radio theory. Both exams
cover system theory, including frequencies, channels and block
diagrams.
Specifically, the RCS endorsement includes avionics communication history, safety, transceivers, integration, operational checks and troubleshooting, transmission lines and antennas. Moreover, the requirements include specific knowledge
of aviation VHF communications, HF communication and
SATCOM (including SiriusXM).
The DNS endorsement requires technicians to demonstrate a
thorough understanding of the navigation antenna types in use.
Those studying for the examination should be aware of the difContinued on following page
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