Telecommunications Electronics Technician - TCM — Information & Free Practice
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Telecommunications Electronics Technician - TCM
- Provider
- ETA International
- Format
- Proctored knowledge examination; in-person Trapeza or paper/pencil, or ETA-arranged remote proctoring through ExamRoom.AI.
- Exam questions
- Total questions: 75.
- Time limit
- 2 hours
- Passing score
- 75%
- Exam fee
- $80; remote proctoring adds $16 for the two-hour examination.
Examination outline
Cables and Cabling
- Unshielded twisted pair: uses and capabilities
- RJ45/48 connectors: installation and troubleshooting
- CAT 5 versus single twisted pair
- 10 base T uses and frequency capabilities
- T568A / T568B standards
- Cable TV wiring for data and voice
- Coax types RG 58, RG 59 and RG 6
- Equipment grounding
- Single-mode and multimode fiber optics
Analog Telephony
- Telephone industry history
- Basic telephone system operation
- POTS, DID, OPX, tie lines and WATS lines
- Multiple phone lines
- PBX and switching
- Local loop mapping
- Key service units
- Central Office purposes
- Tones, loop start, ground start and wink start
- CO and CPE
- Dedicated, metered and switched services
- Broadband DSL and ISDN
Equipment
- Telephone parts and functions
- Telephone disassembly and reassembly
- RS-232, RS-530, V.35 and USB interfaces
Telecom Safety
- Workplace safety
- Safety in homes and businesses
- Outside equipment safety
- OSHA distribution worker and height requirements
- Distribution and installation technician abilities
- ESD safety
Transmission Service Providers
- Local Exchange Carriers
- LECs and Regional Operating Companies
- Independent telephone companies
- Network control points and NOC
- In-band, CCS and SS7 signaling
- T1 and T3 lines
- Multiplexing
Distribution Methods
- Plug and adapter wiring
- Punch block connections, tools and labeling
- T carrier (DS1)
- Repeaters
- Channel Banks
- Common Carrier
Computer
- Computers and communications technology
- Modem interfaces and types
- Worldwide numbering systems
- Network control points
- Database
- Computer Telephony Integration
- Asynchronous Transfer Mode
Digital Telephony
- ISDN
- DSL advantages and usage
- Bundling and unbundling services
- Bytes, packets and frames
- Caller ID
Interfacing
- Consumer electronics and telephone interconnection
- Electrical surge protection
- EIA, CTIA and ITU protocols and standards
Internet
- Internet
- TCP/IP
- Internet service security
Network Infrastructures and Topologies
- RS232 standard
- Transmission protocols
- LAN and WAN
- Small business WAN installation and troubleshooting
Office Wiring
- ANSI, EIA/TIA and NFPA building wiring standards
- Pre-wiring and existing building wiring methods and precautions
Test Equipment
- Wired communications network certification
- Bit Error Rate equipment, toners and OTDRs
- OTDR troubleshooting and installed cable verification
Troubleshooting
- Telephone, DVM, signal, oscilloscope, loop and network test equipment
- Last Good, First Bad methods and loop testing
Transmission Protocols
- Modulation schemes
Telecom Mathematics
- Mathematics for telecommunications service and installation
Optical Wiring
- Fiber disposal and eye safety
- Optical cable selection parameters
- Copper-to-fiber signal conversion
- SONET
- DWDM
Wireless Telephony
- Wired telecommunications versus cellular networks
- Cellular system concepts and architecture
- Spread Spectrum techniques
- TDMA and CDMA modulation
- Paging Services
- Satellite telephone communications
- Satellite uplink and downlink components
Examination sources
- ETA Telecommunications competency
p. 1, Competency Requirements and sections 1.0-5.3
- ETA Telecommunications competency
p. 2, sections 5.4-13.3
- ETA Telecommunications competency
p. 3, sections 14.0-18.7 and Additional Suggested Texts boundary
- ETA Communications certifications
Prepare For An Exam, controlling competency adoption statement
- ETA TCM competency mounting page
TCM Competency heading; page HTML embeds https://www.etai.org/comps/TCM_comps.pdf
- ETA Communications certifications
TCM Exam Info, complete examination information table
- ETA examination administration
Taking an ETA Examination, steps 3 and 6-7
- ETA Certification Catalog
p. 12, TCM Exam Info table, questions/passing score/time rows; complete table visually inspected
- ETA examination administration
Taking an ETA Examination, steps 2-5
- ETA examination administration
Remote Proctoring, eligibility and ETA registration requirement
- ETA examination administration
Remote Proctoring, scheduling and fee notes
Related license preparation
This examination may be required or accepted as an alternative, depending on the license and application pathway.