Practice Test Geeks(CAT) Commercial Audio Technician Practice Test
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Problem Solving and Troubleshooting Flashcards

7 cards from real CAT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Problem Solving and Troubleshooting flashcards as text

  1. A passive loudspeaker measures 0 ohms across its terminals with an ohmmeter. This indicates:

    Answer: A shorted voice coil or wiring

    Zero ohms on a speaker terminal reading indicates a short circuit, most commonly a shorted voice coil or wiring fault.

  2. You plug a ¼-inch TRS balanced output into an unbalanced ¼-inch TS input and notice increased noise. The most appropriate fix is:

    Answer: Use a direct box or balanced-to-unbalanced interface

    A direct box or impedance-matching interface properly converts the balanced signal to unbalanced while rejecting common-mode noise.

  3. During sound check, the subwoofers produce output but the tops do not. Both are connected to a stereo amplifier. What should you verify first?

    Answer: The amplifier's channel bridging switch or mode setting

    A bridging or mono-sum switch on the amplifier can disable one channel's independent output, routing all power to the sub connected to it.

  4. A wireless microphone receiver shows full RF signal strength but the audio output is silent. The most likely cause is:

    Answer: Mismatched RF frequency between transmitter and receiver

    If RF is strong but audio is absent, the transmitter and receiver are likely tuned to different frequencies or channels.

  5. An in-ear monitor system produces a high-pitched whine only when the beltpack is within 3 feet of the transmitter antenna. This is caused by:

    Answer: RF overload or desensitization at the beltpack receiver

    Proximity-induced whine in IEM systems is typically RF overload (desense) caused by the beltpack receiver being too close to the transmitter's radiated field.

  6. After connecting a new digital snake, you notice a consistent 20ms of latency added to the signal path. What is the most likely explanation?

    Answer: The snake's internal A/D and D/A conversion processing time

    Digital stage boxes introduce a fixed, predictable latency due to the analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog conversion processes and internal buffering.

  7. A line array cluster produces comb filtering artifacts in the coverage zone. The first corrective action should be:

    Answer: Verify cabinet splay angles and inter-element delay alignment

    Comb filtering in arrays is caused by improper splay angles or time misalignment between adjacent cabinets, which creates destructive interference.