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The Sound and A/V Contractor
Prequalification Test

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The consultant is on the way to make site inspections of the project you're working on, answer these questions to see what the consultant is expecting to find when he gets there. Careful, your answers may affect you presence on the approved bidders list. The passing mark is 100% correct.

Question #1: The specification calls for shop drawings prior to installation and fabrication, what is the purpose of shop drawings?
  1. To slow down the progress of the job and reduce the profits.

  2. To ensure that the details are being thought through before the installation begins.

  3. To help make the owner's manual look thicker.

Question #2: The consultant is scheduled to make a substantial completion inspection of the sound system you are installing, when is the right time to inform the consultant that you can't actually get the whole system to pass a signal?
  1. Just after he removes his coat after arriving on site, but before he gets comfortable.

  2. Just before he leaves the office to make the inspection.

  3. At least two days before the scheduled inspection date, especially if the consultant is travelling by air.

Question #3: On a related topic, how much of the sound or A/V system should actually work for the substantial completion inspection?
  1. All functions and all signal paths.

  2. All functions and signal paths that are likely to be tested.

  3. Just enough to demonstrate you've delivered all the equipment.

Question #4: You're installing a suspended loudspeaker cluster that will be mounted over the heads of the audience and you're looking for the best material to use to hang it, what do you use?
  1. Aircraft cable with rated connections.

  2. Mountain climbing rope and climbing rated hardware.

  3. Some heavy chain and qwik-links.

Question #5: You're mounting audio and video connectors on panels, just how close to parallel do you need to get the edges of the connectors to the panel edges before the consultant will accept them?
  1. Within 10 degrees.

  2. Within 5 degrees

  3. Within 1 degree.

Question #6: You're dressing the shielded audio cables at connectors and patch bays, knowing the consultant will be looking at them. What is the longest acceptable exposed shield drain wire the consultant will want to see?
  1. Up to 6" long, no problem.

  2. Between 1.5" and 6" should be OK.

  3. Less than 0.5" without a insulating sleeve.

Question #7: You're adjusting the alignment of loudspeakers in a cluster that cover adjacent areas with some overlap in coverage. What's the effect of a time offset of 1.5 milliseconds between these adjacent speakers?
  1. You can hear a separate echo.

  2. Destructive interference and the generation of lobes in the coverage pattern at specific frequencies.

  3. Pseudo stereo effect like a kind of surround sound.

Question #8: The system seems to have a feedback problem at one specific microphone, where do you make measurements of the speaker system to find the problem?
  1. Use the microphone that feeds back as the measurement microphone.

  2. Put the analyzer microphone in the middle of the seating area.

  3. Place the analyzer on the output of the equalizer.

Question #9: What is the best way to set up the gain structure of a sound system?
  1. So that everything in the signal chain clips at the same input signal level.

  2. So that each subsequent stage clips at 1dB higher than the one before it.

  3. So that the first input stage clips before the amplifier clips, because amp clipping blows up tweeters.

Question #10: As part of the terms of the specifications, testing of all audio and video signal paths is a requirement. How thoroughly do you need to test these signal paths?
  1. Just make sure the sound or video gets through.

  2. Make sure all signal paths have full bandwidth and distortion within specified limits.

  3. Listen to a known piece of music or watch a known piece of video sent over each signal path.

Question #11: You're setting the signal delays for an underbalcony loudspeaker group. What time delay setting do you use?
  1. Exactly the same delay time as was measured on a TEF or MLSSA analyser.

  2. Add 15-20 milliseconds to the measured delay time

  3. Subtract 15-20 milliseconds from the measured delay time.

Question #12: You're setting the equalization for the system, what is the maximum difference in levels between adjacent 1/3 octave filters that is permissable with a cut/boost equalizer?
  1. 6dB

  2. 3dB

  3. 12dB

Question #13: What is the minimum bend radius for video coax cable entering a BNC connector that will connect to a chassis BNC connector.
  1. 0.25"

  2. 1.0"

  3. 2.0"

Question #14: What application is a 1/3 octave analyser and pink noise suitable for in aligning and testing a new sound system?
  1. Setting delays between speakers

  2. Setting equalization of the direct sound

  3. Adjusting overall system sound level

Question #15: You've found that the specified product is not currently available, when do you tell the consultant that you have to make a substitution?
  1. As soon as you find the product is not available

  2. Only if someone notices it's been switched

  3. When you submit the invoice

Question #16: You're searching for an alternate video projector product to submit on a tender. The key issue is brightness of the output, which specification is most comparable between projectors?
  1. Full White Lumens

  2. ANSI Lumens

  3. Peak White Lumens

Question #17: You're looking for an alternate loudspeaker product to submit on a tender. What items are important to match between the specified unit and an alternate?
  1. The size and weight

  2. The cost and availability

  3. All of the specified performance characteristics

Question #18: If you have a choice between using two specified products in a sound system tender it would make the most business sense to...
  1. Use the least expensive unit that is acceptable

  2. Use the product with the best sales rep

  3. Use the most expensive product to make the most money

Question #19: The specification calls for the approval by a structural engineer for all over head mounting systems prior to fabrication. What equipment mounting does this include?
  1. Just things over 150 pounds

  2. Everything mounted to the building

  3. Just things you're building yourself

Question #20: You are bidding on a project that has several new pieces of technology or new systems included in it. What is the best way to convince the consultant that you will have the competence to install the product should you win?
  1. Take a factory training course for the product or system

  2. Promise to hire someone if you win the bid

  3. Tell the consultant you have the manual and you're a fast learner

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Correct Answers

#1 / #2 / #3 / #4 / #5 / #6 / #7 / #8 / #9 / #10 / #11
#12 / #13 / #14 / #15 / #16 / #17 / #18 / #19 / #20