US Amateur Radio - Amateur Extra (Element 4, 2020-2024) Practice Test

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1. - E0A10

What toxic material may be present in some electronic components such as high voltage capacitors and transformers?

Select	Answer
A	Polytetrafluoroethylene
B	Polymorphic silicon
C	Polychlorinated biphenyls
D	Polyethylene

2. - E1A09

What action or actions should you take if your digital message forwarding station inadvertently forwards a communication that violates FCC rules?

Select	Answer
A	Notify the nearest FCC Field Engineers office
B	Notify the originating station that the communication does not comply with FCC rules
C	All these choices are correct
D	Discontinue forwarding the communication as soon as you become aware of it

3. - E1B01

Which of the following constitutes a spurious emission?

Select	Answer
A	Any transmitted signal that unintentionally interferes with another licensed radio station
B	A signal transmitted to prevent its detection by any station other than the intended recipient
C	An amateur station transmission made without the proper call sign identification
D	An emission outside the signal's necessary bandwidth that can be reduced or eliminated without affecting the information transmitted

4. - E1C04

What is meant by IARP?

Select	Answer
A	An indication of increased antenna reflected power
B	A forecast of intermittent aurora radio propagation
C	The internal amateur radio practices policy of the FCC
D	An international amateur radio permit that allows U.S. amateurs to operate in certain countries of the Americas

5. - E1D07

Which HF amateur bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?

Select	Answer
A	Only the 40, 30, 20, 15, 12, and 10 meter bands
B	Only the 40, 20, 17, 15, 12, and 10 meter bands
C	All HF bands
D	Only the 40, 20, 17, 15, and 10 meter bands

6. - E1E03

What is a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator?

Select	Answer
A	The person who has entered into an agreement with the FCC to be the VE session manager
B	An organization that has entered into an agreement with the FCC to coordinate, prepare, and administer amateur operator license examinations
C	A person who has volunteered to administer amateur operator license examinations
D	A person who has volunteered to prepare amateur operator license examinations

7. - E1F01

On what frequencies are spread spectrum transmissions permitted?

Select	Answer
A	Only on amateur frequencies above 144 MHz
B	Only on amateur frequencies above 50 MHz
C	Only on amateur frequencies above 222 MHz
D	Only on amateur frequencies above 420 MHz

8. - E2A02

Which of the following occurs when a satellite is using an inverting linear transponder?

Select	Answer
A	Doppler shift is reduced because the uplink and downlink shifts are in opposite directions
B	Signal position in the band is reversed
C	All these choices are correct
D	Upper sideband on the uplink becomes lower sideband on the downlink, and vice versa

9. - E2B11

What is the function of the Vertical Interval Signaling (VIS) code sent as part of an SSTV transmission?

Select	Answer
A	To identify the SSTV mode being used
B	To provide vertical synchronization
C	To identify the call sign of the station transmitting
D	To lock the color burst oscillator in color SSTV images

10. - E2C09

What type of equipment is commonly used to implement an amateur radio mesh network?

Select	Answer
A	A 2 meter VHF transceiver with a 1200 baud modem
B	An optical cable connection between the USB ports of 2 separate computers
C	A wireless router running custom firmware
D	A 440 MHz transceiver with a 9600 baud modem

11. - E2D01

Which of the following digital modes is designed for meteor scatter communications?

Select	Answer
A	MSK144
B	APRS
C	WSPR
D	Hellschreiber

12. - E2E11

What is the difference between direct FSK and audio FSK?

Select	Answer
A	Only direct FSK can be decoded by computer
B	Direct FSK can transmit faster baud rates
C	Direct FSK occupies less bandwidth
D	Direct FSK applies the data signal to the transmitter VFO, while AFSK transmits tones via phone

13. - E3A01

What is the approximate maximum separation measured along the surface of the Earth between two stations communicating by EME?

Select	Answer
A	2000 miles, if the moon is at apogee
B	500 miles, if the moon is at perigee
C	5000 miles, if the moon is at perigee
D	12,000 miles, if the moon is visible by both stations

14. - E3B12

What is the primary characteristic of chordal hop propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Signals reflected back toward the transmitting station
B	Propagation across the geomagnetic equator
C	Propagation away from the great circle bearing between stations
D	Successive ionospheric refractions without an intermediate reflection from the ground

15. - E3C14

Why does the radio-path horizon distance exceed the geometric horizon?

Select	Answer
A	Downward bending due to density variations in the atmosphere
B	Due to the Doppler effect
C	E-region skip
D	D-region skip

16. - E4A01

Which of the following limits the highest frequency signal that can be accurately displayed on a digital oscilloscope?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	Amount of memory
C	Q of the circuit
D	Sampling rate of the analog-to-digital converter

17. - E4B10

Which of the following methods measures intermodulation distortion in an SSB transmitter?

Select	Answer
A	Modulate the transmitter using two RF signals having non-harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a spectrum analyzer
B	Modulate the transmitter using two AF signals having non-harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a spectrum analyzer
C	Modulate the transmitter using two AF signals having harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a peak reading wattmeter
D	Modulate the transmitter using two RF signals having harmonically related frequencies and observe the RF output with a logic analyzer

18. - E4C07

What does the MDS of a receiver represent?

Select	Answer
A	The minimum discernible signal
B	The multiplex distortion stability
C	The meter display sensitivity
D	The maximum detectable spectrum

19. - E4D11

Why are odd-order intermodulation products, created within a receiver, of particular interest compared to other products?

Select	Answer
A	Odd-order products overload the IF filters
B	Odd-order intermodulation produces three products for every input signal within the band of interest
C	Odd-order products of two signals in the band of interest are also likely to be within the band
D	Odd-order products are an indication of poor image rejection

20. - E4E01

What problem can occur when using an automatic notch filter (ANF) to remove interfering carriers while receiving CW signals?

Select	Answer
A	Removal of the CW signal as well as the interfering carrier
B	Received CW signals will appear to be modulated at the DSP clock frequency
C	Any nearby signal passing through the DSP system will overwhelm the desired signal
D	Ringing in the DSP filter will completely remove the spaces between the CW characters

21. - E5A07

What is the magnitude of the current at the input of a parallel RLC circuit at resonance?

Select	Answer
A	R/L
B	Minimum
C	L/R
D	Maximum

22. - E5B02

What letter is commonly used to represent susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	G
B	Y
C	X
D	B

23. - E5C03

Which of the following represents an inductive reactance in polar coordinates?

Select	Answer
A	A positive magnitude
B	A negative magnitude
C	A negative phase angle
D	A positive phase angle

24. - E5D01

What is the result of skin effect?

Select	Answer
A	Thermal effects on the surface of the conductor increase the impedance
B	As frequency decreases, RF current flows in a thinner layer of the conductor, closer to the surface
C	As frequency increases, RF current flows in a thinner layer of the conductor, closer to the surface
D	Thermal effects on the surface of the conductor decrease the impedance

25. - E6A06

What is the beta of a bipolar junction transistor?

Select	Answer
A	The switching speed
B	The breakdown voltage of the base to collector junction
C	The frequency at which the current gain is reduced to 0.707
D	The change in collector current with respect to base current

26. - E6B11

What is used to control the attenuation of RF signals by a PIN diode?

Select	Answer
A	Forward DC bias current
B	Capacitance of an RF coupling capacitor
C	Reverse voltage larger than the RF signal
D	A sub-harmonic pump signal

27. - E6C07

What best describes a pull-up or pull-down resistor?

Select	Answer
A	A resistor in a keying circuit used to reduce key clicks
B	A resistor that ensures that an oscillator frequency does not drift
C	A resistor connected to the positive or negative supply line used to establish a voltage when an input or output is an open circuit
D	A resistor connected to an op-amp output that prevents signals from exceeding the power supply voltage

28. - E6D13

What is the primary cause of inductor self-resonance?

Select	Answer
A	Inductive kickback
B	Inter-turn capacitance
C	Non-linear core hysteresis
D	The skin effect

29. - E6E11

What is a characteristic of DIP packaging used for integrated circuits?

Select	Answer
A	Low leakage doubly insulated package
B	Two chips in each package (Dual In Package)
C	A total of two rows of connecting pins placed on opposite sides of the package (Dual In-line Package)
D	Package mounts in a direct inverted position

30. - E6F05

Which describes an optical shaft encoder?

Select	Answer
A	A device for generating RTTY signals by means of a rotating light source
B	A digital encryption device often used to encrypt spacecraft control signals
C	A device that detects rotation of a control by interrupting a light source with a patterned wheel
D	A device that measures the strength of a beam of light using analog to digital conversion

31. - E7A03

Which of the following can divide the frequency of a pulse train by 2?

Select	Answer
A	A flip-flop
B	A multiplexer
C	An OR gate
D	An XOR gate

32. - E7B14

Why are switching amplifiers more efficient than linear amplifiers?

Select	Answer
A	Switching amplifiers operate at higher voltages
B	The power transistor is at saturation or cutoff most of the time
C	Switching amplifiers use push-pull circuits
D	Linear amplifiers have high gain resulting in higher harmonic content

33. - E7C09

What is a crystal lattice filter?

Select	Answer
A	A power supply filter made with interlaced quartz crystals
B	An audio filter made with four quartz crystals that resonate at 1 kHz intervals
C	A filter with narrow bandwidth and steep skirts made using quartz crystals
D	A filter using lattice-shaped quartz crystals for high-Q performance

34. - E7D04

Which of the following types of linear voltage regulator usually make the most efficient use of the primary power source?

Select	Answer
A	A shunt regulator
B	A series current source
C	A shunt current source
D	A series regulator

35. - E7E07

What is meant by the term "baseband" in radio communications?

Select	Answer
A	The lowest frequency band that the transmitter or receiver covers
B	The basic oscillator frequency in an FM transmitter that is multiplied to increase the deviation and carrier frequency
C	The frequency range occupied by a message signal prior to modulation
D	The unmodulated bandwidth of the transmitted signal

36. - E7F01

What is meant by direct digital conversion as applied to software defined radios?

Select	Answer
A	Incoming RF is converted to a control voltage for a voltage controlled oscillator
B	Incoming RF is digitized by an analog-to-digital converter without being mixed with a local oscillator signal
C	Software is converted from source code to object code during operation of the receiver
D	A switching mixer is used to generate I and Q signals directly from the RF input

37. - E7G07

What magnitude of voltage gain can be expected from the circuit in Figure E73 when R1 is 10 ohms and RF is 470 ohms?

Select	Answer
A	24
B	0.21
C	94
D	47

38. - E7H03

How is positive feedback supplied in a Hartley oscillator?

Select	Answer
A	Through link coupling
B	Through a capacitive divider
C	Through a tapped coil
D	Through a neutralizing capacitor

39. - E8A02

Which of the following is a type of analog-to-digital conversion?

Select	Answer
A	Level shifting
B	Phase reversal
C	Successive approximation
D	Harmonic regeneration

40. - E8B11

What is digital time division multiplexing?

Select	Answer
A	Two or more signals are arranged to share discrete time slots of a data transmission
B	Two or more data streams are assigned to discrete sub-carriers on an FM transmitter
C	Two or more data streams share the same channel by transmitting time of transmission as the sub-carrier
D	Two or more signals are quadrature modulated to increase bandwidth efficiency

41. - E8C11

What is the relationship between symbol rate and baud?

Select	Answer
A	Baud is twice the symbol rate
B	Symbol rate is only used for packet-based modes
C	They are the same
D	Baud is only used for RTTY

42. - E8D02

What spread spectrum communications technique uses a high-speed binary bit stream to shift the phase of an RF carrier?

Select	Answer
A	Binary phase-shift keying
B	Frequency hopping
C	Phase compandored spread spectrum
D	Direct sequence

43. - E9A12

How much gain does an antenna have compared to a 1/2-wavelength dipole when it has 6 dB gain over an isotropic antenna?

Select	Answer
A	3.85 dB
B	8.15 dB
C	6.0 dB
D	2.79 dB

44. - E9B09

What type of computer program technique is commonly used for modeling antennas?

Select	Answer
A	Mutual impedance analysis
B	Graphical analysis
C	Calculus differentiation with respect to physical properties
D	Method of Moments

45. - E9C09

Which of the following describes a G5RV antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A wide band dipole using shorted coaxial cable for the radiating elements and fed with a�4:1 balun
B	A multi-band dipole antenna fed with coax and a balun through a selected length of open wire transmission line
C	A multi-band trap antenna
D	A phased array antenna consisting of multiple loops

46. - E9D10

What happens to feed-point impedance at the base of a fixed length HF mobile antenna when operated below its resonant frequency?

Select	Answer
A	The radiation resistance increases and the capacitive reactance decreases
B	The radiation resistance decreases and the capacitive reactance increases
C	The radiation resistance decreases and the capacitive reactance decreases
D	The radiation resistance increases and the capacitive reactance increases

47. - E9E05

How must an antenna's driven element be tuned to use a hairpin matching system?

Select	Answer
A	The driven element resonance must be lower than the operating frequency
B	The driven element reactance must be inductive
C	The driven element reactance must be capacitive
D	The driven element radiation resistance must be higher than the characteristic impedance of the transmission line

48. - E9F02

Which of the following has the biggest effect on the velocity factor of a transmission line?

Select	Answer
A	The center conductor resistivity
B	Dielectric materials used in the line
C	The line length
D	The termination impedance

49. - E9G03

Which of the following is often determined using a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Satellite azimuth and elevation bearings
B	Beam headings and radiation patterns
C	Impedance and SWR values in transmission lines
D	Trigonometric functions

50. - E9H04

What is an advantage of placing a grounded electrostatic shield around a small loop direction-finding antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It eliminates tracking errors caused by strong out-of-band signals
B	It eliminates unbalanced capacitive coupling to the surroundings, improving the nulls
C	It increases signal strength by providing a better match to the feed line
D	It adds capacitive loading, increasing the bandwidth of the antenna