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

Logging in (or registering) will help the system to select questions that you need to focus on.

1. - E0A03

Over what range of frequencies are the FCC human body RF exposure limits most restrictive?

Select	Answer
A	300 to 3000 MHz
B	30 to 300 MHz
C	3 to 30 MHz
D	300 kHz to 3 MHz

2. - E1A12

What special operating frequency restrictions are imposed on slow scan TV transmissions?

Select	Answer
A	They are restricted to 7.245 MHz, 14.245 MHz, 21.345 MHz, and 28.945 MHz
B	None; they are allowed on all amateur frequencies
C	They are restricted to phone band segments
D	They are not permitted above 54 MHz

3. - E1B09

Which amateur stations may be operated under RACES rules?

Select	Answer
A	Any FCC-licensed amateur station certified by the responsible civil defense organization for the area served
B	Any FCC-licensed amateur station participating in the Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS)
C	Only those club stations licensed to Amateur Extra Class operators
D	Any FCC-licensed amateur station except a Technician Class

4. - E1C13

What notifications must be given before transmitting on the 630 meter or 2200 meter bands?

Select	Answer
A	An environmental impact statement must be filed with the Department of the Interior
B	Operators must inform the FAA of their intent to operate, giving their call sign and distance to the nearest runway
C	A special endorsement must be requested from the FCC
D	Operators must inform the Utilities Technology Council (UTC) of their call sign and coordinates of the station

5. - E1D11

Which amateur stations are eligible to operate as Earth stations?

Select	Answer
A	Any amateur station, subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held by the control operator
B	Only those of General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operators
C	Any amateur station whose licensee has filed a pre-space notification with the FCC's International Bureau
D	Only those of Amateur Extra Class operators

6. - E1E12

What must the VE team do with the application form if the examinee does not pass the exam?

Select	Answer
A	Send the application form to the FCC and inform the FCC of the grade
B	Maintain the application form with the VEC's records
C	Destroy the application form
D	Return the application document to the examinee

7. - E1F07

When may an amateur station send a message to a business?

Select	Answer
A	When the control operator is employed by the FCC or another government agency
B	When transmitting international third-party communications
C	When neither the amateur nor his or her employer has a pecuniary interest in the communications
D	When the total money involved does not exceed $25

8. - E2A05

What do the letters in a satellite's mode designator specify?

Select	Answer
A	The uplink and downlink frequency ranges
B	The location of the ground control station
C	The polarization of uplink and downlink signals
D	Power limits for uplink and downlink transmissions

9. - E2B09

What hardware, other than a receiver with SSB capability and a suitable computer, is needed to decode SSTV using Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM)?

Select	Answer
A	A special front end limiter
B	A special notch filter to remove synchronization pulses
C	A special IF converter
D	No other hardware is needed

10. - E2C03

From which of the following bands is amateur radio contesting generally excluded?

Select	Answer
A	33 centimeters
B	2 meters
C	6 meters
D	30 meters

11. - E2D07

What digital protocol is used by APRS?

Select	Answer
A	PACTOR
B	AX.25
C	802.11
D	AMTOR

12. - E2E03

How is the timing of FT4 contacts organized?

Select	Answer
A	It depends on the lunar phase
B	Alternating transmissions at 7.5 second intervals
C	By exchanging ACK/NAK packets
D	Stations take turns on alternate days

13. - E3A12

What is the cause of auroral activity?

Select	Answer
A	The interaction in the E layer of charged particles from the Sun with the Earth's magnetic field
B	An extreme low-pressure area in the polar regions
C	Meteor showers concentrated in the extreme northern and southern latitudes
D	The interaction in the F2 layer between the solar wind and the Van Allen belt

14. - E3B01

What is transequatorial propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Propagation between two mid-latitude points at approximately the same distance north and south of the magnetic equator
B	Propagation between a point on the equator and its antipodal point
C	Propagation between points located on the magnetic equator
D	Propagation between points at the same latitude

15. - E3C08

What does the space weather term G5 mean?

Select	Answer
A	Moderate solar wind
B	Waning sunspot numbers
C	Very low solar activity
D	An extreme geomagnetic storm

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	Sampling rate of the analog-to-digital converter
D	Q of the circuit

17. - E4B01

Which of the following factors most affects the accuracy of a frequency counter?

Select	Answer
A	Input attenuator accuracy
B	Decade divider accuracy
C	Time base accuracy
D	Temperature coefficient of the logic

18. - E4C02

Which of the following receiver circuits can be effective in eliminating interference from strong out-of-band signals?

Select	Answer
A	A narrow IF filter
B	A notch filter
C	A properly adjusted product detector
D	A front-end filter or pre-selector

19. - E4D04

Which of the following may reduce or eliminate intermodulation interference in a repeater caused by another transmitter operating in close proximity?

Select	Answer
A	Utilizing a Class C final amplifier
B	A properly terminated circulator at the output of the repeater's transmitter
C	Utilizing a Class D final amplifier
D	A band-pass filter in the feed line between the transmitter and receiver

20. - E4E10

What might be the cause of a loud roaring or buzzing AC line interference that comes and goes at intervals?

Select	Answer
A	A defective doorbell or doorbell transformer inside a nearby residence
B	A malfunctioning illuminated advertising display
C	Arcing contacts in a thermostatically controlled device
D	All these choices are correct

21. - E5A16

What is the resonant frequency of an RLC circuit if R is 33 ohms, L is 50 microhenries and C is 10 picofarads?

Select	Answer
A	7.12 MHz
B	7.12 kHz
C	23.5 MHz
D	23.5 kHz

22. - E5B05

What happens to the magnitude of a pure reactance when it is converted to a susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	The sign is reversed
B	It is shifted by 90 degrees
C	It is unchanged
D	It becomes the reciprocal

23. - E5C06

What does the impedance 50-j25 represent?

Select	Answer
A	50 ohms resistance in series with 25 ohms capacitive reactance
B	25 ohms resistance in series with 50 ohms capacitive reactance
C	50 ohms resistance in series with 25 ohms inductive reactance
D	25 ohms resistance in series with 50 ohms inductive reactance

24. - E5D10

How can the true power be determined in an AC circuit where the voltage and current are out of phase?

Select	Answer
A	By multiplying the apparent power by the power factor
B	By dividing the reactive power by the power factor
C	By dividing the apparent power by the power factor
D	By multiplying the reactive power by the power factor

25. - E6A02

Which of the following semiconductor materials contains excess free electrons?

Select	Answer
A	Insulated gate
B	N-type
C	P-type
D	Bipolar

26. - E6B01

What is the most useful characteristic of a Zener diode?

Select	Answer
A	A negative resistance region
B	An internal capacitance that varies with the applied voltage
C	A constant voltage drop under conditions of varying current
D	A constant current drop under conditions of varying voltage

27. - E6C06

Why do CMOS digital integrated circuits have high immunity to noise on the input signal or power supply?

Select	Answer
A	The input switching threshold is about one-half the power supply voltage
B	Bandwidth is very limited
C	The input switching threshold is about two times the power supply voltage
D	Large bypass capacitance is inherent

28. - E6D10

What is a primary advantage of using a toroidal core instead of a solenoidal core in an inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Toroidal cores make it easier to couple the magnetic energy into other components
B	Toroidal cores exhibit greater hysteresis
C	Toroidal cores have lower Q characteristics
D	Toroidal cores confine most of the magnetic field within the core material

29. - E6E10

What advantage does surface-mount technology offer at RF compared to using through-hole components?

Select	Answer
A	Shorter circuit-board traces
B	Components have less parasitic inductance and capacitance
C	All these choices are correct
D	Smaller circuit area

30. - E6F08

Why are optoisolators often used in conjunction with solid-state circuits when switching 120 VAC?

Select	Answer
A	Optoisolators provide impedance matching between the control circuit and power circuit
B	Optoisolators eliminate the effects of reflected light in the control circuit
C	Optoisolators provide a very high degree of electrical isolation between a control circuit and the circuit being switched
D	Optoisolators provide a low impedance link between a control circuit and a power circuit

31. - E7A01

Which circuit is bistable?

Select	Answer
A	An OR gate
B	An AND gate
C	A flip-flop
D	A bipolar amplifier

32. - E7B14

Why are switching amplifiers more efficient than linear amplifiers?

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

33. - E7C07

Which describes a Pi-L-network used for matching a vacuum tube final amplifier to a 50-ohm unbalanced output?

Select	Answer
A	A Pi-network with an additional series inductor on the output
B	A network with only three discrete parts
C	A Phase Inverter Load network
D	A matching network in which all components are isolated from ground

34. - E7D15

What is the purpose of a step-start circuit in a high-voltage power supply?

Select	Answer
A	To compensate for variations of the incoming line voltage
B	To allow for remote control of the power supply
C	To provide a dual-voltage output for reduced power applications
D	To allow the filter capacitors to charge gradually

35. - E7E05

What circuit is added to an FM transmitter to boost the higher audio frequencies?

Select	Answer
A	A de-emphasis network
B	A heterodyne suppressor
C	A heterodyne enhancer
D	A pre-emphasis network

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	A switching mixer is used to generate I and Q signals directly from the RF input
D	Software is converted from source code to object code during operation of the receiver

37. - E7G05

How can unwanted ringing and audio instability be prevented in an op-amp RC audio filter circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Increase both gain and Q
B	Restrict Q but increase gain
C	Restrict both gain and Q
D	Restrict gain but increase Q

38. - E7H08

Which of the following components can be used to reduce thermal drift in crystal oscillators?

Select	Answer
A	NP0 capacitors
B	Wirewound resistors
C	Non-inductive resistors
D	Toroidal inductors

39. - E8A07

What determines the PEP-to-average power ratio of a single-sideband phone signal?

Select	Answer
A	Speech characteristics
B	The degree of carrier suppression
C	Amplifier gain
D	The frequency of the modulating signal

40. - E8B11

What is digital time division multiplexing?

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

41. - E8C09

Which digital code allows only one bit to change between sequential code values?

Select	Answer
A	Excess 3 code
B	Gray code
C	Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code
D	Binary Coded Decimal Code

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	Phase compandored spread spectrum
C	Direct sequence
D	Frequency hopping

43. - E9A06

What is the effective radiated power relative to a dipole of a repeater station with 200 watts transmitter power output, 4 dB feed line loss, 3.2 dB duplexer loss, 0.8 dB circulator loss, and 10 dBd antenna gain?

Select	Answer
A	2000 watts
B	317 watts
C	300 watts
D	126 watts

44. - E9B02

In the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-1, what is the front-to-back ratio?

Select	Answer
A	24 dB
B	36 dB
C	14 dB
D	18 dB

45. - E9C14

How does the performance of a horizontally polarized antenna mounted on the side of a hill compare with the same antenna mounted on flat ground?

Select	Answer
A	The horizontal beamwidth decreases in the downhill direction
B	The main lobe takeoff angle decreases in the downhill direction
C	The horizontal beamwidth increases in the uphill direction
D	The main lobe takeoff angle increases in the downhill direction

46. - E9D05

What usually occurs if a Yagi antenna is designed solely for maximum forward gain?

Select	Answer
A	The SWR is reduced
B	The frequency response is widened over the whole frequency band
C	The front-to-back ratio increases
D	The front-to-back ratio decreases

47. - E9E11

What is the primary purpose of phasing lines when used with an antenna having multiple driven elements?

Select	Answer
A	It creates a low-angle radiation pattern
B	It ensures that each driven element operates in concert with the others to create the desired antenna pattern
C	It prevents reflected power from traveling back down the feed line and causing harmonic radiation from the transmitter
D	It allows single-band antennas to operate on other bands

48. - E9F12

What impedance does a 1/4-wavelength transmission line present to a generator when the line is open at the far end?

Select	Answer
A	Very high impedance
B	The same as the characteristic impedance of the line
C	Very low impedance
D	The same as the input impedance to the generator

49. - E9G01

Which of the following can be calculated using a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Radio propagation
B	Radiation resistance
C	Impedance along transmission lines
D	Antenna radiation pattern

50. - E9H08

What is the function of a sense antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It increases the sensitivity of a DF antenna array
B	It provides diversity reception that cancels multipath signals
C	It modifies the pattern of a DF antenna array to provide a null in one direction
D	It allows DF antennas to receive signals at different vertical angles

Figure E9-1