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	Polymorphic silicon
B	Polychlorinated biphenyls
C	Polytetrafluoroethylene
D	Polyethylene

2. - E1A14

Except in some parts of Alaska, what is the maximum power permitted on the 630 meter band?

Select	Answer
A	1 watt EIRP
B	50 watts PEP
C	5 watts EIRP
D	100 watts PEP

3. - E1B10

What frequencies are authorized to an amateur station operating under RACES rules?

Select	Answer
A	Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) channels
B	All amateur service frequencies authorized to the control operator
C	Specific local government channels
D	Specific segments in the amateur service MF, HF, VHF and UHF bands

4. - E1C04

What is meant by IARP?

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

5. - E1D08

Which VHF amateur bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?

Select	Answer
A	2 meters
B	6 meters and 2 meters
C	2 meters and 1.25 meters
D	6 meters, 2 meters, and 1.25 meters

6. - E1E03

What is a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator?

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

7. - E1F08

Which of the following types of amateur station communications are prohibited?

Select	Answer
A	Communications that have religious content
B	Communications transmitted for hire or material compensation, except as otherwise provided in the rules
C	Communications that have political content, except as allowed by the Fairness Doctrine
D	Communications in a language other than English

8. - E2A03

How is the signal inverted by an inverting linear transponder?

Select	Answer
A	The signal is reduced to I and Q components and the Q component is filtered out
B	The signal is passed through a mixer and the difference rather than the sum is transmitted
C	The signal is detected and remodulated on the reverse sideband
D	The signal is passed through a non-linear filter

9. - E2B12

What signals SSTV receiving software to begin a new picture line?

Select	Answer
A	Elapsed time
B	Specific tone frequencies
C	A two-tone signal
D	Specific tone amplitudes

10. - E2C10

Why might a DX station state that they are listening on another frequency?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	To separate the calling stations from the DX station
C	Because the DX station may be transmitting on a frequency that is prohibited to some responding stations
D	To improve operating efficiency by reducing interference

11. - E2D02

Which of the following is a good technique for making meteor scatter contacts?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	15-second timed transmission sequences with stations alternating based on location
C	Use of special digital modes
D	Short transmissions with rapidly repeated call signs and signal reports

12. - E2E07

Which of the following is a possible reason that attempts to initiate contact with a digital station on a clear frequency are unsuccessful?

Select	Answer
A	Another station you are unable to hear is using the frequency
B	The protocol version you are using is not supported by the digital station
C	All these choices are correct
D	Your transmit frequency is incorrect

13. - E3A10

Which type of atmospheric structure can create a path for microwave propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Wind shear
B	The jet stream
C	Temperature inversion
D	Dust devil

14. - E3B01

What is transequatorial propagation?

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

15. - E3C10

What does the 304A solar parameter measure?

Select	Answer
A	The solar emission at 304 GHz, correlated to x-ray flare levels
B	The solar wind velocity at 304 degrees from the solar equator, correlated to solar activity
C	UV emissions at 304 angstroms, correlated to the solar flux index
D	The ratio of x-ray flux to radio flux, correlated to sunspot number

16. - E4A04

How is the compensation of an oscilloscope probe typically adjusted?

Select	Answer
A	A high frequency sine wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted for maximum amplitude
B	A square wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the horizontal portions of the displayed wave are as nearly flat as possible
C	A frequency standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the deflection time is accurate
D	A DC voltage standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the displayed voltage is accurate

17. - E4B03

Which S parameter is equivalent to forward gain?

Select	Answer
A	S12
B	S21
C	S11
D	S22

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. - E4D06

What is the term for spurious signals generated by the combination of two or more signals in a non-linear device or circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Amplifier desensitization
B	Adjacent channel interference
C	Intermodulation
D	Neutralization

20. - E4E08

What current flows equally on all conductors of an unshielded multi-conductor cable?

Select	Answer
A	Reactive current only
B	Return current
C	Common-mode current
D	Differential-mode current

21. - E5A10

How is the Q of an RLC series resonant circuit calculated?

Select	Answer
A	Reactance of either the inductance or capacitance multiplied by the resistance
B	Resistance divided by the reactance of either the inductance or capacitance
C	Reactance of either the inductance or capacitance divided by the resistance
D	Reactance of the inductance multiplied by the reactance of the capacitance

22. - E5B01

What is the term for the time required for the capacitor in an RC circuit to be charged to 63.2% of the applied voltage or to discharge to 36.8% of its initial voltage?

Select	Answer
A	An exponential rate of one
B	A time factor of one
C	One exponential period
D	One time constant

23. - E5C12

Which point on Figure E5-1 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 300-ohm resistor and a 19-picofarad capacitor at 21.200 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	Point 7
B	Point 1
C	Point 8
D	Point 3

24. - E5D09

What happens to reactive power in an AC circuit that has both ideal inductors and ideal capacitors?

Select	Answer
A	It is dissipated as kinetic energy in the circuit
B	It is repeatedly exchanged between the associated magnetic and electric fields, but is not dissipated
C	It is dissipated as heat in the circuit
D	It is dissipated in the formation of inductive and capacitive fields

25. - E6A06

What is the beta of a bipolar junction transistor?

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

26. - E6B02

What is an important characteristic of a Schottky diode as compared to an ordinary silicon diode when used as a power supply rectifier?

Select	Answer
A	More constant reverse avalanche voltage
B	Much higher reverse voltage breakdown
C	Less forward voltage drop
D	Longer carrier retention time

27. - E6C02

What happens when the level of a comparator's input signal crosses the threshold?

Select	Answer
A	The IC input can be damaged
B	The comparator changes its output state
C	The feedback loop becomes unstable
D	The comparator enters latch-up

28. - E6D12

What is inductor saturation?

Select	Answer
A	The ability of the inductor's core to store magnetic energy has been exceeded
B	Adjacent inductors become over-coupled
C	The inductor's voltage rating is exceeded causing a flashover
D	The inductor windings are over-coupled

29. - E6E02

Which of the following device packages is a through-hole type?

Select	Answer
A	DIP
B	Ball grid array
C	SOT
D	PLCC

30. - E6F01

What absorbs the energy from light falling on a photovoltaic cell?

Select	Answer
A	Holes
B	Electrons
C	Protons
D	Photons

31. - E7A05

Which of the following is a circuit that continuously alternates between two states without an external clock?

Select	Answer
A	Monostable multivibrator
B	T flip-flop
C	Astable multivibrator
D	J-K flip-flop

32. - E7B06

Which of the following amplifier types reduces even-order harmonics?

Select	Answer
A	Class AB
B	Push-push
C	Class C
D	Push-pull

33. - E7C04

How does an impedance-matching circuit transform a complex impedance to a resistive impedance?

Select	Answer
A	It introduces transconductance to cancel the reactive part of impedance
B	It introduces negative resistance to cancel the resistive part of impedance
C	Reactive currents are dissipated in matched resistances
D	It cancels the reactive part of the impedance and changes the resistive part to a desired value

34. - E7D08

What type of circuit is shown in Figure E7-2?

Select	Answer
A	Switching voltage regulator
B	Monostable multivibrator
C	Linear voltage regulator
D	Grounded emitter amplifier

35. - E7E06

Why is de-emphasis commonly used in FM communications receivers?

Select	Answer
A	To reduce impulse noise reception
B	For higher efficiency
C	For compatibility with transmitters using phase modulation
D	To remove third-order distortion products

36. - E7F09

Why is an anti-aliasing digital filter required in a digital decimator?

Select	Answer
A	It removes high-frequency signal components that would otherwise be reproduced as lower frequency components
B	It peaks the response of the decimator, improving bandwidth
C	It notches out the sampling frequency to avoid sampling errors
D	It removes low-frequency signal components to eliminate the need for DC restoration

37. - E7G01

What is the typical output impedance of an op-amp?

Select	Answer
A	Very high
B	1000 ohms
C	Very low
D	100 ohms

38. - E7H04

How is positive feedback supplied in a Colpitts oscillator?

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

39. - E8A01

What is the name of the process that shows that a square wave is made up of a sine wave plus all its odd harmonics?

Select	Answer
A	Numerical analysis
B	Vector analysis
C	Differential analysis
D	Fourier analysis

40. - E8B07

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing is a technique used for which type of amateur communication?

Select	Answer
A	High-speed digital modes
B	OFDM signals are not allowed on amateur bands
C	EME
D	Extremely low-power contacts

41. - E8C01

How is Forward Error Correction implemented?

Select	Answer
A	By the receiving station repeating each block of three data characters
B	By transmitting a special algorithm to the receiving station along with the data characters
C	By transmitting extra data that may be used to detect and correct transmission errors
D	By varying the frequency shift of the transmitted signal according to a predefined algorithm

42. - E8D07

What is a common cause of overmodulation of AFSK signals?

Select	Answer
A	Bit errors in the modem
B	Excessive transmit audio levels
C	Ground loops
D	Excessive numbers of retries

43. - E9A13

What term describes station output, taking into account all gains and losses?

Select	Answer
A	Effective radiated power
B	Power factor
C	Half-power bandwidth
D	Apparent power

44. - E9B09

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

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

45. - E9C12

Which of the following describes an Extended Double Zepp antenna?

Select	Answer
A	An end-fed folded dipole antenna
B	A center-fed 1.25-wavelength antenna (two 5/8-wave elements in phase)
C	A wideband vertical antenna constructed from precisely tapered aluminum tubing
D	A portable antenna erected using two push support poles

46. - E9D09

What is the function of a loading coil used as part of an HF mobile antenna?

Select	Answer
A	To lower the Q
B	To lower the losses
C	To increase the SWR bandwidth
D	To cancel capacitive reactance

47. - E9E10

Which of these choices is an effective way to match an antenna with a 100-ohm feed point impedance to a 50-ohm coaxial cable feed line?

Select	Answer
A	Insert a 1/4-wavelength piece of 75-ohm coaxial cable transmission line in series between the antenna terminals and the 50-ohm feed cable
B	Connect a 1/2 wavelength shorted stub of 75-ohm cable in parallel with the 50-ohm cable where it attaches to the antenna
C	Connect a 1/4-wavelength open stub of 300-ohm twinlead in parallel with the coaxial feed line where it connects to the antenna
D	Insert a 1/2 wavelength piece of 300-ohm twinlead in series between the antenna terminals and the 50-ohm feed cable

48. - E9F13

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

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

49. - E9G05

Which of the following is a common use for a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Determine the impedance of a transmission line, given the physical dimensions
B	Determine the length and position of an impedance matching stub
C	Determine the gain of an antenna given the physical and electrical parameters
D	Determine the loss/100 feet of a transmission line, given the velocity factor and conductor materials

50. - E9H02

Which is generally true for low band (160 meter and 80 meter) receiving antennas?

Select	Answer
A	Low loss coax transmission line is essential for good performance
B	They must be erected at least 1/2 wavelength above the ground to attain good directivity
C	All these choices are correct
D	Atmospheric noise is so high that gain over a dipole is not important

Figure E5-1

Figure E7-2