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

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1. - E0A04

When evaluating a site with multiple transmitters operating at the same time, the operators and licensees of which transmitters are responsible for mitigating over-exposure situations?

Select	Answer
A	Only commercial transmitters
B	Each transmitter that produces 5 percent or more of its MPE limit in areas where the total MPE limit is exceeded.
C	Only the most powerful transmitter
D	Each transmitter operating with a duty cycle greater than 50 percent

2. - E1A04

With your transceiver displaying the carrier frequency of phone signals, you hear a DX station calling CQ on 3.601 MHz LSB. Is it legal to return the call using lower sideband on the same frequency?

Select	Answer
A	No, U.S. stations are not permitted to use phone emissions below 3.610 MHz
B	No, the sideband will extend beyond the edge of the phone band segment
C	Yes, because the displayed frequency is within the 75 meter phone band segment
D	Yes, because the DX station initiated the contact

3. - E1B12

What must the control operator of a repeater operating in the 70 cm band do if a radiolocation system experiences interference from that repeater?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	Reduce the repeater antenna HAAT (Height Above Average Terrain)
C	File an FAA NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) with the repeater system's ERP, call sign, and six-character grid locator
D	Cease operation or make changes to the repeater to mitigate the interference

4. - E1C12

On what portion of the 630 meter band are phone emissions permitted?

Select	Answer
A	The entire band
B	Only the top 3 kHz
C	None
D	Only the bottom 3 kHz

5. - E1D11

Which amateur stations are eligible to operate as Earth stations?

Select	Answer
A	Only those of General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operators
B	Any amateur station, subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held by the control operator
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. - E1E04

Which of the following best describes the Volunteer Examiner accreditation process?

Select	Answer
A	The prospective VE obtains accreditation from the FCC
B	The amateur operator applying must pass a VE examination administered by the FCC Enforcement Bureau
C	Each General, Advanced and Amateur Extra Class operator is automatically accredited as a VE when the license is granted
D	The procedure by which a VEC confirms that the VE applicant meets FCC requirements to serve as an examiner

7. - E1F11

Which of the following best describes one of the standards that must be met by an external RF power amplifier if it is to qualify for a grant of FCC certification?

Select	Answer
A	It must exhibit a gain of 0 dB or less over its full output range
B	It must be capable of external RF switching between its input and output networks
C	It must satisfy the FCC's spurious emission standards when operated at the lesser of 1500 watts or its full output power
D	It must produce full legal output when driven by not more than 5 watts of mean RF input power

8. - E2A08

Why should effective radiated power to a satellite that uses a linear transponder be limited?

Select	Answer
A	To avoid interfering with terrestrial QSOs
B	To avoid reducing the downlink power to all other users
C	To prevent creating errors in the satellite telemetry
D	To prevent the satellite from emitting out-of-band signals

9. - E2B12

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

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

10. - E2C11

How should you generally identify your station when attempting to contact a DX station during a contest or in a pileup?

Select	Answer
A	Send only the last two letters of your call sign until you make contact
B	Send the call sign of the DX station three times, the words this is,then your call sign three times
C	Send your full call sign and grid square
D	Send your full call sign once or twice

11. - E2D04

What technology is used to track, in real time, balloons carrying amateur radio transmitters?

Select	Answer
A	Ultrasonics
B	Bandwidth compressed LORAN
C	Doppler shift of beacon signals
D	APRS

12. - E2E13

Which of these digital modes has the fastest data throughput under clear communication conditions?

Select	Answer
A	170 Hz shift, 45 baud RTTY
B	AMTOR
C	PSK31
D	300 baud packet

13. - E3A06

What might help to restore contact when DX signals become too weak to copy across an entire HF band a few hours after sunset?

Select	Answer
A	Switch to a lower frequency HF band
B	Switch to a higher frequency HF band
C	Wait 90 minutes or so for the signal degradation to pass
D	Wait 24 hours before attempting another communication on the band

14. - E3B03

What is the best time of day for transequatorial propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Afternoon or early evening
B	Noon
C	Morning
D	Late at night

15. - E3C07

Which of the following descriptors indicates the greatest solar flare intensity?

Select	Answer
A	Class A
B	Class M
C	Class X
D	Class B

16. - E4A09

Which of the following is good practice when using an oscilloscope probe?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	Keep the signal ground connection of the probe as short as possible
C	Never use a high-impedance probe to measure a low-impedance circuit
D	Never use a DC-coupled probe to measure an AC circuit

17. - E4B09

What is indicated if the current reading on an RF ammeter placed in series with the antenna feed line of a transmitter increases as the transmitter is tuned to resonance?

Select	Answer
A	There is an impedance mismatch between the antenna and feed line
B	There is more power going into the antenna
C	The transmitter is not properly neutralized
D	There is possibly a short to ground in the feed line

18. - E4C04

What is the noise figure of a receiver?

Select	Answer
A	The ratio of atmospheric noise to phase noise
B	The ratio in dB of the noise generated by the receiver to the theoretical minimum noise
C	The ratio of thermal noise to atmospheric noise
D	The ratio of the noise bandwidth in hertz to the theoretical bandwidth of a resistive network

19. - E4D10

What does a third-order intercept level of 40 dBm mean with respect to receiver performance?

Select	Answer
A	A pair of 1 mW input signals will produce a third-order intermodulation product that is 40 dB stronger than the input signal
B	Signals less than 40 dBm will not generate audible third-order intermodulation products
C	The receiver can tolerate signals up to 40 dB above the noise floor without producing third-order intermodulation products
D	A pair of 40 dBm input signals will theoretically generate a third-order intermodulation product that has the same output amplitude as either of the input signals

20. - E4E11

What could cause local AM broadcast band signals to combine to generate spurious signals in the MF or HF bands?

Select	Answer
A	One or more of the broadcast stations is transmitting an over-modulated signal
B	Nearby corroded metal joints are mixing and re-radiating the broadcast signals
C	You are receiving skywave signals from a distant station
D	Your station receiver IF amplifier stage is defective

21. - E5A04

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

Select	Answer
A	Approximately equal to inductive reactance
B	High compared to the circuit resistance
C	Low compared to the circuit resistance
D	Approximately equal to circuit resistance

22. - E5B03

How is impedance in polar form converted to an equivalent admittance?

Select	Answer
A	Take the reciprocal of the magnitude and change the sign of the angle
B	Square the magnitude and subtract 90 degrees from the angle
C	Take the square root of the magnitude and add 180 degrees to the angle
D	Take the reciprocal of the angle and change the sign of the magnitude

23. - E5C05

What is the name of the diagram used to show the phase relationship between impedances at a given frequency?

Select	Answer
A	Phasor diagram
B	Near field diagram
C	Venn diagram
D	Far field diagram

24. - E5D04

Why are short connections used at microwave frequencies?

Select	Answer
A	To increase compensating capacitance
B	To reduce noise figure
C	To increase neutralizing resistance
D	To reduce phase shift along the connection

25. - E6A09

What is a depletion-mode FET?

Select	Answer
A	Any FET for which holes are the majority carriers
B	Any FET without a channel
C	An FET that exhibits a current flow between source and drain when no gate voltage is applied
D	An FET that has no current flow between source and drain when no gate voltage is applied

26. - E6B10

In Figure E6-2, what is the schematic symbol for a light-emitting diode?

Select	Answer
A	5
B	6
C	7
D	1

27. - E6C04

Which of the following is an advantage of BiCMOS logic?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	Its simplicity results in much less expensive devices than standard CMOS
C	It has the high input impedance of CMOS and the low output impedance of bipolar transistors
D	It is immune to electrostatic damage

28. - E6D02

What is the equivalent circuit of a quartz crystal?

Select	Answer
A	Motional capacitance, motional inductance, and loss resistance in series, all in parallel with a shunt capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance
B	Motional capacitance, motional inductance, loss resistance, and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance all in series
C	Motional inductance and loss resistance in series, paralleled with motional capacitance and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance
D	Motional capacitance, motional inductance, loss resistance, and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance all in parallel

29. - E6E01

Why is gallium arsenide (GaAs) useful for semiconductor devices operating at UHF and higher frequencies?

Select	Answer
A	Lower junction voltage drop
B	Higher electron mobility
C	Higher noise figures
D	Lower transconductance

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

31. - E7A11

What type of logic defines "1" as a high voltage?

Select	Answer
A	Negative logic
B	Positive Logic
C	Reverse Logic
D	Assertive Logic

32. - E7B04

Where on the load line of a Class A common emitter amplifier would bias normally be set?

Select	Answer
A	Where the load line intersects the voltage axis
B	Approximately halfway between saturation and cutoff
C	At a point where the bias resistor equals the load resistor
D	At a point where the load line intersects the zero bias current curve

33. - E7C11

Which of the following describes a receiving filter's ability to reject signals occupying an adjacent channel?

Select	Answer
A	Phase response
B	Shape factor
C	Passband ripple
D	Noise factor

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

36. - E7F05

How frequently must an analog signal be sampled by an analog-to-digital converter so that the signal can be accurately reproduced?

Select	Answer
A	At the same rate as the highest frequency component of the signal
B	At least half the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
C	At least twice the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
D	At four times the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal

37. - E7G05

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

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

38. - E7H08

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

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

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	Fourier analysis
B	Differential analysis
C	Vector analysis
D	Numerical analysis

40. - E8B05

What is the deviation ratio of an FM-phone signal having a maximum frequency swing of plus-or-minus 5 kHz when the maximum modulation frequency is 3 kHz?

Select	Answer
A	60
B	0.167
C	1.67
D	0.6

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. - E8D07

What is a common cause of overmodulation of AFSK signals?

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

43. - E9A05

What is included in the total resistance of an antenna system?

Select	Answer
A	Radiation resistance plus transmission resistance
B	Radiation resistance plus loss resistance
C	Radiation resistance plus space impedance
D	Transmission-line resistance plus radiation resistance

44. - E9B08

What is the far field of an antenna?

Select	Answer
A	The region where radiated power dissipates over a specified time period
B	The region where the shape of the antenna pattern is independent of distance
C	The region of the ionosphere where radiated power is not refracted
D	The region where radiated field strengths are constant

45. - E9C11

How is the far-field elevation pattern of a vertically polarized antenna affected by being mounted over seawater versus soil?

Select	Answer
A	The low-angle radiation increases
B	Additional higher vertical angle lobes will appear
C	Fewer vertical angle lobes will be present
D	The low-angle radiation decreases

46. - E9D09

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

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

47. - E9E11

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

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

48. - E9F09

What is the approximate physical length of a foam polyethylene dielectric coaxial transmission line that is electrically 1/4 wavelength long at 7.2 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	5.2 meters
B	8.3 meters
C	10.4 meters
D	6.9 meters

49. - E9G11

How are the wavelength scales on a Smith chart calibrated?

Select	Answer
A	In fractions of antenna electrical wavelength
B	In fractions of antenna electrical frequency
C	In fractions of transmission line electrical frequency
D	In fractions of transmission line electrical wavelength

50. - E9H10

How can the output voltage of a multiple-turn receiving loop antenna be increased?

Select	Answer
A	By winding adjacent turns in opposing directions
B	By increasing the number of turns and/or the area
C	By utilizing high impedance wire for the coupling loop
D	By reducing the permeability of the loop shield

Figure E6-2