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

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1. - E0A11

Which of the following injuries can result from using high-power UHF or microwave transmitters?

Select	Answer
A	Localized heating of the body from RF exposure in excess of the MPE limits
B	Blood clotting from the intense magnetic field
C	Ingestion of ozone gas from the cooling system
D	Hearing loss caused by high voltage corona discharge

2. - E1A13

Who must be in physical control of the station apparatus of an amateur station aboard any vessel or craft that is documented or registered in the United States?

Select	Answer
A	Any person holding an FCC issued amateur license or who is authorized for alien reciprocal operation
B	Any person named in an amateur station license grant or a person holding an unrestricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit
C	Only a person with an FCC Marine Radio license grant
D	Only a person named in an amateur station license grant

3. - E1B07

To what type of regulations does PRB-1 apply?

Select	Answer
A	FAA tower height limits
B	Homeowners associations
C	State and local zoning
D	Use of wireless devices in vehicles

4. - E1C11

Which of the following operating arrangements allows an FCC-licensed U.S. citizen to operate in many European countries, and alien amateurs from many European countries to operate in the U.S.?

Select	Answer
A	IARP agreement
B	CEPT agreement
C	ITU reciprocal license
D	All these choices are correct

5. - E1D09

Which UHF amateur bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?

Select	Answer
A	70 cm only
B	70 cm and 33 cm
C	70 cm and 13 cm
D	33 cm and 13 cm

6. - E1E03

What is a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator?

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

7. - E1F06

Under what circumstances might the FCC issue a Special Temporary Authority (STA) to an amateur station?

Select	Answer
A	To provide for experimental amateur communications
B	To provide additional spectrum for personal use
C	To allow regular operation on Land Mobile channels
D	To provide temporary operation while awaiting normal licensing

8. - E2A13

Which of the following techniques is normally used by low Earth orbiting digital satellites to relay messages around the world?

Select	Answer
A	Multi-satellite relaying
B	Node hopping
C	Digipeating
D	Store-and-forward

9. - E2B08

What technique allows commercial analog TV receivers to be used for fast-scan TV operations on the 70 cm band?

Select	Answer
A	Using converted satellite TV dishes
B	Transmitting on channels shared with cable TV
C	Transmitting on the abandoned TV channel 2
D	Using USB and demodulating the signal with a computer sound card

10. - E2C06

During a VHF/UHF contest, in which band segment would you expect to find the highest level of SSB or CW activity?

Select	Answer
A	In the middle of the band, usually 25 kHz above the national calling frequency
B	At the top of each band, usually in a segment reserved for contests
C	In the weak signal segment of the band, with most of the activity near the calling frequency
D	In the middle of each band, usually on the national calling frequency

11. - E2D05

What is one advantage of the JT65 mode?

Select	Answer
A	The ability to decode signals which have a very low signal-to-noise ratio
B	Permits fast-scan TV transmissions over narrow bandwidth
C	Easily copied by ear if necessary
D	Uses only a 65 Hz bandwidth

12. - E2E04

What is indicated when one of the ellipses in an FSK crossed-ellipse display suddenly disappears?

Select	Answer
A	The receiver has drifted 5 kHz from the desired receive frequency
B	The mark and space signal have been inverted
C	Selective fading has occurred
D	One of the signal filters is saturated

13. - E3A07

Atmospheric ducts capable of propagating microwave signals often form over what geographic feature?

Select	Answer
A	Mountain ranges
B	Urban areas
C	Forests
D	Bodies of water

14. - E3B05

Which amateur bands typically support long-path propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Only 160 meters to 40 meters
B	Only 30 meters to 10 meters
C	160 meters to 10 meters
D	6 meters to 2 meters

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	E-region skip
C	D-region skip
D	Due to the Doppler effect

16. - E4A07

Which of the following is an advantage of using an antenna analyzer compared to an SWR bridge to measure antenna SWR?

Select	Answer
A	Antenna analyzers display a time-varying representation of the modulation envelope
B	Antenna analyzers do not need an external RF source
C	All these choices are correct
D	Antenna analyzers automatically tune your antenna for resonance

17. - E4B01

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

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

18. - E4C15

What is reciprocal mixing?

Select	Answer
A	In-phase signals cancelling in a mixer resulting in loss of receiver sensitivity
B	Two out-of-band signals mixing to generate an in-band spurious signal
C	Local oscillator phase noise mixing with adjacent strong signals to create interference to desired signals
D	Two digital signals combining from alternate time slots

19. - E4D12

What is the term for the reduction in receiver sensitivity caused by a strong signal near the received frequency?

Select	Answer
A	Desensitization
B	Quieting
C	Cross-modulation interference
D	Squelch gain rollback

20. - E4E01

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

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

21. - E5A04

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

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

22. - E5B06

What is susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	A measure of the efficiency of a transformer
B	The ratio of magnetic field to electric field
C	The imaginary part of admittance
D	The magnetic impedance of a circuit

23. - E5C07

Where is the impedance of a pure resistance plotted on rectangular coordinates?

Select	Answer
A	On the vertical axis
B	On the horizontal axis
C	On a horizontal line, offset vertically above the horizontal axis
D	On a line through the origin, slanted at 45 degrees

24. - E5D06

In what direction is the magnetic field oriented about a conductor in relation to the direction of electron flow?

Select	Answer
A	In all directions; omni-directional
B	In the same direction as the current
C	In a circle around the conductor
D	In a direction opposite to the current

25. - E6A01

In what application is gallium arsenide used as a semiconductor material?

Select	Answer
A	In high-power audio circuits
B	In high-current rectifier circuits
C	In very low-frequency RF circuits
D	In microwave circuits

26. - E6B01

What is the most useful characteristic of a Zener diode?

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

27. - E6C03

What is tri-state logic?

Select	Answer
A	Proprietary logic devices manufactured by Tri-State Devices
B	Logic devices with 0, 1, and high-impedance output states
C	Logic devices that utilize ternary math
D	Low-power logic devices designed to operate at 3 volts

28. - E6D01

Why should core saturation of an impedance matching transformer be avoided?

Select	Answer
A	Magnetic flux would increase with frequency
B	Temporary changes of the core permeability could result
C	Harmonics and distortion could result
D	RF susceptance would increase

29. - E6E08

How is power supplied to the most common type of MMIC?

Select	Answer
A	MMICs require no operating bias
B	Through a capacitor and RF choke connected to the amplifier input lead
C	Through a resistor and/or RF choke connected to the amplifier output lead
D	Directly to the bias voltage (VCC IN) lead

30. - E6F01

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

Select	Answer
A	Photons
B	Holes
C	Electrons
D	Protons

31. - E7A01

Which circuit is bistable?

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

32. - E7B15

What is one way to prevent thermal runaway in a bipolar transistor amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	Neutralization
C	Select transistors with high beta
D	Use a resistor in series with the emitter

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	Noise factor
D	Passband ripple

34. - E7D01

How does a linear electronic voltage regulator work?

Select	Answer
A	The control element duty cycle is proportional to the line or load conditions
B	The conduction of a control element is varied to maintain a constant output voltage
C	It eliminates the need for a pass transistor
D	It has a ramp voltage as its output

35. - E7E06

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

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

36. - E7F11

What sets the minimum detectable signal level for a direct-sampling SDR receiver in the absence of atmospheric or thermal noise?

Select	Answer
A	Reference voltage level and sample width in bits
B	Missing codes and jitter
C	Sample clock phase noise
D	Data storage transfer rate

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	94
B	24
C	0.21
D	47

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. - E8A02

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

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

40. - E8B09

What is deviation ratio?

Select	Answer
A	The ratio of the maximum carrier frequency deviation to the highest audio modulating frequency
B	The ratio of the carrier center frequency to the audio modulating frequency
C	The ratio of the audio modulating frequency to the center carrier frequency
D	The ratio of the highest audio modulating frequency to the average audio modulating frequency

41. - E8C05

What is the approximate bandwidth of a 13-WPM International Morse Code transmission?

Select	Answer
A	26 Hz
B	104 Hz
C	13 Hz
D	52 Hz

42. - E8D08

What parameter evaluates distortion of an AFSK signal caused by excessive input audio levels?

Select	Answer
A	Signal-to-noise ratio
B	Repeat Request Rate (RRR)
C	Intermodulation Distortion (IMD)
D	Baud rate

43. - E9A01

What is an isotropic antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A theoretical, omnidirectional antenna used as a reference for antenna gain
B	A grounded antenna used to measure Earth conductivity
C	A horizontally polarized antenna used to compare Yagi antennas
D	A spacecraft antenna used to direct signals toward Earth

44. - E9B07

How does the total amount of radiation emitted by a directional gain antenna compare with the total amount of radiation emitted from a theoretical isotropic antenna, assuming each is driven by the same amount of power?

Select	Answer
A	The total amount of radiation from the directional antenna is increased by the gain of the antenna
B	The radiation from the isotropic antenna is 2.15 dB stronger than that from the directional antenna
C	They are the same
D	The total amount of radiation from the directional antenna is stronger by its front-to-back ratio

45. - E9C04

What happens to the radiation pattern of an unterminated long wire antenna as the wire length is increased?

Select	Answer
A	The lobes align more in the direction of the wire
B	The lobes become more perpendicular to the wire
C	The front-to-back ratio decreases
D	The vertical angle increases

46. - E9D07

What is an advantage of using top loading in a shortened HF vertical antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Greater structural strength
B	Lower Q
C	Higher losses
D	Improved radiation efficiency

47. - E9E11

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

Select	Answer
A	It prevents reflected power from traveling back down the feed line and causing harmonic radiation from the transmitter
B	It ensures that each driven element operates in concert with the others to create the desired antenna pattern
C	It creates a low-angle radiation pattern
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	The same as the input impedance to the generator
B	The same as the characteristic impedance of the line
C	Very high impedance
D	Very low impedance

49. - E9G10

What do the arcs on a Smith chart represent?

Select	Answer
A	Points with constant reactance
B	SWR
C	Points with constant resistance
D	Frequency

50. - E9H03

What is Receiving Directivity Factor (RDF)?

Select	Answer
A	Forward gain compared to the gain in the reverse direction
B	Relative directivity compared to a dipole
C	Forward gain compared to average gain over the entire hemisphere
D	Relative directivity compared to isotropic