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

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1. - E0A03

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

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

2. - E1A10

If an amateur station is installed aboard a ship or aircraft, what condition must be met before the station is operated?

Select	Answer
A	The amateur station must have a power supply that is completely independent of the main ship or aircraft power supply
B	Its operation must be approved by the master of the ship or the pilot in command of the aircraft
C	The amateur operator must have an FCC Marine or Aircraft endorsement on his or her amateur license
D	The amateur station operator must agree not to transmit when the main radio of the ship or aircraft is in use

3. - E1B03

Within what distance must an amateur station protect an FCC monitoring facility from harmful interference?

Select	Answer
A	3 miles
B	10 miles
C	30 miles
D	1 mile

4. - E1C05

When may an automatically controlled station originate third party communications?

Select	Answer
A	Never
B	When agreed upon by the sending or receiving station
C	When approved by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration
D	Only when transmitting RTTY or data emissions

5. - E1D08

Which VHF amateur bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?

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

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	Return the application document to the examinee
D	Destroy the application form

7. - E1F10

Who may be the control operator of an auxiliary station?

Select	Answer
A	Only Amateur Extra Class operators
B	Any licensed amateur operator
C	Only General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operators
D	Only Technician, General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operators

8. - E2A11

What type of antenna can be used to minimize the effects of spin modulation and Faraday rotation?

Select	Answer
A	A log-periodic dipole array
B	A linearly polarized antenna
C	An isotropic antenna
D	A circularly polarized antenna

9. - E2B12

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

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

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 each band, usually on 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 the band, usually 25 kHz above the national calling frequency

11. - E2D04

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

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

12. - E2E03

How is the timing of FT4 contacts organized?

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

13. - E3A10

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

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

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. - E3C10

What does the 304A solar parameter measure?

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

16. - E4A03

Which of the following test instruments is used to display spurious signals and/or intermodulation distortion products generated by an SSB transmitter?

Select	Answer
A	A logic analyzer
B	A time-domain reflectometer
C	A spectrum analyzer
D	A wattmeter

17. - E4B04

Which S parameter represents input port return loss or reflection coefficient (equivalent to VSWR)?

Select	Answer
A	S11
B	S22
C	S21
D	S12

18. - E4C15

What is reciprocal mixing?

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

19. - E4D07

Which of the following reduces the likelihood of receiver desensitization?

Select	Answer
A	Increase the receiver front end gain
B	Raise the receiver IF frequency
C	Switch from fast AGC to slow AGC
D	Decrease the RF bandwidth of the receiver

20. - E4E08

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

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

21. - E5A13

What is an effect of increasing Q in a series resonant circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Internal voltages increase
B	Parasitic effects are minimized
C	Phase shift can become uncontrolled
D	Fewer components are needed for the same performance

22. - E5B02

What letter is commonly used to represent susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	Y
B	X
C	B
D	G

23. - E5C06

What does the impedance 50-j25 represent?

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

24. - E5D03

What is microstrip?

Select	Answer
A	Precision printed circuit conductors above a ground plane that provide constant impedance interconnects at microwave frequencies
B	Lightweight transmission line made of common zip cord
C	Miniature coax used for low power applications
D	Short lengths of coax mounted on printed circuit boards to minimize time delay between microwave circuits

25. - E6A05

How does DC input impedance at the gate of a field-effect transistor compare with the DC input impedance of a bipolar transistor?

Select	Answer
A	They are both low impedance
B	An FET has higher input impedance
C	An FET has lower input impedance
D	They are both high impedance

26. - E6B06

Which of the following is a common use of a Schottky diode?

Select	Answer
A	As a constant voltage reference in a power supply
B	As a variable capacitance in an automatic frequency control circuit
C	As a rectifier in high current power supplies
D	As a VHF/UHF mixer or detector

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. - E6D01

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

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

29. - E6E04

Which is the most common input and output impedance of circuits that use MMICs?

Select	Answer
A	50 ohms
B	300 ohms
C	450 ohms
D	10 ohms

30. - E6F05

Which describes an optical shaft encoder?

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

31. - E7A05

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

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

32. - E7B16

What is the effect of intermodulation products in a linear power amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	Low efficiency
B	Creation of parasitic oscillations
C	All these choices are correct
D	Transmission of spurious signals

33. - E7C02

Which of the following is a property of a T-network with series capacitors and a parallel shunt inductor?

Select	Answer
A	It is a low-pass filter
B	It is a notch filter
C	It is a band-pass filter
D	It is a high-pass filter

34. - E7D01

How does a linear electronic voltage regulator work?

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

35. - E7E11

Which type of detector circuit is used for demodulating SSB signals?

Select	Answer
A	Discriminator
B	Product detector
C	Phase detector
D	Phase comparator

36. - E7F13

What is the function of taps in a digital signal processing filter?

Select	Answer
A	To reduce excess signal pressure levels
B	Provide incremental signal delays for filter algorithms
C	Provide access for debugging software
D	Select the point at which baseband signals are generated

37. - E7G11

What absolute voltage gain can be expected from the circuit in Figure E7-3 when R1 is 3300 ohms and RF is 47 kilohms?

Select	Answer
A	0.07
B	7
C	14
D	28

38. - E7H07

How can an oscillator's microphonic responses be reduced?

Select	Answer
A	Use NP0 capacitors
B	Reduce noise on the oscillator's power supply
C	Increase the bias voltage
D	Mechanically isolate the oscillator circuitry from its enclosure

39. - E8A06

What is the approximate ratio of PEP-to-average power in a typical single-sideband phone signal?

Select	Answer
A	100 to 1
B	2.5 to 1
C	25 to 1
D	1 to 1

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	0.167
B	60
C	1.67
D	0.6

41. - E8C02

What is the definition of symbol rate in a digital transmission?

Select	Answer
A	The rate at which the waveform changes to convey information
B	The number of characters carried per second by the station-to-station link
C	The number of control characters in a message packet
D	The duration of each bit in a message sent over the air

42. - E8D11

What is one advantage of using ASCII code for data communications?

Select	Answer
A	It is possible to transmit both upper and lower case text
B	It includes built-in error correction features
C	It contains fewer information bits per character than any other code
D	It uses one character as a shift code to send numeric and special characters

43. - E9A05

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

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

44. - E9B01

In the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-1, what is the beamwidth?

Select	Answer
A	50 degrees
B	25 degrees
C	75 degrees
D	30 degrees

45. - E9C03

What is the radiation pattern of two 1/4-wavelength vertical antennas spaced 1/2-wavelength apart and fed in phase?

Select	Answer
A	Omni-directional
B	A Figure-8 end-fire along the axis of the array
C	Cardioid
D	A Figure-8 broadside to the axis of the array

46. - E9D06

What happens to the SWR bandwidth when one or more loading coils are used to resonate an electrically short antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It is decreased
B	It is unchanged if the loading coil is located at a voltage maximum point
C	It is increased
D	It is unchanged if the loading coil is located at the feed point

47. - E9E05

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

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

48. - E9F07

How does ladder line compare to small-diameter coaxial cable such as RG-58 at 50 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	Higher SWR
B	Lower velocity factor
C	Lower loss
D	Smaller reflection coefficient

49. - E9G06

On the Smith chart shown in Figure E9-3, what is the name for the large outer circle on which the reactance arcs terminate?

Select	Answer
A	Prime axis
B	Reactance axis
C	Polar axis
D	Impedance axis

50. - E9H09

What is a Pennant antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A form of rhombic antenna terminated in a variable capacitor to provide frequency diversity
B	A four-element, high-gain vertical array invented by George Pennant
C	A small, vertically oriented receiving antenna consisting of a triangular loop terminated in approximately 900 ohms
D	A stealth antenna built to look like a flagpole

Figure E7-3

Figure E9-1

Figure E9-3