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

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1. - E0A05

What is one of the potential hazards of operating in the amateur radio microwave bands?

Select	Answer
A	The extremely high frequency energy can damage the joints of antenna structures
B	Microwaves are ionizing radiation
C	Microwaves often travel long distances by ionospheric reflection
D	The high gain antennas commonly used can result in high exposure levels

2. - E1A07

What is the maximum power permitted on the 2200 meter band?

Select	Answer
A	50 watts PEP
B	100 watts PEP
C	1 watt EIRP (Equivalent isotropic radiated power)
D	5 watts EIRP (Equivalent isotropic radiated power)

3. - E1B04

What must be done before placing an amateur station within an officially designated wilderness area or wildlife preserve, or an area listed in the National Register of Historic Places?

Select	Answer
A	A letter of intent must be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency
B	An Environmental Assessment must be submitted to the FCC
C	A proposal must be submitted to the National Park Service
D	A form FSD-15 must be submitted to the Department of the Interior

4. - E1C05

When may an automatically controlled station originate third party communications?

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

5. - E1D12

Which of the following amateur stations may transmit one-way communications?

Select	Answer
A	A space station, beacon station, or telecommand station
B	A local repeater or linked repeater station
C	All these choices are correct
D	A message forwarding station or automatically controlled digital station

6. - E1E11

What must the VE team do if an examinee scores a passing grade on all examination elements needed for an upgrade or new license?

Select	Answer
A	All these choices are correct
B	Photocopy all examination documents and forward them to the FCC for processing
C	Issue the examinee the new or upgrade license
D	Three VEs must certify that the examinee is qualified for the license grant and that they have complied with the administering VE requirements

7. - E1F04

Which of the following geographic descriptions approximately describes "Line A"?

Select	Answer
A	A line roughly parallel to and south of the border between the U.S. and Canada
B	A line roughly parallel to and north of the border between the U.S. and Mexico
C	A line roughly parallel to and east of the U.S. Pacific coastline
D	A line roughly parallel to and west of the U.S. Atlantic coastline

8. - E2A11

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

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

9. - E2B03

How is an interlaced scanning pattern generated in a fast-scan (NTSC) television system?

Select	Answer
A	By scanning each field from bottom to top
B	By scanning two fields simultaneously
C	By scanning lines from left to right in one field and right to left in the next
D	By scanning odd numbered lines in one field and even numbered lines in the next

10. - E2C03

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

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

11. - E2D11

Which of the following data are used by the APRS network to communicate station location?

Select	Answer
A	Time and frequency
B	Radio direction finding spectrum analysis
C	Latitude and longitude
D	Polar coordinates

12. - E2E11

What is the difference between direct FSK and audio FSK?

Select	Answer
A	Direct FSK occupies less bandwidth
B	Direct FSK applies the data signal to the transmitter VFO, while AFSK transmits tones via phone
C	Direct FSK can transmit faster baud rates
D	Only direct FSK can be decoded by computer

13. - E3A01

What is the approximate maximum separation measured along the surface of the Earth between two stations communicating by EME?

Select	Answer
A	500 miles, if the moon is at perigee
B	12,000 miles, if the moon is visible by both stations
C	5000 miles, if the moon is at perigee
D	2000 miles, if the moon is at apogee

14. - E3B12

What is the primary characteristic of chordal hop propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Propagation across the geomagnetic equator
B	Signals reflected back toward the transmitting station
C	Propagation away from the great circle bearing between stations
D	Successive ionospheric refractions without an intermediate reflection from the ground

15. - E3C09

How does the intensity of an X3 flare compare to that of an X2 flare?

Select	Answer
A	50 percent greater
B	Twice as great
C	10 percent greater
D	Four times as great

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

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

18. - E4C15

What is reciprocal mixing?

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

19. - E4D02

Which of the following describes problems caused by poor dynamic range in a receiver?

Select	Answer
A	Oscillator instability and severe audio distortion of all but the strongest received signals
B	Cross-modulation of the desired signal and insufficient audio power to operate the speaker
C	Oscillator instability requiring frequent retuning and loss of ability to recover the opposite sideband
D	Spurious signals caused by cross-modulation and desensitization from strong adjacent signals

20. - E4E04

How can conducted and radiated noise caused by an automobile alternator be suppressed?

Select	Answer
A	By connecting the radio's power leads directly to the battery and by installing coaxial capacitors in line with the alternator leads
B	By installing filter capacitors in series with the DC power lead and a blocking capacitor in the field lead
C	By installing a noise suppression resistor and a blocking capacitor in both leads
D	By installing a high-pass filter in series with the radio's power lead and a low-pass filter in parallel with the field lead

21. - E5A06

What is the magnitude of the circulating current within the components of a parallel LC circuit at resonance?

Select	Answer
A	It equals 2 multiplied by pi, multiplied by frequency, multiplied by inductance
B	It is at a minimum
C	It equals 1 divided by the quantity 2 times pi, multiplied by the square root of inductance L multiplied by capacitance C
D	It is at a maximum

22. - E5B09

What is the relationship between the AC current through a capacitor and the voltage across a capacitor?

Select	Answer
A	Current leads voltage by 90 degrees
B	Voltage and current are in phase
C	Voltage leads current by 90 degrees
D	Voltage and current are 180 degrees out of phase

23. - E5C10

Which point on Figure E5-1 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 400-ohm resistor and a 38-picofarad capacitor at 14 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	Point 4
B	Point 6
C	Point 2
D	Point 5

24. - E5D14

What is reactive power?

Select	Answer
A	Wattless, nonproductive power
B	Power consumed in wire resistance in an inductor
C	Power lost because of capacitor leakage
D	Power consumed in circuit Q

25. - E6A06

What is the beta of a bipolar junction transistor?

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

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 VHF/UHF mixer or detector
C	As a variable capacitance in an automatic frequency control circuit
D	As a rectifier in high current power supplies

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

28. - E6D01

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

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

29. - E6E12

Why are DIP through-hole package ICs not typically used at UHF and higher frequencies?

Select	Answer
A	Unsuitable for combining analog and digital signals
B	Epoxy coating is conductive above 300 MHz
C	Too many pins
D	Excessive lead length

30. - E6F07

What is a solid-state relay?

Select	Answer
A	A device that uses semiconductors to implement the functions of an electromechanical relay
B	A semiconductor passive delay line
C	A relay using transistors to drive the relay coil
D	A mechanical relay that latches in the on or off state each time it is pulsed

31. - E7A10

What is a truth table?

Select	Answer
A	A list of inputs and corresponding outputs for a digital device
B	A table of logic symbols that indicate the logic states of an op-amp
C	A table of logic symbols that indicate the high logic states of an op-amp
D	A diagram showing logic states when the digital device output is true

32. - E7B03

Which of the following components form the output of a class D amplifier circuit?

Select	Answer
A	A high-pass filter to compensate for low gain at low frequencies
B	A matched load resistor to prevent damage by switching transients
C	A low-pass filter to remove switching signal components
D	A temperature compensating load resistor to improve linearity

33. - E7C01

How are the capacitors and inductors of a low-pass filter Pi-network arranged between the network's input and output?

Select	Answer
A	A capacitor is connected between the input and ground, another capacitor is connected between the output and ground, and an inductor is connected between input and output
B	An inductor is connected between the input and ground, another inductor is connected between the output and ground, and a capacitor is connected between the input and output
C	Two capacitors are in series between the input and output, and an inductor is connected between the two capacitors and ground
D	Two inductors are in series between the input and output, and a capacitor is connected between the two inductors and ground

34. - E7D14

What is the purpose of connecting equal-value resistors across power supply filter capacitors connected in series?

Select	Answer
A	Equalize the voltage across each capacitor
B	Discharge the capacitors when voltage is removed
C	Provide a minimum load on the supply
D	All these choices are correct

35. - E7E10

How does a diode envelope detector function?

Select	Answer
A	By rectification and filtering of RF signals
B	By sensing the change of reactance in the diode with respect to frequency
C	By mixing signals with noise in the transition region of the diode
D	By breakdown of the Zener voltage

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 four times the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
C	At least half the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
D	At least twice the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal

37. - E7G04

What is meant by the "op-amp input offset voltage"?

Select	Answer
A	The output voltage of the op-amp minus its input voltage
B	The difference between the output voltage of the op-amp and the input voltage required in the immediately following stage
C	The potential between the amplifier input terminals of the op-amp in an open loop condition
D	The differential input voltage needed to bring the open loop output voltage to zero

38. - E7H15

Which of these functions can be performed by a phase-locked loop?

Select	Answer
A	Photovoltaic conversion, optical coupling
B	Comparison of two digital input signals, digital pulse counter
C	Frequency synthesis, FM demodulation
D	Wide-band AF and RF power amplification

39. - E8A06

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

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

40. - E8B04

What is the modulation index of an FM-phone signal having a maximum carrier deviation of plus or minus 6 kHz when modulated with a 2 kHz modulating frequency?

Select	Answer
A	1/3
B	2000
C	6000
D	3

41. - E8C05

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

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

42. - E8D07

What is a common cause of overmodulation of AFSK signals?

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

43. - E9A12

How much gain does an antenna have compared to a 1/2-wavelength dipole when it has 6 dB gain over an isotropic antenna?

Select	Answer
A	3.85 dB
B	8.15 dB
C	2.79 dB
D	6.0 dB

44. - E9B02

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

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

45. - E9C02

What is the radiation pattern of two 1/4-wavelength vertical antennas spaced 1/4 wavelength apart and fed 90 degrees out of phase?

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

46. - E9D03

Where should a high Q loading coil be placed to minimize losses in a shortened vertical antenna?

Select	Answer
A	As close to the transmitter as possible
B	Near the center of the vertical radiator
C	At a voltage node
D	As low as possible on the vertical radiator

47. - E9E08

What is a use for a Wilkinson divider?

Select	Answer
A	It is used to feed high-impedance antennas from a low-impedance source
B	It is used to feed low-impedance loads from a high-impedance source
C	It divides the operating frequency of a transmitter signal so it can be used on a lower frequency band
D	It is used to divide power equally between two 50-ohm loads while maintaining 50-ohm input impedance

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 loss
C	Smaller reflection coefficient
D	Lower velocity factor

49. - E9G07

On the Smith chart shown in Figure E9-3, what is the only straight line shown?

Select	Answer
A	The voltage axis
B	The reactance axis
C	The current axis
D	The resistance axis

50. - E9H01

When constructing a Beverage antenna, which of the following factors should be included in the design to achieve good performance at the desired frequency?

Select	Answer
A	It should be one or more wavelengths long
B	It must be mounted more than 1 wavelength above ground
C	Its overall length must not exceed 1/4 wavelength
D	It should be configured as a four-sided loop

Figure E5-1

Figure E9-1

Figure E9-3