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

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1. - E0A09

Which insulating material commonly used as a thermal conductor for some types of electronic devices is extremely toxic if broken or crushed and the particles are accidentally inhaled?

Select	Answer
A	Uranium Hexafluoride
B	Beryllium Oxide
C	Zinc oxide
D	Mica

2. - E1A02

When using a transceiver that displays the carrier frequency of phone signals, which of the following displayed frequencies represents the lowest frequency at which a properly adjusted LSB emission will be totally within the band?

Select	Answer
A	300 Hz above the lower band edge
B	1 kHz above the lower band edge
C	3 kHz above the lower band edge
D	The exact lower band edge

3. - E1B09

Which amateur stations may be operated under RACES rules?

Select	Answer
A	Any FCC-licensed amateur station certified by the responsible civil defense organization for the area served
B	Any FCC-licensed amateur station participating in the Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS)
C	Any FCC-licensed amateur station except a Technician Class
D	Only those club stations licensed to Amateur Extra Class operators

4. - E1C04

What is meant by IARP?

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

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 whose licensee has filed a pre-space notification with the FCC's International Bureau
C	Any amateur station, subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held by the control operator
D	Only those of Amateur Extra Class operators

6. - E1E01

For which types of out-of-pocket expenses do the Part 97 rules state that VEs and VECs may be reimbursed?

Select	Answer
A	Preparing, processing, administering, and coordinating an examination for an amateur radio operator license
B	Teaching an amateur operator license examination preparation course
C	Providing amateur operator license examination preparation training materials
D	No expenses are authorized for reimbursement

7. - E1F03

Under what circumstances may a dealer sell an external RF power amplifier capable of operation below 144 MHz if it has not been granted FCC certification?

Select	Answer
A	It was imported from a manufacturer in another country and was certificated by that country's government
B	It was imported from a manufacturer in a country that does not require certification of RF power amplifiers
C	The equipment dealer assembled it from a kit
D	It was purchased in used condition from an amateur operator and is sold to another amateur operator for use at that operator's station

8. - E2A06

What are Keplerian elements?

Select	Answer
A	Phase reversing elements in a Yagi antenna
B	Parameters that define the orbit of a satellite
C	High-emission heater filaments used in magnetron tubes
D	Encrypting codes used for spread spectrum modulation

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

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

11. - E2D10

How can an APRS station be used to help support a public service communications activity?

Select	Answer
A	An APRS station with a Global Positioning System unit can automatically transmit information to show a mobile station's position during the event
B	An APRS station with an emergency medical technician can automatically transmit medical data to the nearest hospital
C	All these choices are correct
D	APRS stations with General Personnel Scanners can automatically relay the participant numbers and time as they pass the check points

12. - E2E09

Which of the following HF digital modes uses variable-length coding for bandwidth efficiency?

Select	Answer
A	PACTOR
B	RTTY
C	PSK31
D	MT63

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

14. - E3B10

Why is chordal hop propagation desirable?

Select	Answer
A	Atmospheric noise is lower in the direction of chordal hop propagation
B	The signal experiences less loss compared to multi-hop using Earth as a reflector
C	Signals travel faster along ionospheric chords
D	The MUF for chordal hop propagation is much lower than for normal skip propagation

15. - E3C01

What does the radio communication term "ray tracing" describe?

Select	Answer
A	Determining the radiation pattern from an array of antennas
B	The process in which an electronic display presents a pattern
C	Evaluating high voltage sources for x-rays
D	Modeling a radio wave's path through the ionosphere

16. - E4A05

What is the purpose of the prescaler function on a frequency counter?

Select	Answer
A	It divides a higher frequency signal so a low-frequency counter can display the input frequency
B	It amplifies low-level signals for more accurate counting
C	It prevents oscillation in a low-frequency counter circuit
D	It multiplies a higher frequency signal so a low-frequency counter can display the operating frequency

17. - E4B04

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

Select	Answer
A	S22
B	S12
C	S21
D	S11

18. - E4C12

Which of the following has the largest effect on an SDR receiver's dynamic range?

Select	Answer
A	RAM speed used for data storage
B	Anti-aliasing input filter bandwidth
C	CPU register width in bits
D	Analog-to-digital converter sample width in bits

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	Neutralization
B	Amplifier desensitization
C	Intermodulation
D	Adjacent channel interference

20. - E4E01

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

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

21. - E5A03

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

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

22. - E5B04

What is the time constant of a circuit having two 220-microfarad capacitors and two 1-megohm resistors, all in parallel?

Select	Answer
A	55 seconds
B	220 seconds
C	440 seconds
D	110 seconds

23. - E5C03

Which of the following represents an inductive reactance in polar coordinates?

Select	Answer
A	A negative phase angle
B	A negative magnitude
C	A positive magnitude
D	A positive phase angle

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

25. - E6A10

In Figure E6-1, what is the schematic symbol for an N-channel dual-gate MOSFET?

Select	Answer
A	6
B	5
C	4
D	2

26. - E6B05

What characteristic of a PIN diode makes it useful as an RF switch?

Select	Answer
A	Reverse bias controls its forward voltage drop
B	Extremely high reverse breakdown voltage
C	Ability to dissipate large amounts of power
D	Low junction capacitance

27. - E6C09

What is a Programmable Logic Device (PLD)?

Select	Answer
A	A type of transistor whose gain can be changed by digital logic circuits
B	Programmable equipment used for testing digital logic integrated circuits
C	A logic circuit that can be modified during use
D	A programmable collection of logic gates and circuits in a single integrated circuit

28. - E6D12

What is inductor saturation?

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

29. - E6E08

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

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

30. - E6F07

What is a solid-state relay?

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

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 high logic states of an op-amp
C	A table of logic symbols that indicate the logic states of an op-amp
D	A diagram showing logic states when the digital device output is true

32. - E7B10

In Figure E7-1, what is the purpose of R1 and R2?

Select	Answer
A	Voltage divider bias
B	Feedback
C	Load resistors
D	Self bias

33. - E7C08

Which of the following factors has the greatest effect on the bandwidth and response shape of a crystal ladder filter?

Select	Answer
A	The relative frequencies of the individual crystals
B	The gain of the RF stage preceding the filter
C	The amplitude of the signals passing through the filter
D	The DC voltage applied to the quartz crystal

34. - E7D03

What device is typically used as a stable voltage reference in a linear voltage regulator?

Select	Answer
A	A tunnel diode
B	A varactor diode
C	An SCR
D	A Zener diode

35. - E7E09

What occurs when an excessive amount of signal energy reaches a mixer circuit?

Select	Answer
A	A beat frequency is generated
B	Automatic limiting occurs
C	Mixer blanking occurs
D	Spurious mixer products are generated

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

37. - E7G01

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

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

38. - E7H15

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

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

39. - E8A05

What of the following instruments would be the most accurate for measuring the RMS voltage of a complex waveform?

Select	Answer
A	A D'Arsonval meter
B	A grid dip meter
C	A true-RMS calculating meter
D	An absorption wave meter

40. - E8B03

What is the modulation index of an FM-phone signal having a maximum frequency deviation of 3000 Hz either side of the carrier frequency when the modulating frequency is 1000 Hz?

Select	Answer
A	1000
B	0.3
C	3000
D	3

41. - E8C06

What is the bandwidth of a 170-hertz shift, 300-baud ASCII transmission?

Select	Answer
A	0.3 kHz
B	1.0 kHz
C	0.1 Hz
D	0.5 kHz

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. - E9A13

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

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

44. - E9B10

What is the principle of a Method of Moments analysis?

Select	Answer
A	A wire is modeled as a series of segments, each having a uniform value of current
B	A wire is modeled as a single sine-wave voltage source
C	A wire is modeled as a series of segments, each having a distinct value of voltage across it
D	A wire is modeled as a single sine-wave current generator

45. - E9C09

Which of the following describes a G5RV antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A multi-band dipole antenna fed with coax and a balun through a selected length of open wire transmission line
B	A phased array antenna consisting of multiple loops
C	A multi-band trap antenna
D	A wide band dipole using shorted coaxial cable for the radiating elements and fed with a�4:1 balun

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. - E9E06

Which of these feed line impedances would be suitable for constructing a quarter-wave Q-section for matching a 100-ohm loop to 50-ohm feed line?

Select	Answer
A	450 ohms
B	50 ohms
C	62 ohms
D	75 ohms

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	Smaller reflection coefficient
C	Lower loss
D	Lower velocity factor

49. - E9G04

What are the two families of circles and arcs that make up a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Voltage and impedance
B	Resistance and reactance
C	Resistance and voltage
D	Reactance and voltage

50. - E9H02

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

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

Figure E6-1

Figure E7-1