US Amateur Radio - Amateur Extra (Element 4, 2016-2020) Practice Test

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1. - E1A08

If a station in a message forwarding system inadvertently forwards a message that is in violation of FCC rules, who is primarily accountable for the rules violation?

Select	Answer
A	The control operator of the packet bulletin board station
B	The control operator of the originating station
C	The control operators of all the stations in the system not authenticating the source from which they accept communications
D	The control operators of all the stations in the system

2. - E1B11

What is the permitted mean power of any spurious emission relative to the mean power of the fundamental emission from a station transmitter or external RF amplifier installed after January 1, 2003 and transmitting on a frequency below 30 MHZ?

Select	Answer
A	At least 73 dB below
B	At least 53 dB below
C	At least 63 dB below
D	At least 43 dB below

3. - E1C10

What types of amateur stations may automatically retransmit the radio signals of other amateur stations?

Select	Answer
A	Only auxiliary, beacon or space stations
B	Only auxiliary, repeater or space stations
C	Only earth stations, repeater stations or model craft
D	Only beacon, repeater or space stations

4. - E1D07

Which amateur service HF bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?

Select	Answer
A	Only the 40 m, 30 m, 20 m, 15 m, 12 m and 10 m bands
B	Only the 40 m, 20 m, 17 m, 15 m and 10 m bands
C	Only the 40 m, 20 m, 17 m, 15 m, 12 m and 10 m bands
D	All HF bands

5. - E1E01

What is the minimum number of qualified VEs required to administer an Element 4 amateur operator license examination?

Select	Answer
A	3
B	4
C	5
D	2

6. - E1F02

What privileges are authorized in the U.S. to persons holding an amateur service license granted by the Government of Canada?

Select	Answer
A	Full privileges, up to and including those of the Extra Class License, on the 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10 meter bands
B	All privileges of the Extra Class license
C	The operating terms and conditions of the Canadian amateur service license, not to exceed U.S. Extra Class privileges
D	None, they must obtain a U.S. license

7. - E2A12

What is one way to predict the location of a satellite at a given time?

Select	Answer
A	By means of the Doppler data for the specified satellite
B	By subtracting the mean anomaly from the orbital inclination
C	By adding the mean anomaly to the orbital inclination
D	By calculations using the Keplerian elements for the specified satellite

8. - E2B19

What special operating frequency restrictions are imposed on slow scan TV transmissions?

Select	Answer
A	They are restricted to 7.245 MHz, 14.245 MHz, 21.345 MHz, and 28.945 MHz
B	They are not permitted above 54 MHz
C	They are restricted to phone band segments and their bandwidth can be no greater than that of a voice signal of the same modulation type
D	None; they are allowed on all amateur frequencies

9. - 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 your full call sign and grid square
C	Send the call sign of the DX station three times, the words "this is", then your call sign three times
D	Send your full call sign once or twice

10. - E2D04

What is the purpose of digital store-and-forward functions on an Amateur Radio satellite?

Select	Answer
A	To relay messages between satellites
B	To delay download of telemetry between satellites
C	To upload operational software for the transponder
D	To store digital messages in the satellite for later download by other stations

11. - E2E03

How is the timing of JT65 contacts organized?

Select	Answer
A	Stations take turns on alternate days
B	It depends on the lunar phase
C	By exchanging ACK/NAK packets
D	Alternating transmissions at 1 minute intervals

12. - E3A17

What is meant by circularly polarized electromagnetic waves?

Select	Answer
A	Waves produced by a loop antenna
B	Waves that circle the Earth
C	Waves with an electric field bent into a circular shape
D	Waves with a rotating electric field

13. - E3B09

At what time of year is Sporadic E propagation most likely to occur?

Select	Answer
A	Around the solstices, especially the winter solstice
B	Around the solstices, especially the summer solstice
C	Around the equinoxes, especially the spring equinox
D	Around the equinoxes, especially the fall equinox

14. - E3C07

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

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

15. - E4A13

How is the compensation of an oscilloscope probe typically adjusted?

Select	Answer
A	A high frequency sine wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted for maximum amplitude
B	A frequency standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the deflection time is accurate
C	A square wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the horizontal portions of the displayed wave are as nearly flat as possible
D	A DC voltage standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the displayed voltage is accurate

16. - E4B06

How much power is being absorbed by the load when a directional power meter connected between a transmitter and a terminating load reads 100 watts forward power and 25 watts reflected power?

Select	Answer
A	25 watts
B	125 watts
C	75 watts
D	100 watts

17. - E4C01

What is an effect of excessive phase noise in the local oscillator section of a receiver?

Select	Answer
A	It limits the receiver's ability to receive strong signals
B	It decreases receiver third-order intermodulation distortion dynamic range
C	It can cause strong signals on nearby frequencies to interfere with reception of weak signals
D	It reduces receiver sensitivity

18. - E4D05

What transmitter frequencies would cause an intermodulation-product signal in a receiver tuned to 146.70 MHz when a nearby station transmits on 146.52 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	173.35 MHz and 139.40 MHz
B	146.88 MHz and 146.34 MHz
C	146.34 MHz and 146.61 MHz
D	146.10 MHz and 147.30 MHz

19. - E4E09

What undesirable effect can occur when using an IF noise blanker?

Select	Answer
A	FM signals can no longer be demodulated
B	The audio frequency bandwidth of the received signal might be compressed
C	Received audio in the speech range might have an echo effect
D	Nearby signals may appear to be excessively wide even if they meet emission standards

20. - E5A01

What can cause the voltage across reactances in series to be larger than the voltage applied to them?

Select	Answer
A	Capacitance
B	Resonance
C	Conductance
D	Resistance

21. - E5B10

What is the relationship between the current through an inductor and the voltage across an inductor?

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

22. - E5C17

Which point on Figure E5-2 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 300 ohm resistor, a 0.64-microhenry inductor and an 85-picofarad capacitor at 24.900 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	Point 3
B	Point 8
C	Point 5
D	Point 1

23. - E5D04

Why are short connections necessary at microwave frequencies?

Select	Answer
A	To reduce noise figure
B	Because of ground reflections
C	To increase neutralizing resistance
D	To reduce phase shift along the connection

24. - 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 of the transistor
C	The frequency at which the current gain is reduced to 1
D	The change in collector current with respect to base current

25. - E6B12

What is one common use for PIN diodes?

Select	Answer
A	As an RF switch
B	As a high voltage rectifier
C	As a constant voltage source
D	As a constant current source

26. - E6C11

In Figure E6-5, what is the schematic symbol for the NOT operation (inverter)?

Select	Answer
A	4
B	6
C	5
D	2

27. - E6D13

What is the primary cause of inductor self-resonance?

Select	Answer
A	Inter-turn capacitance
B	The skin effect
C	Non-linear core hysteresis
D	Inductive kickback

28. - E6E05

Which of the following noise figure values is typical of a low-noise UHF preamplifier?

Select	Answer
A	-20 dBm
B	-10 dB
C	44 dBm
D	2 dB

29. - E6F04

What is the photovoltaic effect?

Select	Answer
A	The tendency of a battery to discharge when used outside
B	The conversion of voltage to current when exposed to light
C	The conversion of electrical energy to mechanical energy
D	The conversion of light to electrical energy

30. - E7A12

What type of logic defines "0" as a high voltage?

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

31. - E7B07

Which of the following is a likely result when a Class C amplifier is used to amplify a single-sideband phone signal?

Select	Answer
A	Reduced intermodulation products
B	Increased overall intelligibility
C	Signal distortion and excessive bandwidth
D	Signal inversion

32. - E7C07

What kind of filter would you use to attenuate an interfering carrier signal while receiving an SSB transmission?

Select	Answer
A	An all-pass filter
B	A notch filter
C	A Pi-network filter
D	A band-pass filter

33. - E7D14

What is one purpose of a "bleeder" resistor in a conventional unregulated power supply?

Select	Answer
A	To improve output voltage regulation
B	To cut down on waste heat generated by the power supply
C	To boost the amount of output current
D	To balance the low-voltage filament windings

34. - E7E02

What is the function of a reactance modulator?

Select	Answer
A	To produce AM signals by using an electrically variable inductance or capacitance
B	To produce AM signals by using an electrically variable resistance
C	To produce PM signals by using an electrically variable resistance
D	To produce PM signals by using an electrically variable inductance or capacitance

35. - E7F17

What do the letters I and Q in I/Q Modulation represent?

Select	Answer
A	Instantaneous and Quasi-stable
B	Inactive and Quiescent
C	In-phase and Quadrature
D	Instantaneous and Quenched

36. - E7G06

Which of the following is the most appropriate use of an op-amp active filter?

Select	Answer
A	As a low-pass filter used between a transmitter and a transmission line
B	For smoothing power supply output
C	As an audio filter in a receiver
D	As a high-pass filter used to block RFI at the input to receivers

37. - E7H09

What type of frequency synthesizer circuit uses a phase accumulator, lookup table, digital to analog converter, and a low-pass anti-alias filter?

Select	Answer
A	A direct digital synthesizer
B	A diode-switching matrix synthesizer
C	A phase locked loop synthesizer
D	A hybrid synthesizer

38. - E8A02

What type of wave has a rise time significantly faster than its fall time (or vice versa)?

Select	Answer
A	A square wave
B	A cosine wave
C	A sine wave
D	A sawtooth wave

39. - E8B10

What describes frequency division multiplexing?

Select	Answer
A	Two or more information streams are merged into a baseband, which then modulates the transmitter
B	The transmitted signal is divided into packets of information
C	The transmitted signal jumps from band to band at a predetermined rate
D	Two or more information streams are merged into a digital combiner, which then pulse position modulates the transmitter

40. - E8C03

When performing phase shift keying, why is it advantageous to shift phase precisely at the zero crossing of the RF carrier?

Select	Answer
A	It improves carrier suppression
B	This results in the least possible transmitted bandwidth for the particular mode
C	It is easier to demodulate with a conventional, non-synchronous detector
D	All of these choices are correct

41. - E8D01

Why are received spread spectrum signals resistant to interference?

Select	Answer
A	The receiver is always equipped with a digital blanker
B	Signals not using the spread spectrum algorithm are suppressed in the receiver
C	The high power used by a spread spectrum transmitter keeps its signal from being easily overpowered
D	If interference is detected by the receiver it will signal the transmitter to change frequencies

42. - E9A13

How much gain does an antenna have compared to a 1/2-wavelength dipole when it has 12 dB gain over an isotropic antenna?

Select	Answer
A	9.85 dB
B	14.15 dB
C	12.5 dB
D	6.17 dB

43. - E9B06

What is the elevation angle of peak response in the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-2?

Select	Answer
A	25 degrees
B	75 degrees
C	7.5 degrees
D	45 degrees

44. - E9C13

What is the main effect of placing a vertical antenna over an imperfect ground?

Select	Answer
A	It reduces losses in the radiating portion of the antenna
B	It reduces low-angle radiation
C	It causes increased SWR
D	It changes the impedance angle of the matching network

45. - E9D13

What usually occurs if a Yagi antenna is designed solely for maximum forward gain?

Select	Answer
A	The front-to-back ratio decreases
B	The frequency response is widened over the whole frequency band
C	The front-to-back ratio increases
D	The SWR is reduced

46. - E9E09

Which of these matching systems is an effective method of connecting a 50 ohm coaxial cable feed line to a grounded tower so it can be used as a vertical antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Double-bazooka match
B	Hairpin match
C	All of these choices are correct
D	Gamma match

47. - 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	Very low impedance
B	The same as the characteristic impedance of the line
C	Very high impedance
D	The same as the input impedance to the generator

48. - E9G04

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

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

49. - E9H10

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

Select	Answer
A	By increasing either the number of wire turns in the loop or the area of the loop structure or both
B	By winding adjacent turns in opposing directions
C	By reducing the permeability of the loop shield
D	By increasing the number of wire turns in the loop and reducing the area of the loop structure

50. - E0A07

How may dangerous levels of carbon monoxide from an emergency generator be detected?

Select	Answer
A	Any ordinary smoke detector can be used
B	By the odor
C	Only with a carbon monoxide detector
D	By the yellowish appearance of the gas

Figure E5-2

Figure E6-5

Figure E9-2