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

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1. - E1A04

With your transceiver displaying the carrier frequency of phone signals, you hear a DX station calling CQ on 3.601 MHz LSB. Is it legal to return the call using lower sideband on the same frequency?

Select	Answer
A	Yes, because the DX station initiated the contact
B	Yes, because the displayed frequency is within the 75 meter phone band segment
C	No, U.S. stations are not permitted to use phone emissions below 3.610 MHz
D	No, the sideband will extend beyond the edge of the phone band segment

2. - E1B01

Which of the following constitutes a spurious emission?

Select	Answer
A	A signal transmitted to prevent its detection by any station other than the intended recipient
B	An emission outside its necessary bandwidth that can be reduced or eliminated without affecting the information transmitted
C	Any transmitted signal that unintentionally interferes with another licensed radio station
D	An amateur station transmission made at random without the proper call sign identification

3. - E1C03

How do the control operator responsibilities of a station under automatic control differ from one under local control?

Select	Answer
A	Under automatic control the control operator is not required to be present at the control point
B	Under local control a control operator is not required to be present at a control point
C	Under local control there is no control operator
D	Under automatic control there is no control operator

4. - E1D07

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

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

5. - E1E13

Which of these choices is an acceptable method for monitoring the applicants if a VEC opts to conduct an exam session remotely?

Select	Answer
A	The exam proctor observes the applicants and reports any violations
B	Use a real-time video link and the Internet to connect the exam session to the observing VEs
C	Record the exam session on video tape for later review by the VE team
D	Have each applicant sign an affidavit stating that all session rules were followed

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

7. - E2A11

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

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

8. - E2B17

What is the approximate bandwidth of a slow-scan TV signal?

Select	Answer
A	600 Hz
B	2 MHz
C	3 kHz
D	6 MHz

9. - E2C09

What type of equipment is commonly used to implement a ham radio mesh network?

Select	Answer
A	An optical cable connection between the USB ports of 2 separate computers
B	A 440 MHz transceiver with a 9600 baud modem
C	A 2 meter VHF transceiver with a 1200 baud modem
D	A standard wireless router running custom software

10. - E2D06

Which of the following describes a method of establishing EME contacts?

Select	Answer
A	High speed CW identification to avoid fading
B	Judging optimum transmission times by monitoring beacons reflected from the Moon
C	Time synchronous transmissions alternately from each station
D	Storing and forwarding digital messages

11. - E2E07

What is the typical bandwidth of a properly modulated MFSK16 signal?

Select	Answer
A	316 Hz
B	31 Hz
C	2.16 kHz
D	550 Hz

12. - E3A11

What is a typical range for tropospheric propagation of microwave signals?

Select	Answer
A	10 miles to 50 miles
B	100 miles to 300 miles
C	1200 miles
D	2500 miles

13. - E3B14

What happens to linearly polarized radio waves that split into ordinary and extraordinary waves in the ionosphere?

Select	Answer
A	Their polarization is randomly modified
B	They are bent toward the magnetic poles
C	They become phase-locked
D	They become elliptically polarized

14. - E3C07

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

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

15. - E4A14

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

16. - E4B17

What three test loads are used to calibrate a standard RF vector network analyzer?

Select	Answer
A	50 ohms through 1/8 wavelength, 1/4 wavelength, and 1/2 wavelength of coaxial cable
B	Short circuit, open circuit, and 50 ohms
C	Short circuit, open circuit, and resonant circuit
D	50 ohms, 75 ohms, and 90 ohms

17. - E4C16

Which of the following is caused by missing codes in an SDR receiver's analog-to-digital converter?

Select	Answer
A	Loss of sensitivity
B	Excess output level
C	Overload
D	Distortion

18. - E4D12

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

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

19. - E4E02

Which of the following types of receiver noise can often be reduced with a DSP noise filter?

Select	Answer
A	Power line noise
B	Broadband white noise
C	All of these choices are correct
D	Ignition noise

20. - E5A11

What is the half-power bandwidth of a parallel resonant circuit that has a resonant frequency of 7.1 MHz and a Q of 150?

Select	Answer
A	23.67 kHz
B	315.6 Hz
C	157.8 Hz
D	47.3 kHz

21. - E5B09

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

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

22. - E5C16

Which point on Figure E5-2 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 300 ohm resistor and a 19 picofarad capacitor at 21.200 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	Point 8
B	Point 3
C	Point 7
D	Point 1

23. - E5D02

Why is it important to keep lead lengths short for components used in circuits for VHF and above?

Select	Answer
A	To increase the thermal time constant
B	To avoid unwanted inductive reactance
C	To maintain component lifetime
D	All of these choices are correct

24. - E6A06

What is the beta of a bipolar junction transistor?

Select	Answer
A	The frequency at which the current gain is reduced to 1
B	The breakdown voltage of the base to collector junction
C	The change in collector current with respect to base current
D	The switching speed of the transistor

25. - E6B10

In Figure E6-3, what is the schematic symbol for a light-emitting diode?

Select	Answer
A	6
B	7
C	1
D	5

26. - E6C12

What is BiCMOS logic?

Select	Answer
A	An integrated circuit logic family using both bipolar and CMOS transistors
B	A logic family based on bismuth CMOS devices
C	A logic device with two CMOS circuits per package
D	A FET logic family based on bimetallic semiconductors

27. - E6D16

What is the common name for a capacitor connected across a transformer secondary that is used to absorb transient voltage spikes?

Select	Answer
A	Feedback capacitor
B	Trimmer capacitor
C	Snubber capacitor
D	Clipper capacitor

28. - E6E04

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

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

29. - E6F08

Why are optoisolators often used in conjunction with solid state circuits when switching 120VAC?

Select	Answer
A	Optoisolators provide a very high degree of electrical isolation between a control circuit and the circuit being switched
B	Optoisolators provide impedance matching between the control circuit and power circuit
C	Optoisolators provide a low impedance link between a control circuit and a power circuit
D	Optoisolators eliminate the effects of reflected light in the control circuit

30. - E7A02

What is the function of a decade counter digital IC?

Select	Answer
A	It produces one output pulse for every ten input pulses
B	It produces ten output pulses for every input pulse
C	It adds two decimal numbers together
D	It decodes a decimal number for display on a seven segment LED display

31. - E7B01

For what portion of a signal cycle does a Class AB amplifier operate?

Select	Answer
A	The entire cycle
B	Exactly 180 degrees
C	Less than 180 degrees
D	More than 180 degrees but less than 360 degrees

32. - E7C03

What advantage does a Pi-L-network have over a regular Pi-network for impedance matching between the final amplifier of a vacuum-tube transmitter and an antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Higher efficiency
B	Greater transformation range
C	Lower losses
D	Greater harmonic suppression

33. - E7D14

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

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

34. - E7E07

What is meant by the term baseband in radio communications?

Select	Answer
A	The unmodulated bandwidth of the transmitted signal
B	The lowest frequency band that the transmitter or receiver covers
C	The frequency components present in the modulating signal
D	The basic oscillator frequency in an FM transmitter that is multiplied to increase the deviation and carrier frequency

35. - E7F16

How might the sampling rate of an existing digital signal be adjusted by a factor of 3/4?

Select	Answer
A	Multiply each sample value by a factor of 3/4
B	Add 3 to each input value and subtract 4 from each output value
C	Interpolate by a factor of three, then decimate by a factor of four
D	Change the gain by a factor of 3/4

36. - E7G04

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

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

37. - E7H14

What is a phase-locked loop circuit?

Select	Answer
A	An electronic servo loop consisting of a ratio detector, reactance modulator, and voltage-controlled oscillator
B	An electronic circuit consisting of a precision push-pull amplifier with a differential input
C	An electronic circuit also known as a monostable multivibrator
D	An electronic servo loop consisting of a phase detector, a low-pass filter, a voltage-controlled oscillator, and a stable reference oscillator

38. - E8A12

What is an advantage of using digital signals instead of analog signals to convey the same information?

Select	Answer
A	Digital signals always occupy a narrower bandwidth
B	Digital signals can be regenerated multiple times without error
C	Less complex circuitry is required for digital signal generation and detection
D	All of these choices are correct

39. - 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	3000
B	3
C	1000
D	0.3

40. - E8C04

What technique is used to minimize the bandwidth requirements of a PSK31 signal?

Select	Answer
A	Reed-Solomon character encoding
B	Use of sinusoidal data pulses
C	Use of trapezoidal data pulses
D	Zero-sum character encoding

41. - E8D04

What is the primary effect of extremely short rise or fall time on a CW signal?

Select	Answer
A	The generation of key clicks
B	More difficult to copy
C	Limits data speed
D	The generation of RF harmonics

42. - E9A11

Which of the following factors determines ground losses for a ground-mounted vertical antenna operating in the 3 MHz to 30 MHz range?

Select	Answer
A	The standing wave ratio
B	Soil conductivity
C	Take-off angle
D	Distance from the transmitter

43. - E9B05

What type of antenna pattern over real ground is shown in Figure E9-2?

Select	Answer
A	Elevation
B	Polarization
C	Azimuth
D	Radiation resistance

44. - E9C04

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

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

45. - E9D06

What happens to the bandwidth of an antenna as it is shortened through the use of loading coils?

Select	Answer
A	It is decreased
B	It is increased
C	No change occurs
D	It becomes flat

46. - E9E13

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

47. - E9F07

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

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

48. - E9G02

What type of coordinate system is used in a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Voltage lines and current chords
B	Resistance circles and reactance arcs
C	Voltage circles and current arcs
D	Resistance lines and reactance chords

49. - 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 configured as a four-sided loop
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 one or more wavelengths long

50. - E0A02

When evaluating RF exposure levels from your station at a neighbor's home, what must you do?

Select	Answer
A	Make sure signals from your station are less than the uncontrolled MPE limits
B	Make sure signals from your station are less than the controlled MPE limits
C	You need only evaluate exposure levels on your own property
D	Advise your neighbors of the results of your tests

Figure E5-2

Figure E6-3

Figure E9-2