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

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1. - E1A03

With your transceiver displaying the carrier frequency of phone signals, you hear a station calling CQ on 14.349 MHz USB. Is it legal to return the call using upper sideband on the same frequency?

Select	Answer
A	No, U.S. stations are not permitted to use phone emissions above 14.340 MHz
B	Yes, because the displayed frequency is within the 20 meter band
C	No, the sideband will extend beyond the band edge
D	Yes, because you were not the station calling CQ

2. - E1B10

What frequencies are authorized to an amateur station operating under RACES rules?

Select	Answer
A	Specific local government channels
B	Specific segments in the amateur service MF, HF, VHF and UHF bands
C	Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) channels
D	All amateur service frequencies authorized to the control operator

3. - E1C01

What is a remotely controlled station?

Select	Answer
A	A station operated away from its regular home location
B	A station controlled by someone other than the licensee
C	A station operating under automatic control
D	A station controlled indirectly through a control link

4. - E1D04

What is an Earth station in the amateur satellite service?

Select	Answer
A	An amateur station that is not able to communicate using amateur satellites
B	An amateur station that transmits telemetry consisting of measurement of upper atmosphere
C	An amateur station within 50 km of the Earth's surface intended for communications with amateur stations by means of objects in space
D	Any amateur station on the surface of the Earth

5. - E1E14

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

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

6. - E1F08

Which of the following types of amateur station communications are prohibited?

Select	Answer
A	Communications that have a religious content
B	Communications in a language other than English
C	Communications that have a political content, except as allowed by the Fairness Doctrine
D	Communications transmitted for hire or material compensation, except as otherwise provided in the rules

7. - E2A12

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

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

8. - E2B05

Which of the following is an advantage of using vestigial sideband for standard fast- scan TV transmissions?

Select	Answer
A	Vestigial sideband reduces bandwidth while allowing for simple video detector circuitry
B	Vestigial sideband provides high frequency emphasis to sharpen the picture
C	The vestigial sideband carries the audio information
D	The vestigial sideband contains chroma information

9. - E2C05

What is the function of a DX QSL Manager?

Select	Answer
A	To run a net to allow many stations to contact a rare DX station
B	To allocate frequencies for DXpeditions
C	To handle the receiving and sending of confirmation cards for a DX station
D	To relay calls to and from a DX station

10. - E2D02

Which of the following is a good technique for making meteor scatter contacts?

Select	Answer
A	15 second timed transmission sequences with stations alternating based on location
B	All of these choices are correct
C	Use of high speed CW or digital modes
D	Short transmission with rapidly repeated call signs and signal reports

11. - E2E06

What is the most common data rate used for HF packet?

Select	Answer
A	110 baud
B	300 baud
C	48 baud
D	1200 baud

12. - E3A03

When scheduling EME contacts, which of these conditions will generally result in the least path loss?

Select	Answer
A	When the MUF is above 30 MHz
B	When the Moon is at apogee
C	When the Moon is at perigee
D	When the Moon is full

13. - E3B13

Why is chordal hop propagation desirable?

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

14. - E3C06

By how much does the VHF/UHF radio horizon distance exceed the geometric horizon?

Select	Answer
A	By approximately 15 percent of the distance
B	By approximately four times the distance
C	By approximately 50 percent of the distance
D	By approximately twice the distance

15. - E4A06

What is the effect of aliasing in a digital or computer-based oscilloscope?

Select	Answer
A	Calibration of the vertical scale is no longer valid
B	False signals are displayed
C	All signals will have a DC offset
D	False triggering occurs

16. - E4B15

Which of the following can be used as a relative measurement of the Q for a series-tuned circuit?

Select	Answer
A	The inductance to capacitance ratio
B	The bandwidth of the circuit's frequency response
C	The frequency shift
D	The resonant frequency of the circuit

17. - E4C09

Which of the following choices is a good reason for selecting a high frequency for the design of the IF in a conventional HF or VHF communications receiver?

Select	Answer
A	Fewer components in the receiver
B	Improved receiver noise figure
C	Easier for front-end circuitry to eliminate image responses
D	Reduced drift

18. - E4D06

What is the term for unwanted signals generated by the mixing of two or more signals?

Select	Answer
A	Amplifier desensitization
B	Adjacent channel interference
C	Intermodulation interference
D	Neutralization

19. - E4E09

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

Select	Answer
A	The audio frequency bandwidth of the received signal might be compressed
B	FM signals can no longer be demodulated
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. - E5A12

What is the half-power bandwidth of a parallel resonant circuit that has a resonant frequency of 3.7 MHz and a Q of 118?

Select	Answer
A	218.3 kHz
B	31.4 kHz
C	436.6 kHz
D	15.7 kHz

21. - E5B06

What is susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	The ratio of magnetic field to electric field
B	The magnetic impedance of a circuit
C	A measure of the efficiency of a transformer
D	The inverse of reactance

22. - E5C06

What does the impedance 50-j25 represent?

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

23. - E5D14

What is reactive power?

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

24. - E6A12

Why do many MOSFET devices have internally connected Zener diodes on the gates?

Select	Answer
A	To protect the substrate from excessive voltages
B	To provide a voltage reference for the correct amount of reverse-bias gate voltage
C	To reduce the chance of the gate insulation being punctured by static discharges or excessive voltages
D	To keep the gate voltage within specifications and prevent the device from overheating

25. - E6B07

What is the failure mechanism when a junction diode fails due to excessive current?

Select	Answer
A	Excessive junction temperature
B	Excessive inverse voltage
C	Insufficient forward voltage
D	Charge carrier depletion

26. - E6C06

Why do CMOS digital integrated circuits have high immunity to noise on the input signal or power supply?

Select	Answer
A	Larger bypass capacitors are used in CMOS circuit design
B	The input switching threshold is about two times the power supply voltage
C	Input signals are stronger
D	The input switching threshold is about one-half the power supply voltage

27. - E6D02

What is the equivalent circuit of a quartz crystal?

Select	Answer
A	Motional capacitance, motional inductance, loss resistance, and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance all in series
B	Motional capacitance, motional inductance, and loss resistance in series, all in parallel with a shunt capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance
C	Motional capacitance, motional inductance, loss resistance, and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance all in parallel
D	Motional inductance and loss resistance in series, paralleled with motional capacitance and a capacitor representing electrode and stray capacitance

28. - E6E06

What characteristics of the MMIC make it a popular choice for VHF through microwave circuits?

Select	Answer
A	Plate current that is controlled by a control grid
B	The ability to retrieve information from a single signal even in the presence of other strong signals
C	Controlled gain, low noise figure, and constant input and output impedance over the specified frequency range
D	Nearly infinite gain, very high input impedance, and very low output impedance

29. - E6F02

What happens to the conductivity of a photoconductive material when light shines on it?

Select	Answer
A	It becomes unstable
B	It stays the same
C	It increases
D	It decreases

30. - E7A02

What is the function of a decade counter digital IC?

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

31. - E7B02

What is a Class D amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	A frequency doubling amplifier
B	An amplifier that uses drift-mode FETs for high efficiency
C	A low power amplifier that uses a differential amplifier for improved linearity
D	A type of amplifier that uses switching technology to achieve high efficiency

32. - 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	Two capacitors are in series between the input and output, and an inductor is connected between the two capacitors and ground
B	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
C	Two inductors are in series between the input and output, and a capacitor is connected between the two inductors and ground
D	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

33. - E7D09

What is the main reason to use a charge controller with a solar power system?

Select	Answer
A	Prevention of battery undercharge
B	Prevention of battery damage due to overcharge
C	Control of electrolyte levels during battery discharge
D	Matching of day and night charge rates

34. - E7E08

What are the principal frequencies that appear at the output of a mixer circuit?

Select	Answer
A	The sum, difference and square root of the input frequencies
B	The two input frequencies along with their sum and difference frequencies
C	Two and four times the original frequency
D	1.414 and 0.707 times the input frequency

35. - E7F14

Which of the following would allow a digital signal processing filter to create a sharper filter response?

Select	Answer
A	Double-precision math routines
B	Higher data rate
C	More taps
D	Complex phasor representations

36. - E7G09

What will be the output voltage of the circuit shown in Figure E7-4 if R1 is 1000 ohms, RF is 10,000 ohms, and 0.23 volts DC is applied to the input?

Select	Answer
A	0.23 volts
B	-0.23 volts
C	-2.3 volts
D	2.3 volts

37. - E7H14

What is a phase-locked loop circuit?

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

38. - E8A05

What would be the most accurate way of measuring the RMS voltage of a complex waveform?

Select	Answer
A	By measuring the voltage with a D'Arsonval meter
B	By using an absorption wave meter
C	By using a grid dip meter
D	By measuring the heating effect in a known resistor

39. - E8B01

What is the term for the ratio between the frequency deviation of an RF carrier wave and the modulating frequency of its corresponding FM-phone signal?

Select	Answer
A	Modulation index
B	FM compressibility
C	Quieting index
D	Percentage of modulation

40. - E8C07

What is the necessary bandwidth of a 4800-Hz frequency shift, 9600-baud ASCII FM transmission?

Select	Answer
A	5.76 kHz
B	9.6 kHz
C	4.8 kHz
D	15.36 kHz

41. - E8D07

What is a common cause of overmodulation of AFSK signals?

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

42. - E9A05

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

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

43. - E9B02

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

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

44. - E9C06

What is the effect of a terminating resistor on a rhombic antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It reflects the standing waves on the antenna elements back to the transmitter
B	It decreases the ground loss
C	It changes the radiation pattern from bidirectional to unidirectional
D	It changes the radiation pattern from horizontal to vertical polarization

45. - E9D01

How does the gain of an ideal parabolic dish antenna change when the operating frequency is doubled?

Select	Answer
A	Gain does not change
B	Gain increases by 6 dB
C	Gain is multiplied by 0.707
D	Gain increases by 3 dB

46. - E9E11

What is an effective way of matching a feed line to a VHF or UHF antenna when the impedances of both the antenna and feed line are unknown?

Select	Answer
A	Connect a series-resonant LC network across the antenna feed terminals
B	Use a 50 ohm 1:1 balun between the antenna and feed line
C	Use the universal stub matching technique
D	Connect a parallel-resonant LC network across the antenna feed terminals

47. - E9F01

What is the velocity factor of a transmission line?

Select	Answer
A	The velocity of the wave in the transmission line multiplied by the velocity of light in a vacuum
B	The velocity of the wave in the transmission line divided by the velocity of light in a vacuum
C	The index of shielding for coaxial cable
D	The ratio of the characteristic impedance of the line to the terminating impedance

48. - E9G08

What is the process of normalization with regard to a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Reassigning reactance values with regard to the resistance axis
B	Reassigning resistance values with regard to the reactance axis
C	Reassigning impedance values with regard to the prime center
D	Reassigning prime center with regard to the reactance axis

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. - E0A01

What is the primary function of an external earth connection or ground rod?

Select	Answer
A	Lightning protection
B	Reduce received noise
C	Reduce RFI to telephones and home entertainment systems
D	Reduce RF current flow between pieces of equipment

Figure E7-4

Figure E9-1