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

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1. - E1A09

What is the first action you should take if your digital message forwarding station inadvertently forwards a communication that violates FCC rules?

Select	Answer
A	Discontinue forwarding all messages
B	Notify the nearest FCC Field Engineer's office
C	Notify the originating station that the communication does not comply with FCC rules
D	Discontinue forwarding the communication as soon as you become aware of it

2. - E1B05

What is the National Radio Quiet Zone?

Select	Answer
A	An area in New Mexico surrounding the White Sands Test Area
B	An area surrounding the National Radio Astronomy Observatory
C	An area in Puerto Rico surrounding the Arecibo Radio Telescope
D	An area in Florida surrounding Cape Canaveral

3. - E1C04

What is meant by IARP?

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

4. - E1D10

Which amateur stations are eligible to be telecommand stations?

Select	Answer
A	All of these choices are correct
B	Any amateur station so designated by the ITU
C	Any amateur station so designated by the space station licensee, subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held by the control operator
D	Any amateur station designated by NASA

5. - E1E03

What is a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator?

Select	Answer
A	The person who has entered into an agreement with the FCC to be the VE session manager
B	A person who has volunteered to prepare amateur operator license examinations
C	An organization that has entered into an agreement with the FCC to coordinate amateur operator license examinations
D	A person who has volunteered to administer amateur operator license examinations

6. - E1F04

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

Select	Answer
A	A line roughly parallel to and west of the U.S. Atlantic coastline
B	A line roughly parallel to and south of the U.S.-Canadian border
C	A line roughly parallel to and north of the U.S.-Mexican border and Gulf coastline
D	A line roughly parallel to and east of the U.S. Pacific coastline

7. - E2A06

On what band would a satellite receive signals if it were operating in mode U/V?

Select	Answer
A	50.0 MHz - 50.2 MHz
B	435 MHz - 438 MHz
C	29.5 MHz - 29.7 MHz
D	144 MHz - 146 MHz

8. - E2B18

On which of the following frequencies is one likely to find FM ATV transmissions?

Select	Answer
A	29.6 MHz
B	1255 MHz
C	52.525 MHz
D	14.230 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 standard wireless router running custom software
C	A 440 MHz transceiver with a 9600 baud modem
D	A 2 meter VHF transceiver with a 1200 baud modem

10. - E2D09

Which of these digital modes has the fastest data throughput under clear communication conditions?

Select	Answer
A	AMTOR
B	300 baud packet
C	170 Hz shift, 45 baud RTTY
D	PSK31

11. - E2E07

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

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

12. - E3A01

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

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

13. - E3B03

What is the best time of day for transequatorial propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Morning
B	Afternoon or early evening
C	Late at night
D	Noon

14. - E3C02

What is indicated by a rising A or K index?

Select	Answer
A	An increase in the critical frequency
B	Higher levels of solar UV radiation
C	Increasing disruption of the geomagnetic field
D	Decreasing disruption of the geomagnetic field

15. - E4A15

What is an advantage of a period-measuring frequency counter over a direct-count type?

Select	Answer
A	It can directly measure the modulation index of an FM transmitter
B	It can run on battery power for remote measurements
C	It does not require an expensive high-precision time base
D	It provides improved resolution of low-frequency signals within a comparable time period

16. - E4B17

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

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

17. - E4C16

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

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

18. - E4D04

Which of the following may reduce or eliminate intermodulation interference in a repeater caused by another transmitter operating in close proximity?

Select	Answer
A	A Class C final amplifier
B	A band-pass filter in the feed line between the transmitter and receiver
C	A Class D final amplifier
D	A properly terminated circulator at the output of the transmitter

19. - E4E15

Which of the following can cause shielded cables to radiate or receive interference?

Select	Answer
A	Tying all ground connections to a common point resulting in differential mode currents in the shield
B	Common mode currents on the shield and conductors
C	Low inductance ground connections at both ends of the shield
D	Use of braided shielding material

20. - E5A05

What is the magnitude of the current at the input of a series RLC circuit as the frequency goes through resonance?

Select	Answer
A	Maximum
B	L/R
C	Minimum
D	R/L

21. - E5B11

What is the phase angle between the voltage across and the current through a series RLC circuit if XC is 25 ohms, R is 100 ohms, and XL is 50 ohms?

Select	Answer
A	76 degrees with the voltage leading the current
B	14 degrees with the voltage leading the current
C	14 degrees with the voltage lagging the current
D	76 degrees with the voltage lagging the current

22. - E5C06

What does the impedance 50-j25 represent?

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

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

24. - E6A13

What do the initials CMOS stand for?

Select	Answer
A	Common Mode Oscillating System
B	Common Mode Organic Silicon
C	Complementary Mica-Oxide Silicon
D	Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor

25. - E6B09

What is a common use for point contact diodes?

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

26. - 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	Larger bypass capacitors are used in CMOS circuit design
C	Input signals are stronger
D	The input switching threshold is about one-half the power supply voltage

27. - E6D14

Which type of slug material decreases inductance when inserted into a coil?

Select	Answer
A	Brass
B	Ceramic
C	Powdered-iron
D	Ferrite

28. - E6E09

Which of the following component package types would be most suitable for use at frequencies above the HF range?

Select	Answer
A	TO-220
B	Radial lead
C	Surface mount
D	Axial lead

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. - E7A01

Which is a bi-stable circuit?

Select	Answer
A	A flip-flop
B	A clock
C	An "AND" gate
D	An "OR" gate

31. - E7B15

What is one way to prevent thermal runaway in a bipolar transistor amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	Select transistors with high beta
B	Neutralization
C	Use a resistor in series with the emitter
D	All of these choices are correct

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

33. - E7D08

What type of circuit is shown in Figure E7-3?

Select	Answer
A	Switching voltage regulator
B	Grounded emitter amplifier
C	Emitter follower
D	Linear voltage regulator

34. - E7E10

How does a diode detector function?

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

35. - E7F08

What is the function of decimation with regard to digital filters?

Select	Answer
A	Reducing the effective sample rate by removing samples
B	Removing unnecessary significant digits
C	Converting data to binary code decimal form
D	Attenuating the signal

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. - E7H03

How is positive feedback supplied in a Hartley oscillator?

Select	Answer
A	Through a tapped coil
B	Through link coupling
C	Through a capacitive divider
D	Through a neutralizing capacitor

38. - E8A09

How many levels can an analog-to-digital converter with 8 bit resolution encode?

Select	Answer
A	256 divided by the gain of the input amplifier
B	8 multiplied by the gain of the input amplifier
C	256
D	8

39. - E8B05

What is the deviation ratio of an FM-phone signal having a maximum frequency swing of plus-or-minus 5 kHz when the maximum modulation frequency is 3 kHz?

Select	Answer
A	0.6
B	60
C	1.67
D	0.167

40. - E8C08

How does ARQ accomplish error correction?

Select	Answer
A	Special binary codes provide automatic correction
B	If errors are detected, redundant data is substituted
C	If errors are detected, a retransmission is requested
D	Special polynomial codes provide automatic correction

41. - E8D07

What is a common cause of overmodulation of AFSK signals?

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

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	6.17 dB
B	9.85 dB
C	12.5 dB
D	14.15 dB

43. - E9B16

How many elevation lobes appear in the forward direction of the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-2?

Select	Answer
A	3
B	1
C	4
D	7

44. - E9C09

What is a G5RV antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A phased array antenna consisting of multiple loops
B	A multi-band dipole antenna fed with coax and a balun through a selected length of open wire transmission line
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

45. - E9D06

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

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

46. - E9E08

Which of the following measurements is characteristic of a mismatched transmission line?

Select	Answer
A	An SWR less than 1:1
B	A reflection coefficient greater than 1
C	A dielectric constant greater than 1
D	An SWR greater than 1:1

47. - E9F06

What is the approximate physical length of an air-insulated, parallel conductor transmission line that is electrically one-half wavelength long at 14.10 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	20 meters
B	71 meters
C	15 meters
D	10 meters

48. - E9G09

What third family of circles is often added to a Smith chart during the process of solving problems?

Select	Answer
A	Standing wave ratio circles
B	Antenna-length circles
C	Radiation-pattern circles
D	Coaxial-length circles

49. - E9H04

What is an advantage of using a shielded loop antenna for direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	It is electro statically balanced against ground, giving better nulls
B	It eliminates tracking errors caused by strong out-of-band signals
C	It automatically cancels ignition noise in mobile installations
D	It allows stations to communicate without giving away their position

50. - E0A04

When evaluating a site with multiple transmitters operating at the same time, the operators and licensees of which transmitters are responsible for mitigating over-exposure situations?

Select	Answer
A	Each transmitter that produces 5 percent or more of its MPE limit at accessible locations
B	Only the most powerful transmitter
C	Only commercial transmitters
D	Each transmitter operating with a duty-cycle greater than 50 percent

Figure E7-3

Figure E7-4

Figure E9-2