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

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1. - E1A11

Which of the following describes authorization or licensing required when operating an amateur station aboard a U.S.-registered vessel in international waters?

Select	Answer
A	Only General class or higher amateur licenses
B	Any amateur license with an FCC Marine or Aircraft endorsement
C	An unrestricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit
D	Any FCC-issued amateur license

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 53 dB below
B	At least 43 dB below
C	At least 63 dB below
D	At least 73 dB below

3. - E1C09

Which of these ranges of frequencies is available for an automatically controlled repeater operating below 30 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	24.940 MHz - 24.990 MHz
B	10.100 MHz - 10.150 MHz
C	18.110 MHz - 18.168 MHz
D	29.500 MHz - 29.700 MHz

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. - E1E02

Where are the questions for all written U.S. amateur license examinations listed?

Select	Answer
A	In a question pool maintained by all the VECs
B	In a question pool maintained by the FCC
C	In FCC Part 97
D	In the appropriate FCC Report and Order

6. - E1F10

What is the maximum permitted transmitter peak envelope power for an amateur station transmitting spread spectrum communications?

Select	Answer
A	1.5 kW
B	10 W
C	1.5 W
D	1 W

7. - E2A03

What is the orbital period of an Earth satellite?

Select	Answer
A	The point of minimum height of a satellite's orbit
B	The point of maximum height of a satellite's orbit
C	The time it takes for a satellite to travel from perigee to apogee
D	The time it takes for a satellite to complete one revolution around the Earth

8. - E2B15

What signals SSTV receiving equipment to begin a new picture line?

Select	Answer
A	Specific tone amplitudes
B	Specific tone frequencies
C	Elapsed time
D	A two-tone signal

9. - E2C03

From which of the following bands is amateur radio contesting generally excluded?

Select	Answer
A	2 m
B	30 m
C	6 m
D	33 cm

10. - E2D02

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

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

11. - E2E07

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

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

12. - E3A06

Which of the following is required for microwave propagation via rain scatter?

Select	Answer
A	The rain must be within radio range of both stations
B	Rain droplets must be electrically charged
C	All of these choices are correct
D	Rain droplets must be within the E layer

13. - E3B04

What is meant by the terms extraordinary and ordinary waves?

Select	Answer
A	Independent waves created in the ionosphere that are elliptically polarized
B	Refracted rays and reflected waves
C	Long path and short path waves
D	Extraordinary waves describe rare long skip propagation compared to ordinary waves which travel shorter distances

14. - E3C02

What is indicated by a rising A or K index?

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

15. - E4A14

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

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

16. - E4B13

Which S parameter is equivalent to forward gain?

Select	Answer
A	S22
B	S11
C	S12
D	S21

17. - E4C05

What does a value of -174 dBm/Hz represent with regard to the noise floor of a receiver?

Select	Answer
A	The theoretical noise at the input of a perfect receiver at room temperature
B	The galactic noise contribution to minimum detectable signal
C	The noise figure of a 1 Hz bandwidth receiver
D	The minimum detectable signal as a function of receive frequency

18. - E4D01

What is meant by the blocking dynamic range of a receiver?

Select	Answer
A	The minimum difference in dB between two signals which produce third order intermodulation products greater than the noise floor
B	The difference in dB between the noise floor and the level of an incoming signal which will cause 1 dB of gain compression
C	The difference in dB between the noise floor and the third order intercept point
D	The minimum difference in dB between the levels of two FM signals which will cause one signal to block the other

19. - E4E13

What might be the cause of a loud roaring or buzzing AC line interference that comes and goes at intervals?

Select	Answer
A	A defective doorbell or doorbell transformer inside a nearby residence
B	A malfunctioning illuminated advertising display
C	All of these choices are correct
D	Arcing contacts in a thermostatically controlled device

20. - E5A14

What is the resonant frequency of a series RLC circuit if R is 22 ohms, L is 50 microhenrys and C is 40 picofarads?

Select	Answer
A	44.72 MHz
B	1.78 MHz
C	3.56 MHz
D	22.36 MHz

21. - E5B01

What is the term for the time required for the capacitor in an RC circuit to be charged to 63.2% of the applied voltage?

Select	Answer
A	One time constant
B	A time factor of one
C	An exponential rate of one
D	One exponential period

22. - E5C08

What coordinate system is often used to display the phase angle of a circuit containing resistance, inductive and/or capacitive reactance?

Select	Answer
A	Faraday grid
B	Maidenhead grid
C	Polar coordinates
D	Elliptical coordinates

23. - E5D10

How can the true power be determined in an AC circuit where the voltage and current are out of phase?

Select	Answer
A	By dividing the apparent power by the power factor
B	By dividing the reactive power by the power factor
C	By multiplying the apparent power times the power factor
D	By multiplying the reactive power times the power factor

24. - E6A15

Which semiconductor material contains excess holes in the outer shell of electrons?

Select	Answer
A	P-type
B	N-type
C	Superconductor-type
D	Bipolar-type

25. - E6B07

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

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

26. - E6C14

What is the primary advantage of using a Programmable Gate Array (PGA) in a logic circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Complex logic functions can be created in a single integrated circuit
B	All of these choices are correct
C	Many similar gates are less expensive than a mixture of gate types
D	A PGA contains its own internal power supply

27. - E6D09

What devices are commonly used as VHF and UHF parasitic suppressors at the input and output terminals of a transistor HF amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	Butterworth filters
B	Electrolytic capacitors
C	Ferrite beads
D	Steel-core toroids

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	Axial lead
C	Surface mount
D	Radial lead

29. - E6F05

Which describes an optical shaft encoder?

Select	Answer
A	A device which measures the strength of a beam of light using analog to digital conversion
B	A device which detects rotation of a control by interrupting a light source with a patterned wheel
C	A digital encryption device often used to encrypt spacecraft control signals
D	A device for generating RTTY signals by means of a rotating light source

30. - E7A03

Which of the following can divide the frequency of a pulse train by 2?

Select	Answer
A	An OR gate
B	An XOR gate
C	A multiplexer
D	A flip-flop

31. - E7B13

In Figure E7-2, what is the purpose of R?

Select	Answer
A	Emitter load
B	Voltage regulation
C	Fixed bias
D	Collector load

32. - E7C13

What is one advantage of a Pi-matching network over an L-matching network consisting of a single inductor and a single capacitor?

Select	Answer
A	The Q of Pi-networks can be varied depending on the component values chosen
B	Pi-networks have fewer components
C	Pi-networks are designed for balanced input and output
D	L-networks cannot perform impedance transformation

33. - E7D08

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

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

34. - E7E05

What circuit is added to an FM transmitter to boost the higher audio frequencies?

Select	Answer
A	A de-emphasis network
B	An audio prescaler
C	A heterodyne suppressor
D	A pre-emphasis network

35. - E7F07

What function can a Fast Fourier Transform perform?

Select	Answer
A	Converting analog signals to digital form
B	Converting digital signals from the time domain to the frequency domain
C	Converting 8-bit data to 16 bit data
D	Converting digital signals to analog form

36. - E7G12

What is an integrated circuit operational amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	A RF amplifier used in the UHF and microwave regions
B	An amplifier used to increase the average output of frequency modulated amateur signals to the legal limit
C	A high-gain, direct-coupled differential amplifier with very high input impedance and very low output impedance
D	A digital audio amplifier whose characteristics are determined by components external to the amplifier

37. - E7H01

What are three oscillator circuits used in Amateur Radio equipment?

Select	Answer
A	Pierce, Fenner and Beane
B	Colpitts, Hartley and Pierce
C	Taft, Hartley and Pierce
D	Taft, Pierce and negative feedback

38. - E8A08

Why would a direct or flash conversion analog-to-digital converter be useful for a software defined radio?

Select	Answer
A	Very low power consumption decreases frequency drift
B	Very high speed allows digitizing high frequencies
C	Immunity to out of sequence coding reduces spurious responses
D	All of these choices are correct

39. - E8B11

What is digital time division multiplexing?

Select	Answer
A	Two or more signals are arranged to share discrete time slots of a data transmission
B	Two or more data streams share the same channel by transmitting time of transmission as the sub-carrier
C	Two or more data streams are assigned to discrete sub-carriers on an FM transmitter
D	Two or more signals are quadrature modulated to increase bandwidth efficiency

40. - E8C07

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

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

41. - E8D08

What parameter might indicate that excessively high input levels are causing distortion in an AFSK signal?

Select	Answer
A	Repeat Request Rate (RRR)
B	Baud rate
C	Signal to noise ratio
D	Intermodulation Distortion (IMD)

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	12.5 dB
B	6.17 dB
C	14.15 dB
D	9.85 dB

43. - E9B08

How can the approximate beam-width in a given plane of a directional antenna be determined?

Select	Answer
A	Measure the ratio of the signal strengths of the radiated power lobes from the front and rear of the antenna
B	Note the two points where the signal strength of the antenna is 3 dB less than maximum and compute the angular difference
C	Draw two imaginary lines through the ends of the elements and measure the angle between the lines
D	Measure the ratio of the signal strengths of the radiated power lobes from the front and side of the antenna

44. - E9C04

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

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

45. - E9D03

Where should a high Q loading coil be placed to minimize losses in a shortened vertical antenna?

Select	Answer
A	At a voltage node
B	As low as possible on the vertical radiator
C	Near the center of the vertical radiator
D	As close to the transmitter as possible

46. - E9E01

What system matches a higher impedance transmission line to a lower impedance antenna by connecting the line to the driven element in two places spaced a fraction of a wavelength each side of element center?

Select	Answer
A	The delta matching system
B	The gamma matching system
C	The stub matching system
D	The omega matching system

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	71 meters
B	10 meters
C	15 meters
D	20 meters

48. - E9G05

What type of chart is shown in Figure E9-3?

Select	Answer
A	Smith chart
B	Free space radiation directivity chart
C	Azimuth angle radiation pattern chart
D	Elevation angle radiation pattern chart

49. - E9H11

What characteristic of a cardioid pattern antenna is useful for direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	Broad band response
B	High-radiation angle
C	A very sharp single null
D	A very sharp peak

50. - E0A01

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

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

Figure E7-2

Figure E7-3

Figure E9-3