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

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1. - E1A07

Which amateur band requires transmission on specific channels rather than on a range of frequencies?

Select	Answer
A	17 meter band
B	60 meter band
C	30 meter band
D	12 meter band

2. - E1B08

What limitations may the FCC place on an amateur station if its signal causes interference to domestic broadcast reception, assuming that the receivers involved are of good engineering design?

Select	Answer
A	The amateur station must cease operation on all frequencies below 30 MHz
B	The amateur station must cease operation on all frequencies above 30 MHz
C	The amateur station must cease operation
D	The amateur station must avoid transmitting during certain hours on frequencies that cause the interference

3. - E1C08

What is the maximum permissible duration of a remotely controlled station's transmissions if its control link malfunctions?

Select	Answer
A	5 minutes
B	3 minutes
C	10 minutes
D	30 seconds

4. - E1D03

What is a telecommand station in the amateur satellite service?

Select	Answer
A	An amateur station located more than 50 km above the Earth's surface
B	An amateur station that transmits communications to initiate, modify or terminate functions of a space station
C	An amateur station located on the Earth's surface for communication with other Earth stations by means of Earth satellites
D	An amateur station that transmits telemetry consisting of measurements of upper atmosphere

5. - E1E08

To which of the following examinees may a VE not administer an examination?

Select	Answer
A	Relatives of the VE as listed in the FCC rules
B	All of these choices are correct
C	Friends of the VE
D	Employees of the VE

6. - E1F10

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

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

7. - E2A03

What is the orbital period of an Earth satellite?

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

8. - E2B13

How many lines are commonly used in each frame of an amateur slow-scan color television picture?

Select	Answer
A	128 or 256
B	30 or 60
C	60 or 100
D	180 or 360

9. - E2C06

During a VHF/UHF contest, in which band segment would you expect to find the highest level of activity?

Select	Answer
A	In the middle of the band, usually 25 kHz above the national calling frequency
B	At the top of each band, usually in a segment reserved for contests
C	In the weak signal segment of the band, with most of the activity near the calling frequency
D	In the middle of each band, usually on the national calling frequency

10. - E2D07

What digital protocol is used by APRS?

Select	Answer
A	802.11
B	AX.25
C	AMTOR
D	PACTOR

11. - E2E06

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

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

12. - E3A06

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

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

13. - E3B12

What is the primary characteristic of chordal hop propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Signals reflected back toward the transmitting station
B	Propagation away from the great circle bearing between stations
C	Propagation across the geomagnetic equator
D	Successive ionospheric reflections without an intermediate reflection from the ground

14. - E3C10

What does the 304A solar parameter measure?

Select	Answer
A	The solar emission at 304 GHz, correlated to X-Ray flare levels
B	The solar wind velocity at 304 degrees from the solar equator, correlated to solar activity
C	The ratio of X-Ray flux to radio flux, correlated to sunspot number
D	UV emissions at 304 angstroms, correlated to solar flux index

15. - E4A05

What might be an advantage of a digital vs an analog oscilloscope?

Select	Answer
A	Automatic amplitude and frequency numerical readout
B	Manipulation of time base after trace capture
C	All of these choices are correct
D	Storage of traces for future reference

16. - E4B11

How should an antenna analyzer be connected when measuring antenna resonance and feed point impedance?

Select	Answer
A	Loosely couple the analyzer near the antenna base
B	Connect the analyzer via a high-impedance transformer to the antenna
C	Loosely couple the antenna and a dummy load to the analyzer
D	Connect the antenna feed line directly to the analyzer's connector

17. - E4C01

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

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

18. - E4D14

Which of the following is a way to reduce the likelihood of receiver desensitization?

Select	Answer
A	Raise the receiver IF frequency
B	Increase the receiver front end gain
C	Decrease the RF bandwidth of the receiver
D	Switch from fast AGC to slow AGC

19. - E4E08

What type of signal is picked up by electrical wiring near a radio antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Harmonics of the AC power line frequency
B	An electrical-sparking signal
C	A differential-mode signal at the AC power line frequency
D	A common-mode signal at the frequency of the radio transmitter

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	R/L
B	L/R
C	Maximum
D	Minimum

21. - E5B05

What happens to the magnitude of a reactance when it is converted to a susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	It is shifted by 90 degrees
B	It is unchanged
C	The magnitude of the susceptance is the reciprocal of the magnitude of the reactance
D	The sign is reversed

22. - E5C15

Which point in Figure E5-2 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 300 ohm resistor and an 18 microhenry inductor at 3.505 MHz?

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

23. - E5D01

What is the result of skin effect?

Select	Answer
A	Thermal effects on the surface of the conductor decrease the impedance
B	As frequency decreases, RF current flows in a thinner layer of the conductor, closer to the surface
C	Thermal effects on the surface of the conductor increase the impedance
D	As frequency increases, RF current flows in a thinner layer of the conductor, closer to the surface

24. - E6A16

What are the majority charge carriers in N-type semiconductor material?

Select	Answer
A	Holes
B	Free electrons
C	Free neutrons
D	Free protons

25. - E6B09

What is a common use for point contact diodes?

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

26. - E6C09

What is a Programmable Logic Device (PLD)?

Select	Answer
A	A device to control industrial equipment
B	An algorithm for simulating logic functions during circuit design
C	A programmable collection of logic gates and circuits in a single integrated circuit
D	Programmable equipment used for testing digital logic integrated circuits

27. - E6D08

What is one reason for using powdered-iron cores rather than ferrite cores in an inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Powdered-iron cores generally require fewer turns to produce a given inductance
B	Powdered-iron cores generally maintain their characteristics at higher currents
C	Powdered-iron cores generally have greater initial permeability
D	Powdered-iron cores use smaller diameter wire for the same inductance

28. - E6E01

Which of the following is true of a charge-coupled device (CCD)?

Select	Answer
A	Its phase shift changes rapidly with frequency
B	It is used in a battery charger circuit
C	It samples an analog signal and passes it in stages from the input to the output
D	It is a CMOS analog-to-digital converter

29. - E6F07

What is a solid state relay?

Select	Answer
A	A device that uses semiconductors to implement the functions of an electromechanical relay
B	A passive delay line
C	A relay using transistors to drive the relay coil
D	A mechanical relay that latches in the on or off state each time it is pulsed

30. - E7A07

What logical operation does a NAND gate perform?

Select	Answer
A	It produces logic "1" at its output only when all inputs are logic "1"
B	It produces logic "0" at its output only when all inputs are logic "0"
C	It produces logic "0" at its output only when all inputs are logic "1"
D	It produces logic "0" at its output if some but not all inputs are logic "1"

31. - E7B12

What type of amplifier circuit is shown in Figure E7-1?

Select	Answer
A	Common emitter
B	Common base
C	Common collector
D	Emitter follower

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 inductors are in series between the input and output, and a capacitor is connected between the two inductors and ground
B	Two capacitors are in series between the input and output, and an inductor is connected between the two capacitors and ground
C	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
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. - E7D06

What is the purpose of Q1 in the circuit shown in Figure E7-3?

Select	Answer
A	It provides negative feedback to improve regulation
B	It increases the current-handling capability of the regulator
C	It provides a constant load for the voltage source
D	It provides D1 with current

34. - E7E08

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

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

35. - E7F13

What is the function of taps in a digital signal processing filter?

Select	Answer
A	Provide access for debugging software
B	Select the point at which baseband signals are generated
C	Provide incremental signal delays for filter algorithms
D	To reduce excess signal pressure levels

36. - E7G10

What absolute voltage gain can be expected from the circuit in Figure E7-4 when R1 is 1800 ohms and RF is 68 kilohms?

Select	Answer
A	1
B	76
C	38
D	0.03

37. - E7H06

Which of the following oscillator circuits are commonly used in VFOs?

Select	Answer
A	Pierce and Zener
B	Armstrong and deForest
C	Negative feedback and balanced feedback
D	Colpitts and Hartley

38. - E8A05

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

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

39. - E8B08

What describes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing?

Select	Answer
A	A bandwidth compression technique using Fourier transforms
B	A digital mode for narrow band, slow speed transmissions
C	A digital modulation technique using subcarriers at frequencies chosen to avoid intersymbol interference
D	A frequency modulation technique which uses non-harmonically related frequencies

40. - E8C05

What is the necessary bandwidth of a 13-WPM international Morse code transmission?

Select	Answer
A	Approximately 13 Hz
B	Approximately 104 Hz
C	Approximately 52 Hz
D	Approximately 26 Hz

41. - E8D06

Which of the following indicates likely overmodulation of an AFSK signal such as PSK or MFSK?

Select	Answer
A	High reflected power
B	Rapid signal fading
C	Strong ALC action
D	Harmonics on higher bands

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

43. - E9B11

What is a disadvantage of decreasing the number of wire segments in an antenna model below the guideline of 10 segments per half-wavelength?

Select	Answer
A	The resulting design will favor radiation of harmonic energy
B	Ground conductivity will not be accurately modeled
C	The computed feed point impedance may be incorrect
D	The antenna will become mechanically unstable

44. - E9C13

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

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

45. - E9D05

What is a disadvantage of using a multiband trapped antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It must be neutralized
B	It is too sharply directional at lower frequencies
C	It radiates the harmonics and fundamental equally well
D	It might radiate harmonics

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	All of these choices are correct
C	Hairpin match
D	Gamma match

47. - E9F13

What impedance does a 1/4 wavelength transmission line present to a generator when the line is shorted at the far end?

Select	Answer
A	Very low impedance
B	The same as the generator output impedance
C	The same as the characteristic impedance of the transmission line
D	Very high impedance

48. - E9G08

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

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

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	Its overall length must not exceed 1/4 wavelength
B	It should be configured as a four-sided loop
C	It must be mounted more than 1 wavelength above ground
D	It should be one or more wavelengths long

50. - E0A05

What is one of the potential hazards of using microwaves in the amateur radio bands?

Select	Answer
A	The high gain antennas commonly used can result in high exposure levels
B	Microwaves are ionizing radiation
C	The extremely high frequency energy can damage the joints of antenna structures
D	Microwaves often travel long distances by ionospheric reflection

Figure E5-2

Figure E7-1

Figure E7-3

Figure E7-4