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

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1. - E1A02

When using a transceiver that displays the carrier frequency of phone signals, which of the following displayed frequencies represents the lowest frequency at which a properly adjusted LSB emission will be totally within the band?

Select	Answer
A	The exact lower band edge
B	3 kHz above the lower band edge
C	1 kHz above the lower band edge
D	300 Hz above the lower band edge

2. - E1B02

Which of the following factors might cause the physical location of an amateur station apparatus or antenna structure to be restricted?

Select	Answer
A	The location is of environmental importance or significant in American history, architecture, or culture
B	The location is of geographical or horticultural importance
C	The location is in an ITU Zone designated for coordination with one or more foreign governments
D	The location is near an area of political conflict

3. - E1C02

What is meant by automatic control of a station?

Select	Answer
A	The use of a control link between a control point and a locally controlled station
B	A station operating with its output power controlled automatically
C	The use of devices and procedures for control so that the control operator does not have to be present at a control point
D	Remotely controlling a station's antenna pattern through a directional control link

4. - E1D07

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

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

5. - E1E12

What must the VE team do with the application form if the examinee does not pass the exam?

Select	Answer
A	Send the application form to the FCC and inform the FCC of the grade
B	Destroy the application form
C	Maintain the application form with the VEC's records
D	Return the application document to the examinee

6. - E1F06

Under what circumstances might the FCC issue a Special Temporary Authority (STA) to an amateur station?

Select	Answer
A	To provide additional spectrum for personal use
B	To provide temporary operation while awaiting normal licensing
C	To provide for experimental amateur communications
D	To allow regular operation on Land Mobile channels

7. - E2A09

What do the terms L band and S band specify with regard to satellite communications?

Select	Answer
A	The 2 meter and 70 centimeter bands
B	FM and Digital Store-and-Forward systems
C	Which sideband to use
D	The 23 centimeter and 13 centimeter bands

8. - E2B10

Which of the following is an acceptable bandwidth for Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) based voice or SSTV digital transmissions made on the HF amateur bands?

Select	Answer
A	10 KHz
B	20 KHz
C	3 KHz
D	15 KHz

9. - E2C07

What is the Cabrillo format?

Select	Answer
A	The most common set of contest rules
B	The rules of order for meetings between contest sponsors
C	A method of exchanging information during a contest QSO
D	A standard for submission of electronic contest logs

10. - E2D14

What is one advantage of using JT65 coding?

Select	Answer
A	Easily copied by ear if necessary
B	Uses only a 65 Hz bandwidth
C	Permits fast-scan TV transmissions over narrow bandwidth
D	The ability to decode signals which have a very low signal to noise ratio

11. - E2E11

What is the difference between direct FSK and audio FSK?

Select	Answer
A	Audio FSK has a superior frequency response
B	Audio FSK can be performed anywhere in the transmit chain
C	Direct FSK uses a DC-coupled data connection
D	Direct FSK applies the data signal to the transmitter VFO

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	5000 miles, if the Moon is at perigee
C	500 miles, if the Moon is at perigee
D	12,000 miles, if the Moon is visible by both stations

13. - E3B06

Which of the following amateur bands most frequently provides long-path propagation?

Select	Answer
A	20 meters
B	80 meters
C	6 meters
D	10 meters

14. - E3C08

What does the space weather term G5 mean?

Select	Answer
A	Very low solar activity
B	An extreme geomagnetic storm
C	Waning sunspot numbers
D	Moderate solar wind

15. - E4A01

Which of the following parameter determines the bandwidth of a digital or computer-based oscilloscope?

Select	Answer
A	Input impedance
B	Input capacitance
C	Sample resolution
D	Sampling rate

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 50 ohms
C	Short circuit, open circuit, and resonant circuit
D	50 ohms through 1/8 wavelength, 1/4 wavelength, and 1/2 wavelength of coaxial cable

17. - E4C05

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

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

18. - E4D12

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

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

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

20. - E5A08

What is the phase relationship between the current through and the voltage across a series resonant circuit at resonance?

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

21. - E5B07

What is the phase angle between the voltage across and the current through a series RLC circuit if XC is 500 ohms, R is 1 kilohm, and XL is 250 ohms?

Select	Answer
A	68.2 degrees with the voltage lagging the current
B	14.0 degrees with the voltage lagging the current
C	68.2 degrees with the voltage leading the current
D	14.0 degrees with the voltage leading the current

22. - E5C14

Which point on Figure E5-2 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 400 ohm resistor and a 38 picofarad capacitor at 14 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	Point 5
B	Point 2
C	Point 6
D	Point 4

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

24. - E6A14

How does DC input impedance at the gate of a field-effect transistor compare with the DC input impedance of a bipolar transistor?

Select	Answer
A	They are both low impedance
B	An FET has high input impedance; a bipolar transistor has low input impedance
C	An FET has low input impedance; a bipolar transistor has high input impedance
D	They are both high impedance

25. - E6B13

What type of bias is required for an LED to emit light?

Select	Answer
A	Inductive bias
B	Zero bias
C	Reverse bias
D	Forward bias

26. - E6C13

Which of the following is an advantage of BiCMOS logic?

Select	Answer
A	It has the high input impedance of CMOS and the low output impedance of bipolar transistors
B	Its simplicity results in much less expensive devices than standard CMOS
C	All of these choices are correct
D	It is totally immune to electrostatic damage

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

28. - E6E12

Why are high-power RF amplifier ICs and transistors sometimes mounted in ceramic packages?

Select	Answer
A	To provide a low-pass frequency response
B	High-voltage insulating ability
C	Better dissipation of heat
D	Enhanced sensitivity to light

29. - E6F14

Which of the following is true of LCD displays?

Select	Answer
A	They may be hard view through polarized lenses
B	All of these choices are correct
C	They only display alphanumeric symbols
D	They are hard to view in high ambient light conditions

30. - E7A05

Which of the following is a circuit that continuously alternates between two states without an external clock?

Select	Answer
A	Monostable multivibrator
B	T flip-flop
C	Astable multivibrator
D	J-K flip-flop

31. - E7B05

What can be done to prevent unwanted oscillations in an RF power amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	Install parasitic suppressors and/or neutralize the stage
B	Use a phase inverter in the output filter
C	Tune both the input and output for maximum power
D	Tune the stage for maximum SWR

32. - E7C02

Which of the following is a property of a T-network with series capacitors and a parallel shunt inductor?

Select	Answer
A	It is a high-pass filter
B	It is a low-pass filter
C	It is a notch filter
D	It is a band-pass filter

33. - E7D13

What is the equation for calculating power dissipation by a series connected linear voltage regulator?

Select	Answer
A	Input voltage multiplied by input current
B	Output voltage multiplied by output current
C	Voltage difference from input to output multiplied by output current
D	Input voltage divided by output current

34. - E7E12

What is a frequency discriminator stage in a FM receiver?

Select	Answer
A	A circuit for filtering two closely adjacent signals
B	An FM generator circuit
C	An automatic band-switching circuit
D	A circuit for detecting FM signals

35. - E7F16

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

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

36. - E7G03

What is the typical input impedance of an integrated circuit op-amp?

Select	Answer
A	100 ohms
B	Very low
C	1000 ohms
D	Very high

37. - E7H10

What information is contained in the lookup table of a direct digital frequency synthesizer?

Select	Answer
A	The phase relationship between a voltage-controlled oscillator and the output waveform
B	The synthesizer frequency limits and frequency values stored in the radio memories
C	The phase relationship between a reference oscillator and the output waveform
D	The amplitude values that represent a sine-wave output

38. - E8A10

What is the purpose of a low pass filter used in conjunction with a digital-to-analog converter?

Select	Answer
A	Remove harmonics from the output caused by the discrete analog levels generated
B	All of these choices are correct
C	Improve accuracy by removing out of sequence codes from the input
D	Lower the input bandwidth to increase the effective resolution

39. - E8B06

What is the deviation ratio of an FM-phone signal having a maximum frequency swing of plus or minus 7.5 kHz when the maximum modulation frequency is 3.5 kHz?

Select	Answer
A	0.214
B	47
C	0.47
D	2.14

40. - E8C03

When performing phase shift keying, why is it advantageous to shift phase precisely at the zero crossing of the RF carrier?

Select	Answer
A	It is easier to demodulate with a conventional, non-synchronous detector
B	This results in the least possible transmitted bandwidth for the particular mode
C	All of these choices are correct
D	It improves carrier suppression

41. - E8D09

What is considered a good minimum IMD level for an idling PSK signal?

Select	Answer
A	-30 dB
B	-20 dB
C	+10 dB
D	+15 dB

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	14.15 dB
C	6.17 dB
D	9.85 dB

43. - E9B14

What type of information can be obtained by submitting the details of a proposed new antenna to a modeling program?

Select	Answer
A	All of these choices are correct
B	Antenna gain
C	Polar plots of the far field elevation and azimuth patterns
D	SWR vs frequency charts

44. - E9C03

What is the radiation pattern of two 1/4 wavelength vertical antennas spaced a 1/2 wavelength apart and fed in phase?

Select	Answer
A	Cardioid
B	A Figure-8 broadside to the axis of the array
C	A Figure-8 end-fire along the axis of the array
D	Omni-directional

45. - E9D03

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

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

46. - E9E03

What is the name of the matching system that uses a section of transmission line connected in parallel with the feed line at or near the feed point?

Select	Answer
A	The gamma match
B	The stub match
C	The delta match
D	The omega match

47. - E9F05

What is the approximate physical length of a solid polyethylene dielectric coaxial transmission line that is electrically one-quarter wavelength long at 14.1 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	3.5 meters
B	0.2 meters
C	20 meters
D	2.3 meters

48. - E9G03

Which of the following is often determined using a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Trigonometric functions
B	Beam headings and radiation patterns
C	Impedance and SWR values in transmission lines
D	Satellite azimuth and elevation bearings

49. - E9H09

Which of the following describes the construction of a receiving loop antenna?

Select	Answer
A	One or more turns of wire wound in the shape of a large open coil
B	A vertical antenna coupled to a feed line through an inductive loop of wire
C	A large circularly polarized antenna
D	A small coil of wire tightly wound around a toroidal ferrite core

50. - E0A09

Which insulating material commonly used as a thermal conductor for some types of electronic devices is extremely toxic if broken or crushed and the particles are accidentally inhaled?

Select	Answer
A	Zinc oxide
B	Uranium Hexafluoride
C	Beryllium Oxide
D	Mica

Figure E5-2