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

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1. - E1A05

What is the maximum power output permitted on the 60 meter band?

Select	Answer
A	50 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to an isotropic radiator
B	100 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to the gain of a half-wave dipole
C	50 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to a dipole
D	100 watts PEP effective radiated power relative to an isotropic radiator

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

3. - E1C10

What types of amateur stations may automatically retransmit the radio signals of other amateur stations?

Select	Answer
A	Only auxiliary, repeater or space stations
B	Only earth stations, repeater stations or model craft
C	Only auxiliary, beacon or space stations
D	Only beacon, repeater or space stations

4. - E1D06

Which of the following is a requirement of a space station?

Select	Answer
A	The space station must be capable of terminating transmissions by telecommand when directed by the FCC
B	The space station must cease all transmissions after 5 years
C	The space station must be capable of changing its orbit whenever such a change is ordered by NASA
D	All of these choices are correct

5. - E1E07

What should a VE do if a candidate fails to comply with the examiner's instructions during an amateur operator license examination?

Select	Answer
A	Immediately terminate the candidate's examination
B	Allow the candidate to complete the examination, but invalidate the results
C	Warn the candidate that continued failure to comply will result in termination of the examination
D	Immediately terminate everyone's examination and close the session

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 W
C	1.5 kW
D	1.5 W

7. - E2A08

Why should effective radiated power to a satellite which uses a linear transponder be limited?

Select	Answer
A	To avoid reducing the downlink power to all other users
B	To prevent creating errors in the satellite telemetry
C	To avoid interfering with terrestrial QSOs
D	To prevent the satellite from emitting out-of-band signals

8. - E2B04

What is blanking in a video signal?

Select	Answer
A	Turning off the scanning beam while it is traveling from right to left or from bottom to top
B	Transmitting a black and white test pattern
C	Synchronization of the horizontal and vertical sync pulses
D	Turning off the scanning beam at the conclusion of a transmission

9. - E2C08

Which of the following contacts may be confirmed through the U.S. QSL bureau system?

Select	Answer
A	Contacts between a U.S. station and a non-U.S. station
B	Special event contacts between stations in the U.S.
C	Contacts using tactical call signs
D	Repeater contacts between U.S. club members

10. - E2D11

Which of the following data are used by the APRS network to communicate your location?

Select	Answer
A	Time and frequency
B	Latitude and longitude
C	Radio direction finding spectrum analysis
D	Polar coordinates

11. - E2E05

Which type of digital mode does not support keyboard-to-keyboard operation?

Select	Answer
A	RTTY
B	Winlink
C	PSK31
D	MFSK

12. - E3A15

What is an electromagnetic wave?

Select	Answer
A	A wave consisting of two magnetic fields at right angles to each other
B	A wave of alternating current, in the core of an electromagnet
C	A wave consisting of an electric field and a magnetic field oscillating at right angles to each other
D	A wave consisting of two electric fields at parallel right angles to each other

13. - E3B12

What is the primary characteristic of chordal hop propagation?

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

14. - E3C06

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

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

15. - E4A06

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

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

16. - E4B04

If a frequency counter with a specified accuracy of +/- 0.1 ppm reads 146,520,000 Hz, what is the most the actual frequency being measured could differ from the reading?

Select	Answer
A	1.4652 Hz
B	1.4652 kHz
C	14.652 Hz
D	0.1 MHz

17. - E4C17

Which of the following has the largest effect on an SDR receiver's linearity?

Select	Answer
A	RAM speed used for data storage
B	Anti-aliasing input filter bandwidth
C	Analog-to-digital converter sample width in bits
D	CPU register width in bits

18. - E4D07

Which describes the most significant effect of an off-frequency signal when it is causing cross-modulation interference to a desired signal?

Select	Answer
A	The off-frequency unwanted signal is heard in addition to the desired signal
B	The desired signal can no longer be heard
C	A reduction in apparent signal strength
D	A large increase in background noise

19. - E4E12

What is one disadvantage of using some types of automatic DSP notch-filters when attempting to copy CW signals?

Select	Answer
A	A DSP filter can remove the desired signal at the same time as it removes interfering signals
B	Ringing in the DSP filter will completely remove the spaces between the CW characters
C	Received CW signals will appear to be modulated at the DSP clock frequency
D	Any nearby signal passing through the DSP system will overwhelm the desired signal

20. - E5A04

What is the magnitude of the impedance of a circuit with a resistor, an inductor and a capacitor all in parallel, at resonance?

Select	Answer
A	Approximately equal to circuit resistance
B	Approximately equal to capacitive reactance
C	Low, as compared to the circuit resistance
D	Approximately equal to inductive reactance

21. - E5B10

What is the relationship between the current through an inductor and the voltage across an inductor?

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

22. - E5C03

Which of the following represents an inductive reactance in polar coordinates?

Select	Answer
A	A positive real part
B	A negative real part
C	A negative phase angle
D	A positive phase angle

23. - E5D16

What is the power factor of an R-L circuit having a 30 degree phase angle between the voltage and the current?

Select	Answer
A	0.5
B	0.577
C	0.866
D	1.73

24. - E6A03

Why does a PN-junction diode not conduct current when reverse biased?

Select	Answer
A	Only N-type semiconductor material can conduct current
B	Only P-type semiconductor material can conduct current
C	Holes in P-type material and electrons in the N-type material are separated by the applied voltage, widening the depletion region
D	Excess holes in P-type material combine with the electrons in N-type material, converting the entire diode into an insulator

25. - E6B11

What is used to control the attenuation of RF signals by a PIN diode?

Select	Answer
A	Reverse voltage larger than the RF signal
B	A sub-harmonic pump signal
C	Capacitance of an RF coupling capacitor
D	Forward DC bias current

26. - E6C12

What is BiCMOS logic?

Select	Answer
A	An integrated circuit logic family using both bipolar and CMOS transistors
B	A FET logic family based on bimetallic semiconductors
C	A logic device with two CMOS circuits per package
D	A logic family based on bismuth CMOS devices

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

28. - E6E04

Which is the most common input and output impedance of circuits that use MMICs?

Select	Answer
A	50 ohms
B	10 ohms
C	300 ohms
D	450 ohms

29. - E6F07

What is a solid state relay?

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

30. - E7A08

What logical operation does an OR gate perform?

Select	Answer
A	It produces logic "0" at its output if all inputs are logic "1"
B	It produces logic "1" at its output if any or all inputs are logic "1"
C	It only produces logic "0" at its output when all inputs are logic "1"
D	It produces logic "1" at its output if all inputs are logic "0"

31. - E7B13

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

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

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

33. - E7D11

What circuit element is controlled by a series analog voltage regulator to maintain a constant output voltage?

Select	Answer
A	Reference voltage
B	Error amplifier
C	Pass transistor
D	Switching inductance

34. - E7E04

What is one way a single-sideband phone signal can be generated?

Select	Answer
A	By using a balanced modulator followed by a filter
B	By using a reactance modulator followed by a mixer
C	By driving a product detector with a DSB signal
D	By using a loop modulator followed by a mixer

35. - E7F13

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

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

36. - E7G08

How does the gain of an ideal operational amplifier vary with frequency?

Select	Answer
A	It decreases linearly with increasing frequency
B	It does not vary with frequency
C	It decreases logarithmically with increasing frequency
D	It increases linearly with increasing frequency

37. - E7H04

How is positive feedback supplied in a Colpitts oscillator?

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

38. - E8A11

What type of information can be conveyed using digital waveforms?

Select	Answer
A	All of these choices are correct
B	Data
C	Video signals
D	Human speech

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	47
B	2.14
C	0.47
D	0.214

40. - E8C11

What is the relationship between symbol rate and baud?

Select	Answer
A	Baud is only used for RTTY
B	Symbol rate is only used for packet-based modes
C	They are the same
D	Baud is twice the symbol rate

41. - E8D03

How does the spread spectrum technique of frequency hopping work?

Select	Answer
A	If interference is detected by the receiver it will signal the transmitter to change frequencies
B	A pseudo-random binary bit stream is used to shift the phase of an RF carrier very rapidly in a particular sequence
C	The frequency of the transmitted signal is changed very rapidly according to a particular sequence also used by the receiving station
D	If interference is detected by the receiver it will signal the transmitter to wait until the frequency is clear

42. - E9A07

What is meant by antenna gain?

Select	Answer
A	The ratio of the radiated signal strength of an antenna in the direction of maximum radiation to that of a reference antenna
B	The ratio of the signal in the forward direction to that in the opposite direction
C	The final amplifier gain minus the transmission line losses
D	The ratio of the amount of power radiated by an antenna compared to the transmitter output power

43. - E9B15

What is the front-to-back ratio of the radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-2?

Select	Answer
A	3 dB
B	28 dB
C	15 dB
D	24 dB

44. - E9C04

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

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

45. - E9D08

What happens as the Q of an antenna increases?

Select	Answer
A	Gain is reduced
B	More common-mode current is present on the feed line
C	SWR bandwidth increases
D	SWR bandwidth decreases

46. - E9E12

What is the primary purpose of a phasing line when used with an antenna having multiple driven elements?

Select	Answer
A	It prevents reflected power from traveling back down the feed line and causing harmonic radiation from the transmitter
B	It makes sure the antenna has a low-angle radiation pattern
C	It allows single-band antennas to operate on other bands
D	It ensures that each driven element operates in concert with the others to create the desired antenna pattern

47. - E9F12

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

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

48. - E9G04

What are the two families of circles and arcs that make up a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Reactance and voltage
B	Voltage and impedance
C	Resistance and reactance
D	Resistance and voltage

49. - E9H02

Which is generally true for low band (160 meter and 80 meter) receiving antennas?

Select	Answer
A	All of these choices are correct
B	Low loss coax transmission line is essential for good performance
C	Atmospheric noise is so high that gain over a dipole is not important
D	They must be erected at least 1/2 wavelength above the ground to attain good directivity

50. - E0A08

What does SAR measure?

Select	Answer
A	The rate of RF energy reflected from stationary terrain
B	The rate at which RF energy is absorbed by the body
C	Signal Amplification Rating
D	Synthetic Aperture Ratio of the human body

Figure E7-2

Figure E9-2