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

Logging in (or registering) will help the system to select questions that you need to focus on.

1. - E1A01

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

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

2. - E1B10

What frequencies are authorized to an amateur station operating under RACES rules?

Select	Answer
A	All amateur service frequencies authorized to the control operator
B	Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) channels
C	Specific segments in the amateur service MF, HF, VHF and UHF bands
D	Specific local government channels

3. - E1C09

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

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

4. - E1D11

Which amateur stations are eligible to operate as Earth stations?

Select	Answer
A	Only those of Amateur Extra Class operators
B	Any amateur station, subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held by the control operator
C	Only those of General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operators
D	Any amateur station whose licensee has filed a pre-space notification with the FCC's International Bureau

5. - E1E10

What must the administering VEs do after the administration of a successful examination for an amateur operator license?

Select	Answer
A	They must collect and send the documents to the FCC according to instructions
B	They must collect and send the documents to the NCVEC for grading
C	They must submit the application document to the coordinating VEC according to the coordinating VEC instructions
D	They must collect and submit the documents to the coordinating VEC for grading

6. - E1F08

Which of the following types of amateur station communications are prohibited?

Select	Answer
A	Communications transmitted for hire or material compensation, except as otherwise provided in the rules
B	Communications in a language other than English
C	Communications that have a religious content
D	Communications that have a political content, except as allowed by the Fairness Doctrine

7. - E2A11

What type of antenna can be used to minimize the effects of spin modulation and Faraday rotation?

Select	Answer
A	A linearly polarized antenna
B	An isotropic antenna
C	A circularly polarized antenna
D	A log-periodic dipole array

8. - E2B03

How is an interlaced scanning pattern generated in a fast-scan (NTSC) television system?

Select	Answer
A	By scanning each field from bottom to top
B	By scanning two fields simultaneously
C	By scanning lines from left to right in one field and right to left in the next
D	By scanning odd numbered lines in one field and even numbered lines in the next

9. - E2C07

What is the Cabrillo format?

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

10. - E2D02

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

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

11. - E2E11

What is the difference between direct FSK and audio FSK?

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

12. - E3A15

What is an electromagnetic wave?

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

13. - E3B09

At what time of year is Sporadic E propagation most likely to occur?

Select	Answer
A	Around the solstices, especially the summer solstice
B	Around the solstices, especially the winter solstice
C	Around the equinoxes, especially the spring equinox
D	Around the equinoxes, especially the fall equinox

14. - E3C08

What does the space weather term G5 mean?

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

15. - E4A11

Which of the following is good practice when using an oscilloscope probe?

Select	Answer
A	Never use a high impedance probe to measure a low impedance circuit
B	Keep the signal ground connection of the probe as short as possible
C	Never use a DC-coupled probe to measure an AC circuit
D	All of these choices are correct

16. - E4B02

What is an advantage of using a bridge circuit to measure impedance?

Select	Answer
A	It is very precise in obtaining a signal null
B	It can display results directly in Smith chart format
C	It is relatively immune to drift in the signal generator source
D	It provides an excellent match under all conditions

17. - E4C13

How does a narrow-band roofing filter affect receiver performance?

Select	Answer
A	It improves sensitivity by reducing front end noise
B	It improves intelligibility by using low Q circuitry to reduce ringing
C	All of these choices are correct
D	It improves dynamic range by attenuating strong signals near the receive frequency

18. - E4D09

What is the purpose of the preselector in a communications receiver?

Select	Answer
A	To provide a range of AGC time constants
B	To allow selection of the optimum RF amplifier device
C	To increase rejection of unwanted signals
D	To store often-used frequencies

19. - E4E11

Which is the most likely cause if you are hearing combinations of local AM broadcast signals within one or more of the MF or HF ham bands?

Select	Answer
A	Your station receiver IF amplifier stage is defective
B	Nearby corroded metal joints are mixing and re-radiating the broadcast signals
C	You are receiving sky wave signals from a distant station
D	The broadcast station is transmitting an over-modulated signal

20. - E5A17

What is the result of increasing the Q of an impedance-matching circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Matching bandwidth is increased
B	It has no effect on impedance matching
C	Matching bandwidth is decreased
D	Matching range is increased

21. - E5B03

What happens to the phase angle 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 sign is reversed
D	The susceptance phase angle is the inverse of the reactance phase angle

22. - E5C16

Which point on Figure E5-2 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 300 ohm resistor and a 19 picofarad capacitor at 21.200 MHz?

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

23. - E5D15

What is the power factor of an R-L circuit having a 45 degree phase angle between the voltage and the current?

Select	Answer
A	0.5
B	1.0
C	0.866
D	0.707

24. - E6A17

What are the names of the three terminals of a field-effect transistor?

Select	Answer
A	Emitter, base, collector
B	Emitter, base 1, base 2
C	Gate 1, gate 2, drain
D	Gate, drain, source

25. - E6B07

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

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

26. - E6C06

Why do CMOS digital integrated circuits have high immunity to noise on the input signal or power supply?

Select	Answer
A	Larger bypass capacitors are used in CMOS circuit design
B	The input switching threshold is about one-half the power supply voltage
C	Input signals are stronger
D	The input switching threshold is about two times the power supply voltage

27. - E6D06

What core material property determines the inductance of a toroidal inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Reactivity
B	Permeability
C	Resistance
D	Thermal impedance

28. - E6E12

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

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

29. - E6F13

What is a liquid crystal display (LCD)?

Select	Answer
A	A display utilizing a crystalline liquid and polarizing filters which becomes opaque when voltage is applied
B	A display that uses a glowing liquid to remain brightly lit in dim light
C	A frequency-determining unit for a transmitter or receiver
D	A modern replacement for a quartz crystal oscillator which displays its fundamental frequency

30. - E7A06

What is a characteristic of a monostable multivibrator?

Select	Answer
A	It stores one bit of data in either a 0 or 1 state
B	It switches momentarily to the opposite binary state and then returns to its original state after a set time
C	It maintains a constant output voltage, regardless of variations in the input voltage
D	It produces a continuous square wave oscillating between 1 and 0

31. - E7B03

Which of the following components form the output of a class D amplifier circuit?

Select	Answer
A	A high-pass filter to compensate for low gain at low frequencies
B	A temperature compensating load resistor to improve linearity
C	A matched load resistor to prevent damage by switching transients
D	A low-pass filter to remove switching signal components

32. - E7C11

Which of the following is the common name for a filter network which is equivalent to two L-networks connected back-to-back with the two inductors in series and the capacitors in shunt at the input and output?

Select	Answer
A	Pi
B	Omega
C	Cascode
D	Pi-L

33. - E7D06

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

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

34. - E7E10

How does a diode detector function?

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

35. - E7F17

What do the letters I and Q in I/Q Modulation represent?

Select	Answer
A	Instantaneous and Quasi-stable
B	Instantaneous and Quenched
C	In-phase and Quadrature
D	Inactive and Quiescent

36. - E7G04

What is meant by the term op-amp input offset voltage?

Select	Answer
A	The potential between the amplifier input terminals of the op-amp in an open loop condition
B	The differential input voltage needed to bring the open loop output voltage to zero
C	The difference between the output voltage of the op-amp and the input voltage required in the immediately following stage
D	The output voltage of the op-amp minus its input voltage

37. - E7H03

How is positive feedback supplied in a Hartley oscillator?

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

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	Improve accuracy by removing out of sequence codes from the input
C	All of these choices are correct
D	Lower the input bandwidth to increase the effective resolution

39. - E8B04

What is the modulation index of an FM-phone signal having a maximum carrier deviation of plus or minus 6 kHz when modulated with a 2 kHz modulating frequency?

Select	Answer
A	3
B	2000
C	6000
D	1/3

40. - E8C09

Which is the name of a digital code where each preceding or following character changes by only one bit?

Select	Answer
A	Binary Coded Decimal Code
B	Excess 3 code
C	Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code
D	Gray code

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	Intermodulation Distortion (IMD)
C	Baud rate
D	Signal to noise ratio

42. - E9A06

How does the beamwidth of an antenna vary as the gain is increased?

Select	Answer
A	It increases arithmetically
B	It increases geometrically
C	It decreases
D	It is essentially unaffected

43. - E9B05

What type of antenna pattern over real ground is shown in Figure E9-2?

Select	Answer
A	Polarization
B	Elevation
C	Azimuth
D	Radiation resistance

44. - E9C01

What is the radiation pattern of two 1/4-wavelength vertical antennas spaced 1/2-wavelength apart and fed 180 degrees out of phase?

Select	Answer
A	A figure-8 broadside to the axis of the array
B	Omni-directional
C	A figure-8 oriented along the axis of the array
D	Cardioid

45. - E9D10

What happens to feed point impedance at the base of a fixed length HF mobile antenna as the frequency of operation is lowered?

Select	Answer
A	The radiation resistance decreases and the capacitive reactance increases
B	The radiation resistance increases and the capacitive reactance increases
C	The radiation resistance increases and the capacitive reactance decreases
D	The radiation resistance decreases and the capacitive reactance decreases

46. - E9E07

What term best describes the interactions at the load end of a mismatched transmission line?

Select	Answer
A	Dielectric constant
B	Reflection coefficient
C	Velocity factor
D	Characteristic impedance

47. - E9F08

What is the term for the ratio of the actual speed at which a signal travels through a transmission line to the speed of light in a vacuum?

Select	Answer
A	Surge impedance
B	Standing wave ratio
C	Velocity factor
D	Characteristic impedance

48. - E9G06

On the Smith chart shown in Figure E9-3, what is the name for the large outer circle on which the reactance arcs terminate?

Select	Answer
A	Polar axis
B	Reactance axis
C	Impedance axis
D	Prime axis

49. - E9H04

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

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

50. - E0A07

How may dangerous levels of carbon monoxide from an emergency generator be detected?

Select	Answer
A	Only with a carbon monoxide detector
B	By the yellowish appearance of the gas
C	By the odor
D	Any ordinary smoke detector can be used

Figure E5-2

Figure E7-3

Figure E9-2

Figure E9-3