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. - E1A09

What is the first action you should take if your digital message forwarding station inadvertently forwards a communication that violates FCC rules?

Select	Answer
A	Notify the originating station that the communication does not comply with FCC rules
B	Notify the nearest FCC Field Engineer's office
C	Discontinue forwarding the communication as soon as you become aware of it
D	Discontinue forwarding all messages

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

3. - E1C12

What types of communications may be transmitted to amateur stations in foreign countries?

Select	Answer
A	Messages intended for connection to users of the maritime satellite service
B	All of these choices are correct
C	Communications incidental to the purpose of the amateur service and remarks of a personal nature
D	Business-related messages for non-profit organizations

4. - E1D08

Which VHF amateur service bands have frequencies available for space stations?

Select	Answer
A	6 meters and 2 meters
B	2 meters and 1.25 meters
C	6 meters, 2 meters, and 1.25 meters
D	2 meters

5. - E1E11

What must the VE team do if an examinee scores a passing grade on all examination elements needed for an upgrade or new license?

Select	Answer
A	Three VEs must certify that the examinee is qualified for the license grant and that they have complied with the administering VE requirements
B	Photocopy all examination documents and forward them to the FCC for processing
C	Issue the examinee the new or upgrade license
D	All these choices are correct

6. - E1F01

On what frequencies are spread spectrum transmissions permitted?

Select	Answer
A	Only on amateur frequencies above 144 MHz
B	Only on amateur frequencies above 420 MHz
C	Only on amateur frequencies above 222 MHz
D	Only on amateur frequencies above 50 MHz

7. - E2A11

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

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

8. - E2B19

What special operating frequency restrictions are imposed on slow scan TV transmissions?

Select	Answer
A	They are restricted to 7.245 MHz, 14.245 MHz, 21.345 MHz, and 28.945 MHz
B	They are restricted to phone band segments and their bandwidth can be no greater than that of a voice signal of the same modulation type
C	They are not permitted above 54 MHz
D	None; they are allowed on all amateur frequencies

9. - E2C04

What type of transmission is most often used for a ham radio mesh network?

Select	Answer
A	Frequency division multiplex in the 24 GHz band
B	Store and forward on the 440 MHz band
C	Multiple Frequency Shift Keying in the 10 GHz band
D	Spread spectrum in the 2.4 GHz band

10. - E2D05

Which of the following techniques is normally used by low Earth orbiting digital satellites to relay messages around the world?

Select	Answer
A	Store-and-forward
B	Digipeating
C	Multi-satellite relaying
D	Node hopping

11. - E2E11

What is the difference between direct FSK and audio FSK?

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

12. - E3A16

Which of the following best describes electromagnetic waves traveling in free space?

Select	Answer
A	The waves are reflected by the ionosphere and return to their source
B	Electric and magnetic fields become aligned as they travel
C	The energy propagates through a medium with a high refractive index
D	Changing electric and magnetic fields propagate the energy

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	Extraordinary waves describe rare long skip propagation compared to ordinary waves which travel shorter distances
C	Refracted rays and reflected waves
D	Long path and short path waves

14. - E3C13

What type of polarization is best for ground-wave propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Horizontal
B	Elliptical
C	Circular
D	Vertical

15. - E4A09

When using a computer's soundcard input to digitize signals, what is the highest frequency signal that can be digitized without aliasing?

Select	Answer
A	The same as the sample rate
B	It depends on how the data is stored internally
C	One-tenth the sample rate
D	One-half the sample rate

16. - E4B05

If a frequency counter with a specified accuracy of +/- 10 ppm reads 146,520,000 Hz, what is the most the actual frequency being measured could differ from the reading?

Select	Answer
A	146.52 kHz
B	146.52 Hz
C	1465.20 Hz
D	10 Hz

17. - E4C07

What does the MDS of a receiver represent?

Select	Answer
A	The minimum discernible signal
B	The meter display sensitivity
C	The maximum detectable spectrum
D	The multiplex distortion stability

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	A large increase in background noise
C	The desired signal can no longer be heard
D	A reduction in apparent signal strength

19. - E4E06

What is a major cause of atmospheric static?

Select	Answer
A	Geomagnetic storms
B	Meteor showers
C	Solar radio frequency emissions
D	Thunderstorms

20. - E5A06

What is the magnitude of the circulating current within the components of a parallel LC circuit at resonance?

Select	Answer
A	It equals 2 multiplied by Pi, multiplied by frequency, multiplied by inductance
B	It is at a minimum
C	It is at a maximum
D	It equals 1 divided by the quantity 2 times Pi, multiplied by the square root of inductance L multiplied by capacitance C

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	14.0 degrees with the voltage leading the current
D	68.2 degrees with the voltage leading the current

22. - E5C13

What coordinate system is often used to display the resistive, inductive, and/or capacitive reactance components of impedance?

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

23. - E5D14

What is reactive power?

Select	Answer
A	Power consumed in wire resistance in an inductor
B	Power consumed in circuit Q
C	Power lost because of capacitor leakage
D	Wattless, nonproductive power

24. - E6A03

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

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

25. - E6B07

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

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

26. - E6C01

What is the function of hysteresis in a comparator?

Select	Answer
A	To cause the output to change states continually
B	To prevent input noise from causing unstable output signals
C	To allow the comparator to be used with AC input signal
D	To increase the sensitivity

27. - E6D13

What is the primary cause of inductor self-resonance?

Select	Answer
A	Non-linear core hysteresis
B	Inductive kickback
C	Inter-turn capacitance
D	The skin effect

28. - E6E09

Which of the following component package types would be most suitable for use at frequencies above the HF range?

Select	Answer
A	Surface mount
B	TO-220
C	Axial lead
D	Radial lead

29. - E6F05

Which describes an optical shaft encoder?

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

30. - E7A03

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

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

31. - E7B04

Where on the load line of a Class A common emitter amplifier would bias normally be set?

Select	Answer
A	At a point where the load line intersects the zero bias current curve
B	Approximately half-way between saturation and cutoff
C	Where the load line intersects the voltage axis
D	At a point where the bias resistor equals the load resistor

32. - E7C05

Which filter type is described as having ripple in the passband and a sharp cutoff?

Select	Answer
A	A Chebyshev filter
B	A Butterworth filter
C	An active LC filter
D	A passive op-amp filter

33. - E7D14

What is one purpose of a "bleeder" resistor in a conventional unregulated power supply?

Select	Answer
A	To improve output voltage regulation
B	To cut down on waste heat generated by the power supply
C	To balance the low-voltage filament windings
D	To boost the amount of 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	A circuit for detecting FM signals
C	An FM generator circuit
D	An automatic band-switching circuit

35. - E7F07

What function can a Fast Fourier Transform perform?

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

36. - E7G02

What is the effect of ringing in a filter?

Select	Answer
A	A reduction in high frequency response
B	Undesired oscillations added to the desired signal
C	An echo caused by a long time delay
D	Partial cancellation of the signal over a range of frequencies

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

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 using a grid dip meter
D	By measuring the voltage with a D'Arsonval meter

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	2.14
B	0.214
C	0.47
D	47

40. - E8C06

What is the necessary bandwidth of a 170-hertz shift, 300-baud ASCII transmission?

Select	Answer
A	1.0 kHz
B	0.5 kHz
C	0.3 kHz
D	0.1 Hz

41. - E8D09

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

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

42. - E9A08

What is meant by antenna bandwidth?

Select	Answer
A	The frequency range over which an antenna satisfies a performance requirement
B	The angle between the half-power radiation points
C	The angle formed between two imaginary lines drawn through the element ends
D	Antenna length divided by the number of elements

43. - E9B02

In the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-1, what is the front-to-back ratio?

Select	Answer
A	24 dB
B	36 dB
C	18 dB
D	14 dB

44. - E9C15

How does the radiation pattern of a horizontally polarized 3-element beam antenna vary with its height above ground?

Select	Answer
A	The horizontal beam width increases with height
B	The horizontal beam width decreases with height
C	The main lobe takeoff angle decreases with increasing height
D	The main lobe takeoff angle increases with increasing height

45. - E9D05

What is a disadvantage of using a multiband trapped antenna?

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

46. - E9E11

What is an effective way of matching a feed line to a VHF or UHF antenna when the impedances of both the antenna and feed line are unknown?

Select	Answer
A	Use a 50 ohm 1:1 balun between the antenna and feed line
B	Connect a parallel-resonant LC network across the antenna feed terminals
C	Use the universal stub matching technique
D	Connect a series-resonant LC network across the antenna feed terminals

47. - E9F04

What is the typical velocity factor for a coaxial cable with solid polyethylene dielectric?

Select	Answer
A	0.30
B	0.10
C	2.70
D	0.66

48. - E9G02

What type of coordinate system is used in a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Resistance lines and reactance chords
B	Resistance circles and reactance arcs
C	Voltage circles and current arcs
D	Voltage lines and current chords

49. - E9H11

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

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

50. - E0A07

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

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

Figure E9-1