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

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1. - E1A03

With your transceiver displaying the carrier frequency of phone signals, you hear a station calling CQ on 14.349 MHz USB. Is it legal to return the call using upper sideband on the same frequency?

Select	Answer
A	Yes, because you were not the station calling CQ
B	No, U.S. stations are not permitted to use phone emissions above 14.340 MHz
C	Yes, because the displayed frequency is within the 20 meter band
D	No, the sideband will extend beyond the band edge

2. - E1B05

What is the National Radio Quiet Zone?

Select	Answer
A	An area in Florida surrounding Cape Canaveral
B	An area surrounding the National Radio Astronomy Observatory
C	An area in New Mexico surrounding the White Sands Test Area
D	An area in Puerto Rico surrounding the Arecibo Radio Telescope

3. - E1C02

What is meant by automatic control of a station?

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

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 be capable of changing its orbit whenever such a change is ordered by NASA
C	The space station must cease all transmissions after 5 years
D	All of these choices are correct

5. - E1E14

For which types of out-of-pocket expenses do the Part 97 rules state that VEs and VECs may be reimbursed?

Select	Answer
A	Preparing, processing, administering and coordinating an examination for an amateur radio license
B	Providing amateur operator license examination preparation training materials
C	No expenses are authorized for reimbursement
D	Teaching an amateur operator license examination preparation course

6. - E1F04

Which of the following geographic descriptions approximately describes "Line A"?

Select	Answer
A	A line roughly parallel to and south of the U.S.-Canadian border
B	A line roughly parallel to and west of the U.S. Atlantic coastline
C	A line roughly parallel to and east of the U.S. Pacific coastline
D	A line roughly parallel to and north of the U.S.-Mexican border and Gulf coastline

7. - E2A13

What type of satellite appears to stay in one position in the sky?

Select	Answer
A	Geostationary
B	LEO
C	HEO
D	Geomagnetic

8. - E2B07

What is the name of the signal component that carries color information in NTSC video?

Select	Answer
A	Chroma
B	Hue
C	Spectral Intensity
D	Luminance

9. - E2C11

How should you generally identify your station when attempting to contact a DX station during a contest or in a pileup?

Select	Answer
A	Send your full call sign and grid square
B	Send only the last two letters of your call sign until you make contact
C	Send the call sign of the DX station three times, the words "this is", then your call sign three times
D	Send your full call sign once or twice

10. - E2D08

What type of packet frame is used to transmit APRS beacon data?

Select	Answer
A	Acknowledgement
B	Disconnect
C	Unnumbered Information
D	Connect

11. - E2E07

What is the typical bandwidth of a properly modulated MFSK16 signal?

Select	Answer
A	316 Hz
B	31 Hz
C	2.16 kHz
D	550 Hz

12. - E3A03

When scheduling EME contacts, which of these conditions will generally result in the least path loss?

Select	Answer
A	When the Moon is full
B	When the Moon is at perigee
C	When the Moon is at apogee
D	When the MUF is above 30 MHz

13. - E3B02

What is the approximate maximum range for signals using transequatorial propagation?

Select	Answer
A	5000 miles
B	2500 miles
C	7500 miles
D	1000 miles

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	UV emissions at 304 angstroms, correlated to solar flux index
C	The ratio of X-Ray flux to radio flux, correlated to sunspot number
D	The solar wind velocity at 304 degrees from the solar equator, correlated to solar activity

15. - E4A01

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

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

16. - E4B01

Which of the following factors most affects the accuracy of a frequency counter?

Select	Answer
A	Time base accuracy
B	Input attenuator accuracy
C	Decade divider accuracy
D	Temperature coefficient of the logic

17. - E4C15

What is usually the primary source of noise that is heard from an HF receiver with an antenna connected?

Select	Answer
A	Induction motor noise
B	Detector noise
C	Atmospheric noise
D	Receiver front-end noise

18. - E4D12

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

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

19. - E4E06

What is a major cause of atmospheric static?

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

20. - E5A09

How is the Q of an RLC parallel resonant circuit calculated?

Select	Answer
A	Reactance of the inductance multiplied by the reactance of the capacitance
B	Reactance of either the inductance or capacitance divided by the resistance
C	Reactance of either the inductance or capacitance multiplied by the resistance
D	Resistance divided by the reactance of either the inductance or capacitance

21. - E5B11

What is the phase angle between the voltage across and the current through a series RLC circuit if XC is 25 ohms, R is 100 ohms, and XL is 50 ohms?

Select	Answer
A	76 degrees with the voltage leading the current
B	76 degrees with the voltage lagging the current
C	14 degrees with the voltage leading the current
D	14 degrees with the voltage lagging the current

22. - E5C04

Which of the following represents a capacitive reactance in polar coordinates?

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

23. - E5D01

What is the result of skin effect?

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

24. - E6A07

Which of the following indicates that a silicon NPN junction transistor is biased on?

Select	Answer
A	Base-to-emitter voltage of approximately 0.6 to 0.7 volts
B	Base-to-emitter resistance of approximately 6 to 7 ohms
C	Base-to-emitter voltage of approximately 6 to 7 volts
D	Base-to-emitter resistance of approximately 0.6 to 0.7 ohms

25. - E6B01

What is the most useful characteristic of a Zener diode?

Select	Answer
A	A negative resistance region
B	An internal capacitance that varies with the applied voltage
C	A constant current drop under conditions of varying voltage
D	A constant voltage drop under conditions of varying current

26. - E6C11

In Figure E6-5, what is the schematic symbol for the NOT operation (inverter)?

Select	Answer
A	4
B	2
C	6
D	5

27. - E6D02

What is the equivalent circuit of a quartz crystal?

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

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	Enhanced sensitivity to light
C	High-voltage insulating ability
D	Better dissipation of heat

29. - E6F11

What is the approximate open-circuit voltage produced by a fully-illuminated silicon photovoltaic cell?

Select	Answer
A	12 V
B	1.5 V
C	0.1 V
D	0.5 V

30. - E7A11

What type of logic defines "1" as a high voltage?

Select	Answer
A	Positive Logic
B	Assertive Logic
C	Reverse Logic
D	Negative logic

31. - E7B07

Which of the following is a likely result when a Class C amplifier is used to amplify a single-sideband phone signal?

Select	Answer
A	Signal inversion
B	Reduced intermodulation products
C	Signal distortion and excessive bandwidth
D	Increased overall intelligibility

32. - E7C08

Which of the following factors has the greatest effect in helping determine the bandwidth and response shape of a crystal ladder filter?

Select	Answer
A	The gain of the RF stage preceding the filter
B	The amplitude of the signals passing through the filter
C	The DC voltage applied to the quartz crystal
D	The relative frequencies of the individual crystals

33. - E7D01

What is one characteristic of a linear electronic voltage regulator?

Select	Answer
A	It eliminates the need for a pass transistor
B	It has a ramp voltage as its output
C	The conduction of a control element is varied to maintain a constant output voltage
D	The control element duty cycle is proportional to the line or load conditions

34. - E7E01

Which of the following can be used to generate FM phone emissions?

Select	Answer
A	A reactance modulator on the oscillator
B	A balanced modulator on the oscillator
C	A reactance modulator on the final amplifier
D	A balanced modulator on the audio amplifier

35. - E7F05

How frequently must an analog signal be sampled by an analog-to-digital converter so that the signal can be accurately reproduced?

Select	Answer
A	At half the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
B	At twice the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
C	At four times the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
D	At the same rate as the highest frequency component of the signal

36. - E7G04

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

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

37. - E7H02

Which describes a microphonic?

Select	Answer
A	Changes in oscillator frequency due to mechanical vibration
B	Distortion caused by RF pickup on the microphone cable
C	An IC used for amplifying microphone signals
D	Excess loading of the microphone by an oscillator

38. - E8A09

How many levels can an analog-to-digital converter with 8 bit resolution encode?

Select	Answer
A	8 multiplied by the gain of the input amplifier
B	256
C	8
D	256 divided by the gain of the input amplifier

39. - E8B05

What is the deviation ratio of an FM-phone signal having a maximum frequency swing of plus-or-minus 5 kHz when the maximum modulation frequency is 3 kHz?

Select	Answer
A	60
B	0.6
C	0.167
D	1.67

40. - E8C05

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

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

41. - E8D02

What spread spectrum communications technique uses a high speed binary bit stream to shift the phase of an RF carrier?

Select	Answer
A	Phase compandored spread spectrum
B	Direct sequence
C	Frequency hopping
D	Binary phase-shift keying

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 amount of power radiated by an antenna compared to the transmitter output power
C	The final amplifier gain minus the transmission line losses
D	The ratio of the signal in the forward direction to that in the opposite direction

43. - E9B12

What is the far field of an antenna?

Select	Answer
A	The region where the shape of the antenna pattern is independent of distance
B	The region where radiated field strengths are obstructed by objects of reflection
C	The region where radiated power dissipates over a specified time period
D	The region of the ionosphere where radiated power is not refracted

44. - E9C12

Which of the following describes an extended double Zepp antenna?

Select	Answer
A	An end fed folded dipole antenna
B	A center fed 1.25 wavelength antenna (two 5/8 wave elements in phase)
C	A wideband vertical antenna constructed from precisely tapered aluminum tubing
D	A portable antenna erected using two push support poles

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 increases and the capacitive reactance increases
B	The radiation resistance decreases 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. - 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	Connect a series-resonant LC network across the antenna feed terminals
B	Connect a parallel-resonant LC network across the antenna feed terminals
C	Use the universal stub matching technique
D	Use a 50 ohm 1:1 balun between the antenna and feed line

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	0.2 meters
B	20 meters
C	3.5 meters
D	2.3 meters

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	Prime axis
B	Reactance axis
C	Impedance axis
D	Polar axis

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	Broad band response
D	High-radiation angle

50. - E0A05

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

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

Figure E6-5

Figure E9-3