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

2. - E1B06

Which of the following additional rules apply if you are installing an amateur station antenna at a site at or near a public use airport?

Select	Answer
A	You may have to notify the Federal Aviation Administration and register it with the FCC as required by Part 17 of FCC rules
B	You must obtain a construction permit from the airport zoning authority
C	No special rules apply if your antenna structure will be less than 300 feet in height
D	You must file an Environmental Impact Statement with the EPA before construction begins

3. - E1C07

What is meant by local control?

Select	Answer
A	Automatically manipulating local station controls
B	Direct manipulation of the transmitter by a control operator
C	Controlling a repeater using a portable handheld transceiver
D	Controlling a station through a local auxiliary link

4. - E1D04

What is an Earth station in the amateur satellite service?

Select	Answer
A	Any amateur station on the surface of the Earth
B	An amateur station that is not able to communicate using amateur satellites
C	An amateur station within 50 km of the Earth's surface intended for communications with amateur stations by means of objects in space
D	An amateur station that transmits telemetry consisting of measurement of upper atmosphere

5. - E1E13

Which of these choices is an acceptable method for monitoring the applicants if a VEC opts to conduct an exam session remotely?

Select	Answer
A	The exam proctor observes the applicants and reports any violations
B	Have each applicant sign an affidavit stating that all session rules were followed
C	Record the exam session on video tape for later review by the VE team
D	Use a real-time video link and the Internet to connect the exam session to the observing VEs

6. - E1F04

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

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

7. - E2A07

Which of the following types of signals can be relayed through a linear transponder?

Select	Answer
A	SSB and SSTV
B	PSK and Packet
C	FM and CW
D	All of these choices are correct

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	15 KHz
D	3 KHz

9. - E2C13

What indicator is required to be used by U.S.-licensed operators when operating a station via remote control where the transmitter is located in the U.S.?

Select	Answer
A	No additional indicator is required
B	The ARRL section of the remote station
C	/ followed by the USPS two letter abbreviation for the state in which the remote station is located
D	/R# where # is the district of the remote station

10. - E2D08

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

Select	Answer
A	Connect
B	Unnumbered Information
C	Disconnect
D	Acknowledgement

11. - E2E08

Which of the following HF digital modes can be used to transfer binary files?

Select	Answer
A	PACTOR
B	RTTY
C	AMTOR
D	Hellschreiber

12. - E3A05

Tropospheric propagation of microwave signals often occurs along what weather related structure?

Select	Answer
A	Sprites and jets
B	Warm and cold fronts
C	Gray-line
D	Lightning discharges

13. - E3B01

What is transequatorial propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Propagation between two continents by way of ducts along the magnetic equator
B	Propagation between any two points located on the magnetic equator
C	Propagation between two mid-latitude points at approximately the same distance north and south of the magnetic equator
D	Propagation between two stations at the same latitude

14. - E3C10

What does the 304A solar parameter measure?

Select	Answer
A	The ratio of X-Ray flux to radio flux, correlated to sunspot number
B	The solar emission at 304 GHz, correlated to X-Ray flare levels
C	The solar wind velocity at 304 degrees from the solar equator, correlated to solar activity
D	UV emissions at 304 angstroms, correlated to solar flux index

15. - E4A05

What might be an advantage of a digital vs an analog oscilloscope?

Select	Answer
A	Storage of traces for future reference
B	Manipulation of time base after trace capture
C	Automatic amplitude and frequency numerical readout
D	All of these choices are correct

16. - E4B10

Which of the following describes a method to measure intermodulation distortion in an SSB transmitter?

Select	Answer
A	Modulate the transmitter with two harmonically related audio frequencies and observe the RF output with a logic analyzer
B	Modulate the transmitter with two harmonically related audio frequencies and observe the RF output with a peak reading wattmeter
C	Modulate the transmitter with two non-harmonically related audio frequencies and observe the RF output with a spectrum analyzer
D	Modulate the transmitter with two non-harmonically related radio frequencies and observe the RF output with a spectrum analyzer

17. - E4C04

How is the noise figure of a receiver defined?

Select	Answer
A	The ratio in dB of the noise generated by the receiver to the theoretical minimum noise
B	The ratio of the noise bandwidth in Hertz to the theoretical bandwidth of a resistive network
C	The ratio of atmospheric noise to phase noise
D	The ratio of thermal noise to atmospheric noise

18. - E4D01

What is meant by the blocking dynamic range of a receiver?

Select	Answer
A	The minimum difference in dB between the levels of two FM signals which will cause one signal to block the other
B	The difference in dB between the noise floor and the third order intercept point
C	The minimum difference in dB between two signals which produce third order intermodulation products greater than the noise floor
D	The difference in dB between the noise floor and the level of an incoming signal which will cause 1 dB of gain compression

19. - E4E14

What is one type of electrical interference that might be caused by the operation of a nearby personal computer?

Select	Answer
A	A loud AC hum in the audio output of your station receiver
B	A clicking noise at intervals of a few seconds
C	The appearance of unstable modulated or unmodulated signals at specific frequencies
D	A whining type noise that continually pulses off and on

20. - E5A15

Which of the following can increase Q for inductors and capacitors?

Select	Answer
A	Lower losses
B	Higher self-resonant frequency
C	Lower reactance
D	Lower self-resonant frequency

21. - E5B12

What is admittance?

Select	Answer
A	The unit used for Q factor
B	The turns ratio of a transformer
C	The term for the gain of a field effect transistor
D	The inverse of impedance

22. - E5C05

What is the name of the diagram used to show the phase relationship between impedances at a given frequency?

Select	Answer
A	Near field diagram
B	Far field diagram
C	Venn diagram
D	Phasor diagram

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	0.577
B	0.866
C	1.73
D	0.5

24. - E6A15

Which semiconductor material contains excess holes in the outer shell of electrons?

Select	Answer
A	N-type
B	Bipolar-type
C	P-type
D	Superconductor-type

25. - E6B03

What special type of diode is capable of both amplification and oscillation?

Select	Answer
A	Zener
B	Junction
C	Tunnel
D	Point contact

26. - E6C10

In Figure E6-5, what is the schematic symbol for a NOR gate?

Select	Answer
A	3
B	2
C	1
D	4

27. - E6D05

What is one reason for using ferrite cores rather than powdered-iron in an inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Ferrite toroids are easier to use with surface mount technology
B	Ferrite toroids generally have better temperature stability
C	Ferrite toroids generally require fewer turns to produce a given inductance value
D	Ferrite toroids generally have lower initial permeability

28. - E6E04

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

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

29. - E6F13

What is a liquid crystal display (LCD)?

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

30. - E7A03

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

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

31. - E7B08

How can an RF power amplifier be neutralized?

Select	Answer
A	By reducing the driving power
B	By feeding a 180-degree out-of-phase portion of the output back to the input
C	By feeding an in-phase component of the output back to the input
D	By increasing the driving power

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

33. - E7D08

What type of circuit is shown in Figure E7-3?

Select	Answer
A	Grounded emitter amplifier
B	Switching voltage regulator
C	Linear voltage regulator
D	Emitter follower

34. - E7E09

What occurs when an excessive amount of signal energy reaches a mixer circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Automatic limiting occurs
B	Mixer blanking occurs
C	A beat frequency is generated
D	Spurious mixer products are generated

35. - E7F10

What aspect of receiver analog-to-digital conversion determines the maximum receive bandwidth of a Direct Digital Conversion SDR?

Select	Answer
A	Processor latency
B	Sample width in bits
C	Sample rate
D	Sample clock phase noise

36. - E7G07

What magnitude of voltage gain can be expected from the circuit in Figure E7-4 when R1 is 10 ohms and RF is 470 ohms?

Select	Answer
A	47
B	24
C	94
D	0.21

37. - E7H05

How is positive feedback supplied in a Pierce oscillator?

Select	Answer
A	Through a neutralizing capacitor
B	Through a quartz crystal
C	Through link coupling
D	Through a tapped coil

38. - E8A02

What type of wave has a rise time significantly faster than its fall time (or vice versa)?

Select	Answer
A	A cosine wave
B	A sawtooth wave
C	A square wave
D	A sine wave

39. - E8B09

What is meant by deviation ratio?

Select	Answer
A	The ratio of the highest audio modulating frequency to the average audio modulating frequency
B	The ratio of the carrier center frequency to the audio modulating frequency
C	The ratio of the audio modulating frequency to the center carrier frequency
D	The ratio of the maximum carrier frequency deviation to the highest audio modulating frequency

40. - E8C11

What is the relationship between symbol rate and baud?

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

41. - E8D06

Which of the following indicates likely overmodulation of an AFSK signal such as PSK or MFSK?

Select	Answer
A	Strong ALC action
B	High reflected power
C	Rapid signal fading
D	Harmonics on higher bands

42. - E9A17

What is the effective radiated power of a repeater station with 200 watts transmitter power output, 2 dB feed line loss, 2.8 dB duplexer loss, 1.2 dB circulator loss, and 7 dBi antenna gain?

Select	Answer
A	159 watts
B	632 watts
C	252 watts
D	63.2 watts

43. - E9B06

What is the elevation angle of peak response in the antenna radiation pattern shown in Figure E9-2?

Select	Answer
A	75 degrees
B	7.5 degrees
C	25 degrees
D	45 degrees

44. - E9C07

What is the approximate feed point impedance at the center of a two-wire folded dipole antenna?

Select	Answer
A	300 ohms
B	50 ohms
C	72 ohms
D	450 ohms

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. - E9E10

Which of these choices is an effective way to match an antenna with a 100 ohm feed point impedance to a 50 ohm coaxial cable feed line?

Select	Answer
A	Connect 1/2 wavelength shorted stub of 75 ohm cable in parallel with the 50 ohm cable where it attaches to the antenna
B	Connect a 1/4-wavelength open stub of 300 ohm twin-lead in parallel with the coaxial feed line where it connects to the antenna
C	Insert a 1/4-wavelength piece of 75 ohm coaxial cable transmission line in series between the antenna terminals and the 50 ohm feed cable
D	Insert a 1/2 wavelength piece of 300 ohm twin-lead in series between the antenna terminals and the 50 ohm feed cable

47. - E9F16

Which of the following is a significant difference between foam dielectric coaxial cable and solid dielectric cable, assuming all other parameters are the same?

Select	Answer
A	All of these choices are correct
B	Foam dielectric has lower loss per unit of length
C	Foam dielectric has higher velocity factor
D	Foam dielectric has lower safe operating voltage limits

48. - E9G09

What third family of circles is often added to a Smith chart during the process of solving problems?

Select	Answer
A	Radiation-pattern circles
B	Standing wave ratio circles
C	Coaxial-length circles
D	Antenna-length circles

49. - E9H07

Why is it advisable to use an RF attenuator on a receiver being used for direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	It narrows the bandwidth of the received signal to improve signal to noise ratio
B	It compensates for the effects of an isotropic antenna, thereby improving directivity
C	It reduces loss of received signals caused by antenna pattern nulls, thereby increasing sensitivity
D	It prevents receiver overload which could make it difficult to determine peaks or nulls

50. - E0A01

What is the primary function of an external earth connection or ground rod?

Select	Answer
A	Reduce received noise
B	Reduce RF current flow between pieces of equipment
C	Lightning protection
D	Reduce RFI to telephones and home entertainment systems

Figure E6-5

Figure E7-3

Figure E7-4

Figure E9-2