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

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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	1 kHz below the upper band edge
C	3 kHz below the upper band edge
D	The exact upper band edge

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

3. - E1C10

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

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

4. - E1D11

Which amateur stations are eligible to operate as Earth stations?

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

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	Use a real-time video link and the Internet to connect the exam session to the observing VEs
C	Record the exam session on video tape for later review by the VE team
D	Have each applicant sign an affidavit stating that all session rules were followed

6. - E1F01

On what frequencies are spread spectrum transmissions permitted?

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

7. - E2A06

On what band would a satellite receive signals if it were operating in mode U/V?

Select	Answer
A	435 MHz - 438 MHz
B	50.0 MHz - 50.2 MHz
C	144 MHz - 146 MHz
D	29.5 MHz - 29.7 MHz

8. - E2B08

Which of the following is a common method of transmitting accompanying audio with amateur fast-scan television?

Select	Answer
A	A separate VHF or UHF audio link
B	Frequency modulation of the video carrier
C	Frequency-modulated sub-carrier
D	All of these choices are correct

9. - E2C06

During a VHF/UHF contest, in which band segment would you expect to find the highest level of activity?

Select	Answer
A	In the middle of each band, usually on the national calling frequency
B	In the weak signal segment of the band, with most of the activity near the calling frequency
C	In the middle of the band, usually 25 kHz above the national calling frequency
D	At the top of each band, usually in a segment reserved for contests

10. - E2D14

What is one advantage of using JT65 coding?

Select	Answer
A	Uses only a 65 Hz bandwidth
B	Easily copied by ear if necessary
C	The ability to decode signals which have a very low signal to noise ratio
D	Permits fast-scan TV transmissions over narrow bandwidth

11. - E2E08

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

Select	Answer
A	AMTOR
B	PACTOR
C	RTTY
D	Hellschreiber

12. - E3A02

What characterizes libration fading of an EME signal?

Select	Answer
A	A slow change in the pitch of the CW signal
B	A gradual loss of signal as the Sun rises
C	A fluttery irregular fading
D	The returning echo is several Hertz lower in frequency than the transmitted signal

13. - E3B09

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

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

14. - E3C03

Which of the following signal paths is most likely to experience high levels of absorption when the A index or K index is elevated?

Select	Answer
A	Sporadic-E
B	NVIS
C	Polar paths
D	Transequatorial propagation

15. - E4A05

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

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

16. - E4B14

What happens if a dip meter is too tightly coupled to a tuned circuit being checked?

Select	Answer
A	A less accurate reading results
B	Cross modulation occurs
C	Harmonics are generated
D	Intermodulation distortion occurs

17. - E4C17

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

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

18. - E4D08

What causes intermodulation in an electronic circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Too little gain
B	Lack of neutralization
C	Positive feedback
D	Nonlinear circuits or devices

19. - E4E09

What undesirable effect can occur when using an IF noise blanker?

Select	Answer
A	FM signals can no longer be demodulated
B	Nearby signals may appear to be excessively wide even if they meet emission standards
C	The audio frequency bandwidth of the received signal might be compressed
D	Received audio in the speech range might have an echo effect

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

21. - E5B08

What is the phase angle between the voltage across and the current through a series RLC circuit if XC is 100 ohms, R is 100 ohms, and XL is 75 ohms?

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

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. - E5D09

What happens to reactive power in an AC circuit that has both ideal inductors and ideal capacitors?

Select	Answer
A	It is dissipated as kinetic energy in the circuit
B	It is dissipated as heat in the circuit
C	It is repeatedly exchanged between the associated magnetic and electric fields, but is not dissipated
D	It is dissipated in the formation of inductive and capacitive fields

24. - E6A12

Why do many MOSFET devices have internally connected Zener diodes on the gates?

Select	Answer
A	To keep the gate voltage within specifications and prevent the device from overheating
B	To protect the substrate from excessive voltages
C	To provide a voltage reference for the correct amount of reverse-bias gate voltage
D	To reduce the chance of the gate insulation being punctured by static discharges or excessive voltages

25. - E6B07

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

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

26. - E6C03

What is tri-state logic?

Select	Answer
A	Low power logic devices designed to operate at 3 volts
B	Logic devices with 0, 1, and high impedance output states
C	Logic devices that utilize ternary math
D	Proprietary logic devices manufactured by Tri-State Devices

27. - E6D13

What is the primary cause of inductor self-resonance?

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

28. - E6E02

Which of the following device packages is a through-hole type?

Select	Answer
A	Ball grid array
B	DIP
C	PLCC
D	SOT

29. - E6F12

What absorbs the energy from light falling on a photovoltaic cell?

Select	Answer
A	Electrons
B	Holes
C	Photons
D	Protons

30. - E7A01

Which is a bi-stable circuit?

Select	Answer
A	An "AND" gate
B	An "OR" gate
C	A flip-flop
D	A clock

31. - E7B15

What is one way to prevent thermal runaway in a bipolar transistor amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	All of these choices are correct
B	Use a resistor in series with the emitter
C	Select transistors with high beta
D	Neutralization

32. - E7C03

What advantage does a Pi-L-network have over a regular Pi-network for impedance matching between the final amplifier of a vacuum-tube transmitter and an antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Greater transformation range
B	Lower losses
C	Greater harmonic suppression
D	Higher efficiency

33. - E7D08

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

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

34. - E7E09

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

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

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 four times 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 half the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
D	At the same rate as the highest frequency component of the signal

36. - E7G05

How can unwanted ringing and audio instability be prevented in a multi-section op-amp RC audio filter circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Restrict gain but increase Q
B	Increase both gain and Q
C	Restrict Q but increase gain
D	Restrict both gain and Q

37. - E7H09

What type of frequency synthesizer circuit uses a phase accumulator, lookup table, digital to analog converter, and a low-pass anti-alias filter?

Select	Answer
A	A direct digital synthesizer
B	A phase locked loop synthesizer
C	A hybrid synthesizer
D	A diode-switching matrix synthesizer

38. - E8A05

What would be the most accurate way of measuring the RMS voltage of a complex waveform?

Select	Answer
A	By using a grid dip meter
B	By measuring the voltage with a D'Arsonval meter
C	By measuring the heating effect in a known resistor
D	By using an absorption wave meter

39. - E8B08

What describes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing?

Select	Answer
A	A digital mode for narrow band, slow speed transmissions
B	A frequency modulation technique which uses non-harmonically related frequencies
C	A digital modulation technique using subcarriers at frequencies chosen to avoid intersymbol interference
D	A bandwidth compression technique using Fourier transforms

40. - E8C01

How is Forward Error Correction implemented?

Select	Answer
A	By transmitting extra data that may be used to detect and correct transmission errors
B	By the receiving station repeating each block of three data characters
C	By varying the frequency shift of the transmitted signal according to a predefined algorithm
D	By transmitting a special algorithm to the receiving station along with the data characters

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

42. - E9A06

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

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

43. - E9B09

What type of computer program technique is commonly used for modeling antennas?

Select	Answer
A	Mutual impedance analysis
B	Graphical analysis
C	Calculus differentiation with respect to physical properties
D	Method of Moments

44. - E9C06

What is the effect of a terminating resistor on a rhombic antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It decreases the ground loss
B	It changes the radiation pattern from bidirectional to unidirectional
C	It changes the radiation pattern from horizontal to vertical polarization
D	It reflects the standing waves on the antenna elements back to the transmitter

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. - E9E12

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

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

47. - E9F13

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

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

48. - E9G02

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

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

49. - E9H09

Which of the following describes the construction of a receiving loop antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A large circularly polarized antenna
B	A small coil of wire tightly wound around a toroidal ferrite core
C	One or more turns of wire wound in the shape of a large open coil
D	A vertical antenna coupled to a feed line through an inductive loop of wire

50. - E0A01

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

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

Figure E7-3