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

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1. - E1A13

Who must be in physical control of the station apparatus of an amateur station aboard any vessel or craft that is documented or registered in the United States?

Select	Answer
A	Only a person named in an amateur station license grant
B	Any person named in an amateur station license grant or a person holding an unrestricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit
C	Only a person with an FCC Marine Radio
D	Any person holding an FCC issued amateur license or who is authorized for alien reciprocal operation

2. - E1B07

What is the highest modulation index permitted at the highest modulation frequency for angle modulation below 29.0 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	1.0
B	3.0
C	0.5
D	2.0

3. - E1C05

When may an automatically controlled station originate third party communications?

Select	Answer
A	When approved by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration
B	Only when transmitting RTTY or data emissions
C	When agreed upon by the sending or receiving station
D	Never

4. - E1D07

Which amateur service HF bands have frequencies authorized for space stations?

Select	Answer
A	Only the 40 m, 30 m, 20 m, 15 m, 12 m and 10 m bands
B	Only the 40 m, 20 m, 17 m, 15 m and 10 m bands
C	All HF bands
D	Only the 40 m, 20 m, 17 m, 15 m, 12 m and 10 m bands

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	Have each applicant sign an affidavit stating that all session rules were followed
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	The exam proctor observes the applicants and reports any violations

6. - E1F12

Who may be the control operator of an auxiliary station?

Select	Answer
A	Only Amateur Extra Class operators
B	Any licensed amateur operator
C	Only Technician, General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operators
D	Only General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operators

7. - E2A08

Why should effective radiated power to a satellite which uses a linear transponder be limited?

Select	Answer
A	To prevent the satellite from emitting out-of-band signals
B	To prevent creating errors in the satellite telemetry
C	To avoid interfering with terrestrial QSOs
D	To avoid reducing the downlink power to all other users

8. - E2B15

What signals SSTV receiving equipment to begin a new picture line?

Select	Answer
A	Specific tone amplitudes
B	Specific tone frequencies
C	A two-tone signal
D	Elapsed time

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

10. - E2D14

What is one advantage of using JT65 coding?

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

11. - E2E09

Which of the following HF digital modes uses variable-length coding for bandwidth efficiency?

Select	Answer
A	MT63
B	RTTY
C	PACTOR
D	PSK31

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

13. - E3B07

Which of the following could account for hearing an echo on the received signal of a distant station?

Select	Answer
A	Transmit frequency is higher than the MUF
B	Receipt of a signal by more than one path
C	Meteor scatter
D	High D layer absorption

14. - E3C15

What might a sudden rise in radio background noise indicate?

Select	Answer
A	Increased transequatorial propagation likely
B	Long-path propagation is occurring
C	A solar flare has occurred
D	A meteor ping

15. - E4A12

Which of the following procedures is an important precaution to follow when connecting a spectrum analyzer to a transmitter output?

Select	Answer
A	Match the antenna to the load
B	Use high quality double shielded coaxial cables to reduce signal losses
C	All of these choices are correct
D	Attenuate the transmitter output going to the spectrum analyzer

16. - E4B11

How should an antenna analyzer be connected when measuring antenna resonance and feed point impedance?

Select	Answer
A	Connect the analyzer via a high-impedance transformer to the antenna
B	Connect the antenna feed line directly to the analyzer's connector
C	Loosely couple the antenna and a dummy load to the analyzer
D	Loosely couple the analyzer near the antenna base

17. - E4C16

Which of the following is caused by missing codes in an SDR receiver's analog-to-digital converter?

Select	Answer
A	Overload
B	Distortion
C	Excess output level
D	Loss of sensitivity

18. - E4D14

Which of the following is a way to reduce the likelihood of receiver desensitization?

Select	Answer
A	Decrease the RF bandwidth of the receiver
B	Raise the receiver IF frequency
C	Switch from fast AGC to slow AGC
D	Increase the receiver front end gain

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

20. - E5A10

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

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

21. - E5B13

What letter is commonly used to represent susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	B
B	X
C	G
D	Y

22. - E5C11

What do the two numbers that are used to define a point on a graph using rectangular coordinates represent?

Select	Answer
A	The sine and cosine values
B	The tangent and cotangent values
C	The magnitude and phase of the point
D	The coordinate values along the horizontal and vertical axes

23. - E5D01

What is the result of skin effect?

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

24. - E6A11

In Figure E6-2, what is the schematic symbol for a P-channel junction FET?

Select	Answer
A	1
B	6
C	3
D	2

25. - E6B03

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

Select	Answer
A	Tunnel
B	Zener
C	Junction
D	Point contact

26. - E6C01

What is the function of hysteresis in a comparator?

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

27. - E6D08

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

Select	Answer
A	Powdered-iron cores generally have greater initial permeability
B	Powdered-iron cores generally maintain their characteristics at higher currents
C	Powdered-iron cores use smaller diameter wire for the same inductance
D	Powdered-iron cores generally require fewer turns to produce a given inductance

28. - E6E07

Which of the following is typically used to construct a MMIC-based microwave amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	Ground-plane construction
B	Wave-soldering construction
C	Point-to-point construction
D	Microstrip construction

29. - E6F14

Which of the following is true of LCD displays?

Select	Answer
A	They may be hard view through polarized lenses
B	They are hard to view in high ambient light conditions
C	They only display alphanumeric symbols
D	All of these choices are correct

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 produces a continuous square wave oscillating between 1 and 0
C	It maintains a constant output voltage, regardless of variations in the input voltage
D	It switches momentarily to the opposite binary state and then returns to its original state after a set time

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	Select transistors with high beta
C	Neutralization
D	Use a resistor in series with the emitter

32. - E7C04

How does an impedance-matching circuit transform a complex impedance to a resistive impedance?

Select	Answer
A	Network resistances are substituted for load resistances and reactances are matched to the resistances
B	It introduces transconductance to cancel the reactive part of impedance
C	It introduces negative resistance to cancel the resistive part of impedance
D	It cancels the reactive part of the impedance and changes the resistive part to a desired value

33. - E7D06

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

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

34. - E7E06

Why is de-emphasis commonly used in FM communications receivers?

Select	Answer
A	To reduce impulse noise reception
B	To remove third-order distortion products
C	For higher efficiency
D	For compatibility with transmitters using phase modulation

35. - E7F01

What is meant by direct digital conversion as applied to software defined radios?

Select	Answer
A	Software is converted from source code to object code during operation of the receiver
B	Incoming RF is digitized by an analog-to-digital converter without being mixed with a local oscillator signal
C	Incoming RF is converted to a control voltage for a voltage controlled oscillator
D	A switching mixer is used to generate I and Q signals directly from the RF input

36. - E7G03

What is the typical input impedance of an integrated circuit op-amp?

Select	Answer
A	Very high
B	1000 ohms
C	Very low
D	100 ohms

37. - E7H05

How is positive feedback supplied in a Pierce oscillator?

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

38. - E8A13

Which of these methods is commonly used to convert analog signals to digital signals?

Select	Answer
A	Sequential sampling
B	Harmonic regeneration
C	Phase reversal
D	Level shifting

39. - E8B10

What describes frequency division multiplexing?

Select	Answer
A	Two or more information streams are merged into a baseband, which then modulates the transmitter
B	Two or more information streams are merged into a digital combiner, which then pulse position modulates the transmitter
C	The transmitted signal is divided into packets of information
D	The transmitted signal jumps from band to band at a predetermined rate

40. - E8C11

What is the relationship between symbol rate and baud?

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

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

42. - E9A12

How much gain does an antenna have compared to a 1/2-wavelength dipole when it has 6 dB gain over an isotropic antenna?

Select	Answer
A	6.0 dB
B	2.79 dB
C	8.15 dB
D	3.85 dB

43. - E9B12

What is the far field of an antenna?

Select	Answer
A	The region where radiated field strengths are obstructed by objects of reflection
B	The region where the shape of the antenna pattern is independent of distance
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. - E9C09

What is a G5RV antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A wide band dipole using shorted coaxial cable for the radiating elements and fed with a 4:1 balun
B	A phased array antenna consisting of multiple loops
C	A multi-band dipole antenna fed with coax and a balun through a selected length of open wire transmission line
D	A multi-band trap antenna

45. - E9D02

How can linearly polarized Yagi antennas be used to produce circular polarization?

Select	Answer
A	Arrange two Yagis collinear to each other with the driven elements fed 180 degrees out of phase
B	Arrange two Yagis perpendicular to each other with the driven elements at the same point on the boom fed 90 degrees out of phase
C	Stack two Yagis fed in phase to form an array with the respective elements in parallel planes
D	Stack two Yagis fed 90 degrees out of phase to form an array with the respective elements in parallel planes

46. - E9E03

What is the name of the matching system that uses a section of transmission line connected in parallel with the feed line at or near the feed point?

Select	Answer
A	The delta match
B	The stub match
C	The gamma match
D	The omega match

47. - E9F06

What is the approximate physical length of an air-insulated, parallel conductor transmission line that is electrically one-half wavelength long at 14.10 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	71 meters
B	20 meters
C	15 meters
D	10 meters

48. - E9G09

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

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

50. - E0A05

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

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

Figure E6-2

Figure E7-3