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	1 kHz below the upper band edge
B	300 Hz below the upper band edge
C	3 kHz below the upper band edge
D	The exact upper band edge

2. - E1B09

Which amateur stations may be operated under RACES rules?

Select	Answer
A	Any FCC-licensed amateur station participating in the Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS)
B	Only those club stations licensed to Amateur Extra class operators
C	Any FCC-licensed amateur station certified by the responsible civil defense organization for the area served
D	Any FCC-licensed amateur station except a Technician class

3. - E1C08

What is the maximum permissible duration of a remotely controlled station's transmissions if its control link malfunctions?

Select	Answer
A	5 minutes
B	10 minutes
C	30 seconds
D	3 minutes

4. - E1D07

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

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

5. - E1E01

What is the minimum number of qualified VEs required to administer an Element 4 amateur operator license examination?

Select	Answer
A	2
B	4
C	3
D	5

6. - E1F10

What is the maximum permitted transmitter peak envelope power for an amateur station transmitting spread spectrum communications?

Select	Answer
A	1 W
B	1.5 kW
C	10 W
D	1.5 W

7. - E2A08

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

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

8. - E2B04

What is blanking in a video signal?

Select	Answer
A	Synchronization of the horizontal and vertical sync pulses
B	Turning off the scanning beam at the conclusion of a transmission
C	Turning off the scanning beam while it is traveling from right to left or from bottom to top
D	Transmitting a black and white test pattern

9. - E2C07

What is the Cabrillo format?

Select	Answer
A	The most common set of contest rules
B	The rules of order for meetings between contest sponsors
C	A method of exchanging information during a contest QSO
D	A standard for submission of electronic contest logs

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

11. - E2E07

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

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

12. - E3A12

What is the cause of auroral activity?

Select	Answer
A	The interaction in the F2 layer between the solar wind and the Van Allen belt
B	The interaction in the E layer of charged particles from the Sun with the Earth's magnetic field
C	Meteor showers concentrated in the extreme northern and southern latitudes
D	A low sunspot level combined with tropospheric ducting

13. - E3B02

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

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

14. - E3C02

What is indicated by a rising A or K index?

Select	Answer
A	Decreasing disruption of the geomagnetic field
B	Increasing disruption of the geomagnetic field
C	An increase in the critical frequency
D	Higher levels of solar UV radiation

15. - E4A05

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

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

16. - E4B06

How much power is being absorbed by the load when a directional power meter connected between a transmitter and a terminating load reads 100 watts forward power and 25 watts reflected power?

Select	Answer
A	75 watts
B	125 watts
C	100 watts
D	25 watts

17. - E4C03

What is the term for the blocking of one FM phone signal by another, stronger FM phone signal?

Select	Answer
A	Capture effect
B	Cross-modulation interference
C	Desensitization
D	Frequency discrimination

18. - E4D06

What is the term for unwanted signals generated by the mixing of two or more signals?

Select	Answer
A	Intermodulation interference
B	Amplifier desensitization
C	Neutralization
D	Adjacent channel interference

19. - E4E05

How can noise from an electric motor be suppressed?

Select	Answer
A	By installing a bypass capacitor in series with the motor leads
B	By installing a brute-force AC-line filter in series with the motor leads
C	By installing a high pass filter in series with the motor's power leads
D	By using a ground-fault current interrupter in the circuit used to power the motor

20. - E5A10

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

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

21. - E5B02

What is the term for the time it takes for a charged capacitor in an RC circuit to discharge to 36.8% of its initial voltage?

Select	Answer
A	One discharge period
B	One time constant
C	A discharge factor of one
D	An exponential discharge rate of one

22. - E5C07

What is a vector?

Select	Answer
A	The value of a quantity that changes over time
B	The inverse of the tangent function
C	A quantity with both magnitude and an angular component
D	The inverse of the sine function

23. - E5D17

How many watts are consumed in a circuit having a power factor of 0.6 if the input is 200VAC at 5 amperes?

Select	Answer
A	600 watts
B	1000 watts
C	200 watts
D	1600 watts

24. - E6A09

What is a depletion-mode FET?

Select	Answer
A	Any FET without a channel
B	An FET that exhibits a current flow between source and drain when no gate voltage is applied
C	Any FET for which holes are the majority carriers
D	An FET that has no current flow between source and drain when no gate voltage is applied

25. - E6B03

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

Select	Answer
A	Junction
B	Point contact
C	Tunnel
D	Zener

26. - E6C12

What is BiCMOS logic?

Select	Answer
A	A FET logic family based on bimetallic semiconductors
B	A logic family based on bismuth CMOS devices
C	An integrated circuit logic family using both bipolar and CMOS transistors
D	A logic device with two CMOS circuits per package

27. - E6D05

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

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

28. - E6E10

What is the packaging technique in which leadless components are soldered directly to circuit boards?

Select	Answer
A	Virtual lead mounting
B	Direct soldering
C	Surface mount
D	Stripped lead

29. - E6F11

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

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

30. - E7A09

What logical operation is performed by an exclusive NOR gate?

Select	Answer
A	It produces logic "1" at its output only if all inputs are logic "1"
B	It produces logic "1" at its output if any single input is logic "1"
C	It produces logic "0" at its output only if all inputs are logic "0"
D	It produces logic "0" at its output if any single input is logic "1"

31. - E7B17

Why are odd-order rather than even-order intermodulation distortion products of concern in linear power amplifiers?

Select	Answer
A	Because they invert the sidebands causing distortion
B	Because they are relatively far in frequency from the desired signal
C	Because they maintain the sidebands, thus causing multiple duplicate signals
D	Because they are relatively close in frequency to the desired signal

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

33. - E7D09

What is the main reason to use a charge controller with a solar power system?

Select	Answer
A	Control of electrolyte levels during battery discharge
B	Prevention of battery undercharge
C	Prevention of battery damage due to overcharge
D	Matching of day and night charge rates

34. - E7E09

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

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

35. - E7F16

How might the sampling rate of an existing digital signal be adjusted by a factor of 3/4?

Select	Answer
A	Multiply each sample value by a factor of 3/4
B	Change the gain by a factor of 3/4
C	Add 3 to each input value and subtract 4 from each output value
D	Interpolate by a factor of three, then decimate by a factor of four

36. - E7G09

What will be the output voltage of the circuit shown in Figure E7-4 if R1 is 1000 ohms, RF is 10,000 ohms, and 0.23 volts DC is applied to the input?

Select	Answer
A	0.23 volts
B	-0.23 volts
C	-2.3 volts
D	2.3 volts

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	Excess loading of the microphone by an oscillator
D	An IC used for amplifying microphone signals

38. - E8A12

What is an advantage of using digital signals instead of analog signals to convey the same information?

Select	Answer
A	All of these choices are correct
B	Digital signals can be regenerated multiple times without error
C	Less complex circuitry is required for digital signal generation and detection
D	Digital signals always occupy a narrower bandwidth

39. - E8B03

What is the modulation index of an FM-phone signal having a maximum frequency deviation of 3000 Hz either side of the carrier frequency when the modulating frequency is 1000 Hz?

Select	Answer
A	3
B	0.3
C	3000
D	1000

40. - E8C04

What technique is used to minimize the bandwidth requirements of a PSK31 signal?

Select	Answer
A	Reed-Solomon character encoding
B	Use of trapezoidal data pulses
C	Zero-sum character encoding
D	Use of sinusoidal data pulses

41. - E8D10

What are some of the differences between the Baudot digital code and ASCII?

Select	Answer
A	Baudot uses 4 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot uses 1 character as a letters/figures shift code, ASCII has no letters/figures code
B	Baudot uses 5 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot uses 2 characters as letters/figures shift codes, ASCII has no letters/figures shift code
C	Baudot uses 6 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes
D	Baudot uses 7 data bits per character, ASCII uses 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes

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	8.15 dB
C	3.85 dB
D	2.79 dB

43. - E9B03

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

Select	Answer
A	14 dB
B	18 dB
C	24 dB
D	12 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 main lobe takeoff angle increases with increasing height
B	The horizontal beam width increases with height
C	The horizontal beam width decreases with height
D	The main lobe takeoff angle decreases with increasing height

45. - E9D07

What is an advantage of using top loading in a shortened HF vertical antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Higher losses
B	Greater structural strength
C	Lower Q
D	Improved radiation efficiency

46. - E9E08

Which of the following measurements is characteristic of a mismatched transmission line?

Select	Answer
A	An SWR less than 1:1
B	An SWR greater than 1:1
C	A dielectric constant greater than 1
D	A reflection coefficient greater than 1

47. - E9F03

Why is the physical length of a coaxial cable transmission line shorter than its electrical length?

Select	Answer
A	The characteristic impedance is higher in a parallel feed line
B	Electrical signals move more slowly in a coaxial cable than in air
C	The surge impedance is higher in a parallel feed line
D	Skin effect is less pronounced in the coaxial cable

48. - E9G04

What are the two families of circles and arcs that make up a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Resistance and reactance
B	Voltage and impedance
C	Resistance and voltage
D	Reactance and voltage

49. - E9H01

When constructing a Beverage antenna, which of the following factors should be included in the design to achieve good performance at the desired frequency?

Select	Answer
A	It must be mounted more than 1 wavelength above ground
B	Its overall length must not exceed 1/4 wavelength
C	It should be configured as a four-sided loop
D	It should be one or more wavelengths long

50. - E0A09

Which insulating material commonly used as a thermal conductor for some types of electronic devices is extremely toxic if broken or crushed and the particles are accidentally inhaled?

Select	Answer
A	Uranium Hexafluoride
B	Mica
C	Zinc oxide
D	Beryllium Oxide

Figure E7-4

Figure E9-1