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

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1. - E1A09

What is the first action you should take if your digital message forwarding station inadvertently forwards a communication that violates FCC rules?

Select	Answer
A	Discontinue forwarding the communication as soon as you become aware of it
B	Notify the nearest FCC Field Engineer's office
C	Discontinue forwarding all messages
D	Notify the originating station that the communication does not comply with FCC rules

2. - E1B05

What is the National Radio Quiet Zone?

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

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 beacon, repeater or space stations
C	Only earth stations, repeater stations or model craft
D	Only auxiliary, repeater or space stations

4. - E1D05

What class of licensee is authorized to be the control operator of a space station?

Select	Answer
A	Any class with appropriate operator privileges
B	Only Amateur Extra Class
C	All except Technician Class
D	Only General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class

5. - E1E10

What must the administering VEs do after the administration of a successful examination for an amateur operator license?

Select	Answer
A	They must submit the application document to the coordinating VEC according to the coordinating VEC instructions
B	They must collect and submit the documents to the coordinating VEC for grading
C	They must collect and send the documents to the NCVEC for grading
D	They must collect and send the documents to the FCC according to instructions

6. - E1F05

Amateur stations may not transmit in which of the following frequency segments if they are located in the contiguous 48 states and north of Line A?

Select	Answer
A	222 MHz - 223 MHz
B	440 MHz - 450 MHz
C	420 MHz - 430 MHz
D	53 MHz - 54 MHz

7. - E2A12

What is one way to predict the location of a satellite at a given time?

Select	Answer
A	By subtracting the mean anomaly from the orbital inclination
B	By means of the Doppler data for the specified satellite
C	By adding the mean anomaly to the orbital inclination
D	By calculations using the Keplerian elements for the specified satellite

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	20 KHz
B	3 KHz
C	15 KHz
D	10 KHz

9. - E2C01

Which of the following is true about contest operating?

Select	Answer
A	Interference to other amateurs is unavoidable and therefore acceptable
B	It is mandatory to transmit the call sign of the station being worked as part of every transmission to that station
C	Every contest requires a signal report in the exchange
D	Operators are permitted to make contacts even if they do not submit a log

10. - E2D04

What is the purpose of digital store-and-forward functions on an Amateur Radio satellite?

Select	Answer
A	To upload operational software for the transponder
B	To relay messages between satellites
C	To store digital messages in the satellite for later download by other stations
D	To delay download of telemetry between satellites

11. - E2E05

Which type of digital mode does not support keyboard-to-keyboard operation?

Select	Answer
A	MFSK
B	RTTY
C	PSK31
D	Winlink

12. - E3A17

What is meant by circularly polarized electromagnetic waves?

Select	Answer
A	Waves that circle the Earth
B	Waves with an electric field bent into a circular shape
C	Waves with a rotating electric field
D	Waves produced by a loop antenna

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 equinoxes, especially the spring equinox
C	Around the solstices, especially the summer solstice
D	Around the solstices, especially the winter solstice

14. - E3C12

How does the maximum distance of ground-wave propagation change when the signal frequency is increased?

Select	Answer
A	It peaks at roughly 14 MHz
B	It stays the same
C	It increases
D	It decreases

15. - E4A13

How is the compensation of an oscilloscope probe typically adjusted?

Select	Answer
A	A high frequency sine wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted for maximum amplitude
B	A DC voltage standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the displayed voltage is accurate
C	A frequency standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the deflection time is accurate
D	A square wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the horizontal portions of the displayed wave are as nearly flat as possible

16. - E4B09

What is indicated if the current reading on an RF ammeter placed in series with the antenna feed line of a transmitter increases as the transmitter is tuned to resonance?

Select	Answer
A	There is possibly a short to ground in the feed line
B	The transmitter is not properly neutralized
C	There is an impedance mismatch between the antenna and feed line
D	There is more power going into the antenna

17. - E4C13

How does a narrow-band roofing filter affect receiver performance?

Select	Answer
A	It improves sensitivity by reducing front end noise
B	It improves dynamic range by attenuating strong signals near the receive frequency
C	All of these choices are correct
D	It improves intelligibility by using low Q circuitry to reduce ringing

18. - E4D07

Which describes the most significant effect of an off-frequency signal when it is causing cross-modulation interference to a desired signal?

Select	Answer
A	The off-frequency unwanted signal is heard in addition to the desired signal
B	A reduction in apparent signal strength
C	The desired signal can no longer be heard
D	A large increase in background noise

19. - E4E08

What type of signal is picked up by electrical wiring near a radio antenna?

Select	Answer
A	An electrical-sparking signal
B	A common-mode signal at the frequency of the radio transmitter
C	A differential-mode signal at the AC power line frequency
D	Harmonics of the AC power line frequency

20. - E5A02

What is resonance in an electrical circuit?

Select	Answer
A	The lowest frequency that will pass current
B	The frequency at which the reactive impedance equals the resistive impedance
C	The highest frequency that will pass current
D	The frequency at which the capacitive reactance equals the inductive reactance

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

22. - E5C12

If you plot the impedance of a circuit using the rectangular coordinate system and find the impedance point falls on the right side of the graph on the horizontal axis, what do you know about the circuit?

Select	Answer
A	It is equivalent to a pure resistance
B	It contains resistance and capacitive reactance
C	It has to be a direct current circuit
D	It contains resistance and inductive reactance

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	0.866
B	0.577
C	0.5
D	1.73

24. - E6A13

What do the initials CMOS stand for?

Select	Answer
A	Common Mode Organic Silicon
B	Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor
C	Complementary Mica-Oxide Silicon
D	Common Mode Oscillating System

25. - E6B01

What is the most useful characteristic of a Zener diode?

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

26. - E6C05

What is an advantage of CMOS logic devices over TTL devices?

Select	Answer
A	Lower power consumption
B	Lower distortion
C	Differential output capability
D	Immune to damage from static discharge

27. - E6D02

What is the equivalent circuit of a quartz crystal?

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

28. - E6E02

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

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

29. - E6F10

What is the most common type of photovoltaic cell used for electrical power generation?

Select	Answer
A	Selenium
B	Silicon
C	Copper oxide
D	Cadmium Sulfide

30. - E7A12

What type of logic defines "0" as a high voltage?

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

31. - E7B05

What can be done to prevent unwanted oscillations in an RF power amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	Tune the stage for maximum SWR
B	Install parasitic suppressors and/or neutralize the stage
C	Tune both the input and output for maximum power
D	Use a phase inverter in the output filter

32. - E7C13

What is one advantage of a Pi-matching network over an L-matching network consisting of a single inductor and a single capacitor?

Select	Answer
A	Pi-networks have fewer components
B	L-networks cannot perform impedance transformation
C	The Q of Pi-networks can be varied depending on the component values chosen
D	Pi-networks are designed for balanced input and output

33. - E7D12

What is the drop-out voltage of an analog voltage regulator?

Select	Answer
A	Minimum input-to-output voltage required to maintain regulation
B	Maximum amount that the output voltage drops when the input voltage is varied over its specified range
C	Minimum input voltage for rated power dissipation
D	Maximum amount that the output voltage may decrease at rated load

34. - E7E01

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

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

35. - E7F13

What is the function of taps in a digital signal processing filter?

Select	Answer
A	Provide access for debugging software
B	To reduce excess signal pressure levels
C	Provide incremental signal delays for filter algorithms
D	Select the point at which baseband signals are generated

36. - E7G06

Which of the following is the most appropriate use of an op-amp active filter?

Select	Answer
A	As an audio filter in a receiver
B	As a low-pass filter used between a transmitter and a transmission line
C	For smoothing power supply output
D	As a high-pass filter used to block RFI at the input to receivers

37. - E7H08

Which of the following components can be used to reduce thermal drift in crystal oscillators?

Select	Answer
A	NP0 capacitors
B	Wirewound resistors
C	Non-inductive resistors
D	Toroidal inductors

38. - E8A03

What type of wave does a Fourier analysis show to be made up of sine waves of a given fundamental frequency plus all of its harmonics?

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

39. - E8B10

What describes frequency division multiplexing?

Select	Answer
A	Two or more information streams are merged into a digital combiner, which then pulse position modulates the transmitter
B	Two or more information streams are merged into a baseband, which then 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. - E8C09

Which is the name of a digital code where each preceding or following character changes by only one bit?

Select	Answer
A	Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code
B	Gray code
C	Excess 3 code
D	Binary Coded Decimal Code

41. - E8D11

What is one advantage of using ASCII code for data communications?

Select	Answer
A	It contains fewer information bits per character than any other code
B	It includes built in error correction features
C	It uses one character as a shift code to send numeric and special characters
D	It is possible to transmit both upper and lower case text

42. - E9A07

What is meant by antenna gain?

Select	Answer
A	The ratio of the amount of power radiated by an antenna compared to the transmitter output power
B	The final amplifier gain minus the transmission line losses
C	The ratio of the radiated signal strength of an antenna in the direction of maximum radiation to that of a reference antenna
D	The ratio of the signal in the forward direction to that in the opposite direction

43. - E9B04

What may occur when a directional antenna is operated at different frequencies within the band for which it was designed?

Select	Answer
A	Feed point impedance may become negative
B	Element spacing limits could be exceeded
C	The gain may change depending on frequency
D	The E-field and H-field patterns may reverse

44. - E9C10

Which of the following describes a Zepp antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A dipole constructed from zip cord
B	An omni-directional antenna commonly used for satellite communications
C	An end fed dipole antenna
D	A vertical array capable of quickly changing the direction of maximum radiation by changing phasing lines

45. - E9D04

Why should an HF mobile antenna loading coil have a high ratio of reactance to resistance?

Select	Answer
A	To minimize losses
B	To maximize losses
C	To swamp out harmonics
D	To minimize the Q

46. - E9E04

What is the purpose of the series capacitor in a gamma-type antenna matching network?

Select	Answer
A	To cancel the inductive reactance of the matching network
B	To transform the antenna impedance to a higher value
C	To provide DC isolation between the feed line and the antenna
D	To provide a rejection notch that prevents the radiation of harmonics

47. - E9F12

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

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

48. - E9G02

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

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

49. - E9H02

Which is generally true for low band (160 meter and 80 meter) receiving antennas?

Select	Answer
A	All of these choices are correct
B	Atmospheric noise is so high that gain over a dipole is not important
C	They must be erected at least 1/2 wavelength above the ground to attain good directivity
D	Low loss coax transmission line is essential for good performance

50. - E0A10

What toxic material may be present in some electronic components such as high voltage capacitors and transformers?

Select	Answer
A	Polychlorinated Biphenyls
B	Polytetrafluroethylene
C	Polyethylene
D	Polymorphic silicon