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

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1. - E1A11

Which of the following describes authorization or licensing required when operating an amateur station aboard a U.S.-registered vessel in international waters?

Select	Answer
A	Any FCC-issued amateur license
B	Any amateur license with an FCC Marine or Aircraft endorsement
C	Only General class or higher amateur licenses
D	An unrestricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit

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

3. - E1C08

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

Select	Answer
A	10 minutes
B	30 seconds
C	3 minutes
D	5 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	Only the 40 m, 30 m, 20 m, 15 m, 12 m and 10 m bands
C	Only the 40 m, 20 m, 17 m, 15 m and 10 m bands
D	All HF 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	Use a real-time video link and the Internet to connect the exam session to the observing VEs
B	Record the exam session on video tape for later review by the VE team
C	The exam proctor observes the applicants and reports any violations
D	Have each applicant sign an affidavit stating that all session rules were followed

6. - E1F07

When may an amateur station send a message to a business?

Select	Answer
A	When transmitting international third-party communications
B	When the control operator is employed by the FCC or another government agency
C	When the total money involved does not exceed $25
D	When neither the amateur nor his or her employer has a pecuniary interest in the communications

7. - E2A13

What type of satellite appears to stay in one position in the sky?

Select	Answer
A	Geomagnetic
B	HEO
C	Geostationary
D	LEO

8. - E2B07

What is the name of the signal component that carries color information in NTSC video?

Select	Answer
A	Hue
B	Chroma
C	Luminance
D	Spectral Intensity

9. - E2C09

What type of equipment is commonly used to implement a ham radio mesh network?

Select	Answer
A	A 2 meter VHF transceiver with a 1200 baud modem
B	An optical cable connection between the USB ports of 2 separate computers
C	A 440 MHz transceiver with a 9600 baud modem
D	A standard wireless router running custom software

10. - E2D10

How can an APRS station be used to help support a public service communications activity?

Select	Answer
A	An APRS station with a GPS unit can automatically transmit information to show a mobile station's position during the event
B	An APRS station with an emergency medical technician can automatically transmit medical data to the nearest hospital
C	All of these choices are correct
D	APRS stations with General Personnel Scanners can automatically relay the participant numbers and time as they pass the check points

11. - E2E13

Which of the following is a possible reason that attempts to initiate contact with a digital station on a clear frequency are unsuccessful?

Select	Answer
A	All of these choices are correct
B	Another station you are unable to hear is using the frequency
C	Your transmit frequency is incorrect
D	The protocol version you are using is not the supported by the digital station

12. - E3A11

What is a typical range for tropospheric propagation of microwave signals?

Select	Answer
A	10 miles to 50 miles
B	100 miles to 300 miles
C	2500 miles
D	1200 miles

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 stations at the same latitude
D	Propagation between two mid-latitude points at approximately the same distance north and south of the magnetic equator

14. - E3C07

Which of the following descriptors indicates the greatest solar flare intensity?

Select	Answer
A	Class M
B	Class X
C	Class A
D	Class B

15. - E4A03

Which of the following test instrument is used to display spurious signals and/or intermodulation distortion products in an SSB transmitter?

Select	Answer
A	A time-domain reflectometer
B	A wattmeter
C	A logic analyzer
D	A spectrum analyzer

16. - E4B14

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

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

17. - E4C03

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

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

18. - E4D10

What does a third-order intercept level of 40 dBm mean with respect to receiver performance?

Select	Answer
A	Signals less than 40 dBm will not generate audible third-order intermodulation products
B	The receiver can tolerate signals up to 40 dB above the noise floor without producing third-order intermodulation products
C	A pair of 1 mW input signals will produce a third-order intermodulation product which is 40 dB stronger than the input signal
D	A pair of 40 dBm signals will theoretically generate a third-order intermodulation product with the same level as the input signals

19. - E4E16

What current flows equally on all conductors of an unshielded multi-conductor cable?

Select	Answer
A	Reactive current only
B	Differential-mode current
C	Common-mode current
D	Return current

20. - E5A12

What is the half-power bandwidth of a parallel resonant circuit that has a resonant frequency of 3.7 MHz and a Q of 118?

Select	Answer
A	31.4 kHz
B	15.7 kHz
C	218.3 kHz
D	436.6 kHz

21. - E5B12

What is admittance?

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

22. - E5C03

Which of the following represents an inductive reactance in polar coordinates?

Select	Answer
A	A positive real part
B	A positive phase angle
C	A negative real part
D	A negative phase angle

23. - E5D04

Why are short connections necessary at microwave frequencies?

Select	Answer
A	To reduce noise figure
B	Because of ground reflections
C	To reduce phase shift along the connection
D	To increase neutralizing resistance

24. - E6A17

What are the names of the three terminals of a field-effect transistor?

Select	Answer
A	Gate 1, gate 2, drain
B	Gate, drain, source
C	Emitter, base 1, base 2
D	Emitter, base, collector

25. - E6B08

Which of the following describes a type of semiconductor diode?

Select	Answer
A	Metal-semiconductor junction
B	Thermionic emission diode
C	Electrolytic rectifier
D	CMOS-field effect

26. - E6C13

Which of the following is an advantage of BiCMOS logic?

Select	Answer
A	All of these choices are correct
B	It has the high input impedance of CMOS and the low output impedance of bipolar transistors
C	Its simplicity results in much less expensive devices than standard CMOS
D	It is totally immune to electrostatic damage

27. - E6D17

Why should core saturation of a conventional impedance matching transformer be avoided?

Select	Answer
A	Magnetic flux would increase with frequency
B	Temporary changes of the core permeability could result
C	RF susceptance would increase
D	Harmonics and distortion could result

28. - E6E01

Which of the following is true of a charge-coupled device (CCD)?

Select	Answer
A	Its phase shift changes rapidly with frequency
B	It samples an analog signal and passes it in stages from the input to the output
C	It is used in a battery charger circuit
D	It is a CMOS analog-to-digital converter

29. - E6F13

What is a liquid crystal display (LCD)?

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

30. - E7A02

What is the function of a decade counter digital IC?

Select	Answer
A	It produces ten output pulses for every input pulse
B	It produces one output pulse for every ten input pulses
C	It decodes a decimal number for display on a seven segment LED display
D	It adds two decimal numbers together

31. - E7B14

Why are switching amplifiers more efficient than linear amplifiers?

Select	Answer
A	The power transistor is at saturation or cut off most of the time, resulting in low power dissipation
B	Switching amplifiers use push-pull circuits
C	Linear amplifiers have high gain resulting in higher harmonic content
D	Switching amplifiers operate at higher voltages

32. - E7C05

Which filter type is described as having ripple in the passband and a sharp cutoff?

Select	Answer
A	An active LC filter
B	A Chebyshev filter
C	A passive op-amp filter
D	A Butterworth filter

33. - E7D11

What circuit element is controlled by a series analog voltage regulator to maintain a constant output voltage?

Select	Answer
A	Switching inductance
B	Error amplifier
C	Reference voltage
D	Pass transistor

34. - E7E05

What circuit is added to an FM transmitter to boost the higher audio frequencies?

Select	Answer
A	An audio prescaler
B	A de-emphasis network
C	A heterodyne suppressor
D	A pre-emphasis network

35. - E7F12

What digital process is applied to I and Q signals in order to recover the baseband modulation information?

Select	Answer
A	Fast Fourier Transform
B	Quadrature mixing
C	Decimation
D	Signal conditioning

36. - E7G11

What absolute voltage gain can be expected from the circuit in Figure E7-4 when R1 is 3300 ohms and RF is 47 kilohms?

Select	Answer
A	28
B	7
C	0.07
D	14

37. - E7H01

What are three oscillator circuits used in Amateur Radio equipment?

Select	Answer
A	Taft, Pierce and negative feedback
B	Pierce, Fenner and Beane
C	Colpitts, Hartley and Pierce
D	Taft, Hartley and Pierce

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

39. - E8B05

What is the deviation ratio of an FM-phone signal having a maximum frequency swing of plus-or-minus 5 kHz when the maximum modulation frequency is 3 kHz?

Select	Answer
A	0.6
B	1.67
C	0.167
D	60

40. - E8C03

When performing phase shift keying, why is it advantageous to shift phase precisely at the zero crossing of the RF carrier?

Select	Answer
A	All of these choices are correct
B	It is easier to demodulate with a conventional, non-synchronous detector
C	This results in the least possible transmitted bandwidth for the particular mode
D	It improves carrier suppression

41. - E8D06

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

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

42. - E9A08

What is meant by antenna bandwidth?

Select	Answer
A	Antenna length divided by the number of elements
B	The angle formed between two imaginary lines drawn through the element ends
C	The angle between the half-power radiation points
D	The frequency range over which an antenna satisfies a performance requirement

43. - E9B12

What is the far field of an antenna?

Select	Answer
A	The region where radiated power dissipates over a specified time period
B	The region of the ionosphere where radiated power is not refracted
C	The region where the shape of the antenna pattern is independent of distance
D	The region where radiated field strengths are obstructed by objects of reflection

44. - E9C04

What happens to the radiation pattern of an unterminated long wire antenna as the wire length is increased?

Select	Answer
A	The lobes align more in the direction of the wire
B	The vertical angle increases
C	The lobes become more perpendicular to the wire
D	The front-to-back ratio decreases

45. - E9D01

How does the gain of an ideal parabolic dish antenna change when the operating frequency is doubled?

Select	Answer
A	Gain is multiplied by 0.707
B	Gain does not change
C	Gain increases by 3 dB
D	Gain increases by 6 dB

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 stub match
B	The delta match
C	The gamma match
D	The omega match

47. - E9F02

Which of the following determines the velocity factor of a transmission line?

Select	Answer
A	The line length
B	The termination impedance
C	Dielectric materials used in the line
D	The center conductor resistivity

48. - E9G05

What type of chart is shown in Figure E9-3?

Select	Answer
A	Free space radiation directivity chart
B	Azimuth angle radiation pattern chart
C	Smith chart
D	Elevation angle radiation pattern chart

49. - E9H05

What is the main drawback of a wire-loop antenna for direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	It is non-rotatable
B	It has a bidirectional pattern
C	It receives equally well in all directions
D	It is practical for use only on VHF bands

50. - E0A01

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

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

Figure E7-4

Figure E9-3