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

2. - E1B08

What limitations may the FCC place on an amateur station if its signal causes interference to domestic broadcast reception, assuming that the receivers involved are of good engineering design?

Select	Answer
A	The amateur station must cease operation
B	The amateur station must cease operation on all frequencies below 30 MHz
C	The amateur station must cease operation on all frequencies above 30 MHz
D	The amateur station must avoid transmitting during certain hours on frequencies that cause the interference

3. - E1C09

Which of these ranges of frequencies is available for an automatically controlled repeater operating below 30 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	18.110 MHz - 18.168 MHz
B	10.100 MHz - 10.150 MHz
C	24.940 MHz - 24.990 MHz
D	29.500 MHz - 29.700 MHz

4. - E1D02

What is the amateur satellite service?

Select	Answer
A	A radio communications service using stations on Earth satellites for public service broadcast
B	A spacecraft launching service for amateur-built satellites
C	A radio navigation service using satellites for the purpose of self training, intercommunication and technical studies carried out by amateurs
D	A radio communications service using amateur radio stations on satellites

5. - E1E07

What should a VE do if a candidate fails to comply with the examiner's instructions during an amateur operator license examination?

Select	Answer
A	Warn the candidate that continued failure to comply will result in termination of the examination
B	Allow the candidate to complete the examination, but invalidate the results
C	Immediately terminate the candidate's examination
D	Immediately terminate everyone's examination and close the session

6. - E1F06

Under what circumstances might the FCC issue a Special Temporary Authority (STA) to an amateur station?

Select	Answer
A	To provide additional spectrum for personal use
B	To provide for experimental amateur communications
C	To provide temporary operation while awaiting normal licensing
D	To allow regular operation on Land Mobile channels

7. - E2A04

What is meant by the term mode as applied to an amateur radio satellite?

Select	Answer
A	The satellite's orientation with respect to the Earth
B	The type of signals that can be relayed through the satellite
C	The satellite's uplink and downlink frequency bands
D	Whether the satellite is in a polar or equatorial orbit

8. - E2B13

How many lines are commonly used in each frame of an amateur slow-scan color television picture?

Select	Answer
A	128 or 256
B	30 or 60
C	60 or 100
D	180 or 360

9. - E2C01

Which of the following is true about contest operating?

Select	Answer
A	It is mandatory to transmit the call sign of the station being worked as part of every transmission to that station
B	Interference to other amateurs is unavoidable and therefore acceptable
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. - E2D10

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

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

11. - E2E08

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

Select	Answer
A	RTTY
B	Hellschreiber
C	AMTOR
D	PACTOR

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

13. - E3B13

Why is chordal hop propagation desirable?

Select	Answer
A	Signals travel faster along ionospheric chords
B	The signal experiences less loss along the path compared to normal skip propagation
C	Atmospheric noise is lower in the direction of chordal hop propagation
D	The MUF for chordal hop propagation is much lower than for normal skip propagation

14. - E3C04

What does the value of Bz (B sub Z) represent?

Select	Answer
A	Duration of long-delayed echoes
B	Direction and strength of the interplanetary magnetic field
C	Geomagnetic field stability
D	Critical frequency for vertical transmissions

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

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	25 watts
C	100 watts
D	125 watts

17. - E4C14

What transmit frequency might generate an image response signal in a receiver tuned to 14.300 MHz and which uses a 455 kHz IF frequency?

Select	Answer
A	13.845 MHz
B	14.755 MHz
C	14.445 MHz
D	15.210 MHz

18. - E4D12

What is the term for the reduction in receiver sensitivity caused by a strong signal near the received frequency?

Select	Answer
A	Quieting
B	Squelch gain rollback
C	Cross-modulation interference
D	Desensitization

19. - E4E04

How can conducted and radiated noise caused by an automobile alternator be suppressed?

Select	Answer
A	By installing a noise suppression resistor and a blocking capacitor in both leads
B	By installing a high-pass filter in series with the radio's power lead and a low-pass filter in parallel with the field lead
C	By installing filter capacitors in series with the DC power lead and a blocking capacitor in the field lead
D	By connecting the radio's power leads directly to the battery and by installing coaxial capacitors in line with the alternator leads

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	436.6 kHz
D	218.3 kHz

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

22. - E5C01

Which of the following represents a capacitive reactance in rectangular notation?

Select	Answer
A	+jX
B	X
C	Omega
D	-jX

23. - E5D18

How many watts are consumed in a circuit having a power factor of 0.71 if the apparent power is 500VA?

Select	Answer
A	704 W
B	252 W
C	355 W
D	1.42 mW

24. - E6A09

What is a depletion-mode FET?

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

25. - E6B01

What is the most useful characteristic of a Zener diode?

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

26. - E6C06

Why do CMOS digital integrated circuits have high immunity to noise on the input signal or power supply?

Select	Answer
A	The input switching threshold is about two times the power supply voltage
B	The input switching threshold is about one-half the power supply voltage
C	Larger bypass capacitors are used in CMOS circuit design
D	Input signals are stronger

27. - E6D15

What is current in the primary winding of a transformer called if no load is attached to the secondary?

Select	Answer
A	Direct current
B	Stabilizing current
C	Magnetizing current
D	Excitation current

28. - E6E04

Which is the most common input and output impedance of circuits that use MMICs?

Select	Answer
A	10 ohms
B	300 ohms
C	50 ohms
D	450 ohms

29. - E6F02

What happens to the conductivity of a photoconductive material when light shines on it?

Select	Answer
A	It decreases
B	It stays the same
C	It increases
D	It becomes unstable

30. - E7A12

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

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

31. - E7B09

Which of the following describes how the loading and tuning capacitors are to be adjusted when tuning a vacuum tube RF power amplifier that employs a Pi-network output circuit?

Select	Answer
A	The loading capacitor is set to maximum capacitance and the tuning capacitor is adjusted for minimum allowable plate current
B	The tuning capacitor is set to maximum capacitance and the loading capacitor is adjusted for minimum plate permissible current
C	The loading capacitor is adjusted to minimum plate current while alternately adjusting the tuning capacitor for maximum allowable plate current
D	The tuning capacitor is adjusted for minimum plate current, and the loading capacitor is adjusted for maximum permissible plate current

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

33. - E7D12

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

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

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

35. - E7F01

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

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

36. - E7G02

What is the effect of ringing in a filter?

Select	Answer
A	A reduction in high frequency response
B	Undesired oscillations added to the desired signal
C	An echo caused by a long time delay
D	Partial cancellation of the signal over a range of frequencies

37. - E7H03

How is positive feedback supplied in a Hartley oscillator?

Select	Answer
A	Through a tapped coil
B	Through a capacitive divider
C	Through link coupling
D	Through a neutralizing capacitor

38. - E8A01

What is the name of the process that shows that a square wave is made up of a sine wave plus all of its odd harmonics?

Select	Answer
A	Numerical analysis
B	Differential analysis
C	Fourier analysis
D	Vector analysis

39. - E8B04

What is the modulation index of an FM-phone signal having a maximum carrier deviation of plus or minus 6 kHz when modulated with a 2 kHz modulating frequency?

Select	Answer
A	6000
B	3
C	1/3
D	2000

40. - E8C06

What is the necessary bandwidth of a 170-hertz shift, 300-baud ASCII transmission?

Select	Answer
A	0.5 kHz
B	1.0 kHz
C	0.3 kHz
D	0.1 Hz

41. - E8D09

What is considered a good minimum IMD level for an idling PSK signal?

Select	Answer
A	+15 dB
B	-30 dB
C	+10 dB
D	-20 dB

42. - E9A04

Which of the following factors may affect the feed point impedance of an antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Transmission-line length
B	Antenna height, conductor length/diameter ratio and location of nearby conductive objects
C	The settings of an antenna tuner at the transmitter
D	Sunspot activity and time of day

43. - E9B05

What type of antenna pattern over real ground is shown in Figure E9-2?

Select	Answer
A	Radiation resistance
B	Azimuth
C	Elevation
D	Polarization

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 front-to-back ratio decreases
D	The lobes become more perpendicular to the wire

45. - E9D13

What usually occurs if a Yagi antenna is designed solely for maximum forward gain?

Select	Answer
A	The SWR is reduced
B	The frequency response is widened over the whole frequency band
C	The front-to-back ratio decreases
D	The front-to-back ratio increases

46. - E9E13

What is a use for a Wilkinson divider?

Select	Answer
A	It is used to divide power equally between two 50 ohm loads while maintaining 50 ohm input impedance
B	It divides the operating frequency of a transmitter signal so it can be used on a lower frequency band
C	It is used to feed low-impedance loads from a high-impedance source
D	It is used to feed high-impedance antennas from a low-impedance source

47. - E9F03

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

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

48. - E9G04

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

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

49. - E9H07

Why is it advisable to use an RF attenuator on a receiver being used for direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	It narrows the bandwidth of the received signal to improve signal to noise ratio
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 compensates for the effects of an isotropic antenna, thereby improving directivity

50. - E0A05

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

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

Figure E9-2