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

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1. - E1A06

Where must the carrier frequency of a CW signal be set to comply with FCC rules for 60 meter operation?

Select	Answer
A	On any frequency where the signal's sidebands are within the channel
B	At the highest frequency of the channel
C	At the lowest frequency of the channel
D	At the center frequency of the channel

2. - E1B01

Which of the following constitutes a spurious emission?

Select	Answer
A	An amateur station transmission made at random without the proper call sign identification
B	An emission outside its necessary bandwidth that can be reduced or eliminated without affecting the information transmitted
C	A signal transmitted to prevent its detection by any station other than the intended recipient
D	Any transmitted signal that unintentionally interferes with another licensed radio station

3. - E1C09

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

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

4. - E1D04

What is an Earth station in the amateur satellite service?

Select	Answer
A	Any amateur station on the surface of the Earth
B	An amateur station that is not able to communicate using amateur satellites
C	An amateur station within 50 km of the Earth's surface intended for communications with amateur stations by means of objects in space
D	An amateur station that transmits telemetry consisting of measurement of upper atmosphere

5. - E1E12

What must the VE team do with the application form if the examinee does not pass the exam?

Select	Answer
A	Return the application document to the examinee
B	Send the application form to the FCC and inform the FCC of the grade
C	Maintain the application form with the VEC's records
D	Destroy the application form

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	420 MHz - 430 MHz
C	53 MHz - 54 MHz
D	440 MHz - 450 MHz

7. - E2A03

What is the orbital period of an Earth satellite?

Select	Answer
A	The point of maximum height of a satellite's orbit
B	The time it takes for a satellite to complete one revolution around the Earth
C	The point of minimum height of a satellite's orbit
D	The time it takes for a satellite to travel from perigee to apogee

8. - E2B12

How are analog SSTV images typically transmitted on the HF bands?

Select	Answer
A	Video is converted to equivalent Baudot representation
B	Video is converted to equivalent ASCII representation
C	Varying tone frequencies representing the video are transmitted using single sideband
D	Varying tone frequencies representing the video are transmitted using PSK

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. - E2D10

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

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

11. - E2E01

Which type of modulation is common for data emissions below 30 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	Spread spectrum
B	DTMF tones modulating an FM signal
C	FSK
D	Pulse modulation

12. - E3A14

From the contiguous 48 states, in which approximate direction should an antenna be pointed to take maximum advantage of aurora propagation?

Select	Answer
A	West
B	East
C	North
D	South

13. - E3B02

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

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

14. - E3C13

What type of polarization is best for ground-wave propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Vertical
B	Circular
C	Horizontal
D	Elliptical

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 frequency standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the deflection time is accurate
C	A square wave is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the horizontal portions of the displayed wave are as nearly flat as possible
D	A DC voltage standard is displayed and the probe is adjusted until the displayed voltage is accurate

16. - E4B16

Which S parameter represents return loss or SWR?

Select	Answer
A	S21
B	S12
C	S22
D	S11

17. - E4C06

A CW receiver with the AGC off has an equivalent input noise power density of -174 dBm/Hz. What would be the level of an unmodulated carrier input to this receiver that would yield an audio output SNR of 0 dB in a 400 Hz noise bandwidth?

Select	Answer
A	-164 dBm
B	-155 dBm
C	-148 dBm
D	-174 dBm

18. - E4D04

Which of the following may reduce or eliminate intermodulation interference in a repeater caused by another transmitter operating in close proximity?

Select	Answer
A	A Class D final amplifier
B	A properly terminated circulator at the output of the transmitter
C	A Class C final amplifier
D	A band-pass filter in the feed line between the transmitter and receiver

19. - E4E13

What might be the cause of a loud roaring or buzzing AC line interference that comes and goes at intervals?

Select	Answer
A	All of these choices are correct
B	A defective doorbell or doorbell transformer inside a nearby residence
C	Arcing contacts in a thermostatically controlled device
D	A malfunctioning illuminated advertising display

20. - E5A17

What is the result of increasing the Q of an impedance-matching circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Matching bandwidth is increased
B	It has no effect on impedance matching
C	Matching range is increased
D	Matching bandwidth is decreased

21. - E5B11

What is the phase angle between the voltage across and the current through a series RLC circuit if XC is 25 ohms, R is 100 ohms, and XL is 50 ohms?

Select	Answer
A	14 degrees with the voltage lagging the current
B	76 degrees with the voltage lagging the current
C	14 degrees with the voltage leading the current
D	76 degrees with the voltage leading the current

22. - E5C17

Which point on Figure E5-2 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 300 ohm resistor, a 0.64-microhenry inductor and an 85-picofarad capacitor at 24.900 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	Point 3
B	Point 5
C	Point 1
D	Point 8

23. - E5D06

In what direction is the magnetic field oriented about a conductor in relation to the direction of electron flow?

Select	Answer
A	In all directions; omni-directional
B	In a direction determined by the left-hand rule
C	In a direction opposite to the current
D	In the same direction as the current

24. - E6A16

What are the majority charge carriers in N-type semiconductor material?

Select	Answer
A	Holes
B	Free neutrons
C	Free electrons
D	Free protons

25. - E6B05

What characteristic of a PIN diode makes it useful as an RF switch or attenuator?

Select	Answer
A	Reverse bias controls its forward voltage drop
B	Ability to dissipate large amounts of power
C	Extremely high reverse breakdown voltage
D	A large region of intrinsic material

26. - E6C02

What happens when the level of a comparator's input signal crosses the threshold?

Select	Answer
A	The comparator changes its output state
B	The feedback loop becomes unstable
C	The comparator enters latch-up
D	The IC input can be damaged

27. - E6D16

What is the common name for a capacitor connected across a transformer secondary that is used to absorb transient voltage spikes?

Select	Answer
A	Snubber capacitor
B	Clipper capacitor
C	Feedback capacitor
D	Trimmer capacitor

28. - E6E06

What characteristics of the MMIC make it a popular choice for VHF through microwave circuits?

Select	Answer
A	Nearly infinite gain, very high input impedance, and very low output impedance
B	Controlled gain, low noise figure, and constant input and output impedance over the specified frequency range
C	The ability to retrieve information from a single signal even in the presence of other strong signals
D	Plate current that is controlled by a control grid

29. - E6F12

What absorbs the energy from light falling on a photovoltaic cell?

Select	Answer
A	Photons
B	Electrons
C	Protons
D	Holes

30. - E7A10

What is a truth table?

Select	Answer
A	A list of inputs and corresponding outputs for a digital device
B	A table of logic symbols that indicate the high logic states of an op-amp
C	A table of logic symbols that indicate the logic states of an op-amp
D	A diagram showing logic states when the digital device output is true

31. - E7B01

For what portion of a signal cycle does a Class AB amplifier operate?

Select	Answer
A	Exactly 180 degrees
B	More than 180 degrees but less than 360 degrees
C	Less than 180 degrees
D	The entire cycle

32. - E7C04

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

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

33. - E7D14

What is one purpose of a "bleeder" resistor in a conventional unregulated power supply?

Select	Answer
A	To cut down on waste heat generated by the power supply
B	To boost the amount of output current
C	To balance the low-voltage filament windings
D	To improve output voltage regulation

34. - E7E05

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

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

35. - E7F05

How frequently must an analog signal be sampled by an analog-to-digital converter so that the signal can be accurately reproduced?

Select	Answer
A	At the same rate as the highest frequency component of the signal
B	At half the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
C	At four times the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
D	At twice the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal

36. - E7G10

What absolute voltage gain can be expected from the circuit in Figure E7-4 when R1 is 1800 ohms and RF is 68 kilohms?

Select	Answer
A	76
B	1
C	0.03
D	38

37. - E7H04

How is positive feedback supplied in a Colpitts oscillator?

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

38. - E8A08

Why would a direct or flash conversion analog-to-digital converter be useful for a software defined radio?

Select	Answer
A	Very low power consumption decreases frequency drift
B	All of these choices are correct
C	Immunity to out of sequence coding reduces spurious responses
D	Very high speed allows digitizing high frequencies

39. - E8B06

What is the deviation ratio of an FM-phone signal having a maximum frequency swing of plus or minus 7.5 kHz when the maximum modulation frequency is 3.5 kHz?

Select	Answer
A	0.47
B	0.214
C	2.14
D	47

40. - E8C10

What is an advantage of Gray code in digital communications where symbols are transmitted as multiple bits

Select	Answer
A	It increases security
B	It has more possible states than simple binary
C	It facilitates error detection
D	It has more resolution than simple binary

41. - E8D09

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

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

42. - E9A05

What is included in the total resistance of an antenna system?

Select	Answer
A	Radiation resistance plus ohmic resistance
B	Radiation resistance plus transmission resistance
C	Radiation resistance plus space impedance
D	Transmission-line resistance plus radiation resistance

43. - E9B07

How does the total amount of radiation emitted by a directional gain antenna compare with the total amount of radiation emitted from an isotropic antenna, assuming each is driven by the same amount of power?

Select	Answer
A	The total amount of radiation from the directional antenna is stronger by its front-to-back ratio
B	The radiation from the isotropic antenna is 2.15 dB stronger than that from the directional antenna
C	They are the same
D	The total amount of radiation from the directional antenna is increased by the gain of the antenna

44. - E9C06

What is the effect of a terminating resistor on a rhombic antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It decreases the ground loss
B	It changes the radiation pattern from bidirectional to unidirectional
C	It changes the radiation pattern from horizontal to vertical polarization
D	It reflects the standing waves on the antenna elements back to the transmitter

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 increases
D	The front-to-back ratio decreases

46. - E9E10

Which of these choices is an effective way to match an antenna with a 100 ohm feed point impedance to a 50 ohm coaxial cable feed line?

Select	Answer
A	Connect a 1/4-wavelength open stub of 300 ohm twin-lead in parallel with the coaxial feed line where it connects to the antenna
B	Insert a 1/4-wavelength piece of 75 ohm coaxial cable transmission line in series between the antenna terminals and the 50 ohm feed cable
C	Connect 1/2 wavelength shorted stub of 75 ohm cable in parallel with the 50 ohm cable where it attaches to the antenna
D	Insert a 1/2 wavelength piece of 300 ohm twin-lead in series between the antenna terminals and the 50 ohm feed cable

47. - E9F02

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

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

48. - E9G03

Which of the following is often determined using a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Beam headings and radiation patterns
B	Trigonometric functions
C	Satellite azimuth and elevation bearings
D	Impedance and SWR values in transmission lines

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

50. - E0A11

Which of the following injuries can result from using high-power UHF or microwave transmitters?

Select	Answer
A	Hearing loss caused by high voltage corona discharge
B	Blood clotting from the intense magnetic field
C	Ingestion of ozone gas from the cooling system
D	Localized heating of the body from RF exposure in excess of the MPE limits

Figure E5-2

Figure E7-4