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

Logging in (or registering) will help the system to select questions that you need to focus on.

1. - E1A03

With your transceiver displaying the carrier frequency of phone signals, you hear a station calling CQ on 14.349 MHz USB. Is it legal to return the call using upper sideband on the same frequency?

Select	Answer
A	No, U.S. stations are not permitted to use phone emissions above 14.340 MHz
B	Yes, because the displayed frequency is within the 20 meter band
C	Yes, because you were not the station calling CQ
D	No, the sideband will extend beyond the band edge

2. - E1B10

What frequencies are authorized to an amateur station operating under RACES rules?

Select	Answer
A	All amateur service frequencies authorized to the control operator
B	Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) channels
C	Specific segments in the amateur service MF, HF, VHF and UHF bands
D	Specific local government channels

3. - E1C11

Which of the following operating arrangements allows an FCC-licensed U.S. citizen to operate in many European countries, and alien amateurs from many European countries to operate in the U.S.?

Select	Answer
A	ITU reciprocal license
B	All of these choices are correct
C	IARP agreement
D	CEPT agreement

4. - E1D11

Which amateur stations are eligible to operate as Earth stations?

Select	Answer
A	Only those of General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operators
B	Only those of Amateur Extra Class operators
C	Any amateur station, subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held by the control operator
D	Any amateur station whose licensee has filed a pre-space notification with the FCC's International Bureau

5. - E1E03

What is a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator?

Select	Answer
A	A person who has volunteered to prepare amateur operator license examinations
B	A person who has volunteered to administer amateur operator license examinations
C	An organization that has entered into an agreement with the FCC to coordinate amateur operator license examinations
D	The person who has entered into an agreement with the FCC to be the VE session manager

6. - E1F03

Under what circumstances may a dealer sell an external RF power amplifier capable of operation below 144 MHz if it has not been granted FCC certification?

Select	Answer
A	It was imported from a manufacturer in a country that does not require certification of RF power amplifiers
B	It was imported from a manufacturer in another country and was certificated by that country's government
C	The equipment dealer assembled it from a kit
D	It was purchased in used condition from an amateur operator and is sold to another amateur operator for use at that operator's station

7. - E2A12

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

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

8. - E2B06

What is vestigial sideband modulation?

Select	Answer
A	A type of modulation in which one sideband is inverted
B	Narrow-band FM modulation achieved by filtering one sideband from the audio before frequency modulating the carrier
C	Spread spectrum modulation achieved by applying FM modulation following single sideband amplitude modulation
D	Amplitude modulation in which one complete sideband and a portion of the other are transmitted

9. - E2C12

What might help to restore contact when DX signals become too weak to copy across an entire HF band a few hours after sunset?

Select	Answer
A	Wait 24 hours before attempting another communication on the band
B	Switch to a higher frequency HF band
C	Wait 90 minutes or so for the signal degradation to pass
D	Switch to a lower frequency HF band

10. - E2D14

What is one advantage of using JT65 coding?

Select	Answer
A	Permits fast-scan TV transmissions over narrow bandwidth
B	The ability to decode signals which have a very low signal to noise ratio
C	Easily copied by ear if necessary
D	Uses only a 65 Hz bandwidth

11. - E2E12

Which type of control is used by stations using the Automatic Link Enable (ALE) protocol?

Select	Answer
A	ALE can use any type of control
B	Local
C	Automatic
D	Remote

12. - E3A16

Which of the following best describes electromagnetic waves traveling in free space?

Select	Answer
A	Electric and magnetic fields become aligned as they travel
B	The waves are reflected by the ionosphere and return to their source
C	The energy propagates through a medium with a high refractive index
D	Changing electric and magnetic fields propagate the energy

13. - E3B01

What is transequatorial propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Propagation between two mid-latitude points at approximately the same distance north and south of the magnetic equator
B	Propagation between two stations at the same latitude
C	Propagation between any two points located on the magnetic equator
D	Propagation between two continents by way of ducts along the magnetic equator

14. - E3C12

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

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

15. - E4A08

Which of the following instrument would be best for measuring the SWR of a beam antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A Q meter
B	A spectrum analyzer
C	An antenna analyzer
D	An ohmmeter

16. - E4B04

If a frequency counter with a specified accuracy of +/- 0.1 ppm reads 146,520,000 Hz, what is the most the actual frequency being measured could differ from the reading?

Select	Answer
A	14.652 Hz
B	1.4652 Hz
C	1.4652 kHz
D	0.1 MHz

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	-148 dBm
B	-164 dBm
C	-174 dBm
D	-155 dBm

18. - E4D12

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

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

19. - E4E07

How can you determine if line noise interference is being generated within your home?

Select	Answer
A	By turning off the AC power line main circuit breaker and listening on a battery operated radio
B	By observing the AC power line waveform with an oscilloscope
C	By checking the power line voltage with a time domain reflectometer
D	By observing the AC power line voltage with a spectrum analyzer

20. - E5A13

What is an effect of increasing Q in a resonant circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Parasitic effects are minimized
B	Fewer components are needed for the same performance
C	Internal voltages and circulating currents increase
D	Phase shift can become uncontrolled

21. - E5B06

What is susceptance?

Select	Answer
A	A measure of the efficiency of a transformer
B	The ratio of magnetic field to electric field
C	The magnetic impedance of a circuit
D	The inverse of reactance

22. - E5C09

When using rectangular coordinates to graph the impedance of a circuit, what does the horizontal axis represent?

Select	Answer
A	Reactive component
B	Resistive component
C	The sum of the reactive and resistive components
D	The difference between the resistive and reactive components

23. - E5D12

How many watts are consumed in a circuit having a power factor of 0.2 if the input is 100-VAC at 4 amperes?

Select	Answer
A	2000 watts
B	80 watts
C	400 watts
D	50 watts

24. - E6A01

In what application is gallium arsenide used as a semiconductor material in preference to germanium or silicon?

Select	Answer
A	In high-power audio circuits
B	In microwave circuits
C	In very low frequency RF circuits
D	In high-current rectifier circuits

25. - E6B01

What is the most useful characteristic of a Zener diode?

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

26. - E6C10

In Figure E6-5, what is the schematic symbol for a NOR gate?

Select	Answer
A	1
B	2
C	3
D	4

27. - E6D04

Which materials are commonly used as a slug core in a variable inductor?

Select	Answer
A	Teflon and Delrin
B	Polystyrene and polyethylene
C	Cobalt and aluminum
D	Ferrite and brass

28. - E6E01

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

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

29. - E6F01

What is photoconductivity?

Select	Answer
A	The conversion of photon energy to electromotive energy
B	The decreased conductivity of an illuminated semiconductor
C	The increased conductivity of an illuminated semiconductor
D	The conversion of electromotive energy to photon energy

30. - E7A11

What type of logic defines "1" as a high voltage?

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

31. - E7B16

What is the effect of intermodulation products in a linear power amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	All of these choices are correct
B	Transmission of spurious signals
C	Low efficiency
D	Creation of parasitic oscillations

32. - E7C04

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

Select	Answer
A	It introduces negative resistance to cancel the resistive 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 transconductance to cancel the reactive part of impedance

33. - E7D07

What is the purpose of C2 in the circuit shown in Figure E7-3?

Select	Answer
A	To self-resonate at the hum frequency
B	It is a brute force filter for the output
C	It bypasses hum around D1
D	To provide fixed DC bias for Q1

34. - E7E03

How does an analog phase modulator function?

Select	Answer
A	By varying the tuning of an amplifier tank circuit to produce PM signals
B	By varying the tuning of a microphone preamplifier to produce AM signals
C	By varying the tuning of a microphone preamplifier to produce PM signals
D	By varying the tuning of an amplifier tank circuit to produce AM signals

35. - E7F04

What is a common method of generating an SSB signal using digital signal processing?

Select	Answer
A	Combine signals with a quadrature phase relationship
B	Mixing products are converted to voltages and subtracted by adder circuits
C	Emulation of quartz crystal filter characteristics
D	A frequency synthesizer removes the unwanted sidebands

36. - E7G02

What is the effect of ringing in a filter?

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

37. - E7H05

How is positive feedback supplied in a Pierce oscillator?

Select	Answer
A	Through a quartz crystal
B	Through link coupling
C	Through a tapped coil
D	Through a neutralizing capacitor

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 square wave
D	A sine wave

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	3000
C	0.3
D	1000

40. - E8C11

What is the relationship between symbol rate and baud?

Select	Answer
A	Symbol rate is only used for packet-based modes
B	They are the same
C	Baud is only used for RTTY
D	Baud is twice the symbol rate

41. - E8D05

What is the most common method of reducing key clicks?

Select	Answer
A	Reduce keying waveform rise and fall times
B	High-pass filters at the transmitter output
C	Low-pass filters at the transmitter output
D	Increase keying waveform rise and fall times

42. - E9A04

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

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

43. - E9B11

What is a disadvantage of decreasing the number of wire segments in an antenna model below the guideline of 10 segments per half-wavelength?

Select	Answer
A	The resulting design will favor radiation of harmonic energy
B	The computed feed point impedance may be incorrect
C	The antenna will become mechanically unstable
D	Ground conductivity will not be accurately modeled

44. - E9C11

How is the far-field elevation pattern of a vertically polarized antenna affected by being mounted over seawater versus rocky ground?

Select	Answer
A	The low-angle radiation decreases
B	The low-angle radiation increases
C	The high-angle radiation increases
D	Both the high-angle and low-angle radiation decrease

45. - E9D10

What happens to feed point impedance at the base of a fixed length HF mobile antenna as the frequency of operation is lowered?

Select	Answer
A	The radiation resistance decreases and the capacitive reactance decreases
B	The radiation resistance increases and the capacitive reactance increases
C	The radiation resistance increases and the capacitive reactance decreases
D	The radiation resistance decreases and the capacitive reactance increases

46. - E9E04

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

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

47. - E9F04

What is the typical velocity factor for a coaxial cable with solid polyethylene dielectric?

Select	Answer
A	2.70
B	0.30
C	0.10
D	0.66

48. - E9G10

What do the arcs on a Smith chart represent?

Select	Answer
A	Points with constant reactance
B	Points with constant resistance
C	Frequency
D	SWR

49. - E9H06

What is the triangulation method of direction finding?

Select	Answer
A	A fixed receiving station uses three different antennas to plot the location of the signal source
B	A fixed receiving station plots three headings to the signal source
C	The geometric angles of sky waves from the source are used to determine its position
D	Antenna headings from several different receiving locations are used to locate the signal source

50. - E0A04

When evaluating a site with multiple transmitters operating at the same time, the operators and licensees of which transmitters are responsible for mitigating over-exposure situations?

Select	Answer
A	Each transmitter operating with a duty-cycle greater than 50 percent
B	Each transmitter that produces 5 percent or more of its MPE limit at accessible locations
C	Only commercial transmitters
D	Only the most powerful transmitter

Figure E6-5

Figure E7-3