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

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1. - E1A14

What is the maximum bandwidth for a data emission on 60 meters?

Select	Answer
A	2.8 kHz
B	60 Hz
C	170 Hz
D	1.5 kHz

2. - E1B05

What is the National Radio Quiet Zone?

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

3. - E1C07

What is meant by local control?

Select	Answer
A	Direct manipulation of the transmitter by a control operator
B	Controlling a repeater using a portable handheld transceiver
C	Automatically manipulating local station controls
D	Controlling a station through a local auxiliary link

4. - E1D03

What is a telecommand station in the amateur satellite service?

Select	Answer
A	An amateur station located more than 50 km above the Earth's surface
B	An amateur station that transmits telemetry consisting of measurements of upper atmosphere
C	An amateur station located on the Earth's surface for communication with other Earth stations by means of Earth satellites
D	An amateur station that transmits communications to initiate, modify or terminate functions of a space station

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	Destroy the application form
C	Send the application form to the FCC and inform the FCC of the grade
D	Maintain the application form with the VEC's records

6. - E1F04

Which of the following geographic descriptions approximately describes "Line A"?

Select	Answer
A	A line roughly parallel to and west of the U.S. Atlantic coastline
B	A line roughly parallel to and south of the U.S.-Canadian border
C	A line roughly parallel to and north of the U.S.-Mexican border and Gulf coastline
D	A line roughly parallel to and east of the U.S. Pacific coastline

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 calculations using the Keplerian elements for the specified satellite
C	By means of the Doppler data for the specified satellite
D	By subtracting the mean anomaly from the orbital inclination

8. - E2B11

What is the function of the Vertical Interval Signaling (VIS) code sent as part of an SSTV transmission?

Select	Answer
A	To identify the call sign of the station transmitting
B	To provide vertical synchronization
C	To identify the SSTV mode being used
D	To lock the color burst oscillator in color SSTV images

9. - E2C03

From which of the following bands is amateur radio contesting generally excluded?

Select	Answer
A	2 m
B	6 m
C	30 m
D	33 cm

10. - E2D09

Which of these digital modes has the fastest data throughput under clear communication conditions?

Select	Answer
A	170 Hz shift, 45 baud RTTY
B	PSK31
C	AMTOR
D	300 baud packet

11. - E2E08

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

Select	Answer
A	RTTY
B	PACTOR
C	AMTOR
D	Hellschreiber

12. - E3A17

What is meant by circularly polarized electromagnetic waves?

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

13. - E3B12

What is the primary characteristic of chordal hop propagation?

Select	Answer
A	Propagation away from the great circle bearing between stations
B	Signals reflected back toward the transmitting station
C	Successive ionospheric reflections without an intermediate reflection from the ground
D	Propagation across the geomagnetic equator

14. - E3C06

By how much does the VHF/UHF radio horizon distance exceed the geometric horizon?

Select	Answer
A	By approximately twice the distance
B	By approximately 15 percent of the distance
C	By approximately 50 percent of the distance
D	By approximately four times the distance

15. - E4A14

What is the purpose of the prescaler function on a frequency counter?

Select	Answer
A	It divides a higher frequency signal so a low-frequency counter can display the input frequency
B	It prevents oscillation in a low-frequency counter circuit
C	It amplifies low level signals for more accurate counting
D	It multiplies a higher frequency signal so a low-frequency counter can display the operating frequency

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	1.4652 Hz
B	14.652 Hz
C	0.1 MHz
D	1.4652 kHz

17. - E4C08

An SDR receiver is overloaded when input signals exceed what level?

Select	Answer
A	One-half the maximum sampling buffer size
B	The maximum count value of the analog-to-digital converter
C	One-half the maximum sample rate
D	The reference voltage of the analog-to-digital converter

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

19. - E4E09

What undesirable effect can occur when using an IF noise blanker?

Select	Answer
A	Received audio in the speech range might have an echo effect
B	Nearby signals may appear to be excessively wide even if they meet emission standards
C	The audio frequency bandwidth of the received signal might be compressed
D	FM signals can no longer be demodulated

20. - E5A09

How is the Q of an RLC parallel resonant circuit calculated?

Select	Answer
A	Reactance of either the inductance or capacitance multiplied by the resistance
B	Resistance divided by the reactance of either the inductance or capacitance
C	Reactance of either the inductance or capacitance divided by the resistance
D	Reactance of the inductance multiplied by the reactance of the capacitance

21. - E5B06

What is susceptance?

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

22. - E5C14

Which point on Figure E5-2 best represents the impedance of a series circuit consisting of a 400 ohm resistor and a 38 picofarad capacitor at 14 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	Point 6
B	Point 2
C	Point 5
D	Point 4

23. - E5D10

How can the true power be determined in an AC circuit where the voltage and current are out of phase?

Select	Answer
A	By dividing the reactive power by the power factor
B	By multiplying the apparent power times the power factor
C	By dividing the apparent power by the power factor
D	By multiplying the reactive power times the power factor

24. - E6A17

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

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

25. - E6B09

What is a common use for point contact diodes?

Select	Answer
A	As a constant current source
B	As a high voltage rectifier
C	As an RF detector
D	As a constant voltage source

26. - E6C13

Which of the following is an advantage of BiCMOS logic?

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

27. - E6D09

What devices are commonly used as VHF and UHF parasitic suppressors at the input and output terminals of a transistor HF amplifier?

Select	Answer
A	Butterworth filters
B	Ferrite beads
C	Electrolytic capacitors
D	Steel-core toroids

28. - E6E02

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

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

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 becomes unstable
D	It increases

30. - E7A10

What is a truth table?

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

31. - E7B05

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

Select	Answer
A	Tune both the input and output for maximum power
B	Install parasitic suppressors and/or neutralize the stage
C	Tune the stage for maximum SWR
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	Pi-networks are designed for balanced input and output
C	L-networks cannot perform impedance transformation
D	The Q of Pi-networks can be varied depending on the component values chosen

33. - E7D11

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

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

34. - E7E06

Why is de-emphasis commonly used in FM communications receivers?

Select	Answer
A	To remove third-order distortion products
B	For higher efficiency
C	For compatibility with transmitters using phase modulation
D	To reduce impulse noise reception

35. - E7F11

What sets the minimum detectable signal level for an SDR in the absence of atmospheric or thermal noise?

Select	Answer
A	Reference voltage level and sample width in bits
B	Missing codes and jitter
C	Sample clock phase noise
D	Data storage transfer rate

36. - E7G09

What will be the output voltage of the circuit shown in Figure E7-4 if R1 is 1000 ohms, RF is 10,000 ohms, and 0.23 volts DC is applied to the input?

Select	Answer
A	-2.3 volts
B	-0.23 volts
C	2.3 volts
D	0.23 volts

37. - E7H11

What are the major spectral impurity components of direct digital synthesizers?

Select	Answer
A	Broadband noise
B	Nyquist limit noise
C	Spurious signals at discrete frequencies
D	Digital conversion noise

38. - E8A10

What is the purpose of a low pass filter used in conjunction with a digital-to-analog converter?

Select	Answer
A	All of these choices are correct
B	Lower the input bandwidth to increase the effective resolution
C	Improve accuracy by removing out of sequence codes from the input
D	Remove harmonics from the output caused by the discrete analog levels generated

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	3000
B	1000
C	0.3
D	3

40. - E8C07

What is the necessary bandwidth of a 4800-Hz frequency shift, 9600-baud ASCII FM transmission?

Select	Answer
A	5.76 kHz
B	15.36 kHz
C	4.8 kHz
D	9.6 kHz

41. - E8D10

What are some of the differences between the Baudot digital code and ASCII?

Select	Answer
A	Baudot uses 4 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot uses 1 character as a letters/figures shift code, ASCII has no letters/figures code
B	Baudot uses 7 data bits per character, ASCII uses 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes
C	Baudot uses 5 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot uses 2 characters as letters/figures shift codes, ASCII has no letters/figures shift code
D	Baudot uses 6 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes

42. - E9A09

How is antenna efficiency calculated?

Select	Answer
A	(radiation resistance / transmission resistance) x 100 per cent
B	(radiation resistance / total resistance) x 100 per cent
C	(effective radiated power / transmitter output) x 100 percent
D	(total resistance / radiation resistance) x 100 per cent

43. - E9B12

What is the far field of an antenna?

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

44. - E9C09

What is a G5RV antenna?

Select	Answer
A	A phased array antenna consisting of multiple loops
B	A wide band dipole using shorted coaxial cable for the radiating elements and fed with a 4:1 balun
C	A multi-band trap antenna
D	A multi-band dipole antenna fed with coax and a balun through a selected length of open wire transmission line

45. - E9D05

What is a disadvantage of using a multiband trapped antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It might radiate harmonics
B	It radiates the harmonics and fundamental equally well
C	It is too sharply directional at lower frequencies
D	It must be neutralized

46. - E9E09

Which of these matching systems is an effective method of connecting a 50 ohm coaxial cable feed line to a grounded tower so it can be used as a vertical antenna?

Select	Answer
A	Hairpin match
B	Double-bazooka match
C	All of these choices are correct
D	Gamma match

47. - E9F14

What impedance does a 1/2 wavelength transmission line present to a generator when the line is shorted at the far end?

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

48. - E9G06

On the Smith chart shown in Figure E9-3, what is the name for the large outer circle on which the reactance arcs terminate?

Select	Answer
A	Reactance axis
B	Impedance axis
C	Polar axis
D	Prime axis

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	Its overall length must not exceed 1/4 wavelength
C	It must be mounted more than 1 wavelength above ground
D	It should be one or more wavelengths long

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

Figure E5-2

Figure E7-4

Figure E9-3