US Amateur Radio - Amateur Extra (Element 4, 2020-2024) Practice Test

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1. - E0A07

How may dangerous levels of carbon monoxide from an emergency generator be detected?

Select	Answer
A	Any ordinary smoke detector can be used
B	By the odor
C	By the yellowish appearance of the gas
D	Only with a carbon monoxide detector

2. - E1A06

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

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

3. - 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 local government channels
D	Specific segments in the amateur service MF, HF, VHF and UHF bands

4. - E1C10

What is the permitted mean power of any spurious emission relative to the mean power of the fundamental emission from a station transmitter or external RF amplifier installed after January 1, 2003 and transmitting on a frequency below 30 MHz?

Select	Answer
A	At least 73 dB below
B	At least 63 dB below
C	At least 43 dB below
D	At least 53 dB below

5. - E1D10

Which amateur stations are eligible to be telecommand stations of space stations (subject to the privileges of the class of operator license held by the control operator of the station)?

Select	Answer
A	Any amateur station so designated by the ITU
B	Any amateur station so designated by the space station licensee
C	Any amateur station designated by NASA
D	All these choices are correct

6. - E1E11

What must the VE team do if an examinee scores a passing grade on all examination elements needed for an upgrade or new license?

Select	Answer
A	Issue the examinee the new or upgrade license
B	Photocopy all examination documents and forward them to the FCC for processing
C	All these choices are correct
D	Three VEs must certify that the examinee is qualified for the license grant and that they have complied with the administering VE requirements

7. - E1F11

Which of the following best describes one of the standards that must be met by an external RF power amplifier if it is to qualify for a grant of FCC certification?

Select	Answer
A	It must be capable of external RF switching between its input and output networks
B	It must produce full legal output when driven by not more than 5 watts of mean RF input power
C	It must exhibit a gain of 0 dB or less over its full output range
D	It must satisfy the FCC's spurious emission standards when operated at the lesser of 1500 watts or its full output power

8. - E2A11

What type of antenna can be used to minimize the effects of spin modulation and Faraday rotation?

Select	Answer
A	A log-periodic dipole array
B	A circularly polarized antenna
C	An isotropic antenna
D	A linearly polarized antenna

9. - E2B10

What aspect of an analog slow-scan television signal encodes the brightness of the picture?

Select	Answer
A	Tone frequency
B	Tone amplitude
C	Sync amplitude
D	Sync frequency

10. - E2C08

Which of the following contacts may be confirmed through the U.S. QSL bureau system?

Select	Answer
A	Special event contacts between stations in the U.S.
B	Repeater contacts between U.S. club members
C	Contacts using tactical call signs
D	Contacts between a U.S. station and a non-U.S. station

11. - E2D01

Which of the following digital modes is designed for meteor scatter communications?

Select	Answer
A	WSPR
B	APRS
C	MSK144
D	Hellschreiber

12. - E2E01

Which of the following types of modulation is common for data emissions below 30 MHz?

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

13. - E3A05

Tropospheric propagation of microwave signals often occurs in association with what phenomenon?

Select	Answer
A	Grayline
B	Warm and cold fronts
C	Sprites and jets
D	Lightning discharges

14. - E3B11

At what time of day can sporadic E propagation occur?

Select	Answer
A	Only in hours of darkness
B	Only around sunset and sunrise
C	Any time
D	Only around sunset

15. - E3C02

What is indicated by a rising A or K index?

Select	Answer
A	An increase in the critical frequency
B	Decreasing disruption of the geomagnetic field
C	Higher levels of solar UV radiation
D	Increasing disruption of the geomagnetic field

16. - E4A07

Which of the following is an advantage of using an antenna analyzer compared to an SWR bridge to measure antenna SWR?

Select	Answer
A	Antenna analyzers automatically tune your antenna for resonance
B	Antenna analyzers display a time-varying representation of the modulation envelope
C	All these choices are correct
D	Antenna analyzers do not need an external RF source

17. - E4B02

What is the significance of voltmeter sensitivity expressed in ohms per volt?

Select	Answer
A	When used as an ammeter, the full scale reading in amps divided by ohms per volt rating will determine the size of shunt needed
B	When used as a galvanometer, the reading in volts multiplied by the ohms per volt rating will determine the power drawn by the device under test
C	The full scale reading of the voltmeter multiplied by its ohms per volt rating will indicate the input impedance of the voltmeter
D	When used as an ohmmeter, the reading in ohms divided by the ohms per volt rating will determine the voltage applied to the circuit

18. - 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	-155 dBm
C	-164 dBm
D	-174 dBm

19. - E4D12

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

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

20. - E4E04

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

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

21. - E5A16

What is the resonant frequency of an RLC circuit if R is 33 ohms, L is 50 microhenries and C is 10 picofarads?

Select	Answer
A	7.12 kHz
B	23.5 MHz
C	23.5 kHz
D	7.12 MHz

22. - E5B06

What is susceptance?

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

23. - E5C05

What is the name of the diagram used to show the phase relationship between impedances at a given frequency?

Select	Answer
A	Far field diagram
B	Near field diagram
C	Phasor diagram
D	Venn diagram

24. - E5D14

What is reactive power?

Select	Answer
A	Wattless, nonproductive power
B	Power consumed in wire resistance in an inductor
C	Power consumed in circuit Q
D	Power lost because of capacitor leakage

25. - E6A04

What is the name given to an impurity atom that adds holes to a semiconductor crystal structure?

Select	Answer
A	N-type impurity
B	Insulator impurity
C	Donor impurity
D	Acceptor impurity

26. - E6B06

Which of the following is a common use of a Schottky diode?

Select	Answer
A	As a VHF/UHF mixer or detector
B	As a constant voltage reference in a power supply
C	As a variable capacitance in an automatic frequency control circuit
D	As a rectifier in high current power supplies

27. - E6C09

What is a Programmable Logic Device (PLD)?

Select	Answer
A	A programmable collection of logic gates and circuits in a single integrated circuit
B	A logic circuit that can be modified during use
C	Programmable equipment used for testing digital logic integrated circuits
D	A type of transistor whose gain can be changed by digital logic circuits

28. - E6D03

Which of the following is an aspect of the piezoelectric effect?

Select	Answer
A	Generation of electrical energy in the presence of light
B	Mechanical deformation of material by the application of a voltage
C	Mechanical deformation of material by the application of a magnetic field
D	Increased conductivity in the presence of light

29. - E6E12

Why are DIP through-hole package ICs not typically used at UHF and higher frequencies?

Select	Answer
A	Too many pins
B	Excessive lead length
C	Epoxy coating is conductive above 300 MHz
D	Unsuitable for combining analog and digital signals

30. - E6F03

What is the most common configuration of an optoisolator or optocoupler?

Select	Answer
A	A frequency modulated helium-neon laser
B	An amplitude modulated helium-neon laser
C	A lens and a photomultiplier
D	An LED and a phototransistor

31. - E7A02

What is the function of a decade counter?

Select	Answer
A	It decodes a decimal number for display on a seven-segment LED display
B	It produces one output pulse for every 10 input pulses
C	It decodes a binary number for display on a seven-segment LED display
D	It produces 10 output pulses for every input pulse

32. - E7B10

In Figure E7-1, what is the purpose of R1 and R2?

Select	Answer
A	Self bias
B	Load resistors
C	Voltage divider bias
D	Feedback

33. - E7C02

Which of the following is a property of a T-network with series capacitors and a parallel shunt inductor?

Select	Answer
A	It is a low-pass filter
B	It is a band-pass filter
C	It is a high-pass filter
D	It is a notch filter

34. - E7D03

What device is typically used as a stable voltage reference in a linear voltage regulator?

Select	Answer
A	An SCR
B	A Zener diode
C	A varactor diode
D	A tunnel diode

35. - E7E09

What occurs when an excessive amount of signal energy reaches a mixer circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Mixer blanking occurs
B	Automatic limiting occurs
C	A beat frequency is generated
D	Spurious mixer products are generated

36. - 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 least twice the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
B	At the same rate as the highest frequency component of the signal
C	At least half the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal
D	At four times the rate of the highest frequency component of the signal

37. - E7G05

How can unwanted ringing and audio instability be prevented in an op-amp RC audio filter circuit?

Select	Answer
A	Increase both gain and Q
B	Restrict Q but increase gain
C	Restrict both gain and Q
D	Restrict gain but increase Q

38. - E7H05

How is positive feedback supplied in a Pierce oscillator?

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

39. - E8A09

How many different input levels can be encoded by an analog-to-digital converter with 8-bit resolution?

Select	Answer
A	256 divided by the gain of the input amplifier
B	8
C	8 multiplied by the gain of the input amplifier
D	256

40. - E8B10

What is frequency division multiplexing?

Select	Answer
A	Two or more information streams are merged into a baseband, which then modulates the transmitter
B	Two or more information streams are merged into a digital combiner, which then pulse position modulates the transmitter
C	The transmitted signal jumps from band to band at a predetermined rate
D	The transmitted signal is divided into packets of information

41. - E8C05

What is the approximate bandwidth of a 13-WPM International Morse Code transmission?

Select	Answer
A	104 Hz
B	52 Hz
C	13 Hz
D	26 Hz

42. - E8D07

What is a common cause of overmodulation of AFSK signals?

Select	Answer
A	Excessive transmit audio levels
B	Bit errors in the modem
C	Ground loops
D	Excessive numbers of retries

43. - E9A09

What is antenna efficiency?

Select	Answer
A	Radiation resistance divided by total resistance
B	Radiation resistance divided by transmission resistance
C	Effective radiated power divided by transmitter output
D	Total resistance divided by radiation resistance

44. - E9B04

What is the front-to-back ratio of the radiation pattern shown in Figure E92?

Select	Answer
A	15 dB
B	28 dB
C	38 dB
D	3 dB

45. - E9C02

What is the radiation pattern of two 1/4-wavelength vertical antennas spaced 1/4 wavelength apart and fed 90 degrees out of phase?

Select	Answer
A	Omni-directional
B	Cardioid
C	A figure-8 end-fire along the axis of the array
D	A figure-8 broadside to the axis of the array

46. - E9D12

Which of the following would provide the best RF ground for your station?

Select	Answer
A	An electrically short connection to 3 or 4 interconnected ground rods via a series RF choke
B	An electrically short connection to a metal water pipe
C	An electrically short connection to 3 or 4 interconnected ground rods driven into the Earth
D	A 50-ohm resistor connected to ground

47. - E9E06

Which of these feed line impedances would be suitable for constructing a quarter-wave Q-section for matching a 100-ohm loop to 50-ohm feed line?

Select	Answer
A	62 ohms
B	50 ohms
C	75 ohms
D	450 ohms

48. - E9F04

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	The same as the output impedance of the generator
C	Very high impedance
D	Very low impedance

49. - E9G08

What is the process of normalization with regard to a Smith chart?

Select	Answer
A	Reassigning impedance values with regard to the prime center
B	Reassigning resistance values with regard to the reactance axis
C	Reassigning prime center with regard to the reactance axis
D	Reassigning reactance values with regard to the resistance axis

50. - E9H08

What is the function of a sense antenna?

Select	Answer
A	It increases the sensitivity of a DF antenna array
B	It modifies the pattern of a DF antenna array to provide a null in one direction
C	It provides diversity reception that cancels multipath signals
D	It allows DF antennas to receive signals at different vertical angles

Figure E7-1